115-SeabrookerWeb

JANUARY 2015 PAGE 3
THE
Resolutions for New
Year’s Day, The
Seabrook Island Way
With the promise of each New Year,
comes a crisp, blank slate to sketch
out a hopeful blueprint of potential.
We often refer to these self-promises
steeped in hope as our New Year resolutions.
It seems that we owe ourselves
more than the promise of a fad diet
that will take our waistline merely to
Valentine’s Day. We owe it to ourselves
to step out of the box and dig a bit
deeper.
Long after the champagne has lost
its fizz and the confetti has been swept
up, we can be present in experiences
that enhance our lives. If the new year
offers us a fresh opportunity to sketch
our wildest life blueprint, Seabrook
Island is the ideal homesite for those
plans to be built upon.
Here are some of my thoughts on
meaningful New Year’s resolutions:
1. Slow down. Many of our lives move
at a hectic pace. The posted island
speed limit alone serves as a literal
reminder that we all need to move
at a more deliberate pace. Slowing
down can be as simple as carving
out time for a walk on the beach or
an hour or two to dive into a great
novel poolside. For those who call
Seabrook Island their ‘home away
from home’, returning to the island
for a long-weekend or winter getaway
can help us to hit the reset
button.
2. Make time for those you love. Many
of us don’t see those we love as
often as we should. Inviting loved
ones to visit Seabrook Island for a
day or a week can be magical.
3. Create family time. Some of my best
childhood memories and favorite
recollections of my life were times
spent with my family. As a parent, I
now have the ability to create moments
of love and magic for my
own children. Whether my children
are learning from their father how
to swing a tennis racquet, how to
shuck oysters at the marina, or
watching a movie under the stars at
Freshfield Villages, magical memories
are being made.
4. Do something that scares you.
Embrace your fear. Tap into that
little meek voice within and try new
things. Make friends with curiosity.
Whether your uphill climb against
your inhibitions takes you sailing
the high seas, trying new cuisine,
or wearing a fabulous outfit you did
not know you could wear with confidence,
Seabrook Island and the
surrounding area offers us a unique
combination of sporting, social,
shopping, and natural elements.
The sky’s the limit.
5. Eat better. From roadside fruit and
vegetable stands to an array of farmto-table
dining to dozens of fresh
seafood restaurants, opportunities
to eat healthier abound. These options
are not only healthy for us but
offer us the opportunity to reduce
our carbon footprint and to support
local business and commerce.
6. Be healthy. Rather than measure
our health by the number on a
scale, part of being healthy is how
we feel. Take part in activities that
interest you and energize your
soul. Perhaps you will try paddleboarding
or an exercise class at the
Lake House. Maybe you will opt for
a bike ride along the beach.
7. Create space for solitude. Take time
to disconnect from the noise and
bustle of everyday life. Sit under a
live oak under a sunny sky. Watch
the dolphins strand feed on Captain
Sam’s inlet. Sit on the beach,
breath in the fresh air, and watch
the shrimping boats on the horizon.
8. Stop complaining. Your perspective
becomes your reality. Beliefs dictate
outcome. Replace worry with
bravery. Swap negative thoughts
for self-acceptance. I have a sneaking
suspicion that struggle and obstacle
as necessary life ingredients
and when their jagged, tough shells
are cracked open, a pearl of wisdom
often lies inside.
9. Cut ties with fake friends. A certainty
I have learned to accept as fact is
that there are only so many hours
in a day. Time is valuable. Do not
waste precious minutes on those
that have no meaning or contribution
to your life. They are probably
occupying a place in your life that
should be vacated and opened up to
new experience.
10. Strengthen ties with real friends.
Make time to get together with
friends even if its just for a cup of
coffee. Be careful not to underestimate
the value of a phone call or
a short note to friends with whom
you may have lost touch. Life can
be complex for those who have
suffered loss especially during and
after the holidays. Your small gesture
can make a big difference.
11. Date your spouse. Set sail on a sunset
tour, enjoy a candlelit dinner,
take a day trip to a local winery, or
enjoy some live music. Seabrook
Island offers some of the most natural,
romantic surroundings.
12. Read more. Behold the power of
the written word. It has the power
to evoke laughter, revive our imagination,
delve into our hearts, and
occasionally change the trajectory
of our lives. Feed your mind
and spirit with a trip to the Lake
House library or to Indigo Books
in Freshfield Villages.
13. Be kind to yourself. Once I accepted
my imperfections as uniquely
beautiful and began to understand
myself as wonderfully flawed, I
was able to burst the bubble of
perfectionism. I could be present
in the now. I could step outside the
constricting realm of expectation
and explore all that life had to offer.
14. Be kind to others. Seabrook Island
and the surrounding area is a haven
of noteworthy charitable organizations.
