When The Tall Daddy and I split up, I moved out in January and was in a really bad position financially until August, after I had gotten one or two paychecks. The following is something I wrote at the time. I have edited it slightly, just to take out or clarify references to things that … Read more
The other day, I wrote about contributing to my school community. Another great thing happened in that little piece of the day. I’ve been struggling with many of my classes. Without getting into too many details, my classes are not your typical elementary band classes, because that approach hasn’t worked with the populations I teach. … Read more
I wrote the other day about how I believe it’s prudent to be mindful about what we purchase, use, eat, drink because of negative health implications. It’s easy to be overwhelmed because there are so many carcinogens (and that says nothing of all of the crap that’s causing other adverse effects.) So if we know … Read more
This post started as just a Facebook post and flowed very earnestly. It reached a length and depth where I decided to make it a blog post. I was very excited to post it until I got near the end, at which point it felt like useless prattling on. I decided that the feeling was … Read more
Four years ago, I wrote a post on Facebook about cancer prevention. It’s full of frustration. Wrapped up with the frustration—though not so evident in the writing—is a solid dollop of “I get it.” A month ago, I lost a good friend to cancer. In the month since then, I’ve learned about three more diagnoses … Read more
For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Clearly Newton was not in the social sciences. I saw a bumper sticker: Keep talking, I’m reloading Besides poor punctuation… What makes one an acceptable response to the other?! I’m completely flabbergasted by transgressions, real or perceived, that some people regard as sufficient to shoot … Read more
The sunsets in Arizona are pretty consistently amazing. When I lived back east, there was occasionally a sunset that really made you stop and just take it in, but here, it happens regularly. Almost daily. After living here for almost 16 years, I’ve not tired of it. I’m sure the photo I used for this … Read more
Treat others the way you want to be treated. We get stuck in the details. “Well, I like pedicures, but if the person I gift one to doesn’t like pedicures, then they’re not happy even though I treated them how I would like to be treated!” That’s not what it means. We want to be … Read more
A while back, I was at a going-away party at a school. There were sandwiches, chips, etc. set out cafeteria-style, and some of the lunch ladies were helping distribute it. lunch lady: Do you want some chips? me: No thank you. LL: It’s OK to cheat. me: It’s not cheating. LL: You’re on a diet. … Read more
I’ve been somewhat fascinated with my hands lately. I have callouses from rock climbing. I love my climbing callouses, which seems odd, but I think they’re just a reminder that I have time and ability to do something I enjoy doing on a regular basis. And maybe a splash of the badass feeling I had … Read more