It was a move I had to make after being displaced from my teaching assignment. An unexpected life change deemed it necessary to return to work. Sitting in one of my interviews, I had a strong sense it was the school where I was being called. I have always viewed my profession as a calling.…… Continue reading Step OUT of Fear and IN to Love
True LOVE story. For many of my childhood years, I sincerely believed my dog was the only one that loved me. Nothing would have been able to convince me otherwise. I know now that was a skewed truth, but can we all agree that dogs ARE incredible companions? They offer an easy path to connection,…… Continue reading Slow and Steady is an Acceptable Learning Speed
Gah. This letter still makes me cry. I wrote it years ago when my oldest was approaching high school graduation. We used to meet once a week to have lunch to talk about the days ahead and anything else I was afraid I may have forgotten to teach him. More than all of that, I…… Continue reading Dear Son, You Have My Permission
Dear Daughter, From your earliest days, you were marked for leadership. Your tenacity to master skills and complete tasks was unmatched. What I used to call independence, I now understand as leadership and determination. Your fierce loyalty to your favorite things [your blanket, stuffed animal, and sippy cup], was reflective of the passion that continues…… Continue reading Dear Daughter: Words to Live By
Dear Son, As I drove away from our last lunch together for your senior year, I cried. I wasn’t sad, but deeply grateful. It was similar to the feeling when I laid you down in the bassinet next to my bed for the first time. I should have been napping along with you, but instead…… Continue reading Dear Son: An Open Letter
Post-it Notes protrude from most of my books and notebooks {marking favorite quotes and things I want to return to again}. I place them for the sake of easy {future} retrieval–but–without a doubt, they eventually fall off. Have you noticed that? They transfer to the bottom of shoes, the elbows of sweaters, or to the dreaded “black-hole”…… Continue reading Generous Love: Disrupting a “Me” Centered Theology
Her words suggested an elaborate plan. My mind flooded with caveats. If you have a pulse, you’ve noticed the extensive planning of proposals today. Our youth are inviting each other to homecoming, prom, on a date, etc. with big productions (posters presented in public places, signs that cover houses, etc.). My prom invitation, received in the…… Continue reading Just Ask
You shouldn’t ask us to fish-sit. We are not reliable. We’ve had 3 (count them aloud 1, 2, 3) beta fish that are no longer. Don’t laugh…let me explain. Beta fish number one: his name was Rico. He was adopted into our family when I married my husband. Our big kids were young and just…… Continue reading Fish Tales and Parasite Problems
Not long ago, while riding in the car with my husband, my youngest son posed a curious question. He asked, “What is an angel-omie?” My husband contemplated his question and grappled with the origin of the inquiry. My son directed his father back to the song playing on the radio and then he understood. Chris Tomlin…… Continue reading Between the Dashes
Ordinarily–I try to sit close to the front to optimize my attention and minimize my distraction. On occasion-due to tardiness, or a full house-I don’t have the benefit of sitting close. This past weekend, as I climbed the steps of the bleachers, I just knew I would miss the message because I’d be “busy” watching pedestrians en route to the bathroom…or…… Continue reading A Beautiful Distraction
Alyssa DeLosSantos 