My skin is thin. The world cuts into me like I’m the layers of an onion. Peel me and you reach tears quickly. Often I dislike my porous hide. Or maybe it’s my eyes within my head that bring me to grief. I see things that usually remain hidden. This is what makes me a […]
Author: Nancy Schatz Alton
Righting a Fiction
I look up from checking out library books at my local branch and see two girls wearing their soccer uniforms. Their blond hairs are swept up in pony tails. One wears cleats while the other wears black Adidas flip-flops. These teens go to my daughters’ K-8 school, and I’m surprised to see them in soccer […]
Valentine’s Homework
Dear Parents, Ms. Williams asked me to let you know that your students will be exchanging Valentines at the Valentine’s Day party next Friday the 13th. Please have your child bring in a Valentine addressed to each person in the class and signed by them. The class list is below. Let Ms. Williams know if […]
The Dead Speak
We tend to idolize the dead. It’s so easy to appreciate people when we don’t live with their very human aspects anymore. I can see people with so much more humor and grace when I’m not rubbing up against them, it seems. I think about this all the time when I picture how my father-in-law […]
I’m That Annoying Parent
I’m standing next to the school principal during the preschool open house. My name tag denotes me as head of our school’s parent association. The room is packed with parents of preschoolers who are pondering if this private school is right for their child. I thought I’d feel old since I haven’t been a preschool […]
Throw out the Names
I’m always looking for perfection. This idea gets in the way of movement. Where is the perfect article to start my day with? I could write if I just read the right words. I could fix myself if I could just stick the right parameters around myself. And then I cast the net wider to […]
A Look Back with a Glimpse Forward
I haven’t sent out my annual letter yet, the one I tuck in with the holiday photo card. It’s all about bliss this year, but I keep thinking about what I left out. I love honesty in a synopsis, and my letter is truthful. I can say the year was grand, that I was able […]
Problems Come and Go, But Can They Dance?
Is this a big problem or a small problem? I keep thinking about this question. I’ve decided to take the word problem out of my lexicon. Once my brother said to me something like this: If you didn’t have your problems, then you couldn’t solve them. It’s not that I’m going to stop having problems. […]
Building a Bridge
I keep thinking about antonyms. Private and public, easy and hard, alone and together. I’m a writer. I spend a lot of time alone, writing. Although some days it’s a lonely endeavor, when the words are flowing and I’m writing away and I finish an assignment and I know my work is good, I am […]
Falling Apart to Stay Together for Annie
As a journalist who writes about learning issues, I want to tell parents it gets easier. As a parent of child with reading, spelling, math and anxiety issues, I want to give up my spot in the special needs world. I want to grab my almost ten-year-old daughter up and run, run as fast as […]