Sunday, June 21, 2015

Insight - Box store in Windham - By Michelle Libby



At the planning board meeting Monday night, it was put forth that a big box store wanted to build on Route 302 between the rotary and the Big Apple store and gas station. Sights like that are not unusual in North Windham near the shopping center, but that far out, buildings have more character and fit in with the landscape. Lucky for us the planning board and Linda Griffin from the historical society and Pleasant River Properties were paying attention for us and in the end asked the Dollar General to come back to the planning board with a better look for the area of Windham they are building in. 

Other businesses away from North Windham have attractive buildings with sloped roofs, cupolas and decorated with flowers. Mercy Windham has an attractive look, as does Windham Automotive and Hancock Lumber. All are trying to fit in with the pastoral land around them. 

A 9,100 square foot building is going to change the look of that parcel of land that once was slated to be a water park. I understand, and I think most of us get that change happens and progress moves us forward, but as we have heard from the planning office and the 21st Century Downtown Plan, that wants to fix up the North Windham corridor to make it look more Maine with trees, buildings with character and sidewalks. 

The information on the proposal is available online and most of the planning board meetings have been recorded for future viewing. 

Windham belongs to all of us and we need to speak up if we see things that shouldn’t be happening or development that is not in our best interest. Thank you to Linda and the planning board who were willing to speak up for Windham’s best interest. Will you speak up too?

Saturday, June 6, 2015

Insight - Advice for parents on the eve of graduation - By Michelle Libby


Last year at this time I was running from place to place trying to keep up with my senior and all of the exciting activities she had. This year, I’m watching other parents run from event to event. I’ve learned a lot this past year, some of it hard, some of it exciting and all of it an experience. 
 
These are some of the things I’ve learned.
1.      Facetime is a great invention. Parents can see their child, and the child’s room, and the food they are eating, and meet all their friends, no matter how far away they are.
2.      Parents can’t control everything their kids do while at college.
3.      When there’s an issue with a class or a professor, parents can’t send an email or call the teacher. It’s just not done.
4.      Sometimes it’s better to laugh than cry.
5.      Majors are made to be changed, if it’s not the right fit.
6.      Colleges can be changed and more often than not kids transfer schools after the first year.
7.      There is a steep learning curve once a student gets to the college campus. Social and educational.
8.      Keeping the lines of communication open is important for when issues do arise.
9.      Sometimes it’s good to have your child far away so you can’t drive there for a hug or to deliver homemade cookies on a whim.
10.  Nothing is better than having your child come home over vacations with stories, experiences and a boatload of dirty laundry.

I’ve learned a lot about being a helicopter parent and how to not get involved in situations my child should be able to take care of. The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that there is a different path for everybody. The path I took isn’t necessarily the right path for my daughter and her path won’t be the right path for my son. Everything is a learning process. Every experience is there for a purpose. 

Enjoy graduation, it’s an exciting time. Be safe. Be smart. Be well. Congratulations to the class of 2015 from The Windham Eagle!

Monday, June 1, 2015

Insight - Wellness Fair brings like-minded people together - By Michelle Libby


This past Saturday, I spent the morning at the first annual Windham Wellness Fair. What’s a wellness fair? It’s a place where practitioners from the area, from massage therapists and Reiki masters to natural cooking companies and even the Windham Public Library, joined together to share their talents and skills. People were given Reiki sessions, I had a psychic reading (for lack of a term) with Georgana Prudhomme, who was amazing and put my mind at ease about a few things that were on my mind.
The fair was organized by Bob Beane and Lisa DeFosse. Visitors were treated to healthy snacks and the opportunity to receive services free or for low cost. 




The world, and healthcare specifically, is changing and people are more in touch with natural ways to heal themselves, said DeFosse, a massage therapist in Windham. We now hear more and more about preventative care, rather than reactive care, where we end up in the hospital. 

Chiropractor Mark Wasowski from Windham Chiropractic had a popular table doing posture analysis. There were also crystals for sale and door prize drawings for all who attended. (I won one.) Laurel Parker from The Windham Public Library brought a selection of books chosen especially for this event, and her table had self-help books, nutrition books and other topics.

Michelle Bolen, LCSW, did a demonstration on neurofeedback, which drew a large crowd and encouraged the organizers to consider adding more demonstrations for next year.  

