b'Matters heart of thematterThingsthat Matter Since 1990 A Blizzard ofFeaturing Local People, Places and PUBLISHER Quality Time with & EDITOR IN CHIEFEllen DonkerASSOCIATEEDITOR & Our SonSOCIAL MEDIA MANAGERAnne MandellADVERTISING CONSULTANTSRene Conlon The snow extended our trip and allowed us to see what he had becomeH. Leslie GilmanAlex Koenig BY ELLEN DONKERAmy PowerW heneveritsomeonehearshome.AsI GRAPHIC DESIGNEllen Donkerthatmyson Timmylivesemailedmy COPY EDITORS inCharleston,S.C.,theywritersand Charles Hammer talk about what a beauti- editorback Jayson Rodriguez ful cityis and assume Iandforthto CONTRIBUTORS must go there all the timekeeptheball Kristen di Gennaro to visit. Although Timmyrollingon Adrianna Donat has been there for almost eight years, most of it spent inthisveryis-Ken Gagne college and grad school, I have been there just a handfulsue of Matters Rose Bennett Gilbert of times. I have sometimes felt like a neglectful mother,Magazine,I Alex Koenig especially when I compare it to the amount of time I seefinallytook Amy Lynn-Cramer his siblings. Christian lives in Washington, D.C., a shorttheadviceof Ilysse Rimalovski four-hour trip, and Madeline lives at home.writerAdri-Mike Van Tassell Ofcourse,duringhiscollegeyears, TimmycameannaDonat Danielle Alfonzo Walsman home for breaks and the summer. The few times we triedtojustlean to visit him at college, our plans were canceled due to ainto my extraWe enjoyed a visit with our son Timmy at hurricane or some other weather event. Since he ran ondaysoff.Thethe Charleston Tea Garden.the cross country and track teams, our trips to see himwork would have to wait.would usually be at another university.After a deep exhale, I asked Timmy to help us with a Please address all correspondence to: After grad school, Timmy often worked weekends, soplan for seeing more sights in Charleston for the next few Visual Impact Advertising, Inc. it was hard to pin down a time to see him. But now hedays while he was at work. Because we were tired of going P.O. Box 198 is in a job with conventional hours and asked us to pickout for every meal, I shopped for groceries and cooked Maplewood, NJ 07040 a weekend in February to visit. My husband and I chosedinner at his apartment for the last two nights. Then we 973-763-4900 February 19 to 22. We found an adorable Airbnb closegot to sit on Timmys couch (his bachelor pad has no din-mattersmagazine.comto Timmys apartment and the West Ashley Greenway, aing table), eat and just hang out for a few hours. Those info@mattersmagazine.com10-mile scenic rail-trail, perfect for morning walks and aunpressured momentsin contrast to FaceTime callsMatters Magazine is owned and publishedstop at a nearby coffee spot before starting our day.are when you learn the most about each other. by Visual Impact Advertising, Inc., P.O. Box 198 Maplewood, NJ 07040. MattersAs we got closer to flying down, we started hearing pre- The time we spent together in his garden apartment Magazine is free, with editions direct maileddictions of snow. Then lots of snow. And then a blizzard. reflected the hopes we had 25 years ago when we looked seven times a year to the residents of Maple- Knowing that these reports are often hyped, we tookinto our babys eyes and wondered who he would grow wood and South Orange and distributed to businesses and surrounding communitiesour chances and flew down on a Thursday afternoon.up to be. Now that I see how theyve added up, Im filled totaling 16,000. Subscriptions are availableThe weather in Charleston was gorgeouswarm andwith gratitude. Everyone says that the years of raising to non-residents for $30 (U.S.) $40 (Foreign) annually. No part of the publication may besunnyand perfect for walking the citys historic streetsand guiding a child go by in a flash. Its true. Watching reprinted or otherwise reproduced withoutand going to some good restaurants with Timmy and hisour son build a career, gain a sense of peace and carve out writtenpermissionfromVisualImpactgirlfriend Meredith.a life in his adopted city helped us understand just who Advertising, Inc.By Saturday we knew the predicted storm was real.he has become and where he is headed. CIRCULATION VERIFIED BY Spirit Air confirmed it by canceling our Sunday flight.On Wednesday, our plane brought us home safely. U.S. POSTAL RECEIPTS. Eventually, we came to terms that the earliest wed getI had a thousand details to wrap up to get this issue in READ & RECYCLE home was Wednesday evening.your hands. But the unexpected week in Charleston was Thats when I rued my decision to leave my laptop atworth it. My soul was refreshed. 8/ matters magazine / hearth + home 2026'