The period of the quarantine— which we’re about halfway through, at least based on the presumptive start of next school year— seems to be a period of self-observation and reflection for me. Without the hustle and flow of the school week to distract me, I am noticing the dips and peaks of physical and mental […]
It’s All on One Laptop
I’ve always believed that it’s possible to make time for things that are important to you, no matter the situation, which means I am finding time to write these days. Even with my school work and home duties, there are small blocks of time that I can carve out for my novel, or an essay, […]
Getting Into the Blogging Groove
Man, I wish I’d started blogging daily on day 1. How great would it be to have a public record of the 2020 quarantine? I do have my journal entries, so at least I’ll have something to look back on. But it would have been nice if I’d been more open with my blogging from […]
On Grief and Over-Identifying with Childhood Loss
The announcement came at 11:30 on Friday morning: New York schools would be closed for the year. It wasn’t a surprise, of course. I didn’t think I had a shred of expectation that we might return in June— I even signed up for an online class on Thursday afternoons for the month of May, knowing […]
5 Things I Miss, 5 Things I Don’t
I’ve been trying to get some perspective on the quarantine. I keep zooming in and out, thinking big picture (This too shall pass/I’ll wish I’d valued this time with my family) and small picture (I want to get out of the house/I wish I could hug my mom). It’s hard to find the right balance. […]
Virtual World, Natural World
Every day I interact with my students through a screen. I make videos of myself teaching lessons, staring at my own reflection instead of into my students’ eyes. We communicate through stilted, typed comments instead of cheerful calls across the cafeteria and high-fives and the exuberant, cacophonous sounds of woodwinds, brass and percussion. I spend […]