2022 Missouri Better Newspaper Contest/CAT44-Winter Flourish

WINTER 2021 | SPACE

WOMEN BIKING GROUPS

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WAYS OF MOTHERING

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TAKING UP SPACE

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There is a place in Perry County called Ball Mill Resurgence my sister knows about because she knows about good things, and she took me there. You can walk right up to it, the space in the woods where the earth falls away from a limestone wall, and look up. When it rains, the stones that have broken off from the mantle get tumbled around in the basin made by the ground, and it grinds away their edges and sharp points, smooths them into spheres that give the place its name. Isn’t it interesting there’s a place in this world where that happens?

Isn’t it interesting there’s a place in me where that happens? So many questions like rocks, that feel like gaps in my understanding. Stop your striving, dear one. This giving over of my proposed answers while I don’t yet see better ones is faith. “We sometimes have to give up good things to make space to receive other good things,” my friend Katie tells me. I am still learning where and when and if this is true. I do know this: The blank space between two sections in an essay promises the ideas connect. Let us rest in these gaps while the questions like rocks tumble around, as wet clothes in a hot dryer until they’re ready for us to wear them.

So here, we rest. We work. We think about space. What it is. What it can be. How to cultivate it. We lift up women who create

space for others by mothering, learning how nine women from throughout our region uniquely live out this calling. We give attention to the environments around us in our photo shoot. And we think about what it means to claim the space our bodies take up in the world. We hope these stories and images give you space to think, to feel, to create, and that they help you consider the possibilities of what you might do with the spaces you have been given, around and within you.

“Maybe I’m in the black, maybe I’m on my knees, maybe I’m in the gap between the two trapezes,” Chris Martin writes in “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall.” “The gaps are the thing,” Dillard writes in “Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.” You can’t fill a glass with water if it’s already full of bologna, I write, here. If our daydreams get broken by reality, roughed up and tumbled around, maybe it is to clear out space within us, to wake us up to the possibility that what is coming is better, to open our hearts to the gift of what already is. Can we love it if we leave the space empty? Try. Please, mind the gap.

It’s the place where you’ll step over the threshold.

Joy, Mia 3

ISSUE 44

space How will you fill it or leave it empty, blank?

EDITOR

WRITING

REACH US

Mia Pohlman Nate Gautier

Mia Pohlman Maggie Salem Courtney Cannell Nicolette Baker

flourish magazine is printed four times a year. All rights reserved. ©Southeast Missourian + rustmedia.

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From left to right, Coach Alaina Froemsdorf, Haley Sanders, Brooke Sütterer, Rachel Tucker and Norah Koetting, members of the Girls Riding Together (GRiT) mountain biking team, regroup before their next exercise at Klaus Park. The group is part of National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) and was brought to Southeast Missouri n 2020.

More Girls on Bikes Making space for the women

BY MIA POHLMAN PHOTOS BY AARON EISENHAUER

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“More girls on bikes.”

That’s the motto and goal of Girls Riding Together (GRiT), a program created by the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) specifically for female mountain bike student-athletes.

The national organization has chapters all across the U.S., teaching mountain biking skills and the joys of being part of a cycling community to young people ages 12 to 18. When Matt Smith, Mike Higgins, John Dodd, Aaron Arnzen, Reed Gilmore, Alaina Froemsdorf and Monica Foltz founded the SEMO Mudcats chapter of NICA in Southeast Missouri in 2020, coaches Foltz and Froemsdorf stepped up to lead GRiT, creating an inclusive space for girls in the area to feel welcomed into the sport of mountain biking.

Currently, 20% of NICA student-athletes across the nation are female. According to their website, NICA recognizes girls and women often join sports for different reasons than men, especially in sports like mountain biking, in which women are currently the minority. Through creating opportunities for women to feel invited into the sport and to build community with each other through GRiT, NICA hopes to increase female participation in the organization to 33% by 2023.

“It kind of helps boost your confidence, knowing that you can do this stuff,” says Addison Craig, a freshman at Notre Dame Regional High School who joined NICA and GRiT in August and podiumed at four races during the 2021 season.

Craig first got into mountain biking because of her dad, who also participates in the sport. One of the main things she’s learned while being on the team, she says, is how

to control the bike when she’s on it, as well as knowing the right speeds to use while navigating a trail. She encourages more people to get involved with the sport because it is “really fun.”

In the past year, the GRiT team has grown from one member to six, from four schools throughout the region. Throughout their season that ran from June through October, they competed in five competitions from St. Louis to Nixa, Mo. At the races, there is a GRiT tent that sponsors activities for female cyclists, such as going on pre-rides to preview the trail together, making jewelry from bike chains and eating snow cones.

Each GRiT practice starts with warm-ups, stretching legs, arms, fingers and wrists, before the riders do practice laps. Then, coaches work with the student-athletes on skills in small groups before coming back together to practice another set of skills and ride. Since the first core value of the organization is fun, the practices always end with a game.

At the beginning of the season, student-athletes participate in clinics that teach fundamental skills such as how to stand on the bike, where to pass and gain speed on a trail, and trail communication.

Throughout the season, members of GRiT also learn skills in safety, trail navigation and bike maintenance, such as how to put a chain back on and check tire pressure.

“The skills are lifelong,” Coach Foltz says. “Taking care of your own bike, knowing what to do on a trail, communication’s a big one. We talk about trail communication a lot, and safety. It’s just empowering.”

Foltz says she grew up riding bikes but transitioned into playing the sports offered at her school

Learn the lingo WANT IN ON CYCLIST SPEAK? HERE ARE A FEW TERMS TO GET YO U S TA R T ED :

Berm: In mountain biking, a high-corner turn.

Send it: In mountain biking, to go all-in and ride aggressively, especially on a challenging section of a trail.

Session: In mountain biking, to repeatedly practice riding a section of the trail until you can ride it cleanly.

Car up: The expression used when road cycling to announce to fellow riders that an oncoming car is approaching from in front of the group, so all riders are aware.

Car back: The expression used when road cycling to announce to fellow cyclists a car is coming from behind the group, so all riders are aware.

when she got older. She rediscovered her love for bikes in 2017; when she first started riding mountain bikes, she says she was often one of only three women at local mountain biking events. The desire to introduce more women to the sport and help girls become excited about bikes is what led her to become a NICA/GRiT coach. “[I like to help girls realize] it’s not scary to be out in the woods on your bike,” she says. “Guys like to go really fast sometimes and take the scarier jumps, and girls have fun in a different way. So, it’s kind of cool to have that mix of energy out there. And some girls love jumps, and some don’t. ... I think you create that safe environment, and everyone feels like they can kind of be connected and really learn and grow and flourish.”

