"The Road goes ever on and on down from the door where it began…" ~ J.R.R. Tolkien
A Mountain in Tibet I had not trained to hike a mountain. Especially not in the foothills of the Himalayas. Certainly not for a three-day hike while carrying a backpack weighing at least forty pounds. But sometimes we do things we never dreamed of doing. Sometimes we face trials that we never expected. That's what happened … Continue reading A Tale of Two Mountains
There is an ornament that says "Special Teacher" hanging on our Christmas tree. It was given to me by a family member several years ago, and it is significant--nearly all of our ornaments have a special meaning--because it celebrates my career as a teacher. I started teaching in the fall of 2005 just after I graduated from college, … Continue reading Transition and Healing
I have an anxiety disorder. It might be temporary (here's hoping), but for now I'm dealing with it. Though not a particularly serious one, it is a mental illness. That term, "mental illness," is crucial to understanding what I'm going through and how I'm healing. At first when my counselor categorized my anxiety and depression as "mental illness," I balked. … Continue reading Can I Take a Sick Day?
This is number ten. The tenth year I've started school as a teacher. Or I could count it as number twenty-seven: the twenty-seventh year I've started school as either a student or a teacher. That's a lot of first days of school. But this one might have been the hardest. Okay, so I don't actually remember … Continue reading Back in the Classroom
Last night was our Staff Appreciation Dinner at Morrison Academy Taichung. Every year the board graciously treats the entire staff (teachers, maintenance workers, principals, administrative assistants, tech guys, cleaning people, cooking staff, etc.) to a formal dinner party. It's the one time of year that you'll see all Morrison personnel dressed in their finest, and it's … Continue reading Joy and Appreciation
