We all know the Griswold Family and their notorious vacation shenanigans from Wally World, to Europe, Vegas and even Christmas. Let me just say, the Griswold’s have nothing on the Lusby’s this spring break. Let me also just say that my husband is much better looking than Clark, and he has a better sense of humor when I get his jokes. (If anyone can explain deez nuts…. Would be appreciated). National Lampoons Lusby Family Funeral Flight The Lusby’s have had the absolute worst luck with trips in the last year. InOctober we were scheduled for a very early Saturday morning…
Wrestling Mom Life is the Best Life: words of wisdom from a wrestling mom wrapping up her wrestling mom career to the newbies.
Wrestling season is my absolute favorite sports season. Wrestling is hard….it takes strength, stamina, strategy, and skill. Wrestlers are some of the most dedicated and hardest working athletes out there and until you have lived it….you just don’t know. There is something special about wrestling that is different from other sports and that is the unity involved with the wrestlers and their families and coaches. Wrestling is a sport that takes grit, determination, hard work and sacrifice. And that is just for the athletes. Wrestling season is hard on parents too, between emotional intensity of not just matches but preparation…
Behind the Scenes in the Principal’s Office, Any School Office, On Any Morning
I came across an article in an education journal last week about the perceptions principals have of their workload during this pandemic compared to pre-pandemic. I know that any educator who works in any school read that and said, ‘yep’. It also stands to reason that the majority of the people out there don’t know about the day to day challenges that educators are facing and the social and emotional impact this has on our lives. The article I read came out in a publication intended for educators, so people outside the field may not be exposed to the raw…
Sweat the small stuff so the big stuff isn’t so big
My dear old Gran always used to say, take care of the dimes and the dollars take care of them selves. This wasn’t financial advice either. While she had an analogy for nearly everything, this one could be applied across multiple contexts…and it was. In the school setting this is equivalent to sweating the small stuff. When you sweat the small stuff, the big stuff is fewer and farther between, meaning mind the dimes and they don’t turn into dollars. Then, you have those people that don’t care about the dimes. They toss them aside because it isn’t enough to…
Santa’s Favorite Elf… Or…The REAL Reason Santa Delegates
Tis the season… Endless ‘to do’ lists in order to make the magic happen….the long days of planning and preparation that take place in order to make the holiday season memorable and fun for the family is exhausting for Santa’s favorite elf…me. I don’t think people realize how much effort goes into making the Holidays Bright. By people, I mean men. Disclaimer here: If you are one of the rare men who does all of these things, you have a future in personal coaching and I am sure that women across the country will pay you to teach their husbands….
With Great Love Also Comes Great Sorrow: Reflections on Loss During Times of Gratitude
Not to be a downer on Thanksgiving because truly, I am thankful. But for many people, holidays are just a little harder. Until last year though, I wasn’t one of those people so I didn’t know. Loss of a parent, sibling or spouse changes you emotionally and irrevocably. And you don’t know it until you know it. So if you are one of those people who has NOT experienced this….listen up because I am talking to you. Grief is not a one and done. As much as we would like to believe it is….it most certainly is not. Grief on…
My school fundraiser is better than yours…. No seriously.
Now that we are back in school and things are feeling…. Dare I say it…. Normalish…. We are seeing all the fundraisers for every child we know. My Facebook timeline is flooded with offers to buy popcorn, cookie dough, candles, wrapping paper and ‘gifts’. My email in box is the same story. And I have to say…..I’m struggling with writing those checks! But let me be the first to say, that I know my students and families plastered our school fundraiser all over email and social media too. In all seriousness though….my school fundraiser is better than yours, and it…
PBIS….Positive Behavior Intervention and Support…AKA Positively Believe It Saves sanity!
I have heard the tales of dysregulation, I have heard school staff cursing the covid year in what is has cost kiddos, I have heard horror stories of kids running amok, and I have heard sad stories of teachers in tears. I know being back in school in more ‘normal’ circumstances is hard for kids who have not been used to the strict and consistent routines that schools have to offer during the last 18 months, especially if they were distance learning. Truth be told….it is sort of hard for teachers and school staff too. For this I am so…
Pro life vs. pro Quality of life
I am 100% pro life. Wait. Hear me out because it isn’t what you think. I’m going to start with story time today. I had a girl enroll at the middle school. She was 14 and in 8th grade but was behind her peers and had a social worker with her foster parent when they enrolled her. Kids in foster care are not news, but the story behind this girl’s foster placement is chilling. Her mother, who gave birth shortly after her 15th birthday (based on the dates on the birth certificate) left her just after her 6th birthday with…
Back to School -Pandemic Edition
You can bet that at the end of the 2020-21 school year educators across the country breathed a collective sigh of relief and said, ‘We made it’. Many educators had to relearn their craft of the delivery of instruction from face to face to virtual, societies problems were laid at the feet of the school house doors: how to feed the children, ensure their social/emotional safety, make sure they have internet, stay engaged….We also faced the brunt of the blame when parents no longer had childcare and were unable to work, when children were unengaged, or ‘falling behind’. We worked…