Coach Froemsdorf also grew up riding a bike up and down her gravel driveway and checking the animals on her family’s farm. The oldest of five children, she says she taught “everybody” how to ride a bike. As an adult, she began road cycling and branched into mountain biking because of her love of hiking and running trails. Her son also races, and now, two of her grandchildren are on the NICA team.

She says she enjoys camping at competitions with her family.

“It’s great therapy,” Froemsdorf says. “They’ve had a bad day at school, but then we can get out here and just let it go. Take it out on the trail.”

Haley Sanders, a freshman at Jackson Senior High School who joined the team at its founding in 2020, agrees and says she loves “everything” about being a part of GRiT. “It’s just fun; I don’t know how else to explain it,” Sanders says. “It’s enjoyable, and it’s like an escape.”

Emily Huff, Semo Mudcats student-athlete, speeds through the woods at Klaus Park. The team is currently made up of six girls from four schools across the region.

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A member of the Semo Mudcats Mountain Biking Team, Norah Koetting rides a section of the trail at Klaus Park during warmups. Koetting is currently ranked second in the state of Missouri for seventh grade girls.

Chics Dig Bikes

Chics Dig Bikes, a women’s cycling group founded by Dawn LaRue, center, equips women with knowledge and security to ride safely on roads. Members Maria Huizar, Jane Steele, LaRue, Amber Kimbrell and Shaina Williams ride together at least once a week and often plan more rides as it fits into their schedules.

Get riding.

When Dawn LaRue started cycling five years ago, she couldn’t find a group of people to ride with on the road. Then, in May 2019, she decided to do something about that, and founded Chics Dig Bikes, a cycling group for women who want to ride bikes and learn how to ride on the road safely. There was much more interest than she initially thought there would be: at first, 15 to 25 women would show up to the group rides who had never ridden on the road before. Along with road safety and bike maintenance skills, LaRue taught the riders how to use the gears on their bikes, fit a helmet and adjust their seat.

“The trail is only so good for so long,” 12

LaRue says. “And girls were, like, scared, [saying], ‘Oh, well, I just ride on my street or the trail.’ And [now], these girls have all become great friends and do stuff together and other challenges, and it’s dear to my heart.”

In addition to the weekly group rides, individual members of the group organize smaller rides throughout the week, as it works into their schedules. The women have also participated in organized rides throughout the region, such as Tour de Corn, Dirty South Roubaix and the April Fools’ Gravel Camp.

The riders say having each other holds them accountable and helps them become better at the sport.

“I like having the group, because sometimes, you can use them to push yourself

harder,” cyclist Ashley McCrary says.

The supportive friendships the women form through the group also mean a lot to each of them.

“It’s just good therapy for me,” cyclist Shaina Williams says. “It helps me get out and deal with the stress.”

The group is open to women who are interested in having people to ride bikes with on the road. It’s all in the name of camaraderie and helping women push the boundaries of what they thought they were capable of, empowering them to explore the world around them. “[It’s all about] just getting chicks on the road … and safe, so they know how to watch for cars and take care of their bikes,” LaRue says. “Let’s get off the trail, let’s do something different.”

WANT TO RIDE BIKES WITH FRIENDS?

Check out the Facebook pages for the Semo Mudcats Mountain Biking Team, @semonicamtb, and Chics Dig Bikes, @ChicsDigBikes, to get involved. There’s also a group gravel ride that leaves from the Cape Riverfront Market parking lot at 6:30 p.m. each Tuesday; for more information, check out the Cyclewerx Facebook page, @CYCLEWERX. 13

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H E A LT H

Taking Up Space

Claim your place in the world.

BY MAGGIE SALEM PHOTO BY AARON EISENHAUER

Yoga instructor Maggie Salem practices virabhadrasana, or warrior pose. Salem says yoga has helped her heal physically and emotionally.

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The word “yoga” means “union:” the union of the physical and the mental, the gross and the subtle, the external and the internal. For me, yoga has become a union of my body to my self.

When I began my yoga practice, my excuse was purely physical. I had the normal aches and pains that come along with adulthood. At the time, I was unaware of the emotional aches and pains I would have to work through.

During young adulthood, I was always considered confident by my peers. As a plussize woman, I suppose it was surprising to my thinner acquaintances that I had confidence, but I dressed well, walked tall and had no shame. What they didn’t know was my confidence came from a place of wanting to be seen, heard and taken seriously.

Women are told by society we should strive to be smaller and fit into a box prescribed by runways and movie screens. As a woman whose body does not fit within that box, it felt necessary to prove my worth by being proud of my curves. That pride overflowed into my personality. I was self-assured and

boisterous in my interactions.

That changed when I entered into the “real world.” Suddenly, I was shaken by anxiety and panic attacks. I felt as though society was giving me a new box to fit into as I stepped into my roles as a teacher and wife.

With these new challenges, I lost my sense of self. When my body started to feel pain, it was a direct connection to the emotional pain from which I was suffering. Yoga brought that to light and allowed me to find my self again.

My very first experience with yoga was not entirely pleasant. I was the only fat girl in a very full class. We had no props to use other than a yoga mat, and I felt as though I had to contort my body into shapes that my belly, thighs and breasts wouldn’t allow. I felt claustrophobic and out of breath. When I decided to try it again, I went to a yoga studio rather than a gym. In the studio, the instructor specifically held space for me. I got individualized help and was able to feel much more comfortable in my body while using props to assist in the poses.

Feeling comfortable in my body allowed

me to be able to go deeper in my practice and address the internal issues I had been ignoring. I realized I had been diminishing myself to try to fit in societal boxes. As a people pleaser, I found myself ignoring my needs in favor of the needs of others.

Listening to and honoring the needs of my body in a yoga pose transferred to listening to and honoring the needs of my self. I decided to allow myself the space I needed to thrive instead of confining myself to the miniscule boundaries of others’ expectations.

I am eternally grateful for the insight I’ve gained from my yoga practice, and that is why I became a yoga teacher. As a fat woman, I used to think there wasn’t a place for me in a yoga class, so because this journey has been so transformative for me, I want other fat women to see me and know there is a place for them, too. I want people of all shapes, sizes and abilities to know yoga is for them. Everyone is capable of receiving the benefits of a yoga practice: to learn to love and appreciate your body, and in turn, to love and appreciate your self.

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“In-Between”

ORIGINAL MUSIC COMPOSED

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For this process, I started to play around with the physical space of my hands — how close and how separated could the two hands play while still retaining a melody?

In this piece in the key of G minor, I start very close to the center of the piano while slowly working my hands farther apart — even in a dramatic manner with the left-hand crossing over the right — until they are reunited at the center of the piano for the finale once again. I hope you enjoy playing this piece and experiencing the way your hands encounter space through it, too.

