March 2021

Portions of this article updated April 2022 Kevin Tobin doesn’t need an alarm clock to get him out of bed most mornings. He says the sun and his drive take care of that for him. “There are things I want to do, need to do, and am excited to do……

“The second quarantine was harder than the first.” As resident care director at Spring Arbor of Salisbury, an assisted living facility in Midlothian, Maria Colon, LPN, knows about medical protocols and how to prevent illness from spreading. On March 6, 2020, with warnings about a new, highly infectious virus sweeping…

There’s a list of shortcomings that some mothers carry around in their heads. For a semi-empty nester and work-from-home mom, that list may be rooted in the fact that she spent a large portion of her kids’ childhoods finding ways to ignore her children so she could work. Each mom’s…

Mindfulness is simply the practice of being present in the moment, intentionally and without judgment. We could all use a little more mindfulness in our lives right now. Whether you’ve experienced hardships and heartbreak due to the pandemic or are trying to juggle parenting, virtual schooling, home life, and work…

Well folks, it’s been a year. A year of quarantine with my wife and two children. A year of school at home, work at home, everything at home. It’s been the year of reframing take-out as a civic service, and the year we finally got the kids to dig Indian…

I can’t help but think of how much has changed since I last wrote you a March greeting. One year – it’s been an entire year since COVID-19 wrecked our world and turned all of our lives upside-down. In a way, it’s impossible to believe we’ve been at this for…

World War II introduced new opportunities for women in the military and on the home front, although it was not the first time in history women assisted with war efforts. As far back as the American Revolution, women stepped up as nurses, in supply-support roles, and in isolated cases, women…

Stay on top of vaccinations and vaccines from the start to boost your child’s health and safety and safeguard the community. Vaccination has become a routine topic of incredible importance. News outlets, medical providers, politicians, and scientists are sharing information about how we can safely and quickly use vaccination against…

When you hear the term mental illness, do you picture an adult who is dangerous, unpredictable, or scary? Do you picture a child who is out of control? We need to work on changing that.  Often, the phrase mental illness carries with it stigma and harsh imagery. Children get labeled…

What you need: • Wax paper • Crayons • Pencil or crayon sharpener • Clear tape • Blow dryer • Construction paper (any color) • Glue stick • Hole punch • String, ribbon, or yarn What you do: 1. Cut two pieces of wax paper to be the same size,…

Just days into the pandemic, Taylor Keeney received a frantic call from the YWCA of Richmond. A mom was on a train to Richmond with nothing but her baby and the clothes on their backs, fleeing domestic abuse and seeking shelter through the YWCA. The ask: Could Little Hands Virginia help…

My school and college years were marked by the transition from typewriters to computers. In high school, I remember typing papers carefully because I did not want to retype the entire page (or pages). Correction tape – remember White Out? – was my friend. By the time I was in…

Updated Friday, July 16 Dr. Danny Avula, public health expert, on vaccination, mask-wearing, staying patient, and supporting the community Since I took on the role of statewide vaccine coordinator in early January, I have spent most of my waking hours thinking about how to ensure that Virginia has a steady…