I’m an extremely sentimental person, especially about people. Someone recently asked, “Do you collect people?” Why yes, yes I do. If you and I have had any remotely significant relationship at any point in my life for any length of time, you are a piece of me. For better or for worse. Regardless the state … Read more
Spring has sprung here in the Valley of the Sun, bringing flowers, leaves, bugs, weeds, snakes… The trees growing new leaves highlights an issue we have with specific plants here—they have dead branches from the winter. Some trees that grow well here aren’t frost-tolerant, and after an especially cold winter, it’s common to see trees … Read more
From my Facebook memories: Aaaaaand another assessment tool that requires written student work as “evidence.” *sigh* I was an elementary band teacher, and while some knowledge of how notation works can be assessed using traditional paper-pencil tests, “before and after” student work is what we hear. My job was to teach them to play, to … Read more
Today’s writing offers you a nudge to put yourself out there a bit if you have some ideas or some work and you’re afraid to share it. You never know what people will like. Some of the things I have worked the hardest on have received no response. Some of the things I’ve dashed off … Read more
A note I made from an email I received maybe a year ago: “To be mean seems exhausting.” Jedidiah Jenkins (I just went and looked him up, because I didn’t know who he was/who I was quoting, and he seems pretty neat. His TEDx talk was interesting to listen to.) “Mean” is rooted in fear, … Read more
I was reminded of an anecdote from college. I was walking across campus late one afternoon, getting dark, and it was snowing. Snow was sticking but hadn’t accumulated much yet, maybe half an inch, if that. My walk to the music building took me past a very small parking lot where there was a woman … Read more
In the Before Times, we went to Burst of Butterflies more often than you might expect people to go to a pottery-painting place. It was a family-run business in the city I worked in, and they opened a satellite location closer to home (and easier to park) than the original place. We painted canvases. We … Read more
I recently read a short piece about moving through life and healing, changing, growing as you go, and just because you’ve changed doesn’t mean others owe it to you to be part of your life again. This stirred up a variety of thoughts and emotions, primarily: I’m deeply sad about this from one perspective and … Read more
I’m pretty much always in search of means of connecting with people, and when I heard this one, I knew I had to steal it. You can steal it, too. It’s a 20-minute visit. A 20-minute phone call. (Phone-phobic people, hold on—hear me out!) A friend can call and say they’re just calling for a … Read more
In yesterday’s episode of Ordinary Chaos, Chris talked about wanting his writing to make a difference to people, whether he made money on it or not. He’s not alone in this wish. I took the mic for a moment to tell listeners—and now I’m telling you, readers—if you are consuming content made by someone else … Read more