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Visit bgcsemo.org or call 573-335-7141 for more information

Mothering

BY MIA POHLMAN PHOTOS BY AARON EISENHAUER

T

o mother is to hold space for another to exist. It’s what our very bodies tell us in the hollow of our wombs. The physicality of this attribute carries over to the emotional needs of others, too; there are all kinds of ways to make a place for another’s mind, heart, body, spirit. Each time we feed, nourish. Each time we receive another to listen. Each time we give attention, do what we said and meant, say, here, I’ll scoot over, let you sit.

One of the greatest things we can do in this life, I believe, is create space for others.

Spaces where people can dwell, belong, become. Spaces where people feel safe to discover who they are and grow in confidence to fully inhabit themselves. Spaces where people dare to risk sharing the fruits of their questions, efforts and deepest longings, because these are the things that bear hope in a dying world. If we can help people come alive to manifest — not who we want them to be but — who they are, we will have done something noble and worthy.

We mother who we are, and we are each individually gifted. Let us not think the way mothering manifests itself through our self must look like the way it manifests itself through the woman sitting next to us. After all, as someone needs who she uniquely is, someone needs who you specifically are.

And so, let us mother. Let us make space for the world to develop as it could. Let us clear a path for the people around us to step into opportunity. Let us create for others possibility.

Here, nine women show us how they do, so we might, too.

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Rekha Patterson is the head coach of Southeast Missouri State University’s women’s basketball team.

As part of her program, she develops young women as athletes and as people.

COACHING COL L EG E STUDENTS

T

he ages of 18 to 22 are some of the most developmentally significant in life; as the head coach of Southeast Missouri State University’s (SEMO) women’s basketball team, Rekha Patterson steps in during this time to not only develop athletes through her basketball program but to also raise young women into people who know who they are and who live from their integrity.

“Our goal in the program is for our young ladies to learn some life lessons, so that when they graduate and they leave us, they remember that everything they need is already inside of them, and sometimes, they

just need to dig deep to remember that they’re equipped for whatever the challenge may be,” Patterson says.

Patterson grew up in the gym with both of her parents coaching high school athletics and always knew she wanted to be a coach. As a college athlete, her team went through a coaching change, during which time the new coach caused Patterson to feel she did not belong; Patterson says from that experience, she wanted to ensure none of her athletes ever felt like they weren’t hers. She began coaching as a graduate assistant at Baylor University and then coached at Eastern Illinois University, Ball State University and Creighton University before assuming the head coach position at SEMO in 2015.

To create a feeling of belonging, Patterson schedules meetings throughout the semester with each of the 15 players on her team, where the women come in and talk with her about their life outside of basketball and academics. She and the other coaches also plan sisterhood sessions, in which the athletes participate in teambuilding activities such as discussing their love languages; building shuttles out of paper, paper clips and masking tape; and sitting in the “red seat” to talk about their fears, joys and homes. Patterson teaches these skills because she hopes they will continue to shape the women’s lives in positive ways after they graduate.

“At the core of relationships is trust and communication, 25

Tiffany Brown (left) and Mi Hoang are stay-at-home moms. As best friends, they own a bakery together and host the podcast “Balancing Your Bliss,” on which they talk about the challenges and joys of motherhood.

a common goal,” Patterson says. “It’s life lessons without their parents being right there with them. They’re figuring out who they want to be and what type of decisions they want to make.”

It’s not a role Patterson takes lightly; she says she recognizes when a student first comes to college, parents are “dropping their babies off, and this is their pride and joy,” and she is “completely responsible for them.”

Under her care, she feels it is her job to protect each of the young women on her team.

Part of that, Patterson says, includes having expectations with clear consequences when those expectations aren’t met. And part of it includes allowing room for failure, as well as space for the athletes to figure things out on their own so they are better able to problem-solve when the coaches aren’t there.

“I think it’s important to, No. 1, fail, because that means you’re trying. You’re giving effort,” Patterson says. “We try to tell our players, ‘You either win, or you learn.’

Because a failure, it’s just an opportunity to grow, an opportunity to learn something that didn’t work, so now I need to do something different the next time I’m in that position.

Or, I need to work harder at this, so the next time I’m in this position, I can have success, whatever that looks like.”

Helping people grow in these ways, Patterson says, is the point.

“We’re on this earth to give. Give of our time, give of our talents, give of our gifts to others, and we can’t do it alone. We’re not supposed to be here alone. And alone, that can look many different ways to people; while I am single without kids, I have a village, and I’m part of a community, and I have my groups. And so, we’re supposed to give to those people that we come in contact with,” Patterson says. “I think with raising people, you have to give grace — the same grace that we would want to receive. And we have to give space for them to grow and learn and figure it out.”

Patterson says her mother, aunt and grandmother have mothered her with that 26

grace; she carries pieces of them into the ways she makes space for others, including sending birthday and sympathy cards to people like her grandmother did, as well as being the person who will hold her players to high expectations and yet also be fiercely on their side when someone does them wrong, like her aunt.

Patterson defines motherhood as unconditional love, a 24/7 job of being the person someone knows they can call no matter the time of day or night.

“Mothers just show up. All the time and at the right time. And I don’t know how they do it. But they do,” Patterson says.

“Mothering is a lifetime. And it’s my hope that the relationships I have with my players is a lifetime. I hope that when amazing things happen to them, when they are graduated and gone on, that they still want to let me know. … That’s my hope, and I think that is probably as close to mothering as I can get, that even when they’re not with me, they know I’m with them.”

She regards mothering as a privilege.

“Shoutout to the moms that do it and do it, however you do it,” Patterson says. “You are brave and powerful and admired.”

RA IS IN G CH I LD RE N

T

iffany Brown of Sikeston, Mo., always wanted to be a mom — she recalls writing in her high school yearbook that she wanted to have seven kids.

The dream started becoming reality when her oldest daughter was born with down syndrome during Brown’s first semester of college. Today, Brown and her husband have had seven children — Brown had three children and he had two when they married, they lost a baby, and they have one child together. Their children range in age from 16 to two.

Mi Hoang, also of Sikeston, became a mom three years ago and now has two daughters. She says her journey to motherhood was less sure; she wanted to be a mother when she was younger, but as she

got older, realized that perhaps that was only because of cultural norms she’d been taught; she decided, instead, she wanted to be her own person. In her late 20s, she thought since she didn’t already have kids, perhaps she wasn’t going to be a mom. After she and her husband got married, however, he wanted to have a family, and Hoang says she found the desire to be a mom growing stronger within herself, too. After trying unsuccessfully to get pregnant for two years, though, she thought again that perhaps she wasn’t meant to be a mother. Then, she became pregnant with their oldest daughter.

