The Luckiest No Matter What!

2021 is almost over. I will remember this year as the one where my kids were in virtual school about as much as they were in person. I went back into the classroom in 2021. It was the year I pulled myself out of the breakdown I had towards the end of 2020. 2021 was when I did a ton of work on myself, said goodbye to my parent's cottage in Canada and our beloved Primrose the Cat. I saw Saint Augustine, Florida more than I ever had and explored the wilderness of Virginia. I visited our nation's capital. Josh, my three biggest boys, and I got vaccinated and witnessed so much change with the pandemic and also so much stay the same. Finally, I watched #hundtboysx4 learn, grow, and change a lot in 2021.  2021 was also the year I picked the best #oneword I ever could: small . I could feel that it was a winner way back in January, but I didn't know how much that word was exactly what I needed to focus on. Here are some of the awesome things that small little word has done for me t

I'm sitting at the desk in my classroom... it's 4:43pm. My students have left and I am alone here, preparing for tomorrow, reflecting on today. Teachers are always looking forward and looking back. It's the little dance we do on a daily basis- did they get what I was trying to teach today? Do I need to give more time tomorrow? How does my storyline of yesterday help me know how to move forward today? There is always so much on the mind of a teacher as they take care of minds and hearts simultaneously all day long. But, as I sit here in my thoughts, I cannot shake the school shooting at Oxford that happened yesterday. 'Teaching the Days After' Teaching on the days after is a term so many educators use when you have to scrap what you planned because another big event has happened that you need to make space for in your classroom community. There have been way too many 'Teaching the Days After' kind of days in the last several years. Students need to process th