We play with wheelchairs– for fun. That’s how we roll here in Alpine Village, especially when a gently used one is dropped off as a donation for Eastern Adaptive Sports. Some people leave handmedown clothes in bags; we are left handmedown wheelchairs because when people need them, they need them. They are often challenging, time… Continue reading Universal Design: All for One and One for All
Our newly turned 7 year old was saying shit on the playground at school, and by “shit” I don’t mean stuff; I mean, he actually yelled the word “shit” from the top of a snowbank on the playground, prompting me to write my first crazy mom email as a public school teacher in the same… Continue reading When Your Own Kid Says Shit at School
Dear Barron, Kiddo, in many ways, it must be hard to be you right now. People probably expect you to be older than your ten years. Your dad just became President of the United States, which complicates every part of your life. Your mom is taking heat for wanting to let you finish the year… Continue reading An Open Letter to Barron Trump
Dear John, I’ve changed your name to protect your interests in case you were not ready for the entire world to know something so private and difficult to discuss even at home. Thank you for sharing with me, a woman you just met while visiting your school as a guest author. The time you spent… Continue reading A Different Kind of ‘Dear John’ Letter
This might be my new favorite picture of Greta and Geoff, not because he is standing at my Uncle Gordon’s standing bar– or because she is wearing her turtle fur neck-up as a hat–or because her hair, after 5.5 years of life is finally long enough to wear not one but two French braids, but… Continue reading Kissing 2016 Goodbye
Last week at the post office, Carver filled out a Selective Service card for the military without my noticing. But he proudly tucked the card with his name filled in the boxes and hid beneath his shirt until we got home. “Mom,” he exclaimed, “I’m going into the Army.” Suddenly, he was 18 or 22… Continue reading Thinking of Children and Veterans this Veterans’ Day…
Today, November 1st, is not only the Halloween Candy Hangover for schoolchildren everywhere; it’s also the deadline for some early college applications. I’ve had a lot of college essay reading this fall both from students and children of friends who know I’m an English teacher (Side note: it’s okay to send to me– love it,… Continue reading The College Essay: Clicking Send
The teachers at our elementary school have said to me on more than one occasion that if we believe 50% of what our kids tell us at home about their day, then they will believe 50% of what our kids tell them at school. There was the day Carver told Mrs. Rand that his only… Continue reading The 50% Rule
Sadly, this past weekend, a large chimney fire in our neighborhood destroyed two families’ homes, completely displacing two local teenagers and their dad. Upon returning to school on Monday, I could only give hugs. Incredibly mature and with tremendous perspective, the oldest, a senior, smiled and said, “Everyone got out safely, and we have a… Continue reading Fire in the Mountains
I use #hashtag technology sparingly, mostly because I find reading them really annoying as an English teacher. However, I’ve fully embraced three so far in my life as a marketing blogger; they include #endpianoviolence, #WeAreAllSportsFans, and now this one #YesToGirls, a recent push by the Malala Fund (www.malala.org) to remind presidents and prime ministers everywhere… Continue reading #YesToGirls: September 11, Fifteen Years Later
Heather Ehrman Krill: The "Write" Kind of Coach 