Brown and Hoang are best friends; both have earned business degrees and are now stay-at-home moms. They have a podcast called “Balancing Your Bliss,” on which they discuss the challenges and joys of motherhood. They are also in business together with their home bakery, Bliss Bakery.

“It’s fun,” Hoang says of motherhood.

“It’s the best job ever,” Brown says.

To make emotional space for her children, Hoang says she and her daughters lay in bed or on the couch together in the mornings and then spend time together with her husband in the evenings.

“Even though I’m with my girls every day all day long, no matter what we’re doing, I feel like a lot of times, we’re just going, going, going, so we’re just passing by, but we don’t spend actual time together,” Hoang says.

“So, for me, it’s important to get the little times in there. … That’s important, to just have that quiet time with them, without TV or the phone.”

Brown, too, makes it a priority to carve out and protect family time.

“I just started saying no to events and things,” Brown says. “If it’s during the school week, we don’t do anything in the evenings unless it is sports or theater rehearsal. We don’t go places, no dinners, we’re not going out to eat on a weeknight. We try to be home.

And then, if it’s a weekend and we’ve done something on Friday and we have a commitment on Sunday, we’re probably going to stay home all day Saturday, just so we can hang 27

out together.”

Brown says she and her husband take each of their children on dates individually, and they do activities together as a family and with their children’s other parents, with whom they co-parent. She says it’s important for her and her husband to not speak negatively about the other parents around the children, but instead, for their children to see them speak directly to the other parents when there is an issue that needs to be discussed.

“I have to fight a lot to keep this family, the eight of us, together to the point where my children aren’t saying ‘stepbrother,’ ‘stepsister,’ ‘stepmom,’ ‘stepdad.’ I have to fight for that,” Brown says. “And no matter what happens outside this home, that’s what has to happen here for them to all know they’re loved equally. And so, I think it’s very, very important to make sure that your focus is internal. Have your family dinners — it’s important. Say no to going out and doing things all the time. Take your time at home to sit down at the table.”

For Brown, being a stay-athome mom is relatively new; although she’d been working from home since the onset of the pandemic as a mortgage lender with the bank she’d worked at for six years, the passing of her grandmother she called Nanny in July caused Brown to re-evaluate the way she was using her time.

“After [she passed away], I was like, you know what, I wasted so many days while she was here sitting in front of that computer checking emails or talking to customers on the phone, when I could have been spending it with her.

And I didn’t want to do that to anybody else in my life,” Brown says.

Since Brown quit her job outside of the home to pursue being a stay-at-home mom, she says it’s been wonderful.

“It’s scary when you have six kids depending on you to walk away from something where you make a decent living and you have benefits and you have holidays off and they’re really good people. It’s just the work — I just didn’t enjoy it,” Brown says. “[Now], I get to do things I like to do. I even told my manager, it has nothing to do with the bank, but I have to give up something, because I’m not giving either thing 100%, and I’m not going to give up the thing I love. So I have to [quit the bank].”

Hoang says it’s the best decision Brown has ever made.

This type of support is typical of their friendship in which they’re not afraid to hurt each other’s feelings. It’s a friendship in which they say they mother each other.

It’s important, Brown and Hoang say, to have friends who are also mothers, to ask for help and glean ideas about how to handle situations with kids. They also say it’s important for moms to realize each

child is different, so take suggestions with a grain of salt and don’t feel like a failure if something doesn’t work; as long as you’re loving your kids, you’re not failing.

What each child needs to feel loved might look different, Brown says.

“I feel like you love your kids the same, but in different ways,” Brown says. “It’s the same amount when you’re quantifying it, but the way it’s happening is different. I love my children differently. They each need different things from me. And that’s with any relationship that you’re in. ... And so you have to parent them differently. And you don’t love them more or less, you just love them differently.

And you have more in common with [some than] others.”

There are many challenges to motherhood, but the joys make the difficult parts worth it, the friends say.

“Alone time is difficult,” Hoang says. “I don’t remember the last time I was by myself. …

But that’s also the beauty of it — I’m never alone. I always have someone with me. And I talk to my kids like they’re little adults, too, so it’s like I’m having a conversation. … That’s got to be another favorite thing. Watching them learn. And seeing them grow. I like it when I can see something click in her head. You see it in her eyes.”

“It’s so hard. Everything is so hard,” Brown says of motherhood. “Your time is gone, your chores have tripled, there’s

laundry everywhere. And at the same time, sometimes I think, gosh, what am I going to do when they’re gone? I’m going to be so bored. So, it’s rewarding enough that you don’t care.”

“Hopefully, they grow up knowing that they are loved and happy,” Hoang adds.

“Yeah. That’s the goal,” Brown says.

DI RE C T I N G AN ART GALLE RY

W

hen Jae and Paris Newson noticed a lack in venues that cultivate voices different from the dominant cultures of the area, they decided to do something about it. Their dreaming, work and perseverance led to the birth of 20 North Pacific — named after the address where it’s located in downtown Cape Girardeau — a Black-driven urban arts gallery that invites people in to foster conversation, belonging and fun.

“I’m from Memphis. So, when I got here, I noticed there weren’t a lot of spaces for Black and Brown people realistically. Spaces where we can hear different types of music, or we can experience different sides of culture,” Paris says. “It appeared to be pretty one-sided here in this particular area, so we wanted to literally create a space where we could celebrate being different and bring a lot of different people together to experience different sides of

“ S ay n o t o go i n g o u t a n d d oing th ings al l th e t im e. Take yo ur t i m e at h o m e t o s i t d o wn at th e table. ” — T iffany Bro wn, m oth er 28

Cape’s culture.”

The gallery opened in December 2019. Since, they have hosted First Friday art shows, book signings, date nights, birthday parties, baby and wedding showers, a drama camp for children, and more.

The local boutique African Cultural Collective also makes its home in the back of the gallery. In the future, they plan to have an adult sleepover, field day and murder mystery theater at the gallery.

They have also hosted a series called Listen Ins, at which local leaders gathered at 20 North Pacific to have conversations about where they come from and the difficulties of living in Cape Girardeau, which they livestreamed for the community.

This, the Newsons say, is one of their main hopes for the space: that people would come into it and have difficult conversations about race, LGBTQ relations and other topics that connect the community.

“We invite all types of people to be in here,” Paris says.

“Let’s talk about [how you feel in response to the ideas here].

It’s OK how that makes you feel. Sometimes, people walk out [of an art exhibit here, and we ask,] ‘How do you feel now?

