My oldest grandchildren turned 11 in January and February. Right now (because my birthday is not until October), I am six times older than P and E. That got me thinking about where the past 55 years have gone, what I was doing at that age, and how I got to where I am today.

At age 11, I played with Barbies with my friends on my block. We weren’t “rich” enough to have Barbie houses, but boy, did we make some great ones on our own with things we found around our homes. I was also reading the Nancy Drew books the “older” girls around the corner had gifted me.

At age 22, I was married to my high school sweetheart and pregnant with my first child. I was teaching music part-time and establishing our first home.

At age 33, I had two elementary school-aged children and was working full-time as a music teacher.

At age 44, I had a child in college and one in high school. I was still teaching music and would soon begin pursuing my master’s degree in English.

At age 55, I had recently survived the closing of the school I had taught in for 23 years and began a new teaching job at a newly formed regional school. I gave up my music teaching career and was teaching ELA only.

At age 66, I am still married to my high school sweetheart. I have survived two knee replacements, gall bladder removal, and two cataract surgeries. I am in my 39th year of teaching and signed on for at least one more.

Those multiples of eleven seem like yesterday and yet so long ago. I will never be six times P and E again, but I hope to be making memories with them for many years.

#SOLC 25 Day 6/31

I spent the morning in the waiting room of the ambulatory surgical center, waiting for my husband to have a procedure. He is fine, home, and resting. It struck me how this space differed from my usual Wednesday, not just because it was a surgical center but because it was so quiet. School is a never-ending cacophony.

Here are some things I noticed while sitting in the waiting room.

• Beeping machines have a rhythm of their own and also a peculiar melody.
• Reading was a challenge at first. I kept rereading the same page over and over for several minutes before my concentration kicked in.
• The office was clean, bright, and new, which made me feel calm.
• At least five patients came to the surgical center for appointments with their cardiologists, and the receptionist patiently repeated that those offices were next door around the side of the building.
• It was difficult not to eavesdrop because of the silence.
• I could hear my own thoughts – loud and clear!
• Sitting in silence is so peaceful.

My big takeaway from today is to spend more time in silence. It is suitable for the soul.

#SOLC25 Day 5/31

After my “terrible, horrible, no good, very bad” experience with the MRI machine yesterday, I was delighted to remember that I had planned to “Meet the Author” at my local library last night.

Listening to Ethan Joella discuss his novels and writing process was a pleasure. I bought A Little Hope last week and read it over the weekend to prepare for the evening. A Little Hope was a Read with Jenna Bonus Selection, and I chose it because I felt like I needed a little hope right now. It did not disappoint! Of course, I chose the book with the most characters and had to make a little cheat sheet.

By the end of the evening, Ethan had me wanting to go home and start writing. His down-to-earth conversational style made me laugh and feel very comfortable asking questions. He didn’t sugar-coat the writing and publishing process, but his story made me hopeful.

Check out Ethan Joella’s books if you’re looking for a story with characters that feel like they could be your neighbors around the corner. https://www.ethanjoellawriter.com/

His other two novels are A Quiet Life (set in Bethlehem, PA) and The Same Bright Stars (set in his hometown of Rehoboth Beach, DE). After listening to his descriptions of these books and the comments of those who had read them, I am adding these to my TBR list. He has a new novel arriving in 2026 set in the Pocono mountains of Pennsylvania. While my reading life takes me around the world, I love reading books set in my area of the country in places I have visited.

Bright and early tomorrow morning, I am getting an MRI of my lumbar spine to see what changes have taken place since 2019, at which time the surgeon told me I had the spine of an eighty-year-old (I was only 60!). This MRI will help the pain management doctor determine what course of treatment we can use moving forward since the cortisone cocktail shots I have been getting may have contributed to the pelvic fracture I had in July (my second one – now I have matching sides).

Of course, I want to know my options, but I am a large woman and claustrophobic. I waited two months for this appointment. An appointment for an open MRI was not available until July! On the bright side, the MRI machine I will be in tomorrow is called a wide-bore machine, which is 70 centimeters in diameter. The standard one is 60 centimeters in diameter. I am grateful for whatever extra space I can get.

I plan to close my eyes as soon as they start moving me toward the machine and not open them again until I am entirely out of the machine. It is usually when my arms reach the chamber that my breathing and heartbeat start to increase. That is when I will say my Hail Mary and pray that I can make it through the 45 minutes without being too uncomfortable or pushing the panic button.

My reward for surviving will be a trip through Starbucks’ drive-thru for a Chai Latte. Wish me luck!

#SOLC25 Day 2/31

Finding your people doesn’t always mean finding people who agree with you on everything. It means finding people who energize you, respect you, and make you want to be a better person.

I am so fortunate to have found a few groups of people who are “my people.” First, my book club, The Chapter Chicks (my Peeps), is a close group of women who have been together for 21 years. We talk about books (sometimes) and anything and everything else that has meaning in our lives.

Then there are my “teacher friends,” who are more than colleagues. We may not get together very often, but we are all available to one another beyond the scope of curriculum and instruction at any given moment.

Today, I am off to meet with my newest group of people, the Poetry Writing Group, at my local library. This group began in September and meets on the first Saturday of the month. In a few short meetings, this group has widened my view of the world, poetry, and myself—so much so that I even read at an open mic night in November—something I never thought I would do.

For the past eleven years (I think), I have participated in the Slice of Life Writing Challenge sponsored by twowritingteachers.org. As we start another challenge, I look forward to reading the “slices” of “my people” worldwide.

I hope you have found your people and that after you leave them, your heart feels filled with helium.

Playing in a jazz ensemble differs significantly from being in an orchestra or concert band. Rather than being one of many players, you are part of a more intimate group of musicians who are very visible to the audience. One small section is often featured, or students have solos that take courage and confidence.

