When we heard the news of Babi’s death, we were on a family bike ride, wearing face masks and keeping our distance from other Czechs who had also escaped to the countryside that Saturday morning for fresh air. Babi was my husband’s grandmother. Like my family back in Virginia, we had already been under quarantine due to the coronavirus for several weeks.…
Whether it’s playing a lively game of Guess in 10, using Rory Story Cubes to tell a make-believe narrative, or simply providing a crafting workspace and keeping my mouth shut when my boys swipe cardboard from the recycling bin, I believe supporting my students' (and my children's) creative spirits is the best way I can help ensure their bright futures. …
In the age of Trump, when fear, nationalism, and racism have spread from the United States outward toward Europe and beyond, even raising my children in a fairytale village outside of Prague still doesn’t keep them safe from the Trump-created crises that pop up on their social media and in the news.…
There is a part of me that will always want to register for a planned race – to know the variables I am up against and to gauge my chances against known odds. But, I am also coming to realize that learning to adapt (with a cheerful spirit) to circumstances beyond my control is a race-worthy skill of its own. …
It’s a few nights before school starts in the Czech Republic. My children are sprawled across their beds, breathing soundly. It’s me that can’t sleep. I could blame my restlessness on the mini-heat wave. With temperatures at 30C (again), heading back to school on Monday feels surreal. And, I’m not even the one who’ll be sitting in a classroom.…
Registering to run the Prague May 6th marathon (and its sister half-marathon to be held 4-weeks before), had been a split-second, instinctive decision made on a dark November night, when I was desperate for a tangible goal to guide me through another grey Prague winter. I didn’t want to wait until my children were grown; by that time, I figured my husband would be right – my knees would be shot. I’d have missed my chance.…