I’ve spent most of my life trying not to be angry. I somehow got the message that anger was bad. Maybe it was more than anger was unfeminine? Either way, anger was not something I was supposed to express. Or even feel. How do you live without ever being angry? I learned to smile when … Continue reading
Author Archives: Jennifer
Thinking about Time
I know there is a science and history to time. To me things like ‘time is linear’, and tesseracts that take you from one point in space and time to another instantaneously, make me feel like time is a much less concrete thing than we have made it be. I have worked with different people … Continue reading
Thinking about Relationships
Yes, I capitalized it. I feel like leaving it lower case would negate the power of interpersonal dynamics. Relationships are not minor and do not deserve to be left in the lowercase. So, Relationships…I feel like this could be a blog post or a novel. Aren’t we all always trying to understand the people we … Continue reading
Thinking about success
I mean, it’s pretty self-explanatory, isn’t it? I am thinking about success. It feels like that should be the end of it. But it’s not. Why? Why isn’t anything that simple? Come to think of it, over the course of the last year, very little is as simple as it feels like it should be. … Continue reading
Thinking about being busy
When the pandemic started everyone thought it was going to last a couple of weeks, at least the people I knew, and it felt like a mini vacation. I dropped the mantle of being busy and sat back to enjoy my two weeks. Then it turned into four weeks, then another month, then the rest … Continue reading
Thinking about Hygge
Every year in December I select a word to live with and explore for the next twelve months, starting on New Year’s Day. It is my form of resolution setting. Last year I picked Hygge. For those of you who don’t know this Danish word, it generally means a feeling of comfort and coziness. Hygge … Continue reading
Thinking about music
I often play soft jazz, classical, or some other form of non intrusive background music in my classroom. First of all, it stops the inevitable moment when the room is actually quiet because everyone is working and then someone says, “It’s so quiet in here!” Which, of course, leads everyone to talk again. Having music … Continue reading
Thinking about paperwork
I get it, paperwork is important, but come on, how many times can you file the same forms before you’re just killing trees? Not to mention the ‘we’re going 21st century, no more killing trees!’ plan which switched everything into pdf versions of the papers I used to be able to fill out on a … Continue reading
Thinking about car repair
I know, for the most part, it’s so mundane and often so annoying that it’s something many people purposely don’t think about unless they have to. I’m not going to go all ‘Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance’ on you and suggest there is something deeply meaningful in getting your car repaired (although if … Continue reading
Thinking about taking a break
No, not like Ross and Rachel. I know, I thought of that line too. But I’m thinking more about the break I took between the end of August and the beginning of 2021. For those of you who don’t know, I am a teacher and this year has been a mile a minute, never ending … Continue reading
