Do You Know a Mama Like This?
Do you remember the Italian Mama? She taught me how to have a soundtrack to my life a year ago as I learned about sauce. Then I studied meatballs and how to clothe both them and my own children. In November, she instructed me in the fine art of relaxing and throwing those meatballs. In […]
Why You Belong Right Here
I’m walking with my neighbor in the woods. Lady Slippers in the Woods All of a sudden, she cries out, “The lady slippers have bloomed!” She’s pointing to the earth, and at first, I do not see anything. Then, I see them. Pink Lady Slipper Blooming I don’t even really know what I’m seeing or […]
Come See This!
At Fitness Group, the children huddle around me and tug on my sleeve because they have things to show me. One boy has drawn a dragon out of chalk that spans the length of 3 cars. He drags me over to his drawing, insisting that I observe the scales, the teeth, the wings, the claws. […]
Why (and How) I Wrote a Writing Book
I remember the exact moment when a student called out from the back of the room and said, “Dr. H., I just want to learn how to write! I’m tired of all these grammar rules and fancy rhetorical terms!” He wanted to write. And the expensive grammar books weren’t helping him. I stood at the […]
How to Blog Every Day
When you blog for almost 400 days straight, sometimes you get emails asking how to blog every day. The average blog lasts 6 weeks (42 days), and when I started Live with Flair, I wondered if blogging would stick for me. Would it fizzle? Would anyone read it? Would this whole thing continue? It did. […]
Even in the Rain: The Best Part of the Week
I didn’t think anybody would show up to Neighborhood Fitness Group. It was raining and dreary; who wants to exercise in the rain? But we can’t help ourselves. We love it. By the time I get the double-dutch jump ropes out, a group of children is already rolling down a hillside. Then I look and […]
My Top Ten Name Game Questions
If I were to write a book called, “How to Teach with Flair,” I’d have an entire chapter on the power of name games. Before I teach any class, I have to know these folks, and they have to know me. The foundation of teaching–that base of solid rock supporting the whole framework–is community. We […]
A Great Cloud of Witnesses
This morning, my friends and I huddle by the school entrance, making conversation with other parents and school administrators. As we notice the line of cars pulling up to drop off children, I’m overcome with the desire to run up to the car doors, open them wide, and greet each child like he or she […]
Why I Put My Flag Out
I’m in the garage, and I see our old American flag standing at attention in the cobwebbed corner. I decide, for 2011, I want to fly it out in front of the house. We insert it into our flag holder, and it waves in the wind to greet the neighborhood like a long lost friend. […]
Stencil Me In
Snowman Pancake This morning, we invite some neighbors to join us for our Saturday Morning Pancakes. My artistic neighbor sees the pancakes and immediately makes a homemade stencil so we can decorate them. We relax, drink coffee, and decorate snowman pancakes in the chaos of powdered sugar and syrup. So there we are, eating our […]