My primary goal for 2024 is to blog more often!! I’m so envious of the discipline of my dear friend Paul Roberts Abernathy who puts most blog writers to shame with his very thought-provoking weekly posts and I love reading them especially because his posts include his incredible sermons. When I realized how long it had been since I posted last, I was reminded that my 30 day jaunt from Sept 21 through October 21st that included two weeks across the pond, required that I sit still long enough to write. My apologies to the non-Facebook folks who missed my 30 days of posts, photos and videos of the trip which took me to London, England; Billund, Denmark, home of LEGO; and to the West Coast of the US to Washington and Oregon.
Without a doubt the highlight of the trip was going to LEGO Headquarters, a simply mind-blowing place that has every amenity for their employees that can possibly be thought of (and even some I would never have thought of) like a huge kitchen with six ovens where employees can cook with chefs and then all eat together. And of course there are LEGO bricks throughout the entire new Headquarters building!
The tour came about thanks to an amazing young woman named Diana Godoy, a LEGO employee who is a LinkedIn contact of mine fascinated by my work and offered to give me and my two LSP facilitator buddies Christina and Anat a tour of LEGO HQ, including the factory where LEGO bricks are made and the surrounding towns! Diana gave us an incredible gift of her time and energy and none of us will ever forget it!
But I wasn’t just touring in Billund, I was also getting more education to add to my LEGO®️ Serious Play®️facilitator toolbox, taking four days of courses at LEGOLAND in Real Time Purpose and Resilience through Play – both of which were outstanding!
The LEGO House – also known as the Home of the Brick was also magnificent! I’d describe it as the best indoor and outdoor interactive museum / amusement park of all things LEGO! One of the most amazing things about LEGO House was that if you are fortunate enough to get tickets to the restaurant you actually build your order with LEGO bricks and then watch as LEGO robots and chefs make your meal delivered by conveyor belt! Those 7 days in Billund are days I’m never going to forget.
Then it was back across the pond to Seattle Washington where I did two days of presentations (including one ALL -DAY event where I gave 5 different presentations for caregivers) and then moved on to Central Washington where I did three LEGO Serious Play events. In between events I was outdoors most of the time, meeting friends who used to live in DC for hikes and visiting with my cousin Winne and her husband David, and my cousin Wellington whom I had never met in person.
. Wellington invited me to speak at the church he attends and several of my LinkedIn friends came as well.
After Washington, I rolled into Oregon where I mostly played!!!
I did do a presentation in Hillsboro, Oregon for the Department of Aging that was recorded in a local TV station and then broadcasted at the end of October as a keynote address at a caregiver conference which I then connected with via Zoom to answer audience questions live!!
That was a blast. Most of the Oregon trip was filled with hiking either alone or with my friend Patty who drove up to see me again after meeting me last year, or hanging out with my cousin Willette who lives literally a mile from the recording studio where the recording took place.
I share the recap of that trip because I came back a different person having experienced so much I had never seen, done or even thought of….. my imagination felt as if it was going to burst!!!! The tip made me even more passionate about LEGO Serious Play than I was before and I didn’t even think that was possible. I was so fortunate to win a Maude Award this year which was announced on September 21st the day I flew to London. Maude Awards are presented to individuals and organizations for their innovative ways of engaging those with dementia and I was selected for using LEGO Serious Play for those living with dementia and those who care for them! I’ve decided that I’ll be using some of the money from the award to share LEGO Serious Play in senior living communities and adult day programs in and around DC who don’t have activity budgets and will be providing fun building sessions for participants in these programs!
November has seemed to have flown by and someone reminded me that time just speeds by for me because I’m simply embracing life every day. I always love November, which may seem odd because I’m always incredibly busy with presentations and LEGO Serious Play sessions because it’s National Family Caregiver Month. This month I did two things for the very first time, presenting LEGO Serious Play to college students at SUNY Orange in NY as part of their Wellness Program to help students Build Resilience and to a 4th grade class in DC for Career Day where I taught them about Alzheimer’s and how I use LEGO bricks with people who have the disease. Those two events highlighted the fact for me that caregivers really do come in all ages because several of the 4th graders and many of the college students help their parents and grandparents care for other loved ones. I also led a soul-stirring Reimagine retreat for the Daughters of Virtue and Victory in Baltimore! Yet another event I won’t forget. The prayer their Pastor Michelle gave will sustain me for all of 2024!
This week I’m heading up to Baltimore, Maryland for a Build Your Brain LEGO Serious Play for Keswick’s Wise and Well program. Then it’s off to Rochester, NY to a community called St John’s Senior Community – Embrace Living!! So looking forward to that! Prior to my LEGO Serious Play event I’ll be getting a tour of the Strong Museum of Play in Rochester!! What could be more fun than that??? How fitting that I’m ending this month at a community focused on Embracing Living – something I try to do every single day!!
Conquering Life; Love and Dialogue with Loretta Veney 