Haley Peterson

As you may or may not know, in the past year or so my passion for reading has recently been reignited. You may think that being quarantined for much of the month of March would have given me more time to read than usual, but with three toddlers running around the house, my reading time hasn’t increased too much. However, thanks to audiobooks, I can usually get a few chapters in here and there in addition to reading my hard copies.

Have you ever heard of a clothing swap? The name is somewhat self explanatory, but in a few words, it is a get together where people bring clothes or accessories they no longer want and swap them for something else. It’s a perfect way to get rid of some of those items you always think you will wear (but never do) and add something new to your wardrobe.

These days many people know, or have at least heard of, the blind skateboarder from Las Vegas, Justin Bishop. I’ll never forget walking on the pier in Huntington Beach with Justin and a few friends and overhearing someone behind us say, “Look, that’s Justin Bishop. He is a blind skateboarder from Las Vegas.” It was official, one of my best friends was becoming a well-known part of the skateboarding world. It felt surreal since the Justin I have known for so long is a goofy, sometimes crazy, guy who I have seen change so much in the past decade or so that I have been friends with him.

Recently, the term “Self-Care” has become more and more commonplace. For those who are new to the concept of self-care, to put it simply, it is just the purposeful act of trying to take care of yourself in order to be a healthier and happier person in general. I’ll admit, I had never even heard of the concept of self-care until a couple years ago. I’d stumble upon articles about it on social media or while skimming a magazine and the suggestions were always things like taking a bath or reading a book or going on a walk. While these suggestions are fine and things I like to do to take care of myself, the suggestions found online now have changed quite a bit. Currently, if you Google “Self-Care” you will find suggestions like getting on a regular sleep routine or seeing a therapist or exercising regularly and eating right. Again, these are all good suggestions and activities I try my hardest to have in my life. They are definitely more effective and life altering than taking a bath and they are important for everyone to learn about in order to be a happy and healthy human being. However, my favorite, most indulgent form of self-care is a little different. While the suggestions listed above are great self-care strategies, my go to self-care activity when I am feeling really down is watching a reality show on Bravo.

If you are a substitute teacher, especially if you have been in the game for a while, there is no doubt that you have run into the horrific scenario of walking into a classroom with confusing lesson plans, missing materials, or no lesson plans at all. You may have had to fight the urge to run out of the classroom screaming because every teacher knows that failure to plan is a plan to fail. Most teachers will agree that having to teach a group of students without sufficient plans and supplies can be extremely stressful.

For many women, and I know for me, finding out you are pregnant comes with an onslaught of thoughts shortly after seeing that little red line. Many questions come to mind. How will my life change when this baby is born? Am I ready to become a parent? Will I have a boy or a girl? Is labor really as painful as it is made out to be on TV? Among all of these questions, one that lingers and continues to become more and more of a question an expectant mother wants to figure out an answer to is: Should I continue working or become a stay at home mom?