The first day of spring break is nearing it's end, and I'm exhausted. This is the way I usually feel about this time on a Monday night, but I didn't wake at 4:45 this morning and wrangle with teenagers for 8 hours. I mean, nothing is more exhausting than that, right? Apparently, driving for 4 hours to meet your teen hero is just as tiring. I found out yesterday that Amy Grant was going to be in Brandon today signing autographs. Everyone who knows me knew that even my muddy road and pouring rain wouldn't keep me away from this. There are three people in this world who I would risk the dangers of old people driving on the interstate in Sarasota to meet. She's one of them (followed by Eddie Vedder and Glenn Beck). It was a fun day. In line I talked to a woman about the silly things we did to imitate Amy as teenagers. She tried a perm. I made my own leopard print jacket. We agreed that Lead Me On is still her best album and learned how to operate each other's camera...

I ate my breakfast Monday morning in the bathtub. Yep, and it was delightful and felt a little naughty. In fact, I wondered why I have not tried this before. So I followed the rabbit trails in my head and considered other areas of my life where I need to escape my rather narrow ideas of what's acceptable. There's quite a bit there, and I needed to remedy this. So I did. * I hung only 1 towel on the mostly decorative towel racks. (We're the only ones who use the bathroom anyway, and we usually throw our towels on the toilet seat or over the shower curtain.) * I didn't worry about my unmade bed or the toilet paper roll sitting on the floor. (After all, it's not like Good Morning America is going to show up unexpectedly at my house wanting a live tour or anything.) * I went to work with Crocs on my feet and capris on my legs. And I didn't shave or wash my hair. * I looked a kid in the eye today after he told me I wasn't being fair and said, "Yeah? Well, y...

My sweetie and I have a rule about books. I am only allowed to buy books that I will read more than once. (I read very fast and have been known to finish even very large books in less than a day.) Amy Grant’s Mosaic now has a place on my shelf. I’ve read the book twice now. I’ve read some pieces more times than I care to count. In the meantime, I’ve written…and rewritten…this review just as many times. It’s not that the words didn’t take their rightful place. No, I knew what I wanted to say. I didn’t know how to marry my honest ideas with what I thought the publisher wanted me to say. I even considered using the description they provided for me. Then I read this: “Don’t worry about the consequences of having integrity.” I think Amy herself would agree with this statement. Mosaic certainly lives up to its title. Amy has woven together a collection of essays, journal entries, songs, poems, and photographs that present us a glimpse of her life. For the avid Amy Grant fan, some of the sto...

Driving home one day this week, my head was swirling with too many thoughts to track. How are we going to pay our bills on my salary? When will I be able to blow dry my hair without fear of keeping someone awake? How much more money is my husband going to spend on the new place? When will he be back at work? How am I going to get my 5th and 7th periods to "buy into" this reading thing? Will I ever convince them that they can trust me? Where can I find the time to formulate a plan to help them? I was already in tears as I thought about the social obstacles these kids face. The poverty in this town is unlike anything I've ever seen before. I can handle the sights of it, but I am still struggling with some of the hidden rules in their community. They don't believe they can trust anyone in authority. Education is too abstract a concept because the results are not immediate. They are so far behind their grade level that most of them have just given up. I've watched the...