Fall 2024 Newsletter
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Recently I became aware of one of those business acronyms (like ROI for Return on Investment) that hit me like a ton of bricks because it seemed so right for what I’ve experienced in the past year. It’s called BHAG—and it stands for Big Hairy Audacious Goals. And yes, it’s a thing.
Following major surgery in the fall of 2023, I suffered temporary paralysis and a series of physical setbacks. During the healing process I knew I needed to have outsized goals to live up to everything people depended on me for and everything I needed to accomplish. What I needed was a BHAG moment—setting goals to achieve what others might think is impossible. For me, one Big Hairy
Audacious Goal would be personal and the other professional.
My personal goal was to run a marathon (26.2 miles) by October 2024. In hindsight, it was silly. I was never a long-distance
forward one step at a time—always forward.
During my attempts to get well and train to reach my first goal, I often contemplated the journey toward my professional goal: securing
“… let me tell you, taking on a marathon as a community is a journey that so many friends and supporters have already been a part of.
runner; I’d undergone two knee operations along with back surgery and was told my running days were over. According to pretty much everyone, it was too risky. The pushback from doctors, nurses, family, and friends was understandable. To make matters worse (and unknown to me at the time) there would be six more corrective operations that would cause numerous delays in my training. To many, my goal was too ambitious, but I was determined and was prepared to do it alone.
So. Marathon training. You don’t go from recovery to 26.2 miles in an instant. You take small steps at first, a few miles at a time, as your muscles and joints adjust to exertion. You walk first, then you jog, then you commit to a 5K, then you double that. Then you double that again and keep at it and learn along the way that the only way to overcome challenges is to not get stuck in despair but to move
the future of the Scandinavian Living Center, Cultural Center, and Library. That in itself is like another marathon! How would I go from the personal to the communal? Similar to my marathon preparation, I understood that there would be setbacks and obstacles. Knowing what I know about the SLC after 30 years, this quest would not be about going it alone! This was always going to be about coming together—and moving forward—as a community. And let me tell you, taking on a marathon as a community is a journey that so many friends and supporters have already been a part of.
- When we launched the Fund the Future campaign back in 2019, it was to begin a 10-year plan to galvanize community support to renovate, rejuvenate, endow, and ensure the future of this organization that we love and believe in.
Happenings at the Cultural Center & Library
Signature events can be a big part of what makes an organization what it is. For example, when you think about our Library, the monthly movie. If you’ve been to a few of them, you may even recognize some of the women who have come every month for just about as long as it has existed. There is comfort in looking forward to something you enjoy, be it monthly, yearly, or what have you.
In September we held our second Huldufólk event, an enchanted dwellings celebration. This Icelandic themed event was inspired by Iceland’s hidden people, the huldufólk. We married this with
the American fairy walk, where community members created their own interpretation of dwellings of the huldufólk. Think natural materials: pinecones, bark, moss, sticks, etc.
The submissions are in two categories, adult (13+) and youth (12 and under). We’ve been so lucky to have many participants from the Girl Scout troops that meet in our Library on Sundays. What I can tell you is that if you didn’t know they were youth submissions you may be surprised by the level of the creations. The Nordic Hall is transformed into a magical space showcasing all the creations. There is a table with offerings that can be laid
near your favorites—the huldufólk are especially fond of treats. We have signage throughout the space that has facts about the beings and their role in Icelandic culture even today.
This year we had three vendors, Newtonville Books, Bobo and Buggie (a felter), and a gnome maker. The team from Newtonville Books made and submitted their own little village, complete with a swimming pool! They also had crafts to make at their table!
Another component that makes the day extra special is that we run it to coincide with All Around Newton’s
Executive Director Joe Carella Addresses Concerns of Aging Societies
Arriving November 19 from MIT Press
We’re thrilled to announce that Joe Carella is among the entrepreneurs, researchers, designers, public servants, and others included in this collection of essays on solutions to the challenges of aging societies. Joe’s chapter, Community-Centered Senior Living Works for Seniors and Communities, is part of the section on Housing.
The essays explore the idea that specific regions around the world will soon distinguish themselves as longevity hubs—homes to high economic and innovative activity for older populations. The book opens on Greater Boston, with the collected articles comprising the “Longevity Hub” special project that ran in the Boston Globe in 2021 and 2022. Then it zooms out to take in a more global stage, written by representatives of cities staking a claim as international models of aging innovation.
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