I swear, my time away was by accident. I’m back now, after forever — although I’m not sure I’m ready. My hiatus from my tiny blog was more a product of overwhelm than any quieting of the soul, nurturing of the spirit. Kind of like hiding. This past January, we quickly made the decision to…
Tag: Summer
Summer brain and the start of a new school year
I’m such a cliche. After having spent the whole week thinking today was my wedding anniversary, I actually looked at the calendar. It’s tomorrow. It’s not that I didn’t know the date we got married; it’s that I didn’t know what today’s date was. I’m blaming it on summer brain. Summer brain is the heavy…
To reach every student, every day; Breaking for AVID so I can fill up my tool kit.
I am very excited that over the next three days I will be at the AVID Summer Institute in Sacramento. While I’ve used AVID strategies and have been part of my school’s AVID team of educators, this is my first “official” AVID conference. I’ll be taking the strand for Cultural Relevance to Transform Teachers. The…
Finally easing into summer (Write Every Day 28)
I have no words. None. This isn’t writer’s block. It’s something else. I thought finding something to write for a straight 30 days would be challenging, and it was, but up until this morning, I always found in the morning that I had something to say. This morning, my mind is blank. I have nothing…
Back “home” in Kauai: Day 1 (Write Every Day, 26)
The wind is howling and the skies are stormy, but it’s Kauai and I’m sitting on the lanai, enjoying how the skies light up over the ocean. Yesterday was a long travel day, and we sat on the tarmac for 2 hours before take-off, but the flight was smooth. And worth it. We’ve come here…
Tender Negotiations: Thoughts on Aging and Grace, a Swimsuit-Season Reflection (Write Every Day, 26)
Swimsuit season is upon us and, thankfully, my old suits still fit. That doesn’t mean they look the same on my body as they did even last year, but they fit. That’s one less mean mall mirror I have to confront. (What is it with those mirrors? I swear they buy them on sale from…
What happens when you catch a firefly? You catch a poem as well. (Write Every Day, 24)
I remember those dog-days of my childhood summers back east, when we languished in front of the TV all day long, trying to escape the heat and the humidity. A spark of energy would finally ignite when the sun sank low and the neighborhood kids and I would crash out onto the street, eager to…
When Dad Built Us Forts (or holes in the sand, with benches to sit on): Write Every Day #3
That’s my sister’s foot on the far right side of the picture. I think I may have cropped her out when I saved the shot, although you shouldn’t read too much into that. I think I just wanted a picture of just Dad and me, playing in the sand. I may be four years old…
My Summer Promise: Write. Every. Day.
When I first started this little blog, my attempt was to write every day, my seat in a seat. That didn’t quite pan out as I had planned, although I did manage to put out a few pieces here and there. Truth is, teaching middle school kids and parenting teenagers uses up all my creative…
The Summer of ’16 is Sailing By
The other day, on a day trip to lovely Capitola, we watched a little electric boat being sailed by a quiet boy who stood at the water’s edge. We watched as he motored around, every now and then his boat catching a gentle breeze which took it in a different direction, one not of his…
Disneyland: Finding Magic and Wonder
With one of my daughters busy with summer internships and getting ready to go off to college in just a month, we weren’t able to plan any family vacation time this year — which means I’ve been on a mission to escape the stresses of the world in small summery chunks. This week it…
Barbara Ganias Comstock 