A few people have asked me about my remarks for my mother that I had the privilege to speak at her mass yesterday. Here they are, with one tiny edit. All but one of you won’t even notice… Thank you for coming to show your love and to honor Eileen Helen Crilly West, the greatest… Continue reading Words of remembrance
There’s a phrase that I learned early in my career that has proven helpful in many aspects of my life since. I remember someone talking about how the best thing you can do for a child is to “set them up for success,” and it has been my number one rule as a teacher. It’s… Continue reading Setting myself up
I am an over-sharer. You know that by now. I put a lot of my deepest, darkest thoughts and moments on the internet. Why? For me it’s therapy. Also, I want to have some random rich person discover my blog and decide to give me a book deal which will pay for Daughter’s college and… Continue reading No shame
I apologize. A lot. It’s one of those things that is apparently very common among women, especially those of my generation, it seems. Even more so of those with anxiety. I’m told all the time that I need to stop or that it’s not necessary. It’s even met with a slightly dismissive laugh from many,… Continue reading My apologies
I am a liar and I have been one for many, many years. Even worse, I have no shame and no regrets about how much of a liar I am. On April 1, 1980, my father died. He had been sick for a very long time and died from leukemia. I was four years and… Continue reading Liar Liar
I know it’s been a long time since I’ve written a post. Interestingly, I think the last time I wrote was probably in April and I believe what I shared was the eulogy for my mother. Lately, the day before her funeral has been running through my mind on repeat. I think I’ve finally figured… Continue reading Honk
Everybody has these days. For no real reason, you can’t sleep. You’re not particularly tired and there’s not really any purpose in staying in bed until your alarm. You get up and go about your morning. For me, instead of things around the house, I always find myself going in to work early. There’s always… Continue reading That’s what I miss.
Daughter has spent the last weeks preparing for her very first high school social event- homecoming. She’s shopped for a dress, talked makeup and hair, been all abuzz with her friends about how they’ll get to the dance and who they’ll hang out with. She did the parade and danced alongside the float for her… Continue reading What is happening to us?
I’ve discovered in the past few weeks that there are things I thought I’d never be able to do, but that that I can and did accomplish. There are things I never considered in my life, and some I can manage but some I cannot. And there are things I thought I could handle that… Continue reading There are things
Hello again, my loyal friends. It has been a very long while since I posted. I had this vision that the pandemic would have me introspective and posting all the time, or at least once a week. Boy was I wrong. So many people around me (yet far away) were super productive. While Husband was… Continue reading Tell Me Lies
Tonight I began a text which I then cut and pasted and began a post instead. Here’s what I was writing to my friend. I can’t sleep and I have no idea why I did, but I suddenly started thinking about you. I was remembering when I lived in Colorado and thoughts about how we… Continue reading I want to be remembered
Elephants in the Room 