In Defense of Not Doing Your Best

This post is part missive against overworking and part belated Boston Marathon race report. As the title suggests, I’m encouraging folks to be more chill about mediocrity. As a teacher and parent, I see a lot of overworked young people: students working full time, taking a heavy course load, doing several extracurriculars, and having allergic…

Nova food classifications: unprocessed, processed culinary ingredients, processed foods, ultra-processed foods

Ultra-Processed Foods Challenge

On President’s Day weekend, my Garden Memoirs class took on a 24-hour challenge to avoid ultra-processed foods. Ultra-processed foods often have several additives: sugars, salts, preservatives, artificial colors, artificial flavors, stabilizers. Food that has undergone any changes–cooking, pickling, freezing–has been processed. But the concern here is with ultra-processed foods. These foods are distorted well beyond…

Framed photo of Kevin Salemme

On Grief and Gratitude

My friend and Merrimack College colleague, Kevin Salemme, died last week after battling an illness for not quite a year. Some have aptly called Kevin the Mayor of Merrimack. Whereas many folks at colleges and universities remain siloed, Kevin nurtured a community unbounded by field of study, office building, age, or interests. Our Media Center,…

Pandemic Malaise Recovery

Something exciting happened in the last few weeks. I started to feel energized rather than absolutely drained at the end of a teaching day. I’m excited to prep a new class for fall. Research has called out again. My thoughts have turned to long-term projects. In sum, the pandemic malaise has lifted. I wrote about…

20th Year of Teaching

Fall 2021 marked the start of my 20th year in the classroom. (Thank you, Penn State, for trusting a 21-year-old with her own public speaking classes.) The classroom is an unpredictable, enchanting space. In these almost two decades, I’ve amassed quite a collection of cringe-worthy, hilarious, and memorable teaching experiences. I welcome you to feast…

Boston Marathon Race Recap 2021

After placing my old maternity leggings in the clothing donation pile, I trotted across the starting line on October 11th, 2021. It had been just over 900 days since the last Boston Marathon. The 125th Boston Marathon was electrified with community spirit and support. I ran through the Wellesley scream tunnel, waved at Mandalorian and…

Burnout Recovery

At the end of June, I was a marshmallow aflame. I was 1993 Michael Jordan. In other words, I was burned out. The many months of additional childcare responsibilities, changing expectations at work, and heightened anxiety about health and humanity definitely took their toll. The loss of in-person connections and social support made it even…

Binge-Watching Christmas Shows

Does it count as binge-watching if the content doesn’t have a continuous storyline? I can’t answer that question definitively. However, I know that it feels like my family has been binge-watching Christmas stories. The four of us have been around each other for roughly 24 hours straight, 28 days in a row. Holiday classics have…

Weird and Wonderful Fruiting Plants

This is the third blog post in my gardening series. Modern victory gardens are sprouting up in response to COVID-19, and plants are in high demand. This post focuses on some stranger options, which may be easier to find at this time than well-known varieties. Serviceberry: This native plant has beautiful white flowers and tasty…