11.2.2022 I was walking from the office to my classroom this afternoon. I was in a hurry, because there were approximately 4 minutes before Kindergarten lunch recess was over and about 10 things I wanted to accomplish in those 4 minutes. My mind was in overdrive, thinking about a dozen different things all at the same time. But as I approached my classroom I heard the beautiful sound of kids singing patriotic music down the hall. I knew immediately where it was coming from an

11.1.2022 I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Teaching the day after Halloween is rough. Like really rough. Like it’s probably in the top 3 of the most difficult days of the school year. Picture a child who has spent the entire month of October anticipating trick-or-treat day and then trying to process how it’s suddenly over. They’re still excited and yet also let down. They’re over-sugared and over-tired and likely to melt down at any moment. Now picture 22 of them. I

11/30/21 So, confession time. On October 31 my mom asked me if I was going to do my attitude of gratitude posts this year as I have done in the past. I really hesitated. I told her that I wanted to, but that I hadn’t even started yet and I was already kind of mad at myself for committing. Now, I realize that this makes no sense. What I think I was trying to get at, though, was that once I commit to starting something I really like to follow through. I didn’t want to be a coup

11/29/21 I look forward to this time of year every year. I love the lights, the music, the decorations … everything about the weeks leading up to Christmas seems so exciting and festive. I love the whole season of Advent and the anticipation and sense of waiting associated with it. I love sitting in my dark house at night with only the glow of a Christmas tree to light the room. I love it all. I really, really wanted to put my Christmas trees up yesterday. That was definitely

11/28/21 I called my mom three times today. Two of those calls were because I needed her to talk me through making vegetable soup. Then, I called her tonight on my way home from church. And I called her yesterday. And Wednesday. And the other day driving to work. And … and … and. For those of you who have had the pleasure of meeting my mom , you can attest to the fact that she’s awesome. She’s kind and loving and helpful and nurturing and faith-filled and on and on and on. Sh

11/27/21 At my college orientation, they taught us how to answer the question “What is a DuHawk?” The proper response to this question, at least when asked it in person, is to smile at the person and say, “You’re looking at one!” I love answering that question. I really do. And I have answered it exactly that way many, many times. And yes, I am indeed a DuHawk. I’m really proud to be able to call myself that. The more technical answer to this question is that a DuHawk is the

11/26/21 It’s been a while since I commercial cleaned. It was my go-to method of cleaning when I lived in a college residence hall or an apartment. Now that I have a house, I tend to tackle cleaning room by room, so I’d kind of forgotten about the rush of adrenaline that comes from a good round of commercial cleaning. Here’s how it works. You pick something on TV that you really want to watch. It has to be real TV, though. Netflix won’t work due to the lack of commercials. I

11/25/21 Aunt Diane and I have the best tradition on Thanksgiving morning. We watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade while drinking apple cider mimosas in our pajamas. The pajamas are essential in this tradition, so I drove over to her house this morning in my jammies and slippers. This year I donned my homemade turkey hat for an extra bit of whimsy. We watched the parade and chatted while other members of her household watched football pregame shows or slept. We’ve done t

11/24/21 Before adopting Barkley, I had my contractor install the smallest doggy door we could find. Then I went to the shelter looking for a dog who would fit through it. One look at Barkley and I knew he would not only fit the door, but that he was the absolute perfect fit for me. It was love at first sight. I sometimes wonder how Barkley made his way to the shelter. The vet estimated he was about 3 years old when I adopted him, and it seemed pretty clear that he’d had a ho

11/23/21 I’ve been going hard for the past month. Really hard. That’s not a complaint. I’m actually really thankful for this crazy busy month. When the pandemic began and the world shut down, I wasn’t one of those people happily baking banana bread, learning to knit, and enjoying not driving my car. I didn’t mind a few days of downtime, but after I finished watching Tiger King and I purged my closet, I was going stir crazy. I was longing for the days when my calendar would be

