The silence between the notes

Finally! Six days into “vacation”, and I finally accomplished a “morning off!” I  slept in, stayed in my pjs, and curled up with my coffee, kitty, puppy, and book just because I wanted to! In fact I just noticed that it’s almost 1PM and wondered if I should feel bad that I wasted my morning... On the other hand, my sisters would be proud that I'm finally sitting down with a book! They often made fun of me as being the English teacher who doesn't read. In my 13 years as an English teacher, I read PLENTY though! It's just that instead of the publications most of you were reading, I usually read journals, essays, and graphic organizers from 17 year olds. I don’t turn off my work mode easily; I usually keep working or at least thinking about work for days after the calendar says I’m off work. Truth be told, I still sent a handful of emails this morning before I started my book, because I knew those work-related conversations needed to move forward before next week. But I se

In my 15+ years as a teacher, I've never seen such fear for physical and emotional security as what I've seen this year ...and I’ve struggled to find the words to talk about it but I think it’s important that I try to share. In addition to the social-emotional support that teachers offer in an average year, I’ve had to council my high school and university students after 3 separate shootings that have forever changed the way they’ll view their world ; In the last month, I’ve also tried to support them through 2 threats that they suspected were aimed at our own high school. The last 1 was the day my dance team left for the State Championships and it was a frightening whirlwind of emotions for everyone. My main solace was getting on a bus with my students and driving away from the situation, but my students and I continued to worry about our school for the rest of the day. Although I’m glad my students all know that our dance class is a safe place, and that they get the cha

It seemed so simple. For my 10th birthday, I asked for my party colors to be pink , blue , and yellow —so there would be something for girls, boys, and anyone who didn’t like the color the color they were “supposed to like.” Lol. Because who says all girls have to like pink? Or all boys have to prefer blue?? Out of the mouth of babes, right?!  Just a few short 10...20...ish years later, I find that it's no longer so simple. As grown ups, we seem to have a lot of concrete ideas about what the people around us--including the children around us--do and wear and feel and express. But when...and why...did we start to think this was worth judging?? As people, we are so much more than pink or blue, or skirts or ties, or other people’s expectations of our identity! And that’s not meant as a new age idea or liberal agenda—I believe this idea can be completely independent from social or political propaganda. It’s simply about respect, and in some cases, about the willingness