When we read our friend Danny Bourassa’s obituary today to our children, our 10 year son asked with full sincerity, “Does this mean we should keep feeding Danny’s chipmunks?” We laughed and said no; Danny’s chipmunks were fully independent feeders now. But a few weeks into our “Stay at Home” orders, I discovered, while raking,… Continue reading Spring Days Thinking of Daffodils and Danny Bourassa…
Maybe you are a senior perched on the edge of everything. Maybe you have a senior at home just trying to make the best of a crappy situation to finish this last year of high school from their bedroom or your kitchen table thanks to COVID-19, social distancing, and remote learning. Maybe your work… Continue reading For the Class of 2020, Those Who Love Them, Teach Them, and Learn From Them…
Recently, I took our daughter to see Annie with a group of local female mentors and the young women they mentor. This Annie was amazing, and the production at Plymouth State University included 125 actors and actresses ranging in age from 8-80 and included very professional as well as community theater participants. This version included Franklin Delano Roosevelt from… Continue reading Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation Blog, March 13, 2020: “When We Least Expect It”
Hello World, I’m a teacher without a classroom, which made me cry packing up yesterday. It’s not the first time I’ve cried this week, and likely won’t be the last, now a homeschooling mom of a third and fourth grader trying to teach high school English remotely. Earlier in the week, a male friend, not… Continue reading Letter from Just One Teacher in Just One Place
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 we reflect on our blessings this year, at a time when people and places around us are suffering unparalleled grief, loss and tragedy, it’s important to think about the connections that remain in humanity. The other day while walking the dog, I found myself getting irrationally angry about people littering in front of the… Continue reading Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation Blog: “Thanksgiving, Kindness, Second Helpings, and Helpers,” November 26, 2019
A scientist friend recently remarked on the foliage as having an understory and an overstory. These terms had been unknown to me at the time, despite being a next door neighbor to National Forest for the last 20 years. Yet, I have not been able to stop thinking how an understory perfectly defines the forest,… Continue reading Why the “Understory” of Growing Up is Essential and Why We Need to Listen
The word on our local streets, even before we had confirmed the decision in our hearts, is that we would be moving from our condo to a stand alone home, one that has already been made accessible, a dream come true for our family. However, as we packed up and purged our possessions , cleaned… Continue reading Packing Up the Place Where We First Became a Family
Despite my kid swimming all day long, his feet were still disgusting at bed time- the shiny dirt ground in deep. But his teeth were clean, and, even more importantly, he had an awesome, active day and happily crashed into sleep before the sun went down. Why is the dirt on the bottoms of one’s… Continue reading For the Love of Dirty, Summer Feet
“I can’t believe it’s happening,” overhead in the back seat by a friend’s kid. “What’s happening?” I inquire, honestly believing we are talking about an upcoming test or someone’s behavior or an eagerly anticipated event over the weekend. “Puberty is happening. Well, it isn’t exactly happening at this minute, but it’s going to. What I… Continue reading Growing Up is Hard: Just ask April Flowers and Teenagers
Heather Ehrman Krill: The "Write" Kind of Coach 