Margin Notes
These blog posts search ordinary moments in my life. That's where magic hides. Always.
Crazy Corn
I'm a Midwestern girl through and through, having lived in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Ohio. With all three states side-by-side on the American map, I grew up believing we were the cornfield coastline. Folks in seashore states gazed at the ocean from their lawn chairs, but on my relatives' farms, outdoor seating faced the…
A Flashlight for Non-Readers
In first grade, Maggie stopped loving books. The language arts program used skill-and-drill instruction followed by multiple-choice testing to determine progress. No matter how often Cliff and I presented our case on her behalf, the teacher didn't care to offer options. We knew being turned off to reading would be a major stumbling block for…
Fill-in-the-Blank Education
I haven't taught in more than twenty years, but I think about classrooms all the time. I've decided there are two ways to teach. Focus on the answers. Or focus on the students. Either way earns the same paycheck. I once worked with an English teacher who was a fascinating person but gave mind-numbing tests…
Thomas Edison Returns Home
I heard the sirens in the town square on June 7th, signaling the parade was beginning for Thomas Edison. The bronze replica of him holding a light bulb, that is. Almost seven feet tall and weighing 900 pounds, he rode on a flatbed truck behind an escort of police, sheriff, and fire department vehicles.…
Seven out of Ten
Sometimes you can see trouble coming. You've got seconds to make a decision that will haunt you forever, no matter which way it goes. It happened to me last spring. I was taking Maggie to a friend's house in Woodbury, and we had to travel I-94 across St. Paul in Friday rush-hour traffic. Ahead of…
Definitional Distress
Words, definitions in particular, have gotten me in trouble for as long as I can remember. My earliest language mishap began with organized religion, kicking off an uneasy relationship that continues to this day, although I excelled in some areas of church life. As a child, I loved winning glow-in-the-dark crosses for memorizing scripture. (I…
Fences and Gates
Our dog Maria and her two puppies were discovered at a dump on a northern Minnesota reservation. A woman up there took them in. She works with a Twin Cities' shelter that periodically picks up her animals because they're more likely to find homes in Minneapolis/St. Paul than in a remote rural area. They knew…
Happy Solitary Mother's Day
I was a late bloomer to being celebrated on Mother's Day. A mother for the first time at 45, I imagine I expected more than the usual cards and flowers. Because I have a big imagination, I probably envisioned a gigantic balloon drop with cheers and applause. That was almost 20 years ago. So who…
Peacehaven
I'm hardly a geographical expert. Far from it. In fact, I have a spatial dyslexia that often leads me astray. Left? Right? Both look the same to me. So I've developed a sensory view of places, a directional rhythm. Consequently, I find an ebb and flow in every place I've lived. Each town has a…
Purple, Overnight
When you get to be my age, you think you know a lot. Still, sometimes you get it wrong. You simply couldn't see it coming. Literally. Since August we've lived next door to Rob and Beth, straight off the Hallmark rack of ideal neighbors--friendly, helpful, considerate. When you live side-by-side with people, you notice their…
Guest Blogger: Kathryn Atwood
[From 1976-1983, I taught English and directed plays at Holland Hall Upper School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I was twenty-four and had negligible experience. I didn't know up from down about teaching, but during those years, a handful of students changed me irrevocably. Over three decades, one way or the other, they've found me. I recently…
Guest Blogger: Alex Eaton
[From 1976-1983, I taught English and directed plays at Holland Hall Upper School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I was twenty-four and had negligible experience. I didn't know up from down about teaching, but during those years, a handful of students changed me irrevocably. Over three decades, one way or the other, they've found me. I recently…
Guest Blogger: Janet Rorschach
[From 1976-1983, I taught English and directed plays at Holland Hall Upper School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I was twenty-four and had negligible experience. I didn't know up from down about teaching, but during those years, a handful of students changed me irrevocably. Over three decades, one way or the other, they've found me. I recently…
Guest Blogger: Bill Webb
[From 1976-1983, I taught English and directed plays at Holland Hall Upper School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I was twenty-four and had negligible experience. I didn't know up from down about teaching, but during those years, a handful of students changed me irrevocably. Over three decades, one way or the other, they've found me. I recently…
Guest Blogger: Todd Singer
[From 1976-1983, I taught English and directed plays at Holland Hall Upper School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I was twenty-four and had negligible experience. I didn't know up from down about teaching, but during those years, a handful of students changed me irrevocably. Over three decades, one way or the other, they've found me. I recently…
Guest Blogger: Elspeth Bloodgood
[From 1976-1983, I taught English and directed plays at Holland Hall Upper School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I was twenty-four and had negligible experience. I didn't know up from down about teaching, but during those years, a handful of students changed me irrevocably. Over three decades, one way or the other, they've found me. I recently…
Guest Blogger: Charlie Morrow
[From 1976-1983, I taught English and directed plays at Holland Hall Upper School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I was twenty-four and had negligible experience. I didn't know up from down about teaching, but during those years, a handful of students changed me irrevocably. Over three decades, one way or the other, they've found me. I recently…
Guest Blogger: Shelli O'Steen
[From 1976-1983, I taught English and directed plays at Holland Hall Upper School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I was twenty-four and had negligible experience. I didn't know up from down about teaching, but during those years, a handful of students changed me irrevocably. Over three decades, one way or the other, they've found me. I recently…
About That Owl
The story about that owl from my previous post didn't stop with his attic escape. But for weeks I wish it had. I got overly attached, which is what I do. He returned regularly for a while. I liked his scratching outside the window. I appreciated his evening hoots. I marveled at his enormous wingspan…
Ohio Christmas Letter 2015: Settling In
People told us we'd be bored when we moved from Minnesota's Twin Cities to Milan, Ohio, a village in northern nowhere. Small and quiet. Nothing to do. No place to go. Neighbors greeted us with cookies, a calendar, tomatoes, strawberry jam, flowers--all local and lovely and tied with ribbon. We've moved seven times and never…