That pile under the covers in the picture at the top of this post. This is not me. But it could be. My friend, Wes, wrote this hilarious rhyming poem Facebook note for day 6 of our joint 30-day writing challenge, and I’m over here, like, “Um, I can’t think of a topic easy enough […]
Month: December 2018
Dr. Hsieh’s Final Reflections Fall 2018
The preservice teacher candidates in my literacy courses are required to write a final reflection at the end of the semester talking about how they’ve changed or stayed the same in a variety of areas over the semester. I also try to do a final reflection each semester, a reflection on what I’ve learned from […]
My Boy
Leave it to my son to recognize gender ambiguity in a snail (collected from our neighborhood during a dog walk to bring to school for “snail races” in science) and acknowledge it, along with ideas from his mother and father, in a 4-part name: “Sir Ma’am Sparky Swift.” This encapsulates the charm of my boy. […]
Choosing Wisely
Now that I’m on day 3 of the 30-day writing/ blogging challenge that I’m doing with my friends Wes & Darlene, the ideas for blog posts have started rolling. Today, I thought about writing a post on the idea of beloved community or a companion piece to yesterday’s piece on my daughter about my son. Those posts […]
My Girl
“Mommy, I made you a rainbow, all in my favorite color (orange) and then I put a heart because I love you, Mommy. And then, see, Papa helped me write, ‘I love you, Mommy!” I made it for you” “Sweetheart, it’s beautiful! Thank you so much. Mommy is going to hang it in her office.” […]
Doing Too Much or My Mythical Best Self
[Before I begin this post, I’d like to give props to my friends, Darlene & Wes Kriessel, who inspired me with their spousal 30-day blogging challenge. Darlene’s first post on pushing through and writing anyways reminded me that I need to do the same–prioritize writing, prioritize myself, do the hard things, especially when the hard […]
Mile 11
Most people who know me (in real life) know that I am a runner. Three years ago, about 8 months after my daughter was born, I began training for my first half marathon. In October, I finished my 9th half marathon and my first under 2 hours. While I haven’t been running for the past […]
Reflections on Humanizing Connections
The end of the semester always comes fast and furious, with myriad assignments to grade and curriculum to cover as 15 weeks culminates with “trying to get it all done.” And usually, I get sick in the midst of it. I used to have my body trained to not get sick until the end of […]
Humanizing Academia
It is Monday morning and I am beginning my week already tired. I have a lingering upper respiratory infection that has been around for almost 3 weeks now, practically preventing me from two of the most important activities in my life: running and singing. I thought I was feeling better enough to do a desert […]