Tales Of An Educated Debutante
on life, loss and the joy that rules the day.






























The future is far away and scary, but today is lovely.
Adrian H. Wood, PhD
Shout Out to the Soccer Moms
Not the ones who look the picture of spring, but the ones freezing their asses off on metal bleachers in negative 20 wind chill. Not the ones who arrive with freshly cut orange slices, but the ones who arrive with an open pack of Oreos and a jug of powdered lemonade. Not the ones who come with words of encouragement, but the ones who curse by accident, I mean, it’s so f ing cold. Not the ones who bring chairs and hot cocoa, but the ones who can’t stop thinking about how go ..
Read moreWhat Drives a Parent to Cheat?
Thirty-three parents have been arrested in the largest college admissions scandal on record. The ultra wealthy including CEOs, celebrities, business leaders were charged with college coaches and William Singer, founder of “The Key.” According to the Key’s website, there are four principles: Coaching for the game of life, finding the right fit college, creating a personal brand, and beating the odds. Quite accurate, but in a way no one could have guessed. The investigation incl ..
Read moreNo Ulterior Motives
In response to those criticizing me for ulterior motives like fame, fortune and seeking to be the next Berkeley County Superintendent. This has never been my story. When Amber Pack shared the recording of children being terribly abused, the story should have ended. Instead, nothing happened. Three teachers were left in the classroom to further abuse nonverbal children just like my Amos. The system that is in place to protect them, swept it under the rug. If she had not bravely ..
Read moreWhat Parents Don’t Say at IEP Meetings
1. I just want ________ to be the very best version of him/herself. 2. I want you to tell me where the best place is for ______. 3. If money were no object, what would a school day look like for ______? 4. I really just want _______ to have friends, real friends. 5. I want ______ to be happy. 6. I want ______ to know kindness. 7. I don’t know what’s best for ______, either. 8. I sit in this room and I feel so sad to see those words describe my amazing ______. 9. Tell me, ..
Read moreThis is my space
My very own. When we bought our house, the owner used this outbuilding (the original kitchen) as an office. Our children were not quite one, two and four years old when we moved and so, it became a catchall. Filled with toys and strollers, a stray easel, an old doll carriage, too big plastic tinker toys, a hodgepodge of yard tools. Today was used for painting: a swing, a bench, a table and some chairs. Tonight, I slipped outside and looked at my newly hung lights. I’ve alway ..
Read moreDear Teachers
It’s Judgement Day. I don’t know how in the devil that applies to y’all, but it’s ominous and important sounding. Yep, the longest vacation on the planet has ended. I haven’t made lunches, haven’t had my coffee, forgot how annoying alarms sound. I know, I am a huge pain in the a double s, but I’ll tell you something. I see you. I acknowledge your hard work. I love you. I do, honest to goodness love you because you wrangle twenty or so cretins and manage to shove knowledg ..
Read moreNot Perfect, But Perfect In Imperfection
I sit, this morning, in a noisy port. The chill of the morning is unfamiliar after days of warm sun. My family, at least most of them, are asleep. In one hour, we are to have eaten and be off the ship. I never was one for promptness. After four days of nothingness, I am content. No checking email and even bigger for me, no writing. I promised. Promised them, though not aloud, that I would ride the seas in the moments they occurred. And, I did. From my middle son, I ..
Read moreFriendship Is Built On The Simplest Of Things
I’m not the greatest friend in the world. But, boy, do I love those who I call my very own. I don’t tell them often enough, though I have taken to saying,”I love you,” when I get off the phone. If you don’t love a friend, then who do you love? This old wood table is far from home for me, yet friends aren’t always within county lines. Two people that I absolutely adore. I met the one on the left at the beach. We were just a couple moms, toting very small children, an ..
Read moreDear NC General Assembly and NC Superintendent Mark Johnson
It’s a new year and you’ve got work to do. 1. Work together for NC. I adore a team, but y’all resemble power hungry vultures on a rural eastern NC highway. 2. Bring back Kindergarten. Research clearly shows that play fosters long term academic success, yet you have turned our earliest classrooms into sweat factories. 3. Scrap Read to Achieve. Senator Phil Berger (https://www.facebook.com/SenatorBerger/?__tn__=K-R&eid=ARAt0nq7kSkUQJMW2VL73dNLZZrfZZS56HC42eG6uBc81r ..
Read moreNew Year's Resolutions
Perhaps out of the box, but humor me. 1. Make a list of ten things your heart longs for and expect that they will happen. 2. Go away for a three day weekend with friends, even if it means pulling out a credit card and begging folks to help with your kids. 3. Make yourself call a family member once a month that you don't speak to all that often and at the end of the year, acknowledge the difference it has made. 4. Do NOT vow to lose weight or exercise. Instead, think of ..
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