I have this friend. She’s the sort of person who, when I refer to her as friend it isn’t the way I say it with almost anyone else. I have light in my eyes and a smile is always waiting to burst out. She’s one of those people who I would choose to put in… Continue reading L(egg)s
They say people are defined by how they respond in the worst of times. The news I got this week definitely qualifies for the worst of times. I continue to be semi-unemployed and did not land a teaching job with the district in which I live. The only district that I saw job openings for.… Continue reading I didn’t respond well
When did “shaming” become something that people did to others they do not know? I understand that there has been some sort of this happening for centuries. I know that there have been instances of adultery and people making horrible mistakes in the workplace and situations of that nature when one or more people would… Continue reading Such a shame
I’ve wasted a lot of energy lately beating myself up over the things I don’t do well. Because of my personal predilections I have managed to perseverate on many of my less desirable qualities in order to try and reason out why things aren’t going the way I want them to. This is not only… Continue reading Tell me somethin’ good
The first time I remember thinking that life and movies really are connected is when I saw a tired old plot device happen to me. It was some time right after college, when I ran into someone I had a crush on while I was a student. We chatted and I bravely told him that… Continue reading The movie of my life
When you are faced with a frustrating, scary, overwhelming, or out of control situation, where does your mind go? I’m one of those people who handles urgent emergencies with calm and focus in the immediate and then, when it’s all over, I get shaky and scared. I’m a lot different when the situation is drawn… Continue reading Where does your mind go?
I’ve talked before about how I am a fan of the Love and Logic parenting and teaching model. This has given me a lot of tools and phrases to use in difficult situations with kids. The most powerful two are pretty simple, and they are “Bummer!” and “Would you like to hear what some other… Continue reading What would you like to do?
Being partly unemployed doesn’t suit me well. When I was busy I always wanted to have nothing to do, and now it’s just the opposite. I think it’s got a lot to do with the fact that when I was “finished” at work, there was always still a list of things that needed to be… Continue reading Finding my bliss
I really don’t like the “everyone gets a ribbon” mentality that has begun to permeate our dealings with children. There’s a whole culture around this idea that showing up is the equivalent of winning and it really drives me nuts. There are kids who win and kids who lose, just as there are adults who… Continue reading My hypocrisy
Let me start off by saying that we don’t have a home phone. Husband and I each have cell phones and Daughter has the ability to text on her touch device. At age nine she does not have her own phone, but it isn’t necessarily because we don’t think she should. You see, nine years… Continue reading Grown up peer pressure
Elephants in the Room 