Proud to Be a Spitfire

We celebrated, more than mourned, the colorful and textured life of my great-grandma Mavis. We honored her with red lips and red dresses and red heels. Nestled in a wooden pew with a sister on each side, I reached my arm across the shoulders of one of them to gently reassure my mom. Cousins and …

Welcome to the Cottage

The water pressure in the kitchen sink is too high. The wood floors seem to release a fresh wave of sand after every thorough sweeping. The walls are scuffed and the floors are warped and the windows seep cold air. Standing too long in the pantry sometimes results in bits of ceiling falling on your …

Stay GOLDEN, Miss Molly.

The hearts in my little corner of the world are all about donuts. The hype. The drooling. The mass consumption of sugary goodness. I, for one, have never held a particular affinity for donuts (unless of course I am offered a blueberry old fashioned. Then, all bets are off.) Still, I've found myself with a …

Finding my compass.

By the end-curtain of 2016, the word I had chosen in January to usher me through the year (COURAGE) had become permanent in my life. At intermission between acts one and two of 2017, my word for the year hasn't yet imprinted itself on my heart + soul + very skin. Patiently, timidly, it has paused …

Dear Teacher

Can I get a TGIF - thank goodness it's Friday? This week has left me drained and discouraged. My teacher heart is in major need of grace and reassurance in order to trudge through the remaining 8 days (8 DAYS!!) of my school year. I wrote the letter I needed to read in hopes that …

Security in the Face of Sudden Disaster

In recent days, my heart believes with certainty that sudden disaster and destruction are looming near, ready to strike me in my weakness and bring mourning to me and those I love. My dreams, once I am able to lull myself to sleep, have been filled with diagnoses with morbid odds, terrifying intruders threatening the …

I do not live in the gray.

I am a black-and-white, all-or-nothing, in-or-out type of person - no matter how earnestly I push against this label, the honest to goodness truth is this is at the core of my being and I do not foresee it changing anytime soon. I distinctly remember the day I stumbled across this particular facet of my …

Life to the Full

I am smack dab in the middle of a season of celebration. Things are coming to an end and sprouting new, excitement and fear are mingling together daily as the picture of the next season comes into view. I am planning parties to celebrate what is yet to come, and in those moments I am …

Reteaching

Peter denied Jesus. Three times. The last day Peter had to point at a man he loved like a brother, knew as a teacher, and proclaimed as a savior was instead a day he turned away. Peter believed he would never again break bread or travel alongside or speak intimately with Jesus. The guilt of …

Happy.

My day has been joyful and full of life. It has been full of lessons going as planned, excitement over words and poetry, and sweet compliments from students and strangers alike. Today has left me smiling and jittering in a way that I don't have words to describe but can say is good. (But has …