Is it a lost tradition? — With the holiday season upon us, it is safe to say that this is one of the busiest times of the year. We are shopping, baking, decorating and planning. One of the tasks associated with the Christmas season that I most enjoy is sending Christmas cards. …

How would one even cook without it? — Is there anything more glorious than bacon grease? How does one even begin to cook without it? This morning on Twitter, writer Elizabeth Bruenig was explaining to her followers how she uses bacon grease, and she even shared a delicious looking pan of roasted cashews. It surprised me when she…

Didn’t we learn anything from Fahrenheit 451? — Haven’t we resolved the issue of censorship and book banning already? Why must we continue to fight this same battle over and over and over again? In yet another book challenge, this time one of our local school districts must respond to a parental challenge to a novel on the…

What are you listening to? — Y’all…I’m so late to this party it is just embarrassing. I am going to need a little help from those of you that listen to podcasts, but first, let me explain. I am hard-pressed to think of a term that better illustrates the rapid advancement in personal technology in the…

What do I do now? One morning last week as I was walking through the grocery store, the store manager passed me in one of the aisles, stopped, and asked my name. “I see you in here almost every day, so I thought I ought to know your name,” he…

Creating evidence that you were here and that your life mattered When I retired from the classroom this past spring, one of the things people told me was that “it will take a while” for retirement to sink in. I have found this to be true in a qualified way…

It is going to be okay. — As a teacher and as a grandparent of an elementary aged child in public school, I understand the anxiety about opening schools. But I want to reassure you; it is going to be just fine. For the 2020–21 school year, my school district opened August on an A/B hybrid schedule…

An age-old question with a surprising answer. My son asked me this morning, “If you had a superpower, what would it be?” He said he thought I would choose flight, but no. I’m afraid of heights so that would not be it. I told him I’d give it some thought. …

My answer to this question is evolving How do you answer the question when people ask, “How does it feel to be retired?” What is the right answer to that? I retired from the classroom in May at the end of this school year. So, for me, when people ask…