Teach Our Children

I’ve spent nearly two decades as an early childhood teacher teaching hundreds of students.  Often, my preschool was the first time parents left their children.  Building trust was a dance we did together.  Student, parent, and teacher.  The goal was to prepare each child for life beyond the preschool walls. Every parent loved their childContinue reading “Teach Our Children”

Bridge

TERESA’S THOUGHTS: Instead of sharing about the book writing process, I want to share why I am writing this book at all.  A book which is an autopsy of my own racism.  Where I learned it.  How I stayed blind to it.  And where I might go from here. This dissection is painful and messyContinue reading “Bridge”

Schedules and Social Distancing

TERESA’S THOUGHTS:   I live in Washington state which apparently is the epicenter of the Coronavirus outbreak in the United States.  I have gone from believing I could carry on life as usual, to hunkering down at home for the foreseeable future. The common threat of this virus makes our world seems smaller and more intimateContinue reading “Schedules and Social Distancing”

Writing With Others

TERESA’S THOUGHTS:   On Monday I attended a writing group which meets in a conference room at our local library. This is not a critique group where writers share their work in progress.  Instead, this group meets to write. Most bring laptops we plug into a shared outlet at the center of the room. A fewContinue reading “Writing With Others”

Steps

 TERESA’S THOUGHTS:   Writing is a series of steps. The first step is getting the idea from my brain onto my laptop. My brain can’t be too tired or distracted. Often my fingers are unable to type fast enough for the floodgate of words spilling out. It feels like my brain is vomiting. My only goalContinue reading “Steps”

Annie

TERESA’S THOUGHTS:    Annie is the dog I thought I would never have. It seemed disloyal to love again after losing my sweet boy, Chocolate.  Time softened my heartache and eventually Annie and I found our way to each other. Annie is not a perfect dog but she is perfectly mine and I am perfectlyContinue reading “Annie”

Sea Glass

Let me be like sea glass Shattered free from what once made me whole Let me be broken open without fear and fuss Adrift from all I once called mine. Trusting the ancient buoyancy of salt water Surrendering to waves and rocks grinding at my edges Let me lie hidden until serenely polished To keepContinue reading “Sea Glass”

Death Over Peppermint Tea

What would I be bold enough to tell death if I invited him to join me for a chat over a cup of warm peppermint tea?

Love, Loss and Puppy Dogs

Annie was everything I didn’t want in a dog, yet everything I needed.  But my story doesn’t start with Annie. It starts with Chocolate, a lab shepherd, who also happened to be the best dog ever.  I found him from a flyer pinned to a bulletin board at the market with the word “Puppies!” in bold across the top.  There wasContinue reading “Love, Loss and Puppy Dogs”

All The Reasons Why

I’ve been circling around writing for the past few months without actually writing; like a movie shark circling around a bloodied limb but never clamping down with its razor sharp teeth. But as with most things I try to avoid, eventually I come to a dead end and I am face to face with it.  I wonderedContinue reading “All The Reasons Why”