Today I helped Daughter get into her warm clothes to go to the local arboretum and see the wonderfully carved pumpkins on display. As she was getting ready to walk out into the chilly night air with her friend’s family, I did the usual Mom things. I made sure she would be warm enough. I… Continue reading Part of the problem 

There have been a lot of people in my life who have shown me that I have things to be thankful for lately. I’d like to indulge myself a tiny bit today and say thank you to them… To the acquaintance who introduced me to a colleague and said, “Have you met Liz? You should. She’s… Continue reading Seeing the good again

I was lying in bed this morning thinking to myself that I needed to write a post because it was Wednesday morning. I was calling myself lazy for not completing the post ahead of time, and then I wondered, is it really lazy? It isn’t! It’s having a different set of priorities. It’s making sure… Continue reading Lazy, but that’s how it goes

I went to see a new doctor the other day. I had some general health issues to talk about and was feeling a bit sick, so I decided it was time to find a physician to care for me in the long term. She came into the room and started asking questions and chatting to… Continue reading Thank you 

Almost my whole life as a parent was also spent as a teacher, so back to school time was a melancholy mix of emotions. Not only would Daughter be heading back, but it would be time for me to work again. As much as I loved my job, I would always be a little sad… Continue reading I get it now

Yesterday was one of those days when everything seemed to go wrong. My “I’m sort of sick” that I had been dealing with for almost a week became “Oh man, I’m actually really sick” all of a sudden, Husband wound up being all dedicated and conscientious in his job and got home super late, my first… Continue reading This cigar is a cigar

In my job, I have to work hard to reward the student in my online classes. That means that I have to come up with rewards that they find motivating without actually being anything that they can touch and use. The company has some up with a system of stars to be awarded throughout the lesson.… Continue reading Stars and whistles

Elephants is on a brief vacation and will return on Monday. Happy summer, everyone! 

It’s been almost a whole year since our big move and that’s led me to do some reflecting on the changes I’ve seen in the past 11.6 months. I’ve asked myself a lot lately what I miss about my old life. I didn’t allow myself to really think about that for quite a while. It… Continue reading What I miss and what I don’t