Paris (left) and Jae Newson founded 20 North Pacific in downtown Cape Girardeau in 2019. The Black-driven urban arts gallery is a space in which the couple hopes difficult conversations take place that help move the community forward.

Want to talk about it?’ So, it’s important to have somewhere to do that. … It’s just a homey, hold-you kind of place.”

In the gallery, which is housed in a home, the Newsons do the work of making space for others.

“To mother is to bring up with love and affection. So basically, pour into. That’s how I see it,” Jae says. “To nurture.

To allow. To express. Whatever your definition of love, doing that with a space or these people or this community.”

“That’s exactly what we’re doing. We’re mothering,” Paris adds. “‘Cause from our experiences, we had great childhoods, don’t get me wrong, but we didn’t have safe spaces to just exist as ourselves without the rules, without the ‘You should be this way, you should be this way, you should be this way,’ and, as an adult, I feel like we have to create spaces for people like that because they need them. We met a group of SEMO kids a while back — two are gay, one hung out with them because they were being bullied — and they didn’t find anywhere on that campus where they felt safe until they came here. They felt at home.

They walked in and were like,

‘You all are our new aunties.’”

In addition to creating space for others to exist in, Paris is an artist and creates space within her own life to birth artwork.

In the neverending process of making art, she says she sees similarities to motherhood.

“I feel like art is a constant expression of life. Life doesn’t stop. The work never, ever, ever stops,” she says. “So, as an artist, you don’t ever stop moving, you don’t ever stop creating, even when you’re not putting [the ideas] somewhere.”

Paris says Kelly Downes, director of the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri, is a mother to her, holding her close and encouraging her to be authentic. Paris and Jae agree Mama D is also a spiritual mother to them; although they come from different cultures — Jae describes Mama D as a “tall Irish lady with red hair” — Jae says from Mama D, she learns how to be gentle, compassionate and empathetic, especially when trying to understand others.

They bring these experiences into their own expressions of mothering.

“You don’t have to have kids to [mother]. Just love. Love every chance you get, love every

opportunity, every hug that you should give,” Paris says. “Give lots and lots of hugs and hold a little tight when you do, because it matters. It matters. When another woman embraces me with love, there’s just really something about it.”

This is what the Newsons hope to do through 20 North Pacific: embrace others with love.

“It’s important for us to feel like we’re included and feel like we’re welcome. And so, it’s important for us to keep doing that because since we’ve been doing that, we’ve been giving people space — and ourself a space — to feel wanted, to feel welcome, to feel important and to feel like they’re able to be themselves and express,” Jae says. “That’s what this space is for.

It’s for differences, and it’s for being able to talk about it.”

B EING S ISTERS

G

From left to right, Riley Brown , Jennifer Goodman and Missy Brown are sisters who helped raise each other as they were growing up. They say acceptance and making time for each other are key in family relationships.

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rowing up, Jennifer Goodman dedicated much of her time to taking care of her sisters, Missy Brown and Riley Brown, who are 12 and eight years younger than her, respectively. After their parents divorced, Goodman says she spent much of her life during high school helping keep their household together, caring for her sisters after school and in the summertime. She says during this time, her role shifted from that of a sister to a mentor. Riley corrects her.

“Like a second mother, basically,” she says.

As they’ve gotten older, Goodman says the barriers between mother and sister are starting to fade; however, the sisters do still mother each other. To make space for each other in their lives, Goodman says she opens her home to her sisters any time they want to come over — she offers them her food, extra room and listening ear. She says she also returns their text messages quicker than they return hers.

“I make space for them by just allowing them into my space, being an available person as best as I can be,” she says.

Missy says she makes space for Riley, who describes herself as “very talkative,” by listening to her. Riley is a connecting force whom the sisters describe as the “icebreaker” in the family; she says she makes space for others by talking with everyone and showing up.

Acts of service and showing up for each other are the sisters’ love languages, they say. And they’ve demonstrated it to each other throughout their lives: Goodman took Missy to her driver’s license test and goes to Riley’s school functions. Missy was Riley’s chauffeur before

Riley had her license. Riley comes to Goodman’s home to talk, pet her cats and get help on her homework. And she FaceTimes Missy every day to talk. Goodman also has a twin sister, Heather Filer, who teaches English in Farmington, Mo., and says they mother each other, as well. Filer was also instrumental in helping to raise Riley and Missy as they all grew up together.

Riley, who is currently a senior at Jackson Senior High School, says as they grow older, she wants to make sure she and her sisters continue to be part of each other’s daily lives. When important things happen in her life, she says her first reaction is always to text or call Missy and go to Goodman’s home to tell her about it.

“Always put in effort with your sisters, at all times,” Riley says. “It’s important to go do things [with them] — remember, you’re more than just sisters; you can also have a friendship.”

Missy says having an open mind is important in familial relationships.

“Have patience with people, because you might not know what they’re going through, and you might want to lash out. No. Just have some patience. That is from a mother’s standpoint, that’s my job with the babies [at the preschool I work at] and sisterhood, for sure,” Missy says.

“Take time to get to know people.”

Goodman says she’s found acceptance is key.

“Just let the people be who they are,” Goodman says. “I tried to force specific things onto them like, ‘This is what we’re going to do, this is how you need to act, this is the rules, this is how we have to do it,’ and I think it’s just easier to accept that Riley talks a lot and that Missy’s going to make sure that your list is in order. You just have to allow that to be the natural way things flow. Your expectations need to just not exist. They are who they are.”

As she’s gotten older and has faced struggles, Goodman says she’s realized others — including her family members — have their own struggles, too. This has helped her embrace the mothering role she has had in her sisters’ lives.

“You just have to accept that not everyone can be there for you all the time,” Goodman says. “I struggled really hard with having to give up a lot of my life at certain points to help out, and I blamed my parents for it, but they’re not bad people — there was a lot going on. ... I just stopped being so angry with my family, and I’ve started to see them for who they are as real people and not just as parents or just as younger siblings [or] just people that are there to make it harder. It’s not making it harder — it’s your family, and eventually, it’s going to get better.”

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T E AC HI NG FI FT H GRADE R S

I

n Alyse Bollman’s fifth grade class at Perryville Elementary School in Perryville, Mo., classmates call each other “friends.”

Bollman herself uses the word in place of “students,” to cultivate a warm environment in which students feel comfortable and welcome. In her classroom, she focuses on 32

social-emotional learning, helping students understand their emotions and make space for each other to feel included, no matter their needs. She calls her class a family and sometimes jokes with them that people don’t get to pick their families, so they are stuck there with her.

“More than ever, all teachers have so many roles to play,” Bollman says. “And of course, I care about academics, but academics has honestly kind of taken a middle-to-last lot

recently. We’ve had to do a lot of social-emotional [work] in here and really build up self-esteem again and all of that good stuff.”

