Green River Star -

My two youngest daughters came out of their room a while back after playing Barbies and they were both just sobbing. They weren’t fighting or arguing—they were so sad and they were comforting each other. I asked them what was wrong. They said...

During the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays my family and I watch Hallmark and Lifetime Christmas movies. It’s become quite a little tradition. They are all very similar in nature, but we never really look at them as “if you’ve seen one,...

I am back! Some of you might not have even noticed or missed me, but some of you may have noticed I haven’t written in a few months. In fact, I have been asked by some people why they hadn’t seen any new articles in the paper or on my website in...

Much has changed in the past year and a half with COVID-19 and our abilities to be out and about as much. However, one thing that has NOT changed is the love shown to us by our pets. In fact, if you are like me, even though you have still been just...

A while ago, my seven-year-old and I were watching ‘Elmo in Grouchland’. In the Elmo movie, Huxley, the villain, steals Elmo’s blanket. When Elmo asks for his blanket back, Huxley says, “If I touch it, I own it” then he touches a variety...

I have probably made the jog from my house to the work at the college and/or back home, legitimately 500 times over the last couple years. I have run Grant Street so many times, I might actually have every crack in the sidewalk memorized. However,...

I am that person that always manages to “find” the shopping cart with the wonky wheel. I used to trade it out because it irritated me. The cart wobbled and sometimes made noise and it usually drove a little slower and pushed a little harder....

As we are forced to air high-five and elbow bump instead of hug or shake hands right now, in the FACE of Covid, I think it’s important to note several other very important things we are FACING. The face is a very important tool we all have. We use...

I need to pay more attention to the messages in children’s books. I have read them to my kids for 23 plus years now, or they have then read them to me once they began reading on their own. We read a variety of stuff-chapter books, fiction,...

During this time where I am working from home, I am trying to focus on a growth mindset for me personally. In addition to working from home, I am homeschooling my three littles and enjoying my three older children being at home, even though I wish...

I try to run to work ALMOST every day. I run in the hot weather and in the cold weather, the snow, the wind, the heat…I enjoy running although I don’t run all that fast. I would run every day but sometimes I need a car in the middle of the day,...

My sixth and final child is in kindergarten this year. My older three were in elementary school quite some time ago. I was in kindergarten in the dark ages. Many things have changed throughout the years but one thing I has not and I hope it never doe...

We’ve all heard the expression, “you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.” It’s so true, and kids are super impressionable. We need to be mindful every time we open ours mouths TO and AROUND our children. I know with my...

I was reading an editorial by Tom Salvino in the Subaru Drive magazine of all places. (Yes, we have a Subaru as our home.) His article is titled, “The Best Kind of Teacher.” In it, Salvino talks about how growing up, his grandfather seemed to...

I recently read an article written by Emily Tipping, editorial director for the magazine Recreation Management, May 2019, about trying to keep work life and home life in balance on a consistent basis. Tipping said that we all have an idea of where...

The other day, my five and six-year-old daughters were singing the words to the song, “Nerves” by Terri Hendrix. My five year old sang, “You’re getting on my nurses.” (You should’ve seen me look at her and NOT react.) Then my six year...

It’s that time of year where schools all the way from pre-school through college, celebrate the accomplishments of students through graduation and commencement activities and ceremonies. This year, I am very excited as I actually have three...

I want to share a story. My oldest daughter Aly graduated a couple of years ago from Western. Then she worked at Western, while still taking a couple of classes after graduation. For her own reasons, she needed some time off before pursuing her bache...

I read a passage in a book recently, describing mood contagion. Mood contagion says that when a person walks in the room, we can automatically sense if they are sad, angry, anxious, or upset and unless we are very mindful, their negative mood can ove...

If you are like me, you worry a little about stretching the dollar during the holidays. Of course, as has always been the case no matter where I have worked in education, my December paycheck has arrived the last day before vacation in December....

I read an article by Drs. Srini Pillay and David R. McDuff in the Nov./Dec. 2018 issue of Coach and AD, where they discussed how student-athletes can sharpen their minds by actually intentionally “un-focusing.” I really enjoyed this article and...

In an interview she did for Parade Magazine (Oct. 14, 2018), Jamie Lee Curtis said, “Every good thing that ever happened to me was because I was in horror films.” My take from that is that good things happen to you, but sometimes only after you...

Recently, I was told a story about an anthropologist who went to Africa to study the social behavior of tribes. One day, he proposed a game to some of the tribal children. He put a basket full of fruit near a tree and told the kids to stand many...

Tis the season for a lot of road construction. I was traveling for business not long ago and I couldn’t help but notice the many, many roads signs as I drove. I started thinking about signs we are “given” or that we give out in our every day...

I usually run home from work every day, rain or shine. I started this practice over a year ago when we decided not to put any more money into the old car I was driving to and from work in. Sometimes I run to AND from work, but usually just home in...