Memories can be healing — My dad was a pretty terrible fisherman, but that never stopped him. Despite spending countless hours on his craft, he often came home empty-handed. It didn’t seem to matter to him. Catching fish, after all, wasn’t really the point. His job as a high school teacher and coach kept him…

Even though I didn’t want to adopt him — “I’ve made a PowerPoint,” our daughter Marie said, standing at our bedroom door, “about why I need a cat.” Marie had been having a rough transition into adolescence. My husband and I had taken her to a counselor who specialized in adolescents suffering from depression. “Get her a pet,” the…

I’m still angry about it — “I think you just have a period from hell,” the emergency room doctor said. “This happens as we approach menopause.” We? I couldn’t really think clearly in my fog of intense pain, but I could think clearly enough to realize that there’s no way that this man in front of…

I should have done more to save her. — At first, I was so angry with our neighbor. Who in their right mind would let a five-pound, deaf dog run loose after dark? But still. I could have done more. I should have done more. Maybe I was responsible for Shadow’s death, too. Shadow and her five humans moved into the small rental house next to us…

But I’ve made peace with it — For some reason, I can only grow ugly houseplants. They don’t start out ugly. I adopt a new plant, either a gift from someone or one I actually buy, and they look perfectly fine, flush with shiny leaves, healthy stems, and most of all, a sense of symmetry. But after…

Turns out I didn’t want the position, anyway — The email I’d been waiting for arrived two weeks ago. “Thank you so much for applying and your patience while awaiting the decision. After much deliberation, we have decided to go with another candidate.” This had been a big opportunity for me, a chance to join a national committee of…

Successful leadership teams need both youth and experience — Last year I began to notice at work something I’d seen many other places: youthful voices drowning out experienced ones. I am one of maybe fifteen or so highly experienced (okay, old) teachers out of a staff of about 125 in my high school. …

After 24 years, how do I start again? — On my first day at my new job, I sat behind the closed door of my classroom, dropped my head into my hands, and thought, “I’ve made a horrible mistake.” Of course it’s natural to have regrets when making big life changes. The term “buyer’s remorse” comes to mind. But…

I’m still humbled by what I can learn from them. — Late last week the kind of thing happened in my first block class that reinforced my decision to push retirement off a few more years. My class of high school juniors were exploring ChatGPT. I hadn’t taught this lesson before, so I was kind of making it up as we…