For years— since before I was one of his students a hundred years ago— Dr. Erion has been promoting something called X Day. He’s devised a whole list of criteria used to determine whether a day is actually the X Day (for example, temperatures have to hit 70 degrees and stay there for a certain…
Tag: Pandemic Life
2021 March – Week 11
We’ve officially been in pandemic mode for over a year. We went home from school and into lockdown in March 2020 on Friday the 13th. One year later, there’s a lot to reflect on. Almost too much, at least at the macro level. Quite a bit on a personal level, too. It’s interesting how we…
2021 March – Week 10
Week ten was… a long week. Work has been stressful lately with the pressure admin has put on the ELA department to administer and analyze the STAR exam. Plus, my co-teacher has been out for three weeks because of an injury, I had my formal observation, and our rosters continue to change as students return…
2021 March – Week 9
Holy shit, it’s March. Sunday I made a new friend! Well, okay, Jasper and I aren’t exactly friends yet… But when I realized it wasn’t a stray cat eating from the food dish on my porch, I opened the door to say hi and he just sort of speed-walked away. This bodes well for two…
2021 February – Week 8
The last week of February was fairly eventful. A return to school, a tough decision, a discussion with my neurologist… The discussion went well. The decision about whether to coach lacrosse again this year was difficult, but ultimately I think it’s best if I step back. Having made the decision, I now feel immense relief….
2021 February – Week 7
Who doesn’t love a week off? I’ve always used my February break as a time to rest up before the start of a very busy season of the school year… March is a long month for teachers, and it’s when middle school ELA teachers are forced to turn a good deal of attention to the…
2021 February – Week 6
My mind couldn’t keep the days straight this week. Halfway through first period on Monday, I thought it was Tuesday. On Tuesday, I thought it was Monday. Wednesday felt like Friday, and Friday morning felt like the start of Wednesday. Some weeks are just like that, I guess. They simply exist and you simply exist…
2021 February – Week 5
I’d like to pretend January was 2020’s hangover and that February will be the real new year, because January was rough. And on the last day of it, I witnessed one of the saddest things of my lifetime. I knew the funeral would be rough, and I was prepared for the tiny coffin… Or so…
2021 January – Week 3
A woman became Vice President this week. Not only a woman, but a woman of color. And the world went wild over a youth poet’s inspiring poem and performance. Finally— not a return to normalcy but movement forward. We can “let out that breath we didn’t know we were holding,” as so many YA authors…
2021 January – Week 2
I was in a daze this week. I lost my soulmate, and as a result, time moved strangely. Whole days disappeared and by Friday, I couldn’t believe almost a week had gone since I’d said goodbye to Sammy. On Sunday, though, when they delivered his ashes, I couldn’t believe it had only been a week….