I know I’m a minute late for traditional New Year’s Resolutions, but if it’s a good idea on January 1, it’s a good idea on January 19 or March 23 or July 9. It’s a part of that “examined life” I like to talk about. I kinda have a problem with the word “resolution” anyway. To resolve something is to finish it. If I resolve to stop drinking diet soda, and I slip on January 19 and drink a delicious…
When I was a little girl, I wanted to grow up to be a princess. Or a mermaid. That was my dream. It didn’t come true; I guess now it never will. Some of our dreams are unrealistic, far-fetched, or ill-informed. Later in childhood, when I reached third grade, I decided I wanted to grow up to be a teacher. Mrs. Mabel Howard created a warm, interesting world in her classroom, and I knew I wanted to live in that…
“The unexamined life is not worth living.” At the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020, I am drawn to the examination of my own life. In fact, 2019 goes down as my all-time Best Year Ever. I can’t imagine how any year could surpass 2019 for me (although it’s fine if 2020 wants to try!) I’ll explain it in a six-word story: Thank you, AncestryDNA. I’ve been found! The beautiful baby girl that I gave up for adoption…
Students are “supposed to” dread the beginning of school. This is a part of the American culture, like baseball and apple pie. But I’m not buying it. I don’t think most children have wonderful summers. I think mostly they’re bored. I know there are lots of families who go on grand vacations and do picnics every week and all that. But I suspect the majority of our kids are sitting at home, bored out of their minds. Many parents get…
I never slept the night before school started. Not as a student; not as a teacher. I was too excited. The beginning of a brand-new school year stretched before me, magical and unknown. What treasures would the next nine months hold? What rewards, what fun? Teaching was my calling. I was put here to teach. I realized that in third grade, in Muscogee County Elementary School, in Columbus, Georgia, in the classroom of Mrs. Mabel Howard. She loved children and…
I finally figured it out. The real reason I weigh So Much. It’s my perennial allergy to bites from Evil Plants. I’ve had the itchy, blotchy agony of the sinister Leaves of Three probably a dozen times in my life. I’ve pretty much learned to recognize it from a thousand feet away. I like to replicate that last scene in Invasion of the Body Snatchers when I see it, pointing and screaming loudly. And I’m happy to say that I…
My sis and I took a road trip a couple of weeks ago. The impetus was her granddaughter’s high school graduation, but we took the occasion to revisit several places and people we’ve known over the years. One such place was the small brick home we lived in in Columbus, Georgia. The area was probably a modern development when we lived there, built for the great influx of babies in the post-World War II boom, when, so happy that the…
“We must all suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret and disappointment.” Jim Rohn You know how sometimes you can hear the same words for a hundred years and not be impressed at all, and then one day, for some reason, they hit you in the head like an anvil? That’s what this Jim Rohn quote did to me when I found it in an online course I’m taking. It’s a lesson that…
DISCLAIMER: She wasn’t awful every minute. There were good days and good times. She taught me a lot and we had several common interests. I didn’t live in Hell. One day I’ll feel led to write about the good parts of having her for my Mother. But for whatever reason, tonight I’m sad and empty, thinking of her. I remember being afraid of her, when I was little. I don’t have many very early memories, but I remember one night,…
They say that coffee is good for you. It can add years to your life. No, they say that coffee causes all kinds of health problems. They say a dog’s mouth is cleaner than a human’s, so you should let them lick your face and clean your wounds. No, they say a dog’s mouth is terribly nasty; how could it not be? They lick their butts. I have finally figured out who the biggest liar in the world is. It’s…