Tag: behavior

  • Rain, Memories, and Mischief

    Not too long ago, I wrote about memories and how they have a way of popping up when you least expect them. Maybe it’s because I’m — how shall we say — a little older now, but I find myself looking back more often, sifting through the good, the funny, and the slightly bruised. I…

  • Tinkering

    Once upon a time, every kid was a tinkerer. We learned by unscrewing things, prying them open, poking around inside. Radios, bikes, door hinges, cassette decks — if it rattled, clicked, or hummed, we had to know why. There were no YouTube tutorials or step-by-step guides, just a screwdriver, a roll of tape, and an…

  • Why We’re Holding the Line on Phones and Dress Code

    As both a parent and a school administrator, I often stand at the intersection of two worlds. At home, I want my own kids to laugh with their friends, make mistakes, learn from them, and discover who they’re meant to be. I remember what it felt like to be young, testing limits, eager for freedom.…

  • Between Covers, Beyond Pages — From Reader to Writer and Back

    Awaiting the publication of my first book has changed something I never expected: the way I hold a book in my hands. I’ve always loved books. As a kid, I devoured them. In college, I would lose hours wandering the library aisles, pulling random titles off the shelves and skimming their pages for knowledge. The…

  • Sleeping In: A Universal Law

    Sleeping in is not a character flaw. It’s not laziness. It’s not poor planning. It is a cosmic law, etched into the fabric of existence—right up there with gravity and Wi-Fi never working when you need it most. No one escapes. One day, like Thanos promised, it will happen. The circumstances vary. Sometimes you forget…

  • Grills, Jerseys, and Armchair Geniuses: Why Fall Rules

    Fall is my favorite season. The summer heat finally packs up and leaves, and cooler weather slides in like a welcome relief. Hoodies return, pumpkins appear everywhere (sometimes in places they really don’t belong), and—most importantly—football season takes over. Sure, Major League Baseball is making its late-season push. Division rivals square off, playoff spots are…

  • The People in Our Lives

    I got to thinking about friendships recently—not the surface kind, but the ones that quietly (and sometimes loudly) shape who we are. I’m not even sure what sparked it. Maybe it was the long road trips to gigs and the conversations that filled those miles. Maybe it was scrolling through friends’ posts, those little glimpses…

  • The Pause Between Words: How Nothing Becomes Something

    There are days when I simply cannot think of anything to write. Writer’s block isn’t just the absence of words—it’s a heavy stillness, like standing in a quiet room where nothing moves. You sit there, pen in hand or cursor blinking, waiting for the spark that refuses to show up. It’s frustrating, almost personal, as…

  • First Days Without Cell Phones in School

    Over the past few years, it’s become obvious: our students were living in two worlds at once—the real world, and the endless scroll. Heads down, thumbs flying, eyes glued to screens; friendships measured in likes, self-esteem dictated by notifications. Social media had them hooked, and let’s be honest—a digital addiction had quietly taken over hallways,…

  • Waking Up, (or Almost Sleeping)

    Ahhh, sweet slumber. The kind where your body finally stops twitching from yesterday’s chores and the blanket has molded perfectly to your shape. I’m out cold, dreaming of nothing, floating in pure bliss. Then it begins. A faint sound. Far away. Growing louder. Louder. Until it crashes into my skull like a marching band on…

  • Conversations With That Guy In The Mirror

    A funny reflection about my reflection. We all have that voice in our heads—the one we consult when making decisions, psyching ourselves up, or talking ourselves out of regrettable choices. Sometimes it’s calm, sometimes it’s nagging, and sometimes it’s downright mischievous. For me, that voice has a face. He’s there every morning—the guy in the…

  • The Flavor of Family

    Food has a way of doing what nothing else can: it gathers us, roots us, and reminds us who we are. In our family, meals were never just about eating. They were the soundtrack of our childhood, the punctuation marks on our days, the reason the house smelled like love and chaos all at once.…

  • But I Just Wanna Play Catch

    There was a time when the only thing that mattered was whether you could catch the ball. The sun burned hot on your back, the grass smelled like summer and sweat, and the popsicle you dropped three minutes ago was already a sticky puddle in the dirt. Your knees were scraped, your socks were wet,…

  • The Glorious Absurdity of the First Day

    Ahhhh… the first day of school. The crown jewel of the academic year. And this time, it comes after professional learning. Two glorious, soul-crushing days where you learned… well, you’re still not entirely sure what you learned. Icebreakers, slide decks, team-building exercises so awkward you briefly considered faking your own death. Somehow, someone convinced you…

  • The Day Camp Diaries

    When you hear “summer camp,” you might picture kids whisked away in vans, lugging haphazardly packed duffel bags, shipped off to some far-flung campground for a summer of “character building” and kumbaya bonding. Well… yeah—if you’ve watched enough movies, that’s exactly what you’ve seen. The reality? Not all camps are like that. Some are closer…