My scheduled appointment for today was canceled and I decided to keep the PTO on my calendar and call it a mental health day. I needed it. Maybe you do, too? There’s been some controversy about schools, both public and private, coping with the upcoming election by closing on Tuesday or offering the opportunity for … Continue reading Things to do to distract from election anxiety
Category: stress
Taking a hard right
For inexplicable reasons, my car radio is stuck on the a.m. dial. This is the second time this has happened and I’m resigned to the fact that I may never again be able to listen to WDST or any other progressive music radio stations. As long as I have my aux cord, I can stream … Continue reading Taking a hard right
Red dahlias of hope
A couple of late summers ago, Jeter and I were on our usual walk around the Normanskill Farm. We had wandered down the yellow brick road and the trail near the creek, made our way up the gravel road and looped around to where the path divided the bountiful community garden from the kill. The … Continue reading Red dahlias of hope
How does one plan a national walkout?
We’re living in a country where the Republican vice presidential candidate believes that school shootings are a fact of life in contemporary American society. The answer, of course, is more guns because schools (and concert venues and churches and grocery stores and movie theaters and shopping malls and…) are “soft targets” which need to be … Continue reading How does one plan a national walkout?
Starting the school year off with a bang
Just another day in America yet, somehow, since it’s the day before my students return to their classrooms after summer break, the latest school shooting in the United States is hitting me hard. Why do we tolerate this? Why do we allow our government to do nothing? Why have we given organizations like the NRA … Continue reading Starting the school year off with a bang
Fussing and fighting
There’s no escaping the reach of American politics these days and flying thousands of miles away is not sufficient distance to feel removed. It’s a crazy time and, during our time in Italy, one of the first questions we’ve gotten, delivered in the most hesitant and polite manner, is wtf is going on in America? … Continue reading Fussing and fighting
Out of bandwidth
In the next six weeks, I’ve got a lot moving parts to facilitate. Note that I did not use the word “manage.” This was a very intentional language choice. While I will internalize and stress about all of the balls up in the air, I refuse to pretend I have the ability to exert any … Continue reading Out of bandwidth






