This weekend I was thinking how lucky I am to be a part of a family that has always given back. I grew up as a kid spending time with my grandmother visiting the sick and the elderly all over town. My mom and dad were known as the “go to” people whenever anyone needed anything. It was only natural that my brother and I would possess those genes that would keep us giving back as we maneuvered through our own lives. When you learn a compassion for people early on in… Read More

The other day I was getting my hair cut and I saw this sign on the wall. I had to snap a picture because it got me to thinking about what we encounter every day. It is rare that you can turn the news on that it isn’t filled with information that is anything but positive. You can’t pick up the paper without the headlines blaring something negative at you. It is even difficult to immerse yourself in social media for an escape without being faced with many things that you would… Read More

My sister-in-law Debbie finds the best posts. Many times these posts become the catalyst for what I am going to write about. Other times my writing subject is a result of something that has happened during the day, a memory that came back to me, or just a thought that hits me that I want to share. Coming off an amazing week of celebration for my team and I, and knowing the impact we have on others, this post in particular really hit home. In this big world that we live in,… Read More

The more time I spend with my mom and dad lately, the more this quote resonates with me. It also really hit home when I was spending time with my grandmother when she was in her senior community. However, where it really hits home the most is when there is someone that we want or need to make contact with and delay for one reason or another, only to wind up with that person gone. It is then too late for us to make the connection that we wish we had made…. Read More

It it with a humble heart and much gratitude that I write this post today. As we wind down our services for the year, we are ending 2018 having exceeded my greatest expectations. Throughout this entire year we have seen the “power of we” in action as  people came together for a common cause with a sole focus on making seniors smile. We set a goal of 20,000 cards to be delivered in 2018 and blew that goal out of the water. We added more card artist angels, civic groups, schools and… Read More

By now you all know that connecting the circle of life is a core mission of the Bring Smiles to Seniors organization. Yesterday, we had the opportunity to see that mission in action when the Odessa Elementary School choir visited Regency Residences to perform a concert, sing carols with the seniors and hand out cards. Even before the bus arrived with the students, the mood and air in the dining room was full of excitement. The anticipation was palpable and we knew we were in for something special. When the bus pulled… Read More

There was only one thing I could write about today. It is with great pride that I announce that Bring Smiles to Seniors crossed the 40,000 mark for cards delivered in 2018.  As a matter of fact, we are at 40,515 and I could not be more grateful. We started this year with a goal of delivering 20,000 cards. We had delivered 18,810 cards in 2017 and we were not really sure what our incoming supply of cards was going to be like in 2018. However, all the stars aligned to get… Read More

I shared this picture on our program Facebook page about a year ago and it went viral. There is a reason for that. Many people can relate to its message, especially during the holidays. But the most important lesson in this picture is the fact that it points out a clear distinction between being lonely and being forgotten. When we first started this program, we were called Bring Smiles to Forgotten Seniors. One of the reasons that I started the program was because I saw so many seniors in communities that no… Read More

When I first started morningswithron.com, I had had no idea where it was going to go. I knew I liked to write. I knew I had something to say. I knew that I wanted to reach people. The question was did people want to listen? Months later, you have all answered those questions for me and I thank you for your support. We are all given gifts and talents. Whether we choose to use them is completely up to us. Yet, when we do beautiful things happen, many times without us even… Read More

Earlier this week I mentioned that our in person deliveries certainly gave us some stories to tell. Because we have so many communities that receive our deliveries now, we are no longer able to deliver in person. We rely on the activities directors in the communities to deliver the cards for us. That means that we have an ever increasing need for funds to pay for postage for our community deliveries. However, we have fond memories of our times in the communities and I wanted to share a couple of them with… Read More