life journey – sharing the stairs

What If…Manners Mattered?

12 Dec 202012 Dec 2020

Angelina and I stopped by a shop to pick up her new prescription 👓eyeglasses after school the other day. The sign at the 🚪door listed the necessary COVID protocols. It…

What If…We’re Surprised

4 Dec 20205 Dec 2020

My husband doesn't typically read my 📝writings before publishing. He doesn't even ask about the topics. Although I sometimes want feedback while I'm working on a project, Ken prefers to…

What If…We’re Grateful Every Day

28 Nov 202028 Nov 2020

November is the month that brings the whole idea of being 😍grateful out of the shadows and into the light. Thanksgiving is a big reason for that, of course. Having…

What If…Our Positivity is Authentic

21 Nov 202021 Nov 2020

I belong to a Facebook group of educators across Missouri who share tips, tricks, 🎉celebrations, and 😵frustrations of teaching during a pandemic. There was a post the other day that…

What If…We Remember Grace

23 Oct 202024 Oct 2020

A former student messaged me the other day. 😊She wanted to say thanks to this old teacher. She didn't thank me for teaching her how to use context clues when…

What If…Practice Introspection

17 Oct 202017 Oct 2020

I was 👟running on the trail when I started to smell smoke. It's not uncommon to smell smoke from a barbecue or the smell of a woodpile 🔥burning. It wasn't…

What If…We Find Calm

26 Sep 202027 Sep 2020

I've noticed that I feel 🌅calm, and that sounds a little crazy to me, given this 👻insane year. 2020 hasn't been what any of us would have expected. There is…

My Teenager’s Pandemic Diary- Vol. 3

This is the third diary entry written by my teenage daughter. For a virtual history class assignment, students are asked to write about the experience of living through a pandemic.…

What If…We Don’t Try to Steer

2 Apr 20205 Apr 2020

You might think I'm one of those people who rolls with the punches. There are times that is true, for sure. Not always, though. The big 😀smile hides my tendency…

The Youngest Child

My husband and I have five kids between us. We were both married before and brought two kids each into our marriage. I had a girl and a boy. He…