At the end of each course I teach, I have my students complete a small reflection assignment. (Sorry, this is a long one.) It’s evolved over the years, the most recent addition to it being a short clip from a TED talk by a former pro wrestler. I feel like it ties in the message I try to thread through everything we do in my class: have confidence in your abilities– you can do anything you put your mind to. I have my students watch the video, then answer a series of questions about their growth and progress through the course. I ask them to think about a piece of…

I started feeling a little overwhelmed in early August and I could feel myself drawing inward. It’s funny–at the moments when I probably have the most to write about, I find myself the most quiet. I been this messy ball of emotion these past few weeks and I couldn’t quite put a finger on what I was feeling. As I talked about it with my mom this weekend, I realized that it felt like: grief. It feels like grief. I expected this wave of relief to wash over me once I finally made the decision to homeschool this year… but it never came. I definitely feel it was the right…

I just saw a message from my school board on Facebook. It was directing parents to check their email for an update about about the school year that was sent today. I picked up my phone and opened my gmail app–no email. I thought that was a bit weird, so then I checked my junk mail just to see if it had somehow gone there instead, but again–no email. I sat here scratching my head for a minute, wondering why we hadn’t received it. Then it hit me: I don’t get those emails anymore. I sent my intent to withdraw form in last week. My kids are no longer with…

I haven’t felt like I’ve had much to write about lately. I think my brain has just been running non-stop with all of off this school stuff that it’s sort of shut down and doing a massive reboot. It’s strange… even though the decision is made and the forms are in, I still feel this ominous presence looming in front of me as September approaches. It’s not about homeschooling, I still feel at peace with that. I can’t quite put my finger on what is leaving me feeling so unsettled… I guess it feels like we’re about to turn a page in the next chapter of Life with Covid and…

Two weeks ago, news broke that a woman not so far from me had been attacked while out for an evening jog. I am a true crime junkie, so this was far from the first news report about an attack on a female runner that I’ve ever read. But there was something about this case that sunk deep into my gut and unsettled me. Maybe it was because I know people that know her. Maybe it’s because it was a random attack, and for so long it felt like the police had no suspects. Maybe it’s because it’s closer to home than I’m used to. Maybe it’s because I know…