Once a sweeper on my soccer team, I am now the sweeper of the woods for our Girls of Summer crew, 16 summers deep. The sweeper position is the last woman back, the last line of defense before the goalkeeper, or in this case in the woods, the one who makes sure no one gets… Continue reading What We Learn from the Back of the Pack
When you are 8 and supposedly have the “oldest parents in the third grade,” you argue that at 16 you won’t have to share a car with your sibling like your parents did with their siblings because, well, your parents are old enough that they will be in a nursing home by the time you… Continue reading When You Have the Oldest Parents in the Third Grade…
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…
Dear President Trump, If I wanted to carry a gun, pistol, rifle, firearm of any kind, I would have joined a different profession. I would have pursued a military career or that of a policeman, security guard, or secret service agent. I could have been many things, but I chose to be a teacher. The… Continue reading President Trump: This is What I Will be Armed With in my Classroom
Tomorrow, a soccer team of girls I truly love mostly because of time spent in my classroom will play in the rain against another talented team of girls, probably equally adored by other people, families and teachers. Our team won their first round last week also in the rain in penalty kicks after two ten… Continue reading On Pumpkins, Play-offs, and Potential
Tomorrow, this bulletin board will greet my students on our first day of school. No matter how many years into this teaching gig I get, I’m still an excited school girl the night before. Change. Transition. Adolescence. Friendship. Work ethic. Big dreams. Little dreams. Balancing what we love with what we must do. Finding our… Continue reading On the Night Before School Begins, Our Last Batch of “Dear Mary from Birmingham” Letters
One of my favorite American novels is The Things We Carried by Tim O’Brien. In the first chapter, he writes about what they carry in their packs. Today, while hiking we teased one young lady for packing an entire jumbo box of goldfish in her pack along with a pudding cup, not her best choice… Continue reading The Weight We Carry
The above car is my dad’s, and he’s having a hard time letting go of her, despite not really driving this former beauty since I was a teenager. Now this rusty impersonator of a bygone era goes into storage at Arnold’s Antiques and Collectibles around November and comes out again in April. Coincidentally this… Continue reading Our Power to Attach and Release
Dear Daughter: Today, we visited the pediatrician for your “well child visit.” When she asked what kind of books you liked to read, I expected you to say Fancy Nancy or Junie B. Jones as that is what we are reading together. But no, you quietly responded, “Fiction,” as if being interviewed by The Yorker… Continue reading For a Daughter, Age 6
Dear Caryn, When I think about the role you have played in my history as a teacher here at Lin-Wood, along with that of our many colleagues, I am truly humbled by your wealth of experience, fortitude, and compassion. You have been a highly educated and dedicated mother hen to more than just your students. … Continue reading For the Love of Learning: Thank You Caryn Shamey for Your Lin-Wood Years
Heather Ehrman Krill 