Six Months

Part of my Lenten practice this year is Seven Sun Salutations, at least, in part, for the alliterative value of that practice. It reminds me of that bit on “Sesame Street” with the baker. “Seven…sun…salutations!” The other part is letting myself mourn my old life. One of my godmothers mentioned to me that it was […]

PJ

I did not expect PJ to actually bring a shrunken head into my classroom during my planning period. When he told me to touch the shrunken head, of course I had to. I did not want to, but he showed such devil-may-care affability that I would not be shown up. He had brought the head […]

Yes

Lois Lowry taught me who Freud was. A guy prominent enough to have a bust, one that her character, Anastasia, kept in her room and talked to. Anastasia, Ask Your Analyst was the name of one of the books I loved. Reading about a Freud bust, a big Victorian house in the city of higher […]

Squeezed

“Like a snake is squeezing you, maybe?” I offered. My students are working on a project which requires them to create a symbol for a problem they have overcome. “Lots of people, when they get anxious, have tightness around here,” I gestured around my chest. “I definitely feel it there.” “Yeah, like I’m being squeezed,” […]