Essentialism: What Deeply Inspires You?

September 1, 2014 Molly Matthews

"Art and children" are the only thing we leave behind, according to a character in Stephen Sondheim's Sunday in the Park with George (worth seeing at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, V A). The art for this blog comes from photographs I took at The Bonnet House, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the home of artist and collector Frederic Bartlett. (see more about him below.)

How much time do we spend with our art, our life's work, or our families (and children, if we have them?) Crazy busy is a badge of success, right? That’s how our society sees it. The media reinforces the message of busyness = value: telling us to do more, be younger, thinner, smarter, sexier, happier and reinforcing our sense of failure. If we aren’t more we feel guilt and shame. What about time to write or paint or dance or sit? No wonder depression is epidemic.

The Perfect End-of-Summer Tomato Sandwich

August 29, 2014 Molly Matthews

The yummy, summery tomato.

Can you tell I'm having difficult getting back to work? I love summer and want to hang on to every last drop. One of my best summer memories, along with fire flies and sparklers, is the tomato sandwiches my dad made. The rules of a tomato sandwich are as follows:

APOLOGIES for the Never-ending Gingerbread People!

July 22, 2014 Molly Matthews

Clear streams, a profusion of summer colors, sunny days and crisp evenings -- I don't want to leave my vacation spot.

While I've been traveling, the gingerbread people post about cultivating a professional speaking voice has gone out so many times I lost count. I did try to fix it, and cringed when it kept comin'. I finally went to my web guy, since this kind of technical issue is above my pay grade. He thought he had fixed it too. If you are reading this post it IS fixed, but I hope you will forgive the intrusion. I know how annoying it is and will do my best to make sure it never happens again.

Now for some updates:

Take Back Your Kingdom Now!

June 30, 2014 Molly Matthews

Not everyone in the family was in town but two sons, one daughter, and three granddaughters made it to the Lion King at the Kennedy Center. It was wonderful to "feel the love" on a stunning June night!

For my last post in the lovely month of June I want to share the "ah ha" I got from the Lion King, which Washington Post reviewer, Nelson Pressley, says is "as exuberant as ever...the show still disarms audiences with its opening parade of giraffes, gazelles and even an elephant as the theater fills with animal figures to the infectious strains of “Circle of Life.” As always, it takes only a minute for the audience to be struck with

Career Guru: College Grads Phone Home

June 5, 2014 Molly Matthews

Phoning home allows you to enjoy the adventure.

Q. I just graduated from college. I got great grades and won more than one academic award. I was a leader on campus and participated in Engineers Without Borders and the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon. I've worked every summer and have saved enough money to take this summer off to travel. My parents think I should get a job as soon as possible and don't understand I want time to de-compress. How can I get them to back off?