07/06/2026
an “I’ve been absent half a year” dump (picking only 20 was impossible!)
It’s been a minute. I think I forgot how to Instagram. I’ve wanted to write this post for months, but every time I sat down to do it, life just felt a little too loud.
This year has been full of so many great things, but also some really heavy ones. My husband and I decided to begin the IVF process after years of navigating infertility, and that journey has taken up a lot more space in my heart and mind than I ever expected. At the same time, teaching is still teaching (the good and the bad) 😂, and next year I’m stepping into a new-ish role, so it’s a lot happening over here.
All things considered, The Art of Funology unintentionally took a back seat while I balanced everything else.
This summer has been filled with gardening, traveling with my husband, raising our sweet little menace Onyx, watching way too much WNBA and Love Island, and really just catching my breath.
But there’s something about back-to-school season that always feels like a fresh start. All the newness. Even though we’re halfway through the year, I love that fresh start hopefulness.
I think a big part of why I disappeared was because I was trying to figure out how to keep the worlds separate, but balanced, and I don’t want to do that anymore.
I’ll always be the girl who gets way too excited about upper elementary math, classroom systems, and making teaching a little less stressful. That’s not changing. But I also don’t want to pretend that the rest of my life doesn’t exist anymore.
So if you’re here for upper elementary math, you’re absolutely in the right place. And if you happen to get a few more glimpses of Onyx, my garden, our fertility journey, or just life as a teacher trying to balance it all along the way, I hope you’ll stick around for that too.
Anyway...I’m back! And I have a ton of back to school goodness to share with you the next few weeks. 😊
Now tell me something about YOU. What are you most looking forward to this school year or what has been bringing you joy this summer? Let’s catch up!