Deep in the woods in the darkest of night there is a place where ships take flight. Where little boys roam and ride and explore through caves and caverns along ocean floors. Past monsters and trolls and sword wielding men over mountains and walls and back again. Dancing with mermaids and ladies fair while fighting with […]

Posted in friendcitos 7 Comments »

Last week the art teacher (who teaches all 12 grade levels) held an expo to display student work.  It was a truly amazing event.  Colombian kids by nature are artistic and expressive and I was awestruck by their creativity.  My favorites were the big projects by the jardín which serves students ages 1 through 3.  […]

Posted in colombia 6 Comments »

I had this great professor in college.  He was always challenging us to try new things, to push the envelope, to be ever growing educators.  Truthfully, as a word person, his ideas about numbers and technology were pretty intimidating for me.  And his classes were hard.  They were uncomfortable and they weren’t what I was […]

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The bus picked me up. 7:02. As always. I climbed aboard, sat on the third seat. Left hand side. Music on. Another day. But the ride was different. The view changed. We passed three landslides. Trees uprooted, mud, grass and boulders lying in piles on the street. Houses leaning toward the valley. Their foundations moved […]

Posted in colombia, faith 4 Comments »

You know how some things just make you happy? You can’t really explain it, but they do. Like: the smell of chlorine the school supply aisle homemade bread clean sheets The Grove used book stores gospel choirs Wynken, Blynken, and Nod black and white pictures hearing kids sing as the sun goes down at camp […]

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  There is a land of dreams far away Where little girls hide and wander and play There are jungles and deserts and castles and kings and rivers and oceans and make believe things. Like fairies and dragons and witches and beasts and pageants and balls and grand royal feasts. You’ll dance and twirl on […]

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My friend, Kathryn, is obsessed with celebrities and would have zero shame snapping a picture of Brangelina in the French Quarter.  Or taking pictures of their house or the building where Maddox goes to school, for that matter.  She’d also be shameless about sitting on the front row of an NSync concert as a college student and fighting a […]

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I grew up in a little church on a county road in Mississippi. I’d walk over the hill from my aunt’s house with a cold biscuit in my hand and the sound of the organ drifting through the pines. I can still hear Mrs. Dean’s voice ringing rich and sweet through the sanctuary as she […]

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Dear Emily, Yes, I know Pontotoc is small and you feel trapped sometimes, but don’t be in a hurry.  There’s a great big world out there and you’re going to see a lot of it, I promise.  For now, take a deep breath and listen to me! Don’t drive so fast down Longview Road, and […]

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The school where I work is only about four miles from the heart of the city, but it takes thirty minutes to get to Granadino by bus.  We wind down the mountain, stop for construction, and the occassional mudslide and make it to the campus just the same.  My favorite part of the drive is the last […]

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