Bollman, a first-year teacher, says she has always known she wanted to be a teacher, despite people telling her she didn’t want to be in the profession because she wouldn’t make very much money. She says because of this, she changed career paths for a bit, but always came back to teaching; now, she has plans to earn her master’s degree in

special education. She calls her classroom her “happy place.”

In her classroom, Bollman says the question “Are you OK?” and the motto “Do what you need to be OK” are key.

She makes it a point to help her students self-reflect on their emotional states and know the steps to take when something is bothering them; she encourages them to check in on themselves and each other. If they don’t feel comfortable talking with her about how they’re feeling,

Alyse Bollman (center) teaches fifth grade at Perryville Elementary School in Perryville, Mo. In her classroom, she and her students focus on socialemotional learning.

they can write her a letter or talk with the counselor. If someone is sleeping at their desk, she lets them sleep and checks in with them afterward. She talks with her students about equity, helping them realize some people need different resources such as moving around the classroom or using fidgets to be able to learn equally.

Bollman avoids labeling behavior as “good” or “bad” and says she recognizes “behavior is usually an underlying symptom of something else;” she enjoys talking with students to understand why a certain behavior is manifesting itself. She attends her students’ sporting events outside of school.

“My philosophy is, meet them where they’re at,” Bollman says. “Wherever they need me, that’s where I try to be. … I tell them, I’m like, you guys are like my 25 kids.

‘Cause whenever something’s sad, we cry, and if it’s happy, sometimes we cry, too, and there’s lots of hugs.”

Bollman says her mentor teacher while she was student teaching taught her so much about social-emotional learning and has been “key” in her teaching journey. Bollman says she also “spills out” any wisdom she can “get out of” her mother, too. She says her sixth grade teacher — the person who inspired her love of reading — is where her “spark” for teaching came from; that is the year she decided to become a teacher.

Grace is another focus of Bollman’s classroom. As someone who used to be a perfectionist, she says grace

is something she not only teaches, but something she learns from her students, as well.

“Give grace,” she says of what she wants others to know about making space for others. “Because they are small humans, and we all make mistakes. And I think they have a lot on their plates already, so instead of adding to their plate that’s already so full, to give them grace and help them to take things off that plate while they’re still learning. And I just think grace goes a long way. And always try to meet them where they’re at, and that’s so beneficial to them. Because I think they know what they need to do, and sometimes they just need encouragement on how to do that.”

Seeing the good in every situation is Bollman’s life motto, and she says when something is challenging, she relies on her faith in God to understand what God is trying to tell her through it.

All of it, she says, is worth it.

“Be a teacher!” Bollman says. “If you’re wanting to be a teacher, be a teacher. We need so many more teachers, and it’s so hard. It’s difficult right now, but it’s so worth seeing [the students] here at school. And with the teacher shortage, I hope if people are considering teaching, they will stick with it. Of course, all jobs have hard days; you have to choose your hard.

So, if it’s something you love doing, there’s way more good days than there are bad days, and it’s so worth it to teach the little minds that teach me more than I teach them.”

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Saturday, February 12, 2022 The Penguin Party!

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Meet Ciara Potter A sophomore at Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in graphic design with hopes of becoming a creative director, our Winter 2021 model Ciara Potter competes in the long jump, triple jump and high jump events on the SEMO track and field team. Meet her here.

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ILLUST R AT IONS BY CI A R A P OT T ER

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tour the constellations

There must be a vague metaphorical reference in a long-lost Coldplay song.

But the stars don’t shine for you.

They’re simply here, existing. And as we pass them, you’ll notice the promptness with which they’ll line up to form the Little Dipper, Ursa Major. Orion stretches his great, large arms and reclines lazily across the horizon.

You’ll recognize the hunter by his seven brightest stars, his belt, his sword — if you tilt your head just a bit, it looks like he’s preparing for battle, not resting.

Perhaps he’s doing both.

Let ’s t rek t hrou gh ou ter space

You watch the stars with some abstract fascination, but have you ever explored them?

In Denver, there’s a certain place where the ground feels so intimately close with the sky, it’s as if you’ll be swallowed by the huge expanse of blue. That’s where I imagine you’ll be, head tilted so far back, the greatness of the stars makes you feel the smallest you’ve ever been.

You, with your feet planted firmly on the ground. You’ll reach up, grasp the night sky and slowly pull yourself into the expanse — forearms flexed, taking up all your strength.

Close your eyes, and float with me.

Some reach to the cosmos for some sort of meaning, an explainer of the nuances of daily life. Your best friend will curse Mercury’s retrograde, your Tinder date ghosts with even the faintest mention of “I’m a Gemini.”

It’s hazy where those first predictions began, but you might start with ancient China or Babylon. Their predictions of rain, harvest or famine can’t be much different than your questions about your unattainable crush. You’ll still both seek the same reassurance in the constellations.

Or, maybe to you, they’ll be simply tiny, beautiful dots you’ll admire on your drive home during the dark winter months. NASA tells us there’s as many as 400 billion stars in the Milky Way — can you count them all with me?

BY NICOLETTE BAKER DESIGN BY JENNIFER GOODMAN 50

Is there other life out there?

You’ll wonder this as I point out Venus, to your left.

The second planet from the sun and closest to Mother Earth, NASA tells us she spins in the opposite direction of what you’ve been used to. Careful, there — the surface of this reddish planet is 900 degrees.

Please keep your hands to yourself.

It’s easy to f loat away, without direction or sense of time, but you’ll soon realize you should head back. You’d dream of spending decades up among the stars, but there are people who need you at home.

Grab my hand, and I’ll pull you back to Earth — with utmost reluctance and simple acceptance. There’s a bit of peace in knowing the existence of what’s out there, without fully understanding.

Until next time — 51

Cape Girardeau publiC SChoolS Foundation iS inveSted in our Children and we need your help!

The Foundation helps provide additional food during the holidays to help our students and families. We shopped locally and intentionally to buy nutritious food that students, as well as families, can prepare.

You belong

heree

We work closely with the school district to supply additional learning materials to support the success of our students. Our back-to-school supply drive helps over 300 students and we can’t do all these things without you.

A small monthly gift makes a big impact for our students and our future.

Consider giving your best gift today for or the children of our future!

Please send your tax deductible 501(c)(3) donation to: Amy McDonald, Executive Director Cape Girardeau Public Schools Foundation 301 N. Clark, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701 at 573-651-0555 • foundation@capetigers.com Or text DONATE to: 573-242-5711 A thank you and tax receipt will be provided.

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Now with extended hours to better serve you!

Most insurances accepted. Convenient scheduling and paperwork online if preferred.

