Monthly Archives: April 2026

Taking Care of Myself

April 21, 2026poetry, Reflections on teaching, Slice of Lifeonathought

Part of Slice of Life Tuesday Slices on Two Writing Teachers!
Join in and write on Tuesdays!

This morning I mentioned to my student teacher that I slept weird on my pillow, but luckily I already had a chiropractor appointment for after school. (I’m super exciting, I know.)

She said, and I am not exaggerating, “You take such good care of yourself!”

I laughed, and told her I would have to tell my therapist about this.

The truth is that last year I realized it takes a lot to regulate this life of mine: Almost 50, betrayal trauma, I’m a teacher, and of course, I’m a single mama!

It could be a song, but this is serious stuff, nothing I could try to set to We Didn’t Start the Fire or something. But, it could be done, I’m sure. Even if just about a day at school…

All day I am trying to help a classroom full of amazing small humans regulate themselves… and friends… I don’t know if you’ve heard, but —

You need to co-regulate to regulate a child.

Today I regulated through someone or another:

screaming in the hallway, crawling in the library corner, hiding behind my table to read, dropping water bottles, cleaning up water with paper towels for what must have been the first time in their life, water dripping back to the floor, crying, falling, complaining that their scratch really really hurt and yes they would like a bandaid but that bandaid is too small for their scratch, dropping a chair, sneaking reading, swinging a necklace, chewing a necklace, saying someone was stupid for chewing a necklace, book borrowing, book not-giving-back, more crying, saying someone was stupid for needing their book back, saying they were allowed to call someone stupid since they are stupid, missing an invisible pen and not enjoying my joke “I haven’t seen it, but if it’s invisible, how could I?” stealing someone’s invisible pen —-

(and then it was morning recess)

The day continued while I regulated through someone or another:

— wanting a community snack after snack time, telling me someone was crying, telling me that someone shook their fist at them, talking, talking, talking, talking, talking, talking instead of listening, finishing their work before we started, missing directions, wandering the room, flying their painted pollinators into the paper garden over and over, saying “What answers? There’s no answers…” over and over because they thought I was talking to them about the pollinator garden when I was actually talking to the other kids who were done and were supposed to be reading the riddles on the whiteboard, fiddling through my things, pressing our doorbell multiple times, ignoring, ignoring, ignoring, talking back, crying about a consequence, not caring about a consequence, giving up, sliding down the railing, climbing up the railing, resting on the railing, saying, “I’m not climbing,” digging at an anthill instead of lining up…

And those are just the things I can
remember.
From today.

So, that’s why I have to “take care of myself…” because it takes a lot of therapy, meditation, tapping, affirmations, chiropractic care, massage, salt spas, acupuncture and walks in the sunshine to do this job that I absolutely love.

Caution: This is too long and too boring.

April 14, 2026Slice of Lifeonathought

My story is going to bore you.
Who wants to hear that someone is
STILL COUGHING?
Who wants to hear that someone has gone to the doctor’s
THREE TIMES?
Who wants to hear that someone does’t have pneumonia, but is
STILL COUGHING?

I used to have a real doctor. He wasn’t perfect
no, not by any means.
But his name was Dr. Baker,
Same as the doctor on Little House on the Prairie
and he was older than me.
He knew me, and listened to me –
and then he retired

The bastard. Just like my dentist I loved too.

I finally chose a new doctor at the office to be our designated doctor. He was wasn’t perfect –
but he listened
and then suddenly he wasn’t working there anymore, but nobody told me I needed to stop listing Dr. Miller as my primary care
Just one day they said, “Oh, yea. That report was sent to Dr. Miller, but actually, he doesn’t work here anymore. So that’s why nobody read it.”

Cool. Cool. Cool.

So now I just see whoever they can give me.
0/10
Don’t recommend.

I swear I’m trying to make this long boring story
a short boring story.

So, anyway, as I’m sure you have gathered, (or heard,) I have this
COUGH.

And I see a doctor.
He’s nice even though he’s like 12 years old.
He wants to give me the magic cough pearls.
I say “No, thank you. Those don’t work for me.”
He gives me some other medicine. Yay!
It helps!
Medicine is finished, the
COUGH comes back.
I see another doctor.
He’s nice, actually board certified this time.
So that’s good.
He wants to give me the magic cough pearls.
I say “No, thank you. Those don’t work for me.”
He gives me some more medicine. Yay!
It helps! Again!
Medicine is finished, the
COUGH comes back.
I see another doctor.
She’s nice, I guess.
She wants to give me the magic cough pearls.
I say “No, thank you. Those don’t work for me.”
She gives me another medicine
Makes me promise to take it all
Even if the x-ray comes back clear.
I promise.
She promises to message me right away with the x-ray results.
Spoiler alert: x-ray is clear, I keep my promise, she does not.

The story is almost over, I promise.

My cough gets worse, so I message the doctor.
She responds hours and hours later
with a prescription for
The magic pearls.
She notes that if my cough isn’t better in 1-2 weeks, I should make an appointment.
1-2 weeks? I’ve been coughing for over a month!

Now I’m annoyed. Does nobody listen?
I message back
“No, thank you. Those don’t work for me.”
I give her some other options, as you know, a person who has had my lungs for almost half a century.

She responds
hours and hours later
telling me I should make an appointment
with Dr. Miller
to re-evaluate my cough.

Remember Dr. Miller?
He doesn’t practice there anymore.

I tell her as much, but I’m proud to say,
I don’t tell her all the things I want to say.

Isn’t that mature of me?

You Know, Win Some, Lose Some

April 7, 2026Slice of Lifeonathought

I carried some carts into school today. They needed to be built, and there were people ready to build them. So I piled one box onto the other and walked to the door.

A kindergarten teacher yelled my name from the playground and asked me if I was going to be able to get the door.

See, earlier we had walked into school together. We had remarked, as I could remark every day, about how fast you have to go from unlocking the door over to the door before it locks again. It can be really tricky if you are holding a lot of things.

Of course, the only sane response to her inquiry from the playground was for me to lift the boxes higher, tell her I am, in fact, going to be able to get the door… and then sing, “I am woman! Hear me roar!” So, that’s what I did. Then, I leaned the boxes so one hand was free, unlocked the door and got in before it locked again. I’m a strong, capable single mom. I can do anything!

(Inside, I wanted to tell someone, “I carried the boxes.” But Patrick Swayze wasn’t around, and really. who else would I need to tell?)

Hours later, at home, I went into my powder room, looked up at the ceiling and saw one of those creepy crawly bazillion leg critters on the top of the wall.

I did not sing any songs. I did not feel strong or capable (although I did feel single!)

I left the room, closed the door, and wondered if I should vacuum it up. I didn’t want to do that for a couple of reasons. One, I think those bugs are actually good for the house. I just really don’t want to see them. (I definitely don’t want them crawling out of my laundry ever again either, just saying.) Secondly, if I vacuum it up, then it will just get stuck in the vacuum. I’ll have to put the vacuum outside, or maybe throw it away . . .

I don’t want to have to get a new vacuum.

So I decided I am just not going to use that bathroom, maybe ever again. That should be fine. The bug probably never wants to see me again either.

I can do hard things and all, but I’ve already done enough hard things this week. And, it’s only Tuesday. Plus, you know, win some, lose some.