Posts by Christina Consolino
Birthday Learning
Dear Melina, Back in March, when we celebrated Daddy’s birthday quarantine-style, I’m not sure I really understood that we’d be celebrating your birthday in a similar manner. But here we are, 107 days (!) later, and we’re choosing to shelter-in-place as much as possible. I personally haven’t found the quarantine all that disruptive to my…
Read MoreSunday Musings
A new website means a new way of doing things. Which isn’t what this habitual person likes to think about. New ways? I might only be in my forties, but honestly, I’ve been set in my standard protocols since I was born. Okay, there might have been that period of time right after the doctor…
Read MoreWhat’s New? (That Fateful Day)
Father’s Day. 2012. A trip to the grocery store. Me. The man behind me in line. He and I spoke for two minutes before I left the store, headed to my car, and drove away. I thought about that innocent conversation for the time it took to drive home. And then, before I could even…
Read MoreWhen I Grow Up
Many years ago, when my twins—who turned eighteen in January—first discovered The Magic School Bus series, I remember thinking, “When I grow up, I want to be Ms. Frizzle.” Ms. Frizzle is the hilarious, knowledgeable science teacher who makes learning fun and takes her students on fabulous adventures (to the ocean floor, inside the human…
Read MoreAn Interview with Shuly Xóchitl Cawood
Writing communities are vital to the health and well-being of an author and their works. One of the most robust writing communities lives here in the Dayton area: the friends, supporters, attendees, and faculty of the Antioch Writers’ Workshop. Shuly Xóchitl Cawood has been a part of that workshop, as attendee, speaker, and supporter. And that’s where…
Read MoreSpring Check-In
Checking in almost midyear (well, spring, really) isn’t something I normally do. After all, we’re all busy, and talking about that busy is boring. So I won’t do it. But I made a promise to myself in January, before all the rigmarole of COVID-19, when I said that I was “taking hold of this new…
Read MoreDear Diary
Dear Diary, People told me to start writing to you earlier. “You’ll want to remember these times,” they said. “You can keep track of all that happens, capturing a you that’s never been seen before.” One historian made a great case for journaling during a pandemic, and my son’s history teacher sent emails saying, “You…
Read MoreA Sound Full of Promise and Hope
A drive down the street proves the point: uncharacteristic darkness within businesses and schools and traffic is lighter even at rush hour. The state has shut down. People have been commanded to stay inside their houses, and if they walk outside, they need to keep six feet away from anyone who passes. The only place…
Read MoreAn Interview with V. Jolene Miller
The act of writing connects all authors, but each author I’ve encountered is so vastly different from another, it’s no wonder the products of our writing are so varied. In this installment of the Author Interview, I’m pleased to present V. Jolene Miller (all the way from Alaska!), whose background and life are so different…
Read MoreA Wise Investment
In early December, I interviewed for a science editor position with a company whose employees all worked remotely. The interview went well, and the interviewer told me, “Your editing test was fantastic! What you did is exactly what we’re looking for. If we offer you the job, when would you be able to start?” For…
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