Recovery is hard, but recovery of the mind is even harder. Since I've found myself with quite a lot of free time, I've been thinking a lot. Often to my detriment thanks to those lovely thought spirals. But as I round the corner in recovery, now is the time to really consider and examine my … Continue reading Recovery of the mind & being an agent of change in society at large
The realization dawned on me that I needed to leave. It’s not in a “oh my God get me out of here” way or a “I’m running as fast as I can towards something new” way. It’s just a “it’s time” way. It’s not desperate or overly negative or toxic. It just is. I think … Continue reading The leaving manifesto
Today's post is a re-"print" of a reflection I wrote over five years ago after teaching a specific summer course to international military members. For some reason, the spring months are usually where I reflect on my teaching career and especially this year, remember the good, the positive, the optimistic. This is different than "toxic … Continue reading Finding and holding onto the optimistic
I realize that I don't write much about my "other" life: the hours of my life I spend as a public school teacher. I do my best to have healthy boundaries between work and play, and in the past year this need has become more pronounced. I use my commute and other teachers who are … Continue reading I’m cut out for this
Goodreads review of Cal Newport's Deep Work here. Spend enough time in a state of frenetic shallowness and you permanently reduce your capacity to perform deep work.Cal Newport This quote in and of itself is quite alarmist, and the reason I re-read this book. I had read it previously in 2017, surprisingly long ago. I … Continue reading Thoughts on a second read-through of “Deep Work”
In a one-on-one session with a student today, these literal words came out of my mouth: "Bear with me with biology; it's been 20 years since I've had this class." (For the record, I teach ESOL but a student came to me for language help with her bio class.) I became a teacher long before … Continue reading Plan A is Plan A
The world is at a fever pitch right now. Everything is heightened, stressed, tenuous, uncertain. Almost anything could be the straw that broke the camel's back, as it were. Everyday I resist the urge to actively look for said straw. It's tempting to fall into a feeling of hopelessness and live just for today. I've … Continue reading Snap out of it
Today during a lesson with a newcomer student, she and I were chatting in Spanish and she said that I seemed a little sad to her. I told her, I was a little tired actually. And in her sweet Honduran Spanish, looking down at the letters she was tracing with her adorable dark pigtail braids, … Continue reading A Little Bit (of) Sad
Infertility has been an unfortunate rite of passage. It's something I didn't know I'd have to go through, unlike other rites of passage, and until I did, there's a lot I didn't know or realize about life in general. Funny how specific life circumstances can teach us so much about just... life. Fertility or the … Continue reading An unfortunate rite of passage with an okay ending.
I think when you have an attitude of servanthood to humankind, it's easier to forgive. You see that holding grudges or anger against someone really doesn't serve others. It doesn't serve yourself, either. Several years ago when I became a professional teacher, I also adopted the attitude that my number one responsibility is to serve … Continue reading March 9 | Forgiveness
mercies per mile 
You must be logged in to post a comment.