Monthly Archives: March 2018

Sr. Jean’s Bracket gets Broken!

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If you are following March Madness, you know Sister Jean, the 98-year-old nun from Chicago’s Loyola University who is the Chaplain, and erstwhile coach of her young men who just made it to the Elite 8.

 

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Even if you don’t watch or care about NCAA college basketball tournament, how can you turn your back on Sr. Jean? She inspires everyone of us over the age of 50! There isn’t a senior citizen (or a junior citizen for that matter) who wouldn’t trade places with her right now. She travels with the team, she is the national….excuse me, international darling of a nationwide event, and she’s 98-years-young partying with college kids!

So, what can we learn from this? Here are 6 pieces of advice I think Sr. Jean would  impart if I could score an interview with this international star:

  1. Pray for your team.  Pray for the other team, but not as hard. (From an interview with March Madness)
  2.  Even with prayers, you still have to box out..which in real life means pay attention to what’s coming at you.
  3. Stick with the plan. Sr. Jean has been loyal to Loyola for over 50 years. She stuck with the plan and now she’s an international star.
  4. Good coaching can come from unexpected places. The players admitted they thought Sr. Jean was just there for praying. Hell, no. She tells them who to watch, how to defend and when to buck up.
  5. Always be a Class Act, cause rankings don’t mean a thing. Admittedly, Sr. Jean’s bracket got busted on Thursday night. She didn’t take her team to the Elite 8, but they took themselves there.  The first thing Sr. Jean did was congratulate her team. The very next thing she did was commend Nevada for the great game they played. Class act.
  6. What are  you gonna’ be doing at 98-years-old?  As we say in the law: res ipsa loquitor ( the thing speaks for itself!)

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Since there are surely more busted  brackets this March than there are daffodils blooming on the East Coast, let’s take Sr. Jean’s example,  be a class act, enjoy every day as we get closer to 98, pray when it matters, and box out, always box out.

“You Just have to Laugh………..”

©2018 Cathy Sikorski

Be Like Peg…….

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I recently got a phone call to return to great group of women and speak again. But this call went a bit differently than most conversations:

Mrs. K: Hi, Cathy! We were so happy to have you speak last year, but I think you need to return.

Me: Well, I would love to, is there anything particular you’d like me to talk about?

Mrs. K: Yes. I want you to give them the ‘SCARY TALK.”

Now, this is a group of mature women, church ladies, in fact, so I was pretty sure she didn’t mean she wanted me to give the sex talk. On the other hand, there are quite a few widows in this group…so maybe, they wanted a refresher course?  Maybe they didn’t remember my expertise?

Me:  So, Mrs. K., do you mean the SCARY TALK that I mentioned in passing about how healthcare costs and nursing home costs can truly make you destitute? Or……something else ( I wanted to make sure we were on the same page, my youthful good looks may have intrigued her to think something else.)

Mrs. K:  Absolutely. It’s time these women realized that there is terrifying information out there that they need to have. It’s time they got truly prepared.

 

What is going to happen to my money?!?

Me: I couldn’t agree more, but you need to let them know this is the SCARY TALK. No more “fun-and-games-Cathy.”  This will have to be the “I’m-not-even-kidding-Cathy.”

Mrs. K: Yes, you’ve warned me, I will warn them, and there is no time like the present.

So I went back and gave them the “SCARY TALK,” which, in my defense,  at my last talk while they were laughing and laughing at my granny panties (you have to come to a talk to see that one) I did suggest that they should have me back to give them the blood-curdling news.

They survived. It was a bit ugly.  But I actually got a thank you note for the shocking and intimidating information about the nursing home and healthcare crisis that may befall everyone in that room.

I’m on a mission now, not waiting until Halloween to give the SCARY TALK, it just may save people from horrendous consequences.

If you want the SCARY TALK…..let me know…..I’ve got it down pat.

“You Just Have to Laugh…..and get informed, and get prepared, and then you can Laugh Again!”  And then you’ll be like Peg!

Meet Beautiful Peg..She’s 106, nothing scares her!

©2018Cathy Sikorski

 

For a good time, read…”Rats, Mice and Other Things You Can’t Take to the Bank.”

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Doesn’t this look fun?! It is, but it is so much more. Join Leslie Handler in her journey of essays from a smitten young college student (I would love to hear so much more about her love story with Marty) to her journey through cancer, her willingness to walk a mile in your shoes, her true discovery to the key to incredible weight loss, and her wish to enter the elusive heaven of menopause (yep…she wants it, she wants it bad)!

Leslie keeps you smiling, laughing, crying, astounded and astonished with her stories of seemingly every-day-life. But is it? Is this your life or mine? Well if it is, everyone should write a book because the jaunt of Leslie’s life is remarkable.

I started to write about which chapters are my favorite, and when I went back through the book, that I literally just finished reading, I started reading each chapter all over again. I can’t pick a favorite. But what I can tell you is that Leslie’s honesty will roundhouse you like a 2×4, sometimes in a fun way and sometimes in a Jewish Bubbie’s , “What? You think only you have all the fakakta problems?”

A perfect book to give as a gift, take on a plane ride, a beach, or put in the bathroom. Leslie would be okay with that, I’m sure. It’s honest and heartfelt, just like her and her book.

Full disclosure, Leslie and I share an extraordinary Publisher, Donna Cavanagh and HumorOutcasts Press. We thank our lucky stars…we both say so in our books!

Just go click on this and order:

 

There’s a Cure for Every Disappointment…..

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Hey Nor’easter….Enough Already!

Unfortunately, I was to speak tomorrow in front of an amazing group of Women at the TriCounty Community Network Women’s Symposium. Rightfully, the event was canceled because another Snowmaggedon is coming and no one should be concerned for their safety. So this is what my husband and  I discussed this morning:

Me: Snow’s coming. My event had to cancel.

Husband: Sorry.

Me: Go golfing today. You may not see a golf course again until Father’s Day.

Husband: What kind of alcohol do you want me to bring home?

I have a true love.

Be safe my Nor’Easter friends.

“You Just Have to Laugh…..”

©2018 Cathy Sikorski