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Will educators rise to the occasion?

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When I coached basketball at Scecina High, the head coach posted different quotes in the locker room as the quote of the week or game. One of those quotes had a story that went with it, and I clearly recall how Coach Burke, a lay coach who was a detective for the Indianapolis Police Department, explained how he had come across the quote. He got the girls into a huddle and started the story. “When we train our officers on how to draw their weapon, we train them over and over again to draw and not shoot. 1000s of reps of drawing their weapon without shooting, then putting it back in the holster correctly.  Rep after rep of doing that before we move to drawing their weapon and actually shooting. There are a series of questions that we have to go through in our mind before we actually draw to shoot. It is imperative that we practice that over and over because when it matters, we need to be certain we have officers trained to make the right decision. Your quote this week aligns with that,
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Armistice Day and Patriotism

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William Hurst Today marks 100 years since Armistice Day, the end of World War One. Two of my grandparents were just infants on that day.  I'm sure that their parents, like the rest of the world, breathed a sigh of relief.  The "war to end all wars" had ended and their older sons wouldn't be shipped off to a foreign land to fight now.  Little did they know that just over 20 years later, both of those infants would be fighting against Germany and a new cast of enemies driven by nationalism, racism and fascism. My Grandpa Bill was sent to the Aleutian Islands and ended up getting injured clearing airstrips, which eventually led to him meeting my grandmother.  She was in the Army Nurses Corps and worked at Putnam County Hospital when she returned home, where my grandpa was getting therapy. She actually served in "hot spots" during the war: Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Italy, and North Africa. I remember my grandma Helen sharing stories from her time in th
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Humanity at the Airport

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What do you think of when you contemplate going somewhere via plane?  Long lines at the airport, going through TSA, expensive food, and flight delays may come to mind.  I encounter a lot of folks who dread going to the airport for those and other reasons, one of which being that they might have to interact with people.   I relish in those opportunities with others.  In fact, I think that you can see and learn a lot about human emotion, our strengths and weaknesses at the airport.  I enjoy watching people jockey to get in a better position to board the plane first, only to find out that everyone has to wait anyways.  I get a kick out of how people still try to bring bottled water that they just bought through the TSA checkpoint and then they try to down a liter all at once.  I sit and wonder what people who are wearing headphones are listening to, and sometimes I overhear conversations that I wish I wasn't hearing.  I begin to miss my children when I see little kids getting exc
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Letter to Heidi

Dear Heidi, Even though it has been 18 years since you last spoke to me in person, I want you to know that you have been speaking to me so often without even being here. Remember that time I was scared and almost didn't get in the kayak but you coaxed me into the boat and the ride of my life?  Or that time I wondered if I wanted to have a child and you reminded me that I'll never get another chance to make this decision? And that time when I wasn't sure if I liked dogs and ended up getting three? Or the time when I hugged a stranger and cried and let my emotions show? Remember that time I felt stupid doing a team building activity and you said to just let go? That day when I had to decide to take the job in IPS teaching the "tough" kids?  And every time I run or push myself physically and think about how fortunate it is that I can do this?  Or when I dream of heaven and wonder if you will know me and what we will talk about then? I haven't laid eyes on you
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12 months of embracing the unknown

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My Dear Son, One year ago you were born.  One year ago I arrived at the hospital with a keen awareness of what was about to happen to me, but also with the realization that much was unknown.  I knew these things for certain; I was about to be given a heavy dose of anesthesia, my lower abdomen was going to be cut open through multiple layers of tissue, a small person would be removed from my uterus, and then I would be given multiple drugs to recover and trick my body into believing that I had given birth.  I knew that I would be in a lot of pain for the next few weeks as I tried to manage having a newborn and a toddler in the house at the same time.  Oddly enough these things were nothing compared to the unknown.   One year ago you were the unknown.  You had spent the last 19 weeks testing every ounce of my faith.  I knew that you were feisty from the amount of movement that I felt, and that you were going to be much smaller than your older brother had been at birth
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Deflating Footballs as a Teachable Moment

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The Patriots are, no doubt, a great team.... but why so much controversy around them all the time? As a former high school coach and college athlete who still has a competitive streak in her, I enjoy all sports.  I have enjoyed professional sports but admit that I am nothing more than a casual fan of the NFL.  I know the teams, I understand the game, and I get excited when there is intense competition.  I have always felt like athletics were the place where rules mattered and were followed.  It is the place where cheaters, when found out, don't win.  Athletics reward people for doing the best that they can do and making the most of the circumstances.  It is the place where the Goliath has the same rules as the underdog, where the rich play with the same rules as the poor, and where no one is above the law.  When the news of the deflated balls at the Colts/Pats game hit, I was stunned that no one was talking about replaying the game.  No one was talking about declaring Seattle
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What you give up when you become a parent

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It has taken me two years to write/admit/post what I am about to type.  Two years of trying to be the same person that I was prior to becoming a mother.  Two years of frustration and unmet expectations for myself and others.  Two years of stress.  I had our second child four months ago, and his first three months were far more challenging than anything we experienced with the first child.  I have spent a lot of time trying to reduce my stress, frustration, etc...  I have prayed for peace and have come to a place of acceptance.  I am not ever going to be the same as I was prior to having children.  Not mentally, physically, emotionally, financially, or even spiritually.  The thing is.... I realize now that I have a choice to make as to whether or not I grow in these areas and learn from this experience or I allow the longing for what used to be to thwart my growth.  I have a choice to let God lead or to let society's expectations for my new role lead.  I am making a choice to have p
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