Life on the Runn...

It was that time of year. Everyone headed south to San Antonio, Cancun, or one of about 36 different beach town in Florida. It was Spring Break. The Runnells crew opted, however, for the beautiful Northwest. We decided to do our spring breakin’ in Bend, Oregon.   Seen on our walk through SEA TAC - a baby in motion likes to nap BR was in Portland for work, so he he arrived in Bend ahead of the rest of our crew, which included my parents. He did some biking was kind enough to test out the skiing. More importantly, he retrieved our crew upon arrival (and we were not traveling lightly: two large suitcases, a stroller, a car seat, a backpack carrier, and a toddler).  We spent our first evening in Bend adjusting to that time change - it was an early, early morning - and watching a little March Madness. Neither Dad nor I could fully appreciate the tournament since both  our teams failed us in the first round...but otherwise our trip was off to a good ...

December 2018 was the month of Mrs. Obama in our household. Both Brian and I purchased a copy of Becoming  for my birthday (It really is  best if you don't buy yourself presents until after your birthday).  It was the first book I grabbed from the pile of books set aside for 2019.  Then, for Christmas, I received tickets for the Becoming Book Tour.  I was shocked and so, so very excited.  Last Thursday, after months of anxious anticipation, I spent the evening with Michelle Obama (oh, and BR, who was my date). It was everything I hoped it would be - well, except for the part where my forever FLOTUS and I met and instantly became friends...that was only in my wildest dreams. The evening began with a slideshow of images and soundbites from the most important people in Mrs. O.'s life, her family.  This was followed by a chill-inducing introduction by the moderator, Conan O'Brien.  Throughout the night, we laughed, reflected on our own lives, and...

Wednesday morning, bright-eyed and bundled up, I loaded our many provisions - fruit snacks, Capri Suns, Cheetos, Cheez Its, Pringles, and, to balance it all out, Cuties - into a school van and transported the 2018-19 West Academic Decathlon team to their State Competition at the Wilderness Hotel. This was the seventh time I made the journey to Wisconsin Dells, and it was the seventh time my heart broke just a little bit.  You see, I am nearer to the end of my time with this crew than I am to the beginning.  State means the season is winding down, and my time with many of these young people is coming to a close.   I had no clue what I was walking into when I volunteered to coach the Acadec team the year I joined West's staff.  Now, I have no clue what I would do without this aspect of my professional life.  I am immensely proud of my decathletes for each has taken on a challenge of his or her own, and each has shows his or her ability to lead, shine, an...

Wednesday afternoon, I had the privilege of making one final visit to MGIC. After many years of take-your-kids-to-work fun, other family events, and at least one lunch date with HQ, I was there to attend my dad's retirement party.  My dad has worked at MGIC nearly the entirety of my life, and many of his longtime coworkers have known me since I was quite small.  So, aside from getting to see people I haven't seen since my wedding, it was a pleasure to see my dad with his MGIC family a final time. I enjoyed all the stories, and I loved witnessing all the love his coworkers have for him. There was lots of teasing (The crew sure does know how to make the work day fun, it seems.), talk of timelines (Who knew that my habit of closing an eye when I concentrate comes from my dad?), plenty of Simma's cheesecake, and lots of talk of how Dad plans to fill his time (golf, the fire department, chasing after HQ).  It's no secret that I am immensely proud of my dad - for who he...

While I compiled a list of interview questions for my Acadec team as part of their interview practice, one of the 10+ events at the State competition, I was asked to be interviewed by a group of seniors, some of whom were once my beloved sophomores (I absolutely adore this class). So the interviewer became the interviewee. One of my favorite aspects of the English classroom, and thereby my job, is cultivating communication, be it discussions and debates or drafting writing that explores students’ unique, and often complex, thoughts on the workings of the world. This is what I told the students (I think?! I hope!) when asked why I teach.  I also told them about who I am. At my core, I am a perfectionist and a people pleaser. I told 30-odd students that I scrutinize all I say and do, that I’m likely to replay an interaction - even a positive one - over in my mind, wondering if I said enough, too much, the right thing, the wrong thing, if people respect me for my thoughts o...

I set an alarm for 6am each Saturday morning so that I can make my way to my yoga class. I've been out-of-sorts lately, but yoga has been serving its purpose, and I find that it is one of the few things I desperately need and refuse to miss. Today, our instructor closed our morning practice with a particularly powerful (and, for me, timely) quote from Brene Brown. I thought I would share: “Courage is a heart word. The root of the word courage is cor - the Latin word for heart. In one of its earliest forms, the word courage meant "To speak one's mind by telling all one's heart." Over time, this definition has changed, and today, we typically associate courage with heroic and brave deeds. But in my opinion, this definition fails to recognize the inner strength and level of commitment required for us to actually speak honestly and openly about who we are and about our experiences -- good and bad. Speaking from our hearts is what I think of as "ordinary ...

Somehow, in the chaos of a Monday morning, I found myself doing a bit of math.  In the middle of the 5 o'clock hour, I added it all up and determined that I have now officially spent half of my life - one whole half of it - as one part of the AR-BR duo.  That fact got me thinking, really thinking, about what partnership means.  When we were first dating, and even when we were newly married, I know I didn't fully know.  Life is funny like that.  You think you've got it all squared away, all figured out, and then life actually  happens, and you realize you are utterly oblivious.   You get your first jobs.  Your car is obliterated on a Kentucky highway. You walk into work one day and are told you won't have a job at the end of the school year - oh, and you just bought your first home. You love the mountains, but you can't find a job in what would be your new hometown. Your tiny human will only sleep while you hold her - thus, you don't ...