Whatever issue may be
your passion, there are countless
opportunities to give back and affect
the world around you.
15. Change your scenery. Expand your
world. If you live up North, head
South for a few days. If you are accustomed
to dining at one place,
try somewhere new. Greet new
people. Exercise in a new place.
Run in a different direction. There
is something to be said about surrounding
yourself in unfamiliar
outward territory that alters something
within. ▲
ANN BRASCO
annbrasco@gmail.com
facebook.com/AnnBrasco
twitter.com/AnnBrasco
EXCHANGE CLUB NEWS
EXCHANGE CLUB SELECTS
SMALLS-MIDDLTON FOR
2014 ANGEL OAK AWARD
Will be honored at Seabrook Island dinner-dance January 21
The 2014 Angel Oak recipient,
Bertha Smalls-Middleton, has distinguished
herself for outstanding
service to the people of Wadmalaw
Island and Johns Island. For over
five years, she has served as the
Executive Director of the Wadmalaw
Island Community/Senior
Center (WICC) which receives no
state or federal funding. The Center
is the hub of community life for
Wadmalaw Island. The Center prepares
and delivers hot meals daily
to homebound, elderly, and disabled
island residents. The Center
Partners with the Charleston Area
Senior Companion Program, volunteers
under this program visits
elderly and disabled residents daily
and provide a number of services
for them. A host of educational
seminars are held at the Community
Center, Cooking Classes, and
a series of seminars on Health and
Welfare, and Fitness.
Empowering a Healthy Living
Fitness Classes are held every
Thursday night at the Community
Center. Veterans Benefit Seminars,
along with an Appreciation Luncheon
held honoring area Veterans,
fourteen of the veterans received
Quilts of Valor made by the Community
Center Seniors and our
Quilting Instructor, Karen Kendo
of Harleyville, S.C.
The Center hosts yearly Thanksgiving
and Christmas parties for
nursing home residents. Citizens
meet regularly for quilting groups,
holiday celebrations, group birthday
parties, parades, and a myriad
number of other community events.
After returning to Wadmalaw in
The Exchange Club presented a grant check to
the library to continue to improve the children’s
computerized learning center.
(L-R) - Bob Jackson, Jim McQueen, library
branch manager and Mike Todd.
Bertha Smalls-Middleton
2009, Bertha was asked by her aunt
if she would help to reenergize the
WICC which had been closed for senior
programming for several years
and was in need of extensive repairs.
With the center closed, there was no
longer a lunch program for seniors
and no local place for support services.
She agreed to serve as Executive
Director and immediately set about
raising money to repair the roof, paint
the building, install a handicap ramp,
and make other much needed repairs.
She recruited volunteers and convinced
community members to give
their time and financial resources to
start new programs for Wadmalaw
seniors. In 2012, Bertha and a committee
submitted a proposal to the
Charleston County Greenbelt Board
requesting that a 6.25 parcel of land
located adjacent to the Center be given
to the Center in order to establish
a community park. The request was
granted and a committee was formed
to help raise the funds and organized
the labor to establish the Wadmalaw
Island Community Park. The Passive
Park (upon completion) will be a great
addition to the Community Center
and the Community.
Bertha is a native of Wadmalaw
Island and graduate of St. Johns
High School. Bertha further her
studies at Barber-Scotia College
and the University of Phoenix obtaining
a B.A. in Business Administration
and an Associate Degree
in Computer Science. She worked
in Information Technology as a systems
analyst for Federated Systems
and Technology with assignments
in Fort Worth, St. Louis, and Lorian,
Ohio. She has volunteered with
the Big Brother and Big Sisters of
America, Girl Scouts of America,
Edith L Frierson Elementary
School and Noah’s Ark. She is currently
a member of the New Webster
United Methodist Church and
the St. John’s Parish Rotary Club.
She is the mother of Marcus Middleton
of Brooklyn, New York and
Sgt. Tawana Middleton of Colorado
Springs, Colorado. She has two
granddaughters, Khaf-Ra and Keji,
living in Colorado Springs. ▲
In 2014, the Exchange Club dispersed over $117,000 to worthy causes on Johns and Wadmalaw
Islands. These grants were made possible by the efforts of Exchange Club members who sold ads
in the Club’s Telephone Directory. Wayne Billian led the 2014 campaign.
Kiawah-Seabrook Exchange Club
member Dr. Charlie Davis hands over a
grant check to Murray Neale, Executive
Director of Charleston Area Therapeutic
Riding on Johns Island. CATR
improves the lives of children, adults and
veterans with disabilities at the area’s
oldest nationally accredited therapeutic
horseback riding center. Staff member
Amanda Gerald holds therapy horse
Woodstock, who hopes that some of the
funds will be converted to feed.
Roger Steel with the Exchange Club’s grant
recipient Veterans on Deck