After 13 months, high school teachers in Chicago Public Schools finally returned to our buildings this past week. It was a rather unique, tumultuous start, where we returned to our physical classrooms on Monday and Tuesday to teach remotely and set up our classrooms for hybrid (with some schools hosting SAT exams on Tuesday), but […]
First Things First: A Vent About Feeling Old Here we go again. I take a mini retreat and don’t blog for 3 weeks, but when I return, everything is different. Yep, 6 months after forcing a new fangled way of creating blog posts–but keeping a Classic Editor function that we had the option of using […]
I’ve spent 7 years of my life so far living in areas that have plenty of experience dealing with multiple high and low intensity hurricanes. I lived on the island of Antigua from 1992-1994, one of the Leeward Islands of the Caribbean, a northeastern part of the Lesser Antilles chain, which has experienced numerous hurricanes […]
The past few weeks–and my last couple of blog posts–have been pretty heavy. However, today we are celebrating. It is a beautifully sunny morning and I am camped out on the front room chaise with jams playing in the background, my mom’s afghan keeping my feet warm, and Bleu keeping me company. I’m grateful that […]
This January has been an intense month, simply put, in my world. With all of the highs and lows, there has been a consistent middle ground feeling of ‘grey’ and ‘ugh’, a maddening frustration with this pandemic, and an almost overwhelming case of cabin fever. On top of everything else, my (self-diagnosed) Seasonal Affective Disorder […]
First up, let’s talk about the Inauguration! What a day! So wonderful to celebrate America’s first female Vice President, first African American Vice President, first Caribbean American Vice President and first Asian American Vice President! I wore my pearls on Wednesday while teaching in honor of Madame Vice President, Kamala Harris, and was able to […]
The quieter one. More reserved. My public high school experience was one of privilege. Granted I didn’t realize at the time just how lucky I was, but in comparison to where I have taught throughout my own teaching career, I recognize just how much we had back then in regards to resources–and amazing teachers. Many […]
This post was heading in a totally different direction at 1:00PM Central time this afternoon. I headed out the door to walk the dogs feeling content that my birthday was off to a very pleasant day. It was a partly sunny day–after a number of cranky grey days. My Facebook account was hopping with messages […]
I remember that a few times when I was a kid during our summers at the Cottage, my introverted side would kick in and I would need some space. I remember a few evenings grabbing my tackle box with its hooks, sinkers, and lures–the tools needed to fish–as well as a fishing rod and a […]
In the midst of world wide adversity, my Vanda orchid has managed to bloom 3 times this year! 3 times! It started blooming again at the end of November and is still vibrant today! I kicked off 2020 with a post about this special plant and how important orchids are to me, as well as […]