11/22/21 As I was sitting on my couch just now, reflecting back on my day, I was having a hard time deciding what to write about. Nothing big or special happened today. There weren’t any huge note-worthy moments. Today was actually a pretty uneventful day. I was busy, but busy with normal things. Nothing out of the ordinary. I was due for a day like this, and honestly, it was really nice. My struggle for tonight’s gratitude topic wasn’t due to a lack of gratitude though. In f

11.17.2021 Let me tell you about a little girl named Eleanor. She’s the daughter of a college friend of mine, Renee and her husband, Ricky. I honestly haven’t been in touch with Renee for close to 20 years. I knew her mainly through her sister, Jessica . After Jessica graduated, I would visit her frequently in Cedar Rapids and for a while her sister Renee lived with her. Hanging out with them was always so much fun. Although I haven’t talked to Renee in nearly two decades, w

11.16.2021 About 5 minutes after dismissal yesterday, my student Emily (not her real name) and her dad came into my classroom. She lost her roast beef piggy finger puppet and came back to the classroom to see if she’d left it there. We’d had an afternoon of little piggy fun as part of our nursery rhyme unit. Surely you all know the rhyme … “This little piggy went to market. This little piggy stayed home. This little piggy had roast beef … etc” Well, the kids had made little p

11.14.2021 Really Karen? Yeah, really. Hear me out. Ideally, I like to start off my week well organized, with a clean house, all my laundry done, and the fridge full of pre-portioned meals that I diligently prepped over the weekend. This hardly ever happens, but it would be ideal. This week I will be starting my week with a gigantic list of things I need to do, unchanged sheets, an unwashed floor and a week’s worth of clutter and random stuff strewn about my house. This is t

11.13.2021 Allow me to brag on my friend Amelia for a minute. She is one of the most giving, generous people I know. In addition to the many, many, many ways she serves others on a daily basis, Amelia coordinates a massive effort each year to supply hundreds and hundreds of shoe boxes full of gifts to children across the world through Operation Christmas Child. Amelia, along with a small group of women, collects items all year long to give away in these boxes. They collect s

11.12.2021 I went to a comedy show tonight. After a full day of teaching. The opening act started at 9:45. The headliner didn’t start until close to 10:30. I mean, who do I think I am? A 22 year old, apparently. But guys, I had the best night. Sometimes you just gotta jump out of your routine, grab some friends, call an Uber, and go big. We saw the teacher comedian Mr. Dx3 and I laughed so hard I practically peed my pants. It felt good to laugh at the hilarity of this crazy p

11.11.2021 My cousin Jared and his family are in town for the week. What a fun surprise to get his text asking if I wanted to meet up while they are here in Arizona. Of course I did, so this morning I met Jared, his wife Cara, and their three sweet boys for breakfast. I have lots of fun memories of spending time with Jared and his sister Amanda when we were kids. I loved when their family would come visit us in Wisconsin and when we’d visit them in Iowa. Amanda and Jared ar

11.10.2021 In case you didn’t know, this girl is competitive. It’s true. I’m both proud and ashamed of this trait. It’s an all or nothing kind of thing with me though. There are tons of things I couldn’t care less about winning and there are plenty of scenarios where I’m a pretty darn good team player. But, when the competitive bug bites, it bites hard. It’s usually with weird or insignificant stuff, like bridal shower games or raffle drawings at teacher trainings. I’ve also

11.9.2021 Today was … meh. Not great. Not terrible. Just meh. I left work pretty much as soon as the students were dismissed. I was ready to declare today over and call for a do-over tomorrow. I was tired and borderline crabby. Fast forward a few hours, and check out this glorious sunset that we had tonight. This picture doesn’t even do it a smidge of justice. I almost missed it, but thankfully I went to take the trash out at the perfect moment to catch this gorgeously painte

11.8.2021 Anyone who knows me knows that I love music. My day to day life most definitely has a soundtrack attached. I sing in the shower. I sing in the car. I sing in my classroom. I sing while I cook. Even when I’m quiet, you can pretty much guarantee that there’s still a song bopping through my head or whispering to my heart. It’s also safe to bet that the vast majority of the time it’s a harmony line, not the melody, that is implanted in my brain. One of my favorite thing