The Author

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I am a high school English teacher, and mother of two charming little ones of my own. I teach in a high poverty urban charter school, while I live in a typical American suburb that has frequently been rated one of the safest cities in the country. It is a paradox I struggle with constantly, but it is my life.

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Gratitude

I am permanently convinced that the secret to a happy life is gratitude.  So, today I am reminding myself of how grateful I am for all the things I love in life.

Things I love....

  • when my new Time magazine arrives each week (yes, I'm a geek. News excites me)
  • feeling a sense of community with my family, friends, and neighbors
  • having a mechanic in the family 
  • supporting local artisans by buying homemade goods
  • my mother's enthusiasm for knitting
  • my mother's enthusiasm for everything
  • when Tiana wraps her arms around my neck and says, "Mommy, I really love you!"
  • the taste of coffee in the morning
  • the relatively little effort involved in making a cup of coffee with my Keurig
  • thinking about Maui
  • deep dish chocolate chip cookie ice cream pies
  • the sun
  • wearing a tank top in February
  • being barefoot
  • my friends, because quality is most certainly more important than quantity
  • the Honda family (not the car -- people at my church)
  • Joel Stein's column in Time magazine (99% of the time.  I kind of want to write him a nasty letter about the misinformation he spread about the Common Core Standards in a December issue). 
  • that the brilliantly sarcastic student in my sixth period class has figured out I intentionally  don't hear the things he mutters under his breath
  • Flocabulary
  • the kindness of strangers
  • that Tiana loves our minister and yells, "Paater Gey Ree!"  whenever she sees him
  • my bi-weekly produce delivery from "Farm Fresh to You"
  • how my husband will pretty much do anything for me
  • my crock pot (by far the best kitchen gadget ever invented)
  • salsa 
  • garlic
  • the view from my back porch
  • my son's tiny neighborhood school
  • teaching at a charter school
  • Kelly Gallagher's book Write Like This
  • having thirteen cousins and a huge extended family
  • dark chocolate covered raisins from the bulk bins at Sprouts
  • that I got lucky with one boy and one girl
  • family photos, especially when I occasionally look good in one
  • the feeling of sand between my toes














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