Honoring the journey—then and now
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Time Is up
We were in the mud of testing. State Testing. The down and dirty that ELA teachers lived and dreaded in the first few weeks of school, after showing tips, sharing tricks, drafting, drawing, hoping, and praying our sophomores could engage and remember— and score high enough to graduate. Their desks were spread apart, facing forward.…
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A dog’s life?
Shooting over the deck rail across the lily bed lightning fast straight to the corner where the sage and yarrow bloom, Eliza darts through my space. She’s on the chase! It’s a rabbit! Probably the one that’s been eating my carrots and cutting my flowers. The cunning creature needs no siren. It bounds out of…
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Will I ever talk again?
How did I become so reluctant to talk to others in public? Having seen how the Myers-Briggs Personality Type impacts many students’ writing, I am fairly familiar with the types, and I know my own characteristics well. I happen to be an introvert, someone who regains energy by being alone. Lately, though, I’m reverting to…
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Breaking out of a well-taped box
There may be hope! For the past six months, I’ve been stuck in a box, albeit one with musical notes decorating it. Today, I broke out of it! During the past year since I retired from teaching high school English, I’ve had some grand plans. In the early days, my head was filled with projects…
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What a pickle!
Oh, yes, my brain fog is sooo much better As retirees, my husband Jerry and I are somewhat new to the vegetable garden gig. This summer, we’ve tried various gardening gadgets and techniques. Winter sowing and cattle panels for climbing veggies have produced lots of tomatoes and cukes. But now in August, our dilemma has…
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Who killed you?
Does anyone else share my very particular pet peeve? For several years now, I’ve regularly experienced a trend that makes my skin crawl. No, it’s not fingernails on the chalkboard. And by the way, if you’re rarely in a classroom, you might not know that blackboards are passé. These days, various versions of marker boards…
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What if it weren’t true?
Remember Emily Dickinson from your high school English classes? The one who heard a Fly buzz- when she died? The one who could not stop for Death, so he kindly stopped for her? What if she hadn’t been so eccentric, as teachers have painted her in countless classrooms? What if, instead, she’d been a gifted…
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I’ll admit it; I’m a snob
It’s back to school time! Surely, you’ve noticed. Parents and caregivers navigate the seasonal aisles of their favorite department store, list in hand, squinting at packages as they try to find the proper-sized ruled paper and colored binders. Teachers elbow out other customers as they overload their shopping carts with composition books, multi-packs of scissors,…
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What comes after the to-do list?
A journey to redefine retirement How would you define “to do?” There’s nothing particularly hard about the question. Especially if you’re a “doer“ like me. It means to get things accomplished. To stay busy. To work. Since my early days in college when I worked thirty hours a week teaching kids and adults how to…
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When doing the right thing kicks your butt
Giving blood was always a thing for some of my family. My grandpa belonged to the hundred gallon club. My mom did, too. Okay, my brother says it couldn’t possibly be a “hundred gallons.” Ten gallons maybe? Every chance they had, they went to Ball Memorial Hospital in our hometown to give blood. Following suit,…
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