Aaahhh, the magical time when summer fades into winter -- when leaves change colors and meander through the air on their way to the ground, when the air is just warm enough to sit outside in the evening but just cool enough to need a hoodie and some extra snuggles. I try to hit the pause button in this fleeting moment, the glorious transition from summer to winter, when nothing seems permanent and everything holds a little bit of magic. Yellow has been my favorite color for years and years.  At one point, I realized that yellow is a color that [...]

This weekend, my family celebrated Thanksgiving.  We aren’t going to be able to celebrate on Thanksgiving Day due to changes in some family members’ work situations.  After the appropriate quarantining and COVD testing, our family was able to fully be around one another this weekend.  This picture is of my sister and dad together, without masks, for the first time in eight months.  It was beautiful.  As hard as it is to maintain our distance from those we love the most, it is important that we are diligent and consistent in order to keep the virus at bay. Please be sure to [...]

“Antiracist Baby is bred, not born. Antiracist Baby is raised to make society transform,” Is the text on the first page of this book that my daughter, Aruna, is reading. I intentionally stock Aruna’s library with books that tell true stories of women who have impacted the world in positive ways, picture books that illustrate people of differing races, cultures, and family structures, and stories about kindness, bravery, love, and acceptance. My parenting choices remind me of City Neighbors’ foundational belief that every student is Known, Loved, and Inspired. I’ve always thought that to be known is for others to really [...]

When the world is flipped on its head, at least it gives you a new perspective.   Whenever I feel overwhelmed by the everything-ness of it all right now, worried about the state of affairs in our country, concerned by continued racial inequities in our culture, or focused on making sure online learning is relevant and effective, I remind myself that all of this is giving me a new perspective. I actually see things differently.  Over these past seven months, I have learned so much about myself. I have realized how much of my daily  life used to be filled with [...]

Last night I woke up in the middle of the night with my mind racing through my To-Do lists.  After an unsuccessful hour of trying to clear my head, I got up and worked for a couple of hours to feel a sense of accomplishment and be able to go back to sleep. Today, as I felt sleep creep behind my eyelids, I simply kept going.  Push through, I told myself.   And then THIS happened…. This afternoon, I looked up and was struck by the beauty of the warm sun against the cool sky.  At that moment, it didn’t matter what [...]

This gorgeous slice of a Cyprus tree reveals its many layers of history and knowledge in the rings, knots, and holes. I wonder which markings reveal a difficult year or a dry summer… what caused this hole or that knot. I wonder how this year, with all of its peculiarities, impacted the rings of our center? What story will this tell in our futures?      After countless months of sanding, prepping, and collecting all of the right pieces, this slab of wood is ready to become an outdoor table in my backyard. As a sculptor, I find a great escape when [...]

This Tuesday, September 22, all will be equal in the world… well, at least with sunlight.  This is the day, when Summer turns to Fall, and when day and night are of equal length. After Tuesday, the days shorten and nights lengthen. The trees glow with reds, yellows, and oranges.  And we begin wearing sweatshirts instead of tank tops.   Lately, I’ve been smelling the nostalgic smell of outdoor fires in neighbors’ yards and enjoying the slow twisting and turning of leaves as they meander to the ground in the breeze.   The Fall Equinox always reminds me that school is [...]

Last week was filled with new beginnings, new perspectives, challenges, celebrations, and frustrations. We started the school year fully online, in the middle of a global pandemic with many other layers of challenges impacting our country and lives --  economic downturn, increased unemployment and homelessness, continued and necessary racial uprising, and a polarized and acidic political climate leading up to a national election. With that, we started the school year with eager and engaged students, present and active parents, guardians and caregivers, and dedicated and enthusiastic teachers. I have continued to say, when the world is flipped on its head, at [...]