One fall, my roommate and I got in a doozy of an argument about . . . Daylight vs. Standard Time. He was going hiking the day the clocks turned back. I warned him that the sun would go down an hour earlier, so he…
For those of you (all right, most of you) who are too young to experience the joy of sleep training an infant – it’s tough, but so necessary. For those not in the know, babies wake up during the night. A lot. Sleep training is…
Last month, my doctor prescribed a medication that I am supposed to take just before bed every night. I took it the first night and promptly forgot to take the medication for the next 2 nights. Then I would remember for a day or two…
When I was teaching, at least one kid a day was missing something – a bookbag, notebook, or even something to write with. When I asked why, the answer was usually that they woke up late and forgot their things at home. I get it.…
I’ve taught a lot of organizationally-challenged kids, but Tommy* takes the cake. He had no form of organization that I could see. He asked for a pencil each and every class period. Oh, and he also needed a piece of paper to take notes. He…
When I was in school, it never occurred to me to personalize my supplies. The only personalized thing I ever had was my paper bag book covers. Yes, that was a thing. Other than that, I had the same yellow pencils, green scissors, and binders…
I was ready to head back for my senior year of college, when it finally happened. My backpack broke. This had been my backpack for all of high school and the first 3 years of college. It had held textbooks, notebooks, gym uniforms, and so…
Every summer break I had great plans. I was going to work out every day, paint my condo, read all those teaching books I meant to read, travel to new places, plan the first month of the school year. Oh yeah, and sleep. When summer…
When I was teaching, my goal was to only have 2 crying kids per semester. I’m a sympathetic crier, so it gets awkward real quick. 😭 But when I started teaching seniors, the number of cryers increased. I needed more tissues. The stakes were high…
My mom grew up in Chicago, IL. It’s not called the “Windy City” for nothing. Located right off of Lake Michigan, the wind blew coal dust and dirt into her family’s house all winter long. She remembers having to spring clean the house from top…