It’s often said that in Alaska, you choose your family. And it’s true. Many of us live thousands of miles from the families we were born into, so friends become a proxy for this pivotal role. This is my Alaskan family. We jokingly refer to ourselves as the McCoxlers, and we’ve been part of each other’s holidays, birthdays, and every days for decades. Our children … Continue reading Eat the Chocolates
My friend Nancy has a way of drawing me waaaaay out of my comfort zone. In hindsight, this has been going on for nearly two decades. Exhibit A: In our pre-kid days we spent a leisurely afternoon hiking the Winner Creek trail in Girdwood, only to cap it off by spontaneously launching ourselves off Mt. Alyeska in tandem paragliders. I wish I had better photos, … Continue reading Branching Out
Due to COVID-19, we’ve now celebrated two quaranteen birthdays. Everything was still locked down when Maggie turned 14 back in April, so she wasn’t able to celebrate with friends at all. We were still determined to get her out of the house, so Clark loaded up the ATV’s and took the kids out to Knik for the first ride of the season. Unfortunately, somewhere along … Continue reading Happy Quaranteens!
I vividly remember the first time I stumbled across a quote by George Bernard Shaw: “He who can does; he who cannot, teaches.” Boy did that ruffle my non-existent feathers. I wanted to peck his little Nobel Prize to pieces. I’ve been in education for over 20 years, and here’s what I know to be true: Teachers find self worth by sharing knowledge, not attaining … Continue reading Best Bagels, Best Teachers
It’s hard to believe we are finishing Week 6 of pandemic restrictions in Anchorage. The orders to hunker down are working, and today we celebrate that no new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Alaska! Next week our city begins the slow process of reopening, and I pray our numbers remain under control. In the past few weeks we have established a family routine that … Continue reading Our New Normal for Now
Families everywhere are looking for ways to pass the time and connect during this pandemic, and in our house we’ve stumbled upon something that is working really well. Like many families out there, we play games. And like most families out there, we watch movies. But we’ve linked these two activities in a competitive manner, and it has made all the difference in the world. … Continue reading Game Nights for Movie Rights
Writing is my happy place, and last night I had some fun creating a parody of Dr. Seuss’s classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I’m sharing with the hope that it can bring someone a smile during this difficult time. The Virus Who Tried to Ruin Easter So many humans on Earth liked Easter a lot… But COVID-19 clearly did not! The virus hated Easter! … Continue reading The Virus Who Tried to Ruin Easter
Happy Anniversary to us: 2020 marks 18 years of marriage and 26 years together! And with COVID-19, I mean together. All days, all nights, always. (Actually, as of now Clark is