Know God. Live Big.
It’s 5:09 a.m., and the sun is coming up over the Rockies. I’ve been awake for an hour talking to God about a student whose progress is concerning to me, as we end the school year. Behind this name trails the name of a friend’s kid and another friend’s kid who are making bad choices right now. Their faces and… Read More
One week to our 25th wedding anniversary, so you should know about a longstanding joke between Matt and me. I’ll make some insightful comment about a person, and Matt will disagree. I’ll argue with him, because…I argue. The disagreement escalates, until finally I bark at him, “Honey, which one of us knows people?” Then we laugh, and he has won…. Read More
I was four-people deep in line at the post office, which placed me next to greeting card racks on either side of me. My eyes went to the cards on the right, but after looking at a few, immediately I turned away. (Is there any greater sign of human depravity than in some greeting card lines these days?) Averting my… Read More
Last week, Spanish class was awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome, not so hot. My students made me want to weep with their success on more than one occasion. They really made some great advancements. Then came Friday and what I thought was going to be a super easy matching vocab test, but they didn’t impress me so much. “Oh man, we… Read More
There is a box of Funfetti cake mix on my counter, because today is my 47th birthday, and I am going to take “homemade” cupcakes to school with me. Throw your own party –that’s what my inner seven-year-old tells me. It’s my birthday! Now let me back up to last night. A lot of times people ask me, “How can… Read More
You know that lady at Costco who has the clicker in her hand as you come in? Counting people. Wednesday was like that for me. One click for a voicemail to our daughter. One click for a question to the school secretary. Two clicks for greeting the lunch ladies. One click for a message to the principal. One click for… Read More
Observe the battle: My brother and I on one end of the field. My sister-in-law and her daughter on the other. Dispute: When best to eat a pear. My sister-in-law and her daughter want an apple-like experience when they bite into a pear, and they will only eat the fruit if it offers a solid crunch. My brother and I,… Read More
You know me, right? So if I tell you that my high school students had a two-day retreat last week and that they needed me to be a team captain, you’ll respond appropriately. I can see that grimace on your face. A look of sympathy maybe? (For my team. For me. For both.) Come with me, back to my 4th… Read More
First day of school today, guys, and how could I not write about it? My new room is perfection, if I say so myself. Verb folders are prepared and waiting for unsuspecting freshmen. There’s a fake apple that looks for real sitting on my desk. Not sure what to wear, but I imagine the bed will be covered with a… Read More
We all sat down with our food at McDonald’s, appropriately in the Playland, where there was enough seating for all of us and where our cumulative maturity level demanded we sit. It was our final time together, after a weekend family reunion that pulled in aunts, uncles, and cousins from as far east as St. Paul, Minnesooouta and as far… Read More