M - F: 7:00am to 7:00pm • Sat: 8:30am to 2:00pm Call Now For Appointment!

(573) 335-7349 • www.hudsonchirocape.com

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2021

$ 9 9 / M O N T H RECEIVE: $1 OFF BOTOX/UNIT $100 OFF FILLER 20% OFF ALL OTHER S E R V I C E S (EXCLUDES DRY You can "bank" your money to save up for future treatments!

West Em Medical Spa is an upscale medical aesthetic spa providing access to the finest and most effective products, services and treatment options available to

EYE)

help both women and men look and feel their best.

westemspa.com

326 S Mt Auburn, Ste. 104

573.803.4321

Cape Girardeau, MO

Things to Love

BELLADONA SALON & SPA + B BOUTIQUE Frasier Fir from THYMES: a tradition that feels right at home. Reminiscent of days gone by and suggestive of wonderful times to come, the aromatic snap of crisp Siberian fir needles, heartening cedarwood and relaxing sandalwood fills the air with a welcome feeling of warmth and joy.

2505 Tanner Dr., Suite 101 201 S. Mt. Auburn Rd., Suite F Cape Girardeau (573) 335-6033 belladonasalons.com

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THE BAKER’S BAR

FRESH BAKED WEBSITES

MNTN MEADOW COLLECTION

KC HALL — JACKSON, MO

CHRISTMAS AT GRANDMA’S HOUSE

The Baker’s Bar: Where it’s always HAPPY Hour! We’re a new bakery in Uptown Jackson that specializes in all things sweet, including specialty custom cakes, cookies, macarons and cake pops in the most unique, delicious flavors certain to delight all who visit. To finish off the sweet confection of your choice, you’ll also find hand-scooped Ice Cream Factory ice cream and Bare Knuckle Roasting Company coffee in-house. Make plans to visit The Baker’s Bar, and take home your favorite sweet treat!

Having a hard time finding a web solution that fits your needs? Fresh Baked Websites is a local provider of simple, well-established informational websites at a low cost. The websites are custom-built with a unique strategy, saving you time and money while producing an attractive, modern product. Save yourself the trouble of learning a complicated do-it-yourself system. Fresh Baked Websites has the experience to guide your business through any web project, making it hassle-free for you. If you need more than just a simple website, we have friends in the industry that can help with those projects. Give us a call today!

Madelyn’s journey in silversmithing began in 2019 while hiking across the Western U.S. During her six-month adventure, she dreamed of one day having a creative studio. After completing her hike on the Pacific Crest Trail, she relocated to Cape Girardeau from California. Madelyn has been working full-time in her home studio ever since. MNTN Meadow Collection offers pieces that tell a story. From her own life’s journey, Madelyn is inspired to create handcrafted turquoise rings, earrings, bolos and stacker sets that can be mixed and matched to help tell your life’s journey, too. From dainty to statement pieces, there are gifts for every budget.

Are you looking for the perfect smokefree place to host your reception or group event? The KC facilities in Jackson, Mo., located at 3305 N. High St., include two large banquet halls; the upper hall seats 450, and the lower hall seats 250. Both offer a full bar and dance floor, reasonable rental rates, great food with on-site catering, and a large, paved parking lot. The hall has easy access from I-55 with lodging options nearby. For more information, contact David at (573) 243-5464 or email kchalljacksonmo@att.net.

Make 2021 your year to visit one of the most unique handcrafted businesses you’ll find in our area! Christmas at Grandma’s House features the best of the best from Village Designs. A wide array of madein-America handcrafted gift items await you, including glass ornaments, metal art, pottery, candles and jewelry, certain to delight the most challenging on your gift list! It’s a special shop well worth the visit.

Cookies and fresh coffee will be waiting for you! Make it your tradition — 310 State Hwy AA, Daisy, Mo.

(573) 290-2367 freshbakedwebsites.com

Shop: @MNTNMeadowcoll, Etsy, local markets and in-store at D Duncan Floristry & Boutique

2931 E. Jackson Blvd.

Jackson Wednesday — Thursday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Friday — Saturday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Sunday — 2 to 6 p.m.

(573) 204-3480 Find us on Facebook, @thebakersbar2.0

Open daily through Dec. 24 (Closed Thanksgiving) Monday — Saturday, 10 to 5 p.m.

Sunday — 1 to 4 p.m. facebook.com/VillageDesignsMO villagedesigns.com/christmas-at-grandmas Village Designs @village.design

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Things to Love

Things to Love

MISSISSIPPI MUTTS

CAPE FAMILY MEDICAL CLINIC

DESIGN EXCLUSIVE, LLC

At Mississippi Mutts, we strive to create a warm and inviting atmosphere for you and your furry friend. Our mission is connecting you with the perfect products with the best benefits for your pet. We want to provide them with the best quality of life through nutritious foods and treats, fun and innovative toys, and personalized cookies and cakes to make your special days memorable. Our customers and their pets are truly an extension of our store family; we are always honored when a bride chooses us to help incorporate their fur babies into their big day. Place an order with us or come by to see what adorable treats we have for your best friend!

Through our family care service and many others, Cape Family Medical Clinic provides the high-quality, personalized care you deserve. With our experienced team and the leading treatments available, you can rest assured your health is in the best hands. We treat all your health needs, including weight loss, at one location — visit our Medical Health & Weight Loss Clinic designed to be simple and effective to see for yourself.

Now accepting new patients.

Design Exclusive, LLC principal designer, stylist, florist and owner Linda McKinnis has been named a 2021 “Best of Weddings” wedding planner and company by The Knot, a leading wedding planning and registry brand and app. By being honored with this accolade, Linda represents the highest-rated and most-rated wedding professionals as reviewed by real couples, their families and wedding guests on The Knot. From floor plans, lighting and draping, to beautiful floral artistry and linens, plus access to the Design Exclusive sought-after in-house inventory, Linda and her team will help you capture your vision and bring it to life to create the wedding you’ve always imagined.

609 Broadway St. Cape Girardeau (573) 335-6888 Mississippimutts.com Find us on Facebook and Instagram

24 N. Sprigg St. Cape Girardeau (573) 332-7992 capefamilymedical.com Find us on Facebook, at @CapeFamily

(573) 275-6722 designexclusivellc.com Weddings | Events | Planning | Floral Artistry

CALLIE BOLLINGER RITTER REAL ESTATE My home is one of my favorite places. The living room is where I spend time with my husband and puppies. My kitchen is where I prepare my family’s favorite dishes. Our deck is a sunny place where we make memories with friends. Because of this, real estate is so much more to me than helping families buy and sell houses — it’s about Connecting Hearts and Homes. My mission is to help families find the home of their dreams. Reach out to me at (573) 238-5751 so we can work together to find your place in the world where love and laughter can be shared and a lifetime of memories made.

