The silence between the notes

Dance isn't easy.  It's not easy to push your body close to its limits day after day. It's not easy to keep practicing at home when no one else is watching. It's not easy to force a smile or a scowl or a surprised look when all you feel like is being alone or asleep or with friends who don't dance.  But dance is so worth it. Because you learn how to push your body safely to create new limits. And how to pull a long-lost emotion from deep down, so that you can share it with others who need it even more than you do. You learn how to depend on others with your whole being, and how to give your all so they can literally put their trust in you. You learn how to open your mind and your body to combinations you might not have chosen for yourself. How to overcome obstacles that you once thought would overcome you. How to become a part of something bigger.  And you learn that dance was never about the performance in the first place. The performance is only the proof of the p...

Poems are a lot like dreams. No.  Poems are a lot like nightmares.  Until you've been broken by one,  You'll never understand how deeply  It can sting, burn, and glow.  And you'll never understand the scars left behind By nightmares and poems.  Beautifully unique scars.  Uniquely hideous scars.  Nightmares are like poems.  For a time, you live inside them, Surrounded by their reality, For better or for worse, Fighting against the sting, Or giving into the burn, Or basking in the glow Of their truths. And their lies.  Until you wake up one day and realize  No one else sees them, or cares.  Nightmares are a lot like poems.  When it's too dark to find your way out. 

One month after my sleep study and here's what I've learned: Sleep really is about quality not quantity!  If YOU also struggle with a potential sleep disorder, I strongly encourage you to ask your doctor about a sleep study. Yes, it's almost impossible to get a "normal" night's sleep with all those wires pasted to your body, but the doctors are still able to interpret the results in a way that sheds light on your situation. So far, here are the most important things I've learned about my sleep struggles: 1) I wake up about every 2.5 minutes, or over 130 times in a 5 hour sleep. Even though most of these are for less than 15 seconds at a time, that's still enough disruption to keep my body from actually resting and healing like it should.   2) I reach REM sleep about 30 minutes later than most people, and then my nightmares begin. About 4 times per night.  3)  Alpha wave intrusion also means my brain starts acting like it's awake when...

Since my new job involves a LOT of driving, I've recently found myself reflecting on the strangely satisfying things that happen when you spend too much time in the car.  1) When the tempo of the song lines up with the tempo of your turn signal.  2) When the guy who cut you off a mile ago gets stuck in a slow lane and you casually pass him by.  3) When two or three cars pull out of adjacent streets or parking lots at the exact same moment. (Like in a spy movie!) 4) Trying out a hidden back road or shortcut...and making it out alive! 5) Finally knowing a new route well enough that you don't need to use MapQuest anymore.  6) Actually taking a moment (or twenty) to notice the changing autumn landscape as you drive by.  7) A great excuse to try lots of different restaurants and coffee stands as you drive between locations.  8) Getting to say "yeah, I've been there" when someone mentions an obscure location.  9) When you park at your destination and the son...

After seeing how hard the SEA and our local employees fought for improvements all summer long, and now seeing that changes still haven't been made by the time school is starting, I feel inspired to voice my concerns as well. I've served in a variety of positions as an educator for over 15 years: Express activity leader, substitute, classroom teacher, coach, mentor teacher for arts programs, college instructor...I feel blessed to have experienced education from many different angles and to have worked alongside some wonderful people. None of these jobs are easy. All of them require more hours than what people assume. One particular position I held was only paid for three months out of each year, and every year, I was told the pay would surely improve the following year…It was only after 8 years that I finally started getting paid for all ten months of that position. Sadly, broken promises and lack of support have become more widespread in recent years. And they seem to be perpet...