Organizers of the event were pleased with the turn out, they said, and hope to have an even bigger event next year with exciting breakout demonstrations. They are looking for more practitioners to join them on the wellness fair committee. They are also looking to start an integrative health care networking group here in Windham. The first meeting is scheduled for June 12, at 6 p.m. at the Windham Public Library, 217 Windham Center Road, and all are welcome. For more information, contact Bob Beane at sebagojourney@yahoo.com.

If you’ve never been to a wellness fair before, I recommend you check them out. The people are friendly and you never know what you might learn.

Michelle Libby
 

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Insight - The flood gates have opened and we're heading outside - By Michelle Libby


I think we have turned a weather corner. Never mind the hail last week, I see flowers in my garden and people have come out of the woodwork to jog on the roads, ride motorcycles and have celebrations.
Proms are right around the corner and safety is on the minds of most parents. Making sure the prom-goers make it to and from safely and that any after parties that are held are chem free. 

On Monday night, the town threw a celebration retirement party for Chief Lewsen as he prepares to hand over the reins to Chief Kevin Schofield. Most of the town officials stopped by to celebrate a job well done. 

On Saturday, the Windham Primary School Playground will have a re-opening party to celebrate the new equipment, a bench dedicated to a former teacher and a covered sandbox built as an Eagle Project by Josh Libby. 

Students are finishing up their year-long projects and seniors are finishing up their volunteer hours before graduation and declaring which school they want to attend.  Manchester School held its Community Day and Windham Middle School students will soon be heading outside for physical education. 

Spring is a wonderful time of year for shaking off the stale winter air and get moving. I’ve notice more posts about exercise on Facebook and I’ve opened my windows to get rid of the lingering germs.
In a few weeks the college kids will return for the summer and their internships and jobs that will give them money for next school year. 

The ice cream shops have opened their doors, like The Ice Cream Dugout in Windham and The Mosquito in Raymond. How can we resist the temptation to stop even though it’s only 60 degrees outside?
I don’t know about anyone else, but I’ve started planning my camping trips. I can’t wait to go swimming and boating at camp. Sitting around the campfire at night talking in hushed tones with my family, seems like the perfect kind of day. 

Has anyone opened his or her pool yet? It’s a little early, but I can’t wait to see the pictures of the ice blue water with the sun reflecting off its surface. 

We really are lucky to live where we do. We are lucky that we have a snowy winter, so we can appreciate the spring and a muddy spring, so we can truly appreciate the summer. 

Take a few minutes to see the green grass that has sprouted and feel the sun on your face. It’s the beginning.



Sunday, April 5, 2015

Insight - A decision of a lifetime - By Michelle Libby



Insight

It’s that time of year again. College acceptance. I love watching as parents of seniors post pictures of the acceptance letters and crow about how proud they are of their child as they are accepted into the school of their choice. 

I remember the proud feeling and the utter terror of my child heading into the world by herself. Off to a college, and I remember what happens at college, to experience life and move on without us. 

Making that choice was very difficult. How do you decide where to spend your hard earned dollars? Does the student go far away from home? Live at home and commute? The decision is usually a family one. The more I listen to families and the college plans they are making, the more I realize that there is no one plan for everyone. 

Some may live at home and attend a local college or a local community college to get their core classes out of the way, then transfer. Some students may attend a college for a year or half a year and decide it’s not the right place for them or they hate their major. (My sister switched her major after her freshman year and never looked back. Thankfully, she didn’t have to switch schools). If the university is big enough, it may have the new major, if not…transfer. It’s not the end of the world. I’ve heard of some students who have transferred three times before realizing what their passion really was and concentrating on that. 

Where finances are concerned, some students try to save money by attending an in-state college. Others get amazing scholarships and financial assistance from colleges, making their decision that much harder. Some take the scholarships and in-state tuition for their bachelor’s degree and then attend an Ivy League school for their graduate work. 

One school I know of offers a Masters’ program in five years if you do all the work at its school. Others offer teaching jobs for those getting higher education at their institution. 

How in the world does one decide? There are so many choices. So many options. So many paths to travel. But none are set in stone. So take a chance, roll the dice and take that first step toward success. 

Happy decision time.

Michelle