Dear Neighbor, It has come to our attention that you complained to our Association about our yard. To our knowledge, we are living within the guidelines of the bylaws and keep a tidy place, most of the time; but July 4th weekend is a different story. We had a family style AFTERNOON barbecue, and there… Continue reading For Our Grumpy Neighbor Who Complained about Too Much “Going On” in Our Yard…
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about personal independence and how it means different things for different people. We’ve crossed this incredible turning point in our parenting development with Geoff being able to take our kids places alone without the threat of one of them running away or getting some place “inaccessible”where he might not… Continue reading Thinking about Independence on Independence Day…
When I heard about the passing of legendary great Pat Summit, the most winningest coach in the history of the NCAA, I reflected first on her courage as a human being thwarted by a devastating illness; I obviously did not know her on a personal level, but I remember watching and learning from her tenacity… Continue reading Pat Summit: A Model for Grit and Resiliency
The best story from our “Let’s See How Accessible National Parks Are” trip is the one Geoff likes to tell about how I left him for dead on a hike in Yellowstone when a bison entered the trail we were on about 20 yards away. This was the trip that was supposed to prove we… Continue reading 10 Years in the Making: Our National Park Road Trip the Year BEFORE We Married…
The above black and white picture of my dad in the sweet aviator shades of 1982, perhaps, is one of my favorite pictures of us for a variety of reasons. A giant blow up version leftover from his 60th birthday party hangs on my classroom door and students comment regularly on it– about how “badass”… Continue reading Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads, “Stand- in” Dads, Uncle- Dads, and Dads in Heaven
Between the college student who raped the young woman and hasn’t taken responsibility for his actions and the open season hate crimes on the LGBT crowd at Pulse, a gay dance club in Orlando, I am sad. This kind of senseless violence has left me feeling like I need to arm myself with more information… Continue reading The Violence Against Humanity is Killing Me
This blog about addiction and recovery has been brewing for months actually. But most recently, I have run into former students of mine in various spots around town who are in different steps in the process of recovery–whether it be from alcohol, prescription pain meds, or even heroin. These were great kids in high school,… Continue reading More Support Needed for Recovery in our Hometowns
There is no doubt that we are giving this parenting gig our best effort; however, in those moments when we realize just how badly a situation could have turned out, we shake our heads in disbelief at how we could have been so stupid. See the kids in this picture, smiling, wearing protective head gear,… Continue reading Parenting: Risk Taking and Mistake Making
Fred and Ginger we are not. But we have been known to bust out our collective dance moves at weddings, and Geoff carries his skills on the national and international stage as a professional skier–and, yes, sometimes Geoff wheels over my toes or I spin him too hard into innocent bystanders. And we are… Continue reading Disability and Dancing with the Stars
This one right here. This one with spunky, waterlogged, blond pigtails, wet from swimming, giant blue eyes inherited from her flirty father, and her perfect white chiclet teeth. Yes her. She is headed to kindergarten this fall, following on the short heels of her brother. She is ready. I am ready. She asked the… Continue reading How Heading to Kindergarten is a Little Like Leaving for College…Only Different
Heather Ehrman Krill: The "Write" Kind of Coach 