A few nights ago, I found myself at a retirement party for a teacher friend. The room was loud in that familiar way—overlapping conversations, bursts of laughter, coats piled near the door. Someone lifted a glass to tell a story and got interrupted twice before finishing the first sentence. Teachers everywhere. Some people had taught […]
A Valentine’s Message for Teachers Read More »
The other night, Kelli and I took a drive with no real destination in mind, the kind you take when the house starts to feel a little too small and the day has nowhere left to go. We ended up down by the river and sat there for a while, watching the light change. It
What It Means to Keep Showing Up in February Read More »
Kelli and I attended the funeral of our sister-in-law’s mother earlier this week. It was solemn, as funerals are, but also quietly connective — a chance to stand shoulder to shoulder with family we don’t see often, to remember, to mourn, to catch up in low voices between long pauses. The day itself was cold
The Middle of January and the Work of Carrying On Read More »
I want to share something I’ve been working on quietly. Over time, I’ve noticed how often teachers describe being tired in ways that don’t quite sound like burnout—and don’t quite lift with rest. It’s not always about workload alone. It’s often about accumulation. Attention. Emotional labor. The cost of caring deeply, day after
A Teacher’s Guide to Burnout, Boundaries, and Renewal Read More »
A Perspective Shifts reflection for early-career teachers That first morning back The first day back after a break always has its own kind of hush. I’ll tell you what I mean. I used to pull into the lot a little earlier than I needed to. It was still dark enough that the building
What Comes After the Quiet Read More »
Over the break, I found myself playing around with AI—not for lesson plans or productivity, but for fun. Curiosity, mostly. I stumbled onto a tool that lets you re-create images, and before long Kelli and I were laughing our way through a whole run of Christmas-themed pictures. Some were silly. Some surprisingly clever. All of
The Quiet After the Break: Re-Entering the Classroom Without Reinventing Yourself Read More »
Happy Holidays, friends. Wishing you a season of rest, renewal, and light—whether you’re gathered around a Christmas tree, lighting the candles of Hanukkah, or simply pausing at the end of a long semester. 🎄 ✨ 🕎 ✨ 🎄 The holidays arrive wrapped in familiar language—joy, love, peace. And rightly so. We see it in the
Keeping the Light Alive: Hope in the Classroom This Season Read More »
Lessons from Aging, Reflection, and Renewal at Year’s End Saturday morning, Kelli and I attended our granddaughters’ dance recital. The auditorium was full—the kind of crowd that leans forward without realizing it. Parents held up phones, grandparents smiled through misty eyes, and the music carried that familiar mix of excitement and nerves that only a
Teaching as Soul Work Read More »
A Thanksgiving Conversation That Stayed With Me We had a full house over Thanksgiving week—an open house where everyone finally got to meet Rosebud, our one-year-old granddaughter, along with her parents, Scott and Leigh, who hadn’t been back since her birth. Then Thanksgiving dinner, which in our home always seems to swell beyond the number
Teacher Voices II: What Teachers Are Saying This Year Read More »
The Stillness Before the Doorbell Rings We’re hosting Thanksgiving this year, and most of the family will be here. It’s exciting… and a lot. Kel loves the preparation — the lists, the cleaning, the organizing, the quiet satisfaction of making the house ready for people we love. Me? I pitch in, but I’ve never
A Thanksgiving Pause: Rest, Renewal, and the Quiet Work of Gratitude Read More »
