At the beginning of January, US News ran an article written by Dr. Barbara Greenberg, PhD talking about whether schools should ban kids from having best friends. After the first thought of What idiocy is this??? I was ready to become a keyboard warrior and shoot from the hip about how ridiculous the concept of banning best friends truly is. … Read More
Baby Sloths
As many of you know, I have a great affection for sloths — especially my character Sergio, so they always get my attention in my social media feeds. When I saw this video of sloths being treated for mange and how darling they looked in their little “onsies”, I couldn’t help but share. It makes me want to work on … Read More
7th Grade Revolution: The Broken Heel
Having sprained my ankle, or I should say ankles, more times than I can count, I can no longer wear heels. A modest inch or maybe two in a boot, cowboy-style, is about the best I can manage these days. I have even sprained both ankles at once by simply stepping off a curb. What can I say? I have … Read More
Jar Full of Smiles: Listening Friends
Out of the jar on a happy blue piece of paper. a little reminder that there are various ways of listening. There is an adage about listening which has a great deal of truth to it. “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” We listen to skim the surface of … Read More
7th Grade Revolution: Into the Dark
A small crew of the Washington Academy 7th Graders went down into the tunnel — the entire grade couldn’t go because someone had to monitor the FBI. As they moved away from the tunnel opening and the fluorescent light bars in the room above, they learned how dark things could really be. True darkness is not something we experience often … Read More
Jar Full of Smiles
A thoughtful friend gave me a gift for Christmas that really resonated with me. A jar full of bright strips of paper with sentiments written on them. What a great way to give someone a gift that keeps giving. The idea being that you pull out one slip a day, read it, and have a reason to smile. But it … Read More
7th Grade Revolution: Dangling
Why is it when we’ve set our course and taken life by the horns we frequently find ourselves dangling in midair hanging on for dear life? After all, we’re supposed to pursue our goals with confidence, right? We envision our goal at the end of a wide-open eight-lane highway, when in reality it sits at the end of a winding, … Read More
7th Grade Revolution: The Moment of Truth
As we live our lives, we reach crossroads where decisions must be made, and if the decision is important enough, one which can alter our destiny, or cause us to face up to our fears, it can be called a moment of truth. Picking where to go to college can be a moment of truth. Do you choose to stay … Read More
7th Grade Revolution: The Epiphany
While the 7th Graders were happy to have found the rumored tunnel, there was one problem — the opening to the tunnel was a good twenty feet above the tunnel floor and there was no easy way to get down there. Even if they jumped and didn’t hurt themselves, the next question was how would they get out? Dennis had … Read More
Beyond Normal Revisited
Four years ago today, while going through chemotherapy for Leukemia and Lymphoma, I was having a pretty rough day, so I blogged about it on my cancer site. The post was titled, Life Beyond Normal, because at that point, my normal had been stripped away, turned completely upside down, shaken, and forever changed. I had to learn what my limits … Read More
7th Grade Revolution: Lighting the Torch
I’ll admit … this is the part of the story where I really started to get excited, even while writing it. The kids now know who their opponent is and have discovered the entrance to the tunnel. They are literally about to enter the unknown, but before they can do so, they have to check the air quality in the … Read More
7th Grade Revolution: The Power of Paracord
The character of Dennis in 7th Grade Revolution definitely has some untold stories in his past — which for now, remain untold. For example, his shark tooth necklace. I’m dying to know the story behind the shark’s tooth, because it holds a meaning for Dennis and has become his worry stone. Maybe one of these days he’ll tell me the … Read More