Honoring the journey—then and now
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Finding grace for those who have come before
What would be the worst thing you could find out about your family?
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You’re not listening!
What gives? “You asked me what I thought, and now you’re not taking my advice? What’s up with that?”
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One Kid's Story
No, I don’t believe he did it. Why would you even ask me that question? I won’t believe he did it. Not without more proof than what today’s paper said.
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Lessons from a grassy walk
Dusky, dark blue sky hovers over the wide, tree-edged lawns. Brown, dusty fields fade into the horizon. Honking geese drown out distant city traffic as they fly in packs southward, from where I came. Abbey bells peal across the way, calling the monks to prayer. I step from concrete onto the short-trimmed grass path. It…
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Searching, again
“Who are you?” an elderly woman demands as she peers up into my face. I have never met her. A middle-aged man shrugs apologetically, “I should know you, but I forget your name.” I’ve never met him, either. Barely making eye contact, a young person nods at me and shoves a folded paper my way,…
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Where has all the passion gone?
“Not everyone thinks the way you do,” a friend and coworker once told me. I suppose it was meant to rein in my higher-than-average expectations of myself and others. But as I think about how doomscrolling, social media, and AI are infiltrating, perhaps hijacking, the lives of young people today, I can’t help but think…
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Blue ripples
Fill the Aegean Blue ripples shimmering with silver ridges, rolling away toward the Sun that brightens the palest azure horizon mesmerize me. My exposed skin browns with freckles, moistened by the late summer rays that burn in the cerulean sky. Those Aegean sailors bound for Troy, fiercely loyal or stupidly tricked by a sailor much…
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What’s in my bouquet of beliefs?
I hope my students never fully know. My bouquet of beliefs may set on my teacher’s desk, for all to notice, in front of where I plan my lessons and confer with scholars, where it brightens my day and eases my stress with the beauty of its unique blossoms and verdure. But it is not…
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It’s the pronouns, again.
Our identities are being taken away, one pronoun at a time. I’m not talking about the gender-based pronouns. During the last few years in the classroom, I just stopped using gender-based personal pronouns for fear of getting them wrong. I resorted to first names when I could remember the new ones, or just “you” as…
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Time to percolate
It’s rare to find a person this time of year who doesn’t enjoy a tall cup of pumpkin spice latte. That rich flavor and aroma are quintessentially fall. Does it matter how it was prepared? French-pressed? Cold Brewed? Maybe poured over for a quick decaf? I love a good cup of coffee regardless of how…
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