May 10, 2018 Dear Families, This morning, I departed DIA at 8:55 AM. My destination-Arizona. My purpose to pick Maddy up from NAU for the summer. My purpose made the flight worth it. I hate flying. In fact, I loathe it. But in my defense, 24 years ago, Paul and I found ourselves on a … Continue reading The View from 32,000 Feet

February 15, 2018 Dear Families, Today's post may not be popular. I accept that because I believe with all of my heart that it needs to be shared. Yesterday, a friend asked me, "How did you empower your kids to have empathy for others all the time?" I gave her my standard response. "They aren't always." … Continue reading That’s a HUGE Speck

April 26, 2018 Dear Families, Ever have one of those parenting days. You know the one. The epic day of battle. It usually starts the minute feet hit the floor. Closet doors slam. Indecipherable murmurings fill the bedroom of your precious child and cloud the calm of the house. You quickly realize if you aren't prepared … Continue reading “Fine, Whatever, Go Ahead”

April 12, 2018 Dear Families, As we begin our initial descent to the conclusion of the year, I find myself struggling to settle on a topic for this week's article.  I could address the cliche that spring fever definitely fills the halls of the middle school. Students exhibit signs that their beloved summer break is … Continue reading The Mystery that is High School

October 19, 2017 Dear Families, Pop Quiz...Do you know the following acronyms? TBH...  IKR... IMO... To be honest, 15 years ago, I never thought I would spend a significant amount of time researching and learning the latest trends in social media. When social media slang began to trend, my biggest struggle came in my attempts … Continue reading …TBH…

March 23, 2018 Dear Families, I remember teaching Maddy and Hunter to ride a bike. I hated every minute of it. I couldn't run fast enough to protect them. I quickly realized that "a best practice" for teaching a child to ride a bike is to use gravity. Starting off, headed downhill works best. I … Continue reading Don’t Teach Your Child to Ride a Bike

March 8, 2018 Dear Families, When Hunter turned 16, all the cliches of that milestone flooded my mind. I found myself transfixed. I found myself filled with anxiety.  I realized that essentially, my "parenting" days are done. Of course, Paul and I will continue to discipline poor choices and hold him accountable to the standards … Continue reading The Epic Growth of a Parent

March 1, 2018 Dear Families, “Do I have to keep these?” “I’m sorry, Hunter, these is an indefinite pronoun. To what are you referring?” “Can you please not give me a grammar lesson every five minutes? These, the trophies I got when I was little? They don’t mean anything.” Three years ago, I redid Hunter’s … Continue reading How Do You Define Success?

February 22, 2018 Dear Families, This past weekend, we purchased a car for Hunter.  I believe he would word it a bit differently.  An adverb like "finally" would likely precede the verb purchased if he were sharing the story. With this purchase came more parenting opportunities. Very exciting. It also provided further confirmation that we … Continue reading Stalled Out

February 1, 2018 Dear Families, Last week, I navigated the crowded halls of the middle school in the morning with 6 chairs in my hands. Three in each arm. I like to live on the edge. Rarely, do I receive help well. As I weaved in and out of clusters of students, I heard, "Guys, … Continue reading Rules of the Round Table