Musings on living, loving, and leading in today's world.
Today, someone asked me how I was doing with my latest book. I have been working on my second book for over a year. I’m making slow, steady process. And I’m still not sure if it is a book that … Continue reading “How’s your book coming?” →
Did you ever have an experience that crystalized in your memory? I wrote this poem to capture an experience I had when I was thirteen on a vacation with my family.
Everyone wants to have some kind of legacy: to leave some kind of impact or feel that we have mattered in some way. I don’t feel very confident that anything that I have done or will do will leave that kind of legacy.
A sliding door separated where we lived from where my father worked. My dad would slide the door open and pass the threshold into a wonderland of sounds and textures and smells; not all of them good smells, but there was no doubt that he had entered a different place. The shelves were full of colorful boxes with letters and numbers. Things hung from the walls all the way up to the ceiling. There was a desk in the front window, swivel chairs at the counter, and an old mahogany cash register behind the counter.
Here is a post from my original blog at turnaroundschool.blogspot.com. It’s interesting to me how much of the learning from that time still applies to the learning we are doing in education today. I have been talking about this very thing, the change process and how people react and respond to change, for much of this schoolyear.
A month ago, a writer friend issued a challenge to try and write something outside our comfort zone. She said, “If you usually write poetry, try to write fiction. If you usually write fiction, try to write memoir. Whatever your usual genre is, try and write something different.”
It seemed like a good way to get myself out of feeling pretty stuck in my writing, so I accepted her challenge.
This week, I published my first book. (you can buy it here!) I say my first book, because I plan to publish again. I want to write books for adults and books for children. I want to write about things … Continue reading “Writing to learn.” →
How do you know when it’s time, or if it’s time, to start something new? Last week, I started a new position – a new principal position. Starting a new position in the middle of a global pandemic is scary and uncertain. Building relationships in zoom meetings or wearing a mask adds a significant layer of challenge to something that is already difficult.
Tonight, I went to a retirement party for a wonderfully authentic human. I have been fortunate to know her and work with her for more than ten years, and she continues to inspire me with her ability to speak life … Continue reading “Celebrating the leadership in others.” →
“Leadership cannot really be taught. It can only be learned.” – Harold Geneen So many things in life must be learned from experience. We cannot learn the real meaning of heartbreak until we have loved and lost. We do not … Continue reading “Dear Leader: Why you need a coach.” →