When something inexplicably evil happens, we often want to look around and blame someone. It’s what allows us to look in the mirror before we go to sleep at night, and say, “How could they?” instead of “How could we?” Blame is the vehicle we use to remove ourselves from the equation- to remove any…
Read more Notes from a Principal the Day After Violence in Another School
We spent the weekend watching our kids play basketball. There were close games with lessons on winning and losing and playing as a team- how to rally when you think it’s impossible and how to keep your emotions in check when under pressure. But this is not about any of that. This is about the…
Yesterday was our 21st Valentine’s Day together. The kids were off of school, and my husband had to work. The morning started more slowly than others, as there was no need to get the kids up and ready for school. But, the typical morning shuffle was present- with heart-shaped pancakes, and taking the dog to…
Read more To My Husband the day After Valentine’s Day: Thanks for Waiting
When I started this blog, I was in a messy and challenging transition from a full-time career as a Principal to a full-time stay-at-home-mom. I say it was messy, because as deeply rooted in the passion and purpose of my career, I felt distracted, disconnected, and numb to almost everything else. I simply existed and…
It’s the January doldrums and I feeling it. But I have to tell you, this kid and I had the BEST weekend together. Yes- the basketball games were fun, and being in the city was a little thrill for him, but I love what I was reminded of during our RARE solo time together. Here’s…
Several years ago, a close confident and I were on the phone. I was rushing around trying to clean-up the kitchen before I needed to get the kids from school and wiping the brownie ingredients still scattered on the kitchen counter. The pan made a clinking noise as I pulled it out of the oven-…
I have always felt like I’ve really known myself. The shiny parts, and the dull parts. The things that make me giddy and alive, and the parts that leave me quiet. I have always felt like I have really known myself… and did my best not to be too human. Being human was for other…
I have to admit that when I stood in our kitchen, with tears in my eyes, watching the destruction in our beloved nation’s capitol, my first instinct was to hide my face from my kids. We openly discuss our feelings- sometimes probably to a fault. But this was different. This explanation was something more than…
Every time my heart feels unsettled, I wrestle with that feeling until I figure out why this was given to me, and what I am supposed to learn from the feelings. Sometimes I do this in a hurry-one emotion giving way to the next- and sometimes it’s achingly slow. It’s A steady march to a…
Post 9/11 America was something to behold. As the nation grappled with grief, disbelief, and newfound fragility, I remember a wave of pride, mingling with my fear. I remember hanging the flag we rushed to buy and put in our dorm window, and the sounds of “Proud to Be an American” echoing through the courtyard…
