I suffer from depression. Four words that slice me with shame and dread. Acknowledging the reality may help me more than the constant denial. My biggest problem has been how I have isolated myself from friends and family. Texting is not talking. Social media is not social. …

His name is Valor. He is 3 months old and mostly Labrador Retriever.

I never intended to hold onto the car for so long. It was expensive back in 2008. I had three years of car payments and after that….I could feel something. It was a lightness. That $450.00/mo. could be used elsewhere. It is transportation. Like any other status symbol, big house…

He lives up the street with his cockatoo and his night owl wife. I walk past him every morning in the summer when I walk…

The first retirement is by far the hardest. To retire from teaching is especially difficult. Every day you got to lunch with ten other teacher friends. After seven hours spent with the most beautiful children you could go home feeling tired but fulfilled. Compare that stimulation to staying home. Imagine…

Dear Lucy Calkins, If you could see the damage your Reader/Writer Workshops do to our students you would be mortified. I started teaching my 7th and 8th graders twenty years ago and often wondered, “ Why can’t they read?” The reading limits of far too many students were astounding. Prepositions…

I am completely taken in by the 2016 Showtime series Billions with Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis. I’m watching it in 2022 on Amazon Prime though. Every episode and every season is included, however the experience isn’t the same. If you viewed HBO’s Game of Thrones back in 2009 there…

I am happy to celebrate with anyone who decides to unite in holy matrimony. Marriage truly is a huge and wonderful endeavor. Here is where you lose me. Do I want to spend hundreds of dollars on your bridal shower, bachelorette party, destination wedding or lavish affair? No. Be real…

Retirement is inevitable. When Tom Cruise has to deal with irrelevance and aging out….it is somehow a comfort. Jennifer Connelly is 51 years old. She is beautiful. Even the experience of viewing it on the Big Screen feels nostalgic yet essential for the “time goes on” and “ you can’t…