The small Cessna bumped along an invisible current over wisps of low clouds and dark ocean eerily observable from the porthole window. I made out the creases of white caps in the height of their formation before they spread back into an inky expanse. My sleeping toddler pressed heavy against me and I heaved an audible sigh quickly lost in the hum and vibration of the propeller and wind. Moving to northwest Alaska, until now, was…
Before having my first baby, I felt a strong aversion to the impending loss of composure awaiting me in the delivery room. This idea of my body turning itself inside-out was hard enough to face, but imaging a process that forced me into such distraction that I would willingly cast aside my personal dignity was too much to concede. When push came to shove, however, holding onto my modesty sank to the bottom of my list…
I have been a teacher on and off for the past 19 years. School has predictable comforting rhythms, all the while facilitating the spark of new understanding. I appreciate that in this profession there is a framework for reflection and deepening knowledge for students and teachers alike. It is a unique petri dish of growth medium where I can propel change and experience change in myself. It is a colorful symbiosis. I have a particular group…
The shallow darkness settles into the room after I flick the lamp switch. I lay in bed next to my husband for sometime in conscious quiet, both on our backs with our eyes trained on the texture of the ceiling coming back into focus. His foot finds mine at the end of the bed to test the waters. "Shall we talk?" it suggests nonverbally. I do not pull my foot away, it is an invitation. My…
I had hoped to write you all yesterday, but was glued to the TV unable to look away. What I would have said in the pinnacle of turmoil would not make nearly as much sense as the sifted and collected thoughts that emerge today. While I still feel outraged, there is less swearing, a fact to be glad of. I've been in the places we consider a sacred part of our national heritage and regard myself…
The first day of the year feels haphazardly positioned. It doesn't mark a seasonal change; the solstice has already passed which would naturally be a moment of new beginnings. In the 16th century, the Julian Calendar was exchanged for the Gregorian calendar and January 1 became the first day of a new year. The names of the months remained mostly the same in the transition. January is a nod to the two-faced Roman god Janus who…
I binge-watched a lot of British period dramas over my holiday break. I should probably be embarrassed by how much time I spent tucked in bed with a cup of hot coffee on my nightstand and the iPad balanced on my knees, but I am not. It is still 2020 after all. I do not know if gentility still has this inducement in the present day, but a characteristic of the noble class long ago seemed…