I tell Hadley if she punches in the address to where we are going on her phone, we can listen to her music. It’s an intimidating gesture. We’re driving somewhere we’ve never been, and I’m not sure I’m ready to take on all the words I’ll hear. But, she’s never said, “It’s just a song,” and we both listen to music… View Post

Recently, I received a message from the Michigan Department of Education asking me to complete a survey responding to two questions: 1) Why did I leave teaching, and 2) What would it take to bring me back. (For the record, this survey went out to everyone who left teaching, and not just me. I don’t want anyone getting the wrong… View Post

We met Celena and Nick at Mercadito’s, a Mexican Restaurant in the North River area. We ate tacos and guacamole, and talked  about our kids growing up, and work and probably sounded much like both of our parents when Celena and I were our kids’ ages – almost 30 years ago. But no time has passed. Celena and I are… View Post

I’m excited to be a part of a new writing workshop put on through Exhale and beginning this Monday. I’ll be teaching with my friends and colleagues Anna Jordan, N’tima Preusser, and Sonya Spillmann. The workshop is a storytelling workshop called “Known.” The idea behind the title is this: we know each other because of the stories we tell.  If… View Post

December 1 begins the night before when I tell the girls that tomorrow morning, instead of coming downstairs with books, instead of grabbing their screens and sitting down for breakfast, I want them to bring their Bibles and their “Write the Word” journals. “For Advent,” I say, but really it’s more like a question. “For Advent?” and I guess I… View Post