On Sunday, I had the pleasure of attending the SteelStacks High School Jazz Band Showcase in Bethlehem, PA. My husband and I went specifically to watch our son direct the North Penn Columbia Jazz Band, and I am so glad we did. Spending the afternoon watching high school musicians was an excellent diversion from the world’s woes, which have been causing me to feel entirely down in the past few weeks.

What I witnessed was heartwarming and uplifting. There were young people of all shapes, sizes, and skin tones. Their instrumental abilities were as varied as their numbers. Some ensembles were better than others, but one thing was evident in each one – JOY!

Be-bopping bodies and syncopated smiles kept time and looked on with admiration at their soloing friends. The finished solos were met with a discreet fist bump, head nod, or huge smile—each member supporting another. I found myself smiling widely.

Those few hours helped to renew my hope for humanity. These directors are not only fostering a love for jazz and the continuation of a truly American musical form, but they are also demonstrating that being part of something bigger than yourself and working toward a common goal can be satisfying and fun. Music is magical.

You can’t be great without the greatness of others. ~ Nick Sirianni

On Sunday, my hometown team, the Philadelphia Eagles, won the Super Bowl! What a great day for the city, especially after the tragic plane crash that happened there just over a week ago. We will be riding this “high” for a while.

Philadelphia sports fans are often portrayed as hooligans unsatisfied with their teams unless they make it to the playoffs and past the first round. We are passionate about our teams and players on and off the field. We want our teams and players to be their best whenever they take the field and support the Philadelphia community when they are not playing.
Over the last two weeks, the Eagles players and head coach have often been quoted in the media. The above quote attributed to Nick Sirianni got me thinking. Who makes me great?

I take great pride in my work as a teacher and feel successful in my job performance, but how did I achieve this “greatness?” Who is excellent around me that makes me great? Where do I even begin?

Over the years, many colleagues have mentored, inspired, and supported me in ways that have allowed me to grow as a teacher and hone my craft.

During my 39 years as an educator, I have had many principals. Some were great, others not so much. Under the leadership of those great ones, I flourished and came into my own. They prepared me for the years when leadership was lacking or overbearing. My current principal has made it difficult to decide when to retire because I enjoy my work so much under his leadership. I will at least make it an even 40 before I pull the plug.

The many students I have taught have made me who I am today. Each year, they pushed me to be the best I could be so I could offer them the best I had to give. Some were challenging, which was good because they forced me to seek new ways and kept me learning.

Of course, none of this could be possible without the love and support of my family. They have kept me grounded and lifted me, listened to me, and offered advice. I am only “great” because they surround me with greatness.

No one climbs the mountain alone or reaches the pinnacle of their career solo. Some people accompanying you on the journey may go unseen or remain in the shadows, but we must never get so “great” as to forget the greatness surrounding us. Who makes you great?

Go Birds!

Yesterday, the latest installment of  Modern Mrs. Darcy (a lifestyle blog for book lovers) arrived in my inbox.  The post was about the staff’s long-standing practice of gathering at winter’s midpoint “to share things – big or small – that are saving our (their) lives right now.” With its dark days and cold temperatures, winter can be brutal, and many people experience the doldrums. The post explained how they got this idea from Barbara Brown Taylor’s memoir, Leaving Church.  In it, Taylor describes how “once, when she was to speak at a gathering, her host gave her this instruction for her speaking topic: ‘Tell us what is saving your life right now.’ She said the genius of the question is that though most of us know exactly what’s killing us, it’s harder to name what’s saving us.”  What a great idea!

These past few weeks have been a bit overwhelming. With the current political climate, the horrific DC plane crash, and the devastating explosion/crash of a medical transport plane in my hometown of Philadelphia (in the section of the city in which I lived the first 30 years of my life), I have a whole list of things that are killing me. Still, the question in Modern Mrs. Darcy helped me flip the switch and focus on what is saving me right now.

These things hold me together and give me solace when I need a distraction from the heaviness of the winter world.

• Writing: I have been trying to rekindle a consistent writing habit using several online tools.
  • 100 Days of Notebooking (a Facebook group facilitated by Michele Haseltine) is a beginning-of-the-year challenge to journal for 100 days. Although I am not on pace to complete 100 notebook entries in 100 days, I enjoy reading, sharing, and gathering new ideas from this writing community.
  • #WriteWithUs Wednesdays – The Book Love Community (facilitated by Penny Kittle and Linda Rief) offers a live Zoom meeting every other Wednesday at 4:30 ET.  I have yet to make a live meeting, but a replay can be found on the website, and the sessions have given me food for thought and sparked some interesting writing. 
  • IAJW (International Association for Journal Writing) offers free monthly journal prompts
• Faith: In certain situations, my ability to make a real difference might be limited. That’s when I rely heavily on my faith and pump up my prayer life.  
• Music: Listening to music has always been an elixir for whatever ails me. My tastes vary depending on my mood. My favorites are jazz, warm and cozy acoustics, and music from the 1970s.
• Reading: Scrolling social media has taken a bite out of my reading life, but I am working on remedying that situation.  Reading can transport me to other times and places and give me a respite from anything in my life that is dragging me down. It often puts my worldly woes in perspective compared to problems others have overcome. 

How are you feeling at winter’s midpoint?  Are you focusing on what is killing you or what is saving your life? Why not try this practice on for size?  It may be what you need to propel you towards spring. 

Referenced sites: 

• Modern Mrs. Darcy https://modernmrsdarcy.com/
• 100 Days of Notebooking https://www.facebook.com/groups/100daysofnotebooking/
• International Association of Journal Writing https://iajw.org/
• Book Love Community https://book-love-community.mn.co/spaces/17199438/feed