When I told the almost 10 year old daughter of my best friend since sixth grade that we would not be using electronic devices in the car between her home in NY and Philadelphia, our road trip destination about 2.5 hours south, I felt her eye daggers pierce the back of my head.… Continue reading What We Learn from Road Trips
As a kid, we had a dog named Heidi, but we never walked her. She just walked herself wherever we went, sticking close by always, as we spent most every day outside playing in our yard or the woods behind our house. I do remember picking up a lot of dog poop as a kid,… Continue reading Since Becoming a Dog Walker…
When your otherwise coordinated husband falls out of his wheelchair not once but twice in one week, we know the world is extra topsy turvy. When it’s mid April and snow and freezing rain continue to fall angrily outside, I question Mother Nature’s decision making process. When bad things continue to happen to good people–… Continue reading Are You There God? It’s Me, Heather…
I’ve had the distinct honor and pleasure of teaching next door to Mr. Richard Baker, Rick to some, but Mr. Baker to most, for the last 15 years of his 38 years as a math educator here at Lin-Wood Public School. I’ve heard the clickety clack of his chalk on his chalkboard as he is… Continue reading The Man, the Myth, the Math Legend: Richard Baker Retires This Spring
When I set out to write a realistic fiction novel, True North, I knew one of my main characters would be a dad with a spinal cord injury who was a good man, with a dark secret in his past, and a fairly significant character flaw. As a high school English teacher for 20 years,… Continue reading Christopher and Dana Reeve Blog, March 26, 2018: “Tracking Our Character”
This morning, in front of my first period English class, one of my female students innocently asks if I was wearing a new shirt. “Sure am,” and I’m thinking she will tell me she likes it. And she does tell me, but not immediately. Instead she casually points out, “You still have the M sticker… Continue reading Dearest March: Please Send April
I had just finished up an adaptive ski lesson in a collaboration between Spaulding Ski Club, part of the Spaulding Adaptive Sports Center, an arm of the Spaulding Rehabilitation Center, and New England Disabled Sports of Loon Mountain. Geoff, my husband, is the Technical Director for Loon’s Snowsports School, but on this day, he was… Continue reading Christopher and Dana Reeve Blog, March 13, 2018: “Meredith Koch: Ending Piano Violence, Ted-Talking and Swimming her way to the 2020 Paralympics”
The snow fell steadily. Plows made loud noises around us. Yet, amid the noise, amid the shuffle of life, 70-something middle and high school students standing in a circle held 7 minutes of silence and then shared bios of the people who were lost in Parkland, Florida during a school shooting. This was a non-sanctioned,… Continue reading Why We Walked Out Today…
Today is International Women’s Day 2018, and I felt compelled to write something. Anything. However, nothing inspired me because, since Parkland happened, my brain has been cycling in this school safety- gun violence- rut. I couldn’t think of a specific person or angle or clever hook that would suck in my audience with a positive… Continue reading Channeling Mother Teresa for Character and Barbara Washburn for Adventure on This International Women’s Day 2018
Dear Mikaela, Lindsey, Stephanie, Laurie and/or any other Female U.S Olympic or Paralympic Alpine Ski Racer Willing to Pass Down Your GS Suit to a Six Year Old: Forgive the first name basis, Ms. Shiffrin, Ms. Vonn, Ms. Jallen, and Ms. Stephens. You see, the other day my daughter asked me to write you a… Continue reading Dear Mikaela, Lindsey, Stephanie, Laurie, and/or any other Female U.S. Olympic or Paralympic Alpine Ski Racer Willing to Pass Down Your GS Suit to a Six Year Old…
Heather Ehrman Krill: The "Write" Kind of Coach 