The other day in the dentist’s office, I found myself quoting a Fred song - “I like to be told.” I was thanking the hygienist for letting me know what to expect, each step of the way. As Fred sang, “It helps me to get ready for all those things that are new…I trust you more and more…” I’ve actually talked about that song to thank people in lots of situations.
I know you “like to be told” what to expect ahead of time, too. So I want to let you know about a change in the way we’re going to deliver my newsletter to our subscribers. For some background, I started writing it as a monthly newsletter in 2009 as the Director of Early Childhood Initiatives at Fred Rogers Productions. In 2015 when I became a Senior Fellow at the Fred Rogers Institute, we shifted it to their website. Since that time, it’s been a part of the monthly offerings of the Institute at St. Vincent College, housing Fred’s archives and helping scholars and students learn from Fred’s approach. It has been heartwarming for me to know that we have almost 10,000 subscribers to my newsletter, and I’ve been especially grateful for those of you who have written to me about it over the years.
"It's very, very, very hard to wait."
January 2024: We live in a world where we've come to expect instant gratification. We expect immediate answers to our emails. We expect next-day deliveries for our online orders. We expect our microwaved food to be ready in seconds. No wonder we get upset when we have to wait.
A Special Gift for Mr. McFeely...and messages for us all
December 2023: This month the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences is giving a special gift to our very own "Speedy Delivery," David Newell, whom we all know as "Mr. McFeely." We're proud to announce that David will be inducted into the National Academy's Gold Circle at the Emmy's Children and Family...
November 2023: Around this time of year, a number of years ago, I received in the mail a drawing from my 3-year-old granddaughter. It was sent from her child care center. At the top was a note she dictated to her teacher, letting me know that the scribbles, lines and circles said "I love you, Grandma Hedda."
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