Musings from an Aspiring #ExtraCreditKid
January 20, 2009, meant a lot to many people. It was American history in the making as Barack Obama got sworn in as the first Black President. Commemorative swag was everywhere. Hell, even I have a Safeway-branded inauguration bag. For me, a far different memory usurped this historic event. It’s not every day a sonogram…
“No one ever loses weight and feels worse,” the expert doctor proclaimed on YouTube. Umm, except for me. Since September, I’ve lost 60 pounds, and honestly, I can’t remember a longer period of my life where I’ve felt sicker with a constant cough, major fatigue, and shortness of breath. I struggle to get through most…
Wait, in my 2019 retrospective, I asked the universe for change and adventure in 2020?! I don’t know about the adventure part, but the universe totally delivered on the change part. For me and the entire world. Before COVID shut everything down, I regularly took substitute teaching jobs and accepted paid writing jobs. I hoped…
Nothing in my life has been safe from my “good enough” paintbrush: health, work, relationships. I’ve settled far too many times to count. If a life do-over were in the cards, continuously accepting good enough would be fine. But I’m in my 40s, and I gotta learn this “you deserve more than you are settling…
“No bread, no pasta, no sugar, no dairy.” When my ob/gyn issued this directive at my first prenatal checkup for my first pregnancy, I nodded along. I screamed “WTF am I supposed to eat?” in my head, of course. Giving up all of those things seemed inconceivable. Also, I dismissed my doctor’s concerns as overreactive…
“Frere Jacques, Frere Jacques Dormez poop? Dormez poop?” “Stop it!” My daughter shrieked at her older brother’s mention of the word poop. That one-room Airbnb rental with no tv, no wifi, and spotty cell service suddenly seemed like the worst idea. EVER. I also began questioning my ability to parent alone. Maybe, my husband staying…
What you would do if you had a whole week away from your kids? Me, I’m attending SFD20 from August 5 – August 8th! Virtually, of course. If you’ve ever attended a Field Day event, you know the intensity required to synthesize tons of content, pose somewhat coherent questions, and socially interact with others. The…
I stood there, stunned. Wasn’t that precisely what I said? Why did the idea suddenly gain more credibility, five-minutes later, when it passed the lips of a male co-worker? Why couldn’t my boss hear me and this idea? Was there something wrong with how I communicate? Was it me? This wasn’t the first time this…
Individualized Education Plan (IEP} time. Ugh, this is when I stew in the dashed hopes of my child ever catching up academically and simultaneously wallow in parental guilt and shame. I do all of this while preparing to battle teachers about why my child isn’t getting all of the needed supports or services. If you…
“Has anyone ever done such a horrible job that all of the work had to be scrapped?” I’ve graduated past asking that question, but thoughts like these appear whenever I agree to do bold, uncomfortable sh*t. I’m beyond grateful to Keith Townsend (@ctoadvisor) for the opportunity to present, but giving a session at CTO Advisors…