On a day in November last year, I introduced my 8th graders to Anna Whiston-Donaldson’s book Rare Bird: A Memoir of Loss and Love. The story is about many things: faith, motherhood, marriage, but they all swirl around the devastating loss of Anna’s son Jack who drowned in a flash flood on a September afternoon. I’m pretty sure I remember that… View Post

When Hadley wants to add a dash of funny into an anecdote, or say, a weeknight dinner she finds dull, her go to tactic is to use the word, “fart.” The word works in almost any situation that (she thinks) needs livening up. For example, do you have extra shredded cheese on your dinner plate? Then do this: You will… View Post

Because I wonder what would happen if I thought of some of the more mundane and tedious things I did as art. Because the entire book tore me apart. I don’t think that story will ever leave me, but I do think I’m now in the right frame of mind to teach Romeo and Juliet. Because I’m certain this is… View Post

The problem is that there are a lot of things I want to resolve. I want to learn to knit. To make sourdough bread. I think quilting would be fun. And writing a book. I’d love to send some of my essays out into the world. I’d love to redesign this blog, and set up a shop for journals, reading… View Post

One Saturday this past fall, I was at a soccer game of Hadley’s. She was playing goalie and during a block, got kicked in the mouth by an attempted goal. I jumped out of the lawn chair I was sitting in and ran on the field towards her, and about five strides in, I started to wonder whether this was… View Post