Working in Education through the Language Lens

This morning as I sit inside our bus at the campground, I'm not quite ready to face the day. I'm nursing my second cup of coffee and have already shoo'd my husband off, who was being unusually perky.  Instead of joining the breakfast crew, I needed time for me. And so I reflect, and write.....and share with you. I'll admit that some mornings I do believe that by applying a little more makeup as I ready myself for the work day, I'll be able to cover up my inner angst. I'm not saying that every day I have makeup on equates to having a bad day. I have however tried to 'paint the perfect face' on days I was feeling, well far from OK. I've said before, I'm just a broken adult making each day as best as I can, doing the best I can. I had a friend who was obnoxiously loud. She knew as well as I (and others that tried to coach her), that it was her way of overcompensating for her lack of confidence and immature social skills. She hid from doing the w...

I had two best friends in elementary school. I ended up going to high school with the one I was in constant competition with (Carrie), and the other whom I considered my sister more than friend (Lucy), went to the only other all-girls high school (our competitor)- oh the irony of it all. I admired Carrie immensely (OK maybe a little too much). She was a straight -A student, excelled in swimming and was a graceful yet powerful Highland (Scottish) dancer. She put a lot of pressure on herself and after spending endless days at her house and watching the parent dynamic unfold; I realized this pressure was learned from dad, and enforced by dad. I wanted to be Carrie in many ways. She was always just a bit ahead of me in academic achievement and I remember the first time I advanced ahead of her in 6th grade, I actually felt a bit guilty. I bought the face soap she bought, and thought if I changed little things about myself I would have her confidence -her success.. I loved spending time ...

My husband and I watched the NFL draft a few weeks ago. OK we watched the first hour-because the benefit of supporting the losing team this past year was that they had a first round pick. So look beyond my choice of NFL teams here for a minute (go Buccaneers) because that's far from the point of this blog. What I couldn't get over for the days that followed (beyond their poor usage of that draft pick in my humble opinion), was the considerable talk about rookies. Perhaps I hadn't noticed it before in previous years, but as I'm entering the rookie year of my administrative career I've been more aware of when the term is used. Just like when you buy a new vehicle and suddenly you see 'your car' everywhere. If you're lucky enough to own a mini cooper, jeep or VW there is even a secret wave, as us bikers do the two finger downward salute as we drive past .....but I'm getting sidetracked...   So why does the rookie get all of the attention. Is their...

Every Spring a red breasted Robin makes a nest by one of our front doors.  I love watching the female- male 'hand off' of nesting duties. I'm intrigued by the shape of the nest, and just recently read about how the female's mud decoration attracts her male partner for the season. This year like every other Spring, we came home to a muddied wall and door alerting us that the Robin had found her spot. I felt privileged and honored that we provided a safe space with a warming light underneath in the cooler weather, which we carefully put on or turn off to help her nest stay warm (as if she needed our help). As we settle in for the night watching TV in the living room we have a front seat view of the action. We can observe the robins and hear their tweets and every night we ask "any eggs yet?".......... then it finally happens... eggs! We knew there were eggs this time because one little blue egg lay smashed on the deck floor. We banned the use of the side...