Hard to imagine our ancestors thinking, “How dare we give women the right to vote? Hard to imagine brains who were shocked and awed by this appalling concept. Hard to imagine there was a time when people fought hard to prevent women from voting. Not just a few people either– the majority of folks in… Continue reading August 26, 1920: Giving Women the Right to Vote? How Dare you!
As I’ve officially returned to school this week for professional development, I await the arrival of my students one week from today. Sitting in meetings with colleagues, my eyes often turn to wonder outside the window, and I remember our hiking experiences this summer with our girls. Why is it that writing comes so much… Continue reading “Dear Mary from Birmingham” Letters: Batch 4
Coming up tomorrow is the two year anniversary of the tragic car accident which took the life of this sweet, smart, and beautiful little lady long before her time. Leah Rondon, the daughter of an old friend from grade school, Colleen McGrath Rondon, and her husband Henry, has captured my heart if only from photographs,… Continue reading To Practice the Goodness…
Recently, our six-year-old daughter asked if other daddies might be sad if they couldn’t slingshot. Perplexed, I thought she meant using an actual slingshot as in caveman style sling and rock to kill an animal. I think I said something like, “Well, not all people like to hunt.” She gave me a funny look because… Continue reading August 15, 2017 Christopher and Dana Reeve Blog: “What about the daddies who can’t slingshot?”
So, as a teacher in a small town, I generally tread carefully with social media, trying to model for my high school students the power of words– when to use our strongest language and when we should just listen. This is one of those times when helping our kiddos to articulate what makes them… Continue reading Thinking of You, Charlottesville, With Both Hope and Humanity
Here are some more strong letters in defense of our challenging White Mountain trails: Dear Mary Altz-Smith, My friends and I frequently hike in the White Mountains during the summer. Today, we hiked Indian Head on June 20 with my summer hiking group, Girls of Summer. We are a strong group of girls who… Continue reading “Dear Mary from Birmingham” Letters: Batch 3
I took my little girl to see Annie the Musical last night at Jean’s Playhouse in Lincoln, NH. Actually, my parents took us; the theater was jam packed, and we were wowed by everything: Annie and the orphans, Sandy, (played by the beloved pet of our local second grade teacher and his wife), Ms. Hannigan,… Continue reading Remembering Why We Love Orphan Annie and her Sunshine
A continued conversation of our response letters from Girls of Summer: Dear Mrs. Mary Altz-Smith, The letter that the you wrote to The Union Leader was very disappointing. You obviously have never been in the in the real outdoors of New Hampshire. Have you ever been on an actual hike before coming to our challenging… Continue reading “Dear Mary from Birmingham” Letters: Batch 2
For the record, for all of you judging the safety represented in this photo, this Boston Whaler containing my family is within the legal weight limit, and our son, in the green sweatshirt, is wearing his lifejacket beneath his sweatshirt. We are away on vacation visiting my brother and his family on Martha’s Vineyard, and… Continue reading When Making Family Memories Takes Years Off Our Lives in Only the BEST Ways…
When having a conversation with anyone– with or without a spinal cord injury– we garner information about their attitude, sense of grit, and/or capacity for resiliency within a few minutes. I’ve become slightly obsessed with this concept of GRIT reading many articles over the past few years identifying grit as one of the qualifying characteristics… Continue reading July 27 Christopher and Dana Reeve Blog: Grit, Resiliency , and Resolve
Heather Ehrman Krill: The "Write" Kind of Coach 