Columnists

A mother's musings

By Liz Gordon-Hancock
When is it appropriate to lie to your children?

The reason I'm even asking myself that question is because my father-in-law has severe dementia/Alzheimer's and there are scenarios where lying to him is actually the best thing to do for him, in that moment.

When my father-in-law first went into the nursing home, he was perpetually panicky about the cost of his care and would demand my husband tell him how much was in his bank account. In this case, lying to him was the best thing to do.

My kids bring a lot of papers home from school.

Amongst these papers was a sheet of practical activities to do at home to encourage literacy, logic, character-building and math skills. Under the language section, it suggested counting how many idioms my first grader could think of, as a sort of game.

You're pulling my leg, right?

"I forgot my gloves and I can't feel my thumb!"
- Mark Smith

That's the winner caption to our most recent "write a caption to this photo" contest. The photo shows Nate Gundy with thumb in the air sitting with Brett Buller at the state semi-final boys' Division III soccer game.

Nate and Brett, both BHS soccer alums, live in Orrville and attended the game that sent Bluffton HS into the state finals.

Icon viewer Mark Smith wrote the winning caption and will receive five passes to the Shannon Theatre.

Brendon Matthews sums up the collective thoughts of all BHS soccer fans

By Brendon Matthews
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then Facebook’s cup runneth over today.

As I scrolled through my feed I saw post after post of joyful faces celebrating an improbable run by the Bluffton High School boys' soccer team.

Not only did they beat the 1st and 3rd ranked teams in the state to get to this point, but they also won four straight overtime games: three in sudden death overtime and one in a shootout.

A mother's musings

I am a creature of routine. I cannot tell if I have always been this way or if I were driven to it by having children.

I find my children thrive in routine - regular meal times, set bedtimes, a structured pattern to the rest and play of their day.  My own children are so driven by routine that even on vacation, far from home, my daughter will ask "Where will we have quiet time after lunch today, Mommy?"

If my two-year-old doesn't nap, my eye starts twitching. And if we don't go to the library on Tuesdays, then the whole day is off-kilter.  

A Bluffton Halloween story

Here’s a Bluffton story ripe for Oct. 31. 

For best effect, turn out your lights except for perhaps a candle, flashlight or very dim lamp. A handful of Bluffton residents know a different version, with a plausible explanation. If interested, bring this up to Nancy King, Sam Diller or Charles Hilty. 

In the meantime, we stand by the following account.

In 1954 Bluffton voters approved a decision to raze the old Victorian-style Bluffton school building making way for a modern structure. It was an emotional decision, but necessary.

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