30 years without a drinkBoy how time fliesSitting in a small rentalWondering how to survive A wake up callMany at thatThis time I choseTo hear the call Just one dayReach out for helpJust for this momentI swear it'll stay 30 years have gone byWho was that girl?I don't recognize her or the lifeYet loving her …
I have been practicing Conscious Discipline (By Dr. Becky Bailey) for many years. As a classroom management strategy, when students come into the class, I notice all appropriate behavior and voice that out loud. If disruption happens, I do not point that out but instead voice out loud the specific on-task behaviors I see and …
Winter blues are real! Since I can remember, every year during the winter months, I struggled with depression. Maybe it was the lack of sun, shorter days or too much negative thinking. Regardless, when I was younger I thought it would never end! But then spring and summer would come and I was happy and …
In a time filled with division, fear and illness, let's focus our New Year on what we wish to see in the world as opposed to focusing on what we don't want. It is easy to get into a head space listing ones grievances, what is wrong with the world and in our lives. It …
I was lying on the sofa, feeling yucky, depressed, anxious. In an hour I was to drive to the airport. My mom was paying for a luxurious vacation at Canyon Ranch in Massachusetts, a place of healing. I never knew when it would hit. Stomach ailments, pain, general malaise. I had gone to one doctor …
A poem on a Friday night . . . . I ask for guidanceThe words fallNobody buys itWhat am I doing? I get up at 4:50 a.m.Every day is the sameOr not15 years gone . . . How? I writeI prayA master at creatingNot at this I say I keep showing upI stumbleI bounce backWho …
I ask because I am sometimes at a loss as to what brings me joy. I mean when we are kids, we grab our matchbox cars and take them outside, happily making "roads" with the grass. We get with a group of kids and play Kick the Can or Kickball until the dinner bell rings. …
Wherever I look, I see memes, articles or quotes telling us not to let THEM get to us. Most of the time, it is disguised as a motivational message. But in many instances, there is a sense that you need to rise above THEM, whatever THEM is being referenced. Don't let THEM get to you. …
A blinkA woman, old and graySitting in a chair overlooking the lake A blinkRunning through the fieldsDon't let the bees stingDidn't have a chance A blinkPlaying an instrumentSitting on a fenceNeighbor parents watching the show A blinkOld and contentMemory fadingA life well lived A blinkMy wedding dayThe birth of my sonGraduation A blinkCrawling on my …
heart fossil I've decided to stop starting my day with a news commentary and instead turn on my dance playlist, while I jog. As I continued to feel anger, discontent, anxiety, again I had to get back to basics. Listening to my playlist, instead of the news, was my first step. These are other thoughts …
Kim Hiles, Author | Educator 