A poem about finding the calm within oneself regardless of the weather swirling around you.
Each day I walk around in white skin enjoying the safety and privilege that entails. I did nothing to earn this, but I have benefited from it from the moment I was born. Those I love the deepest, my husband and daughters, are the most beautiful of black. One day my grandchildren will…
“Shake Dem Halloween Bones” by Mike Reed is a children’s book that combines colorful illustrations of children dressed in fairy tale costumes with a catchy chorus. “Shake, shake, shake dem bones now. Shake, shake, shake dem bones now. Shake, shake, shake dem bones at the hip hop Halloween Ball”. We read the book and sing…
We’ve got pieces of us we left behind. Parts of our heart we may never find. Pieces of paper waiting to file. Parts of secrets locked deep for awhile. Like chapters in novels or hours in a day, Breaths in a lifetime. Scenes in a play. Life is just pieces and parts. We have pieces of…
I grew up before the internet, video games, cable TV and smart phones had been invented. My childhood electronics included a radio, alarm clock, record player, and television. I learned about the world from news my parents watched or from folded newspapers tossed on our porch in the sleepy hours of the morning. I would…
A snake knows when to leave its skin behind and does so without fanfare or fuss. Oh, to have the freedom of a snake. Free of guilt and fear. Free of the hamster wheel of thoughts cycling through the endless what-ifs, responsibilities and possible regrets. A snake simply slithers from skin that has become rigid…
As soon as I walk into the gym I feel as if all eyes are on me saying, “You don’t belong here with your chubby belly and flabby frame.” Like Harry Potter, I wish to hide beneath an invisibility cloak so I can go about my workout unnoticed. Since these cloaks only exist in magical…
“Mom, come watch this video that’s going viral,” my daughter said. I watched the video of Chris Ulmer, an enthusiastic teacher, speaking directly to each student in his class. He had the youthful energy of a teacher still fresh with the notion that teachers can change lives. “You are funny.” “You are an amazing student,”…
My raincoat makes a swishing sound when sliding it over my arms and onto my shoulders. Each time I put it on some part of me whispers, “Thank you.” I have lived in rainy Washington over thirty years and this is my first proper raincoat. I’ve had second hand, make-do coats faded in color. I’ve…
Stephan flung open the door in his usual grand entrance style. The huge grin on his face couldn’t have been any wider. Each day he came ready to rock his preschool day. It wasn’t until I looked down at his feet that I noticed something different. On one foot Stephan was wearing an almost knee…
I don’t remember a time I didn’t want to teach. Teaching is woven into every part of my being. I was a young girl before the invention of the internet, smart phones and video games so I had to figure out how to entertain myself. Summers were spent gathering my seven brothers and sisters and…