CallieBollinger.com Ritter Real Estate Office: (573) 803-3880

D DUNCAN FLORISTRY & BOUTIQUE

WEST EM

D Duncan Floristry & Boutique was founded by owners and husbands Dustin Duncan and Justin Scheper. Dustin enjoys creating spaces of imagination where people feel free to dream; with his own creativity and support from those around him, he decided to create a place where others could enjoy the beautiful things life offers. In addition to artfully-crafted floral arrangements, Dustin and Justin’s boutique offers an array of modern, traditional and eclectic items, including apparel, home decor, custom gifts, lighting and their very own signature 100% soy D Duncan line of candles. Proudly providing unique designs and styles that matter, the Floral Design Studio is sure to keep you fully caffeinated as your arrangements are carefully crafted to your custom needs.

Here at West Em, we believe in bringing you only the finest treatments and products. We are so happy to introduce to you all our newest product line, West Em. Designed to help you exfoliate, brighten and glow, this skincare line joins our other brands in the lineup: Alastin, Epionce, Elta MD and Jane Iredale.

As always, our skincare consultations are complementary and individualized with highly–trained professionals, to make sure you’re getting the best products and treatments for your skin goals. Call us at (573) 803.4321 to book your free consultation, or book online at westemspa.com.

This holiday season, give the gift of glowing skin for yourself and others.

149 W. Yoakum Ave. Chaffee, Mo (573) 887-3171 And coming soon to Downtown Cape Girardeau!

818 Broadway St. Cape Girardeau www.dduncanfloral.com

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Things to Love

WISH BOUTIQUE At Wish, we are all about embracing your own unique sense of style. We have curated an eclectic array of jewelry brands that allow you to make your own statement. Pair one of our delicate necklaces with your favorite top, or add a gorgeous, vintage-inspired pin to your favorite sweater. These pieces add just the right touch to your look — and of course, they make fabulous gifts!

At Wish, you’ll be sure to find the perfect look for all your holiday festivities this season. Shop in-store with Traci and Deena, and they’ll help you curate the perfect look or find the perfect gift for anyone on your Christmas list!

Stop by and shop at 213 S. Broadview (next to Trees N Trends) in Cape Girardeau, or shop online at wishcape.com. Follow us on Facebook, at @WishCapeGirardeau, and Instagram, at @wish.cape to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and new arrivals!

SHELTER INSURANCE — STEPHANIE OGLE I’ve served local Shelter Insurance customers for 13 years and helped generations of families. I am a wife and mother of four who enjoys family time, running/fitness, concerts and ice hockey. I love being a part of our community and helping others live their lives worry-free so they can focus on what they enjoy, too. To help you do this, we can insure your autos, homes, boats, ATVs, campers, businesses, farms and much more. I can also help you plan and make sure your future is secure with life insurance. Reach out to me at sogle@shelterinsurance.com or call me at (573) 243-3722 to find the right coverage for you. My clients know I can be reached at any time. Let us SHELTER what matters most to you!

Things to Love

RIVERHOUSE

SOUND ADVICE HEARING DOCTORS

FLOURISH LUNCH DATE

THANK YOU

Come experience a place like no other in Southeast Missouri. The RiverHouse carries two Missouri wines specifically formulated for the venue and 27 wines from many other regions, along with domestic and craft beers that change seasonally.

Come by and let us amaze you with our exceptional service, excellent food and spectacular view of the Mississippi River.

Where the road ends, the river bends and conversations blend.

At Sound Advice Hearing Doctors, your ability to hear your best is our main priority. That’s why we take a comprehensive approach to your care. We start with the latest diagnostic procedures to understand the precise sources and effects of your hearing loss. Only then do we recommend treatment with state-ofthe-art solutions, custom prescribed and fitted for your lifestyle.

Grab your lunch and a mug of tea and join us for the flourish Lunch Date Podcast, good conversation that delves deeper into the topics featured in our magazine.

With editor Mia Pohlman and writer Jamie Phillips, we’ll be talking about big ideas relevant to our times.

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Let’s make it a standing date: We'll see you at noon the first and third Thursdays of each month on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

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New at The RiverHouse is our pavilion on the river. Reserve your next special event — weddings, engagements, anniversaries or parties — today.

11500 State Highway N Scott City, Mo (573) 264-0055 debwilson@riverhousevenues.com theriverhousewineplace.com/Home.html

We offer: • Comprehensive and holistic care • Hearing and testing evaluation • Hearing aids and treatment • Tinnitus testing and treatment • Hearing protection • Insurance counseling Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

201 S. Mount Auburn Rd., Suite D Cape Girardeau (573) 290-2019 soundadvicehearing.com

Annie Laurie’s in Cape Girardeau for always supporting all things flourish.

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Winter 2021 Model Ciara Potter, featured on pages 37–45.

Pastimes Antiques in Cape Girardeau for the mauve coat featured on pages 38 and 41 and the red coat featured on pages 37, 42, 44, and 45.

H E Y, C O N T R IB U TO RS:

Tell us about a place that means something to you.

A space that means the world to me is my hometown piano room. It’s my place to experiment, unwind and reflect.

COURTNEY CANNELL

The Missouri Botanical Gardens in St. Louis is a magical space. In addition to its beautiful architecture and nature, it holds many important memories for me.

MAGGIE SALEM

I especially love gathering around the dinner table with my family! Sharing a meal is such a special time to catch up and spend time together.

NICOLETTE BAKER

GET SOCIAL Follow us on Instagram: @my_flourish Like our Facebook page: @flourishwomen Read more about women in our community: flourishwomen.io

A place that means something to me is the home of my late grandparents. It’s where I learned that love can be unconditional, and it stretches farther than this plane of life, past the stars, to eternity.

JENNIFER GOODMAN

I spend a lot of time in my car commuting to and from the office. It’s the space where I prepare myself for my day and decompress at the end of it. It’s a private little pod in the middle of a hectic world.

Sign up to receive our quarterly print magazine and weekly email newsletter: semissourian.com/flourish Listen to our podcast, flourish Lunch Date: Spotify and Apple Podcasts

AARON EISENHAUER

Celebrate our one year anniversary with us As part of our one-year anniversary, Cure+Dental is providing a free

professional whitening take-home kit with every new patient exam scheduled between Oct. 15 and Dec. 31!

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Schedule online at cure.dental –> New Patient –> Healthy, Clean and White.

2143 Independence St #101 Cape Girardeau, MO 63703 (573) 206-9531

flourish

WINTER 2021 | SPACE

PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit #699 Cape Girardeau, MO