Slice of Life 13: Code switch

I've been in a bit of reading drought this year. As much as I encourage my students to make time to read for pleasure, I find it really hard to make the time to do the same. There's just always something else to do—papers to grade, lessons to plan, blogs to read (and write). This …

Slice of Life 10: Basketball Diaries

We just got home from watching my oldest son’s first basketball playoff game. And although the team of 11- and 12-year-olds only had one win this entire season, they come home tonight victors. The final score was 34-20. Watching any of the boys’ games—whether it’s basketball, soccer, and especially baseball—is excruciating. The suspense is almost …

Slice of Life 8: Fifteen suggestions

On this International Women's Day, I finished reading Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's new book Dear Ijeawele, Or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions. The book is structured as a letter to Adichie's friend who asked her how she could raise her young daughter to be a feminist. I wrote a bit about my thoughts on just the …

Slice of Life 7: A feminist manifesto

In the mail today came my latest Amazon book purchase. It's actually a bit of surprise every time I open an Amazon box: I either forget what I've purchased because I've purchased so many things, or I've purchased so many things I don't know which of the many things is in this box. Read on.

Slice of Life 6: Who’s afraid of the dark?

My six-year-old has been extra afraid lately. Last week, in broad daylight, as we were sitting in the family room together, he hurried and plopped next to me on the sofa. Something spooked him. Read on.

Slice of Life 5: Faith

For several weeks now, I've been bringing my notebook with me to Sunday mass. I'd been thinking about taking my notebook along for the last few months, as I've made an extra effort to listen—really listen—to the readings and homily. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to bring a notebook—to my knowledge, I've never seen another …

Slice of Life 4: Does it matter?

In 2001, as my masters program was coming to its end, the teachers in my cohort and I were busy looking for jobs. It was a strange situation—for months, we'd been learning together, supporting one another, working side-by-side—and then suddenly we were competing for the same positions. In our cohort of thirty teachers, ten of us were …

Slice of Life 3: Dear Daughter I Never Had

As a mom of three boys, I'm often asked if I ever wanted to have a girl. I'm never sure what to answer. If I say yes, it feels like I'm somehow not happy with the kids I have. If I say no, I'd be lying a little. Part of me has always wondered what …

Slice of Life 2: Dreaming of Disney

I am not a person with a lot of time. But in the chaos of my life, I've managed to find time to plan—and overplan—our upcoming Disney vacation this summer. I have mixed feelings about Disney. As a company, Disney seems to have its hands in everything these days, especially now that it has the Marvel and …

Slice of Life 1: A Birthday to Forget

I almost forgot that it was my birthday today. To be fair, it wasn't actually my birthday. Perhaps forgetfulness is one of the side effects of having a Leap Day birthday in a non-Leap Day Year. That said, I think I also forgot because I've been too busy—too busy to remember. For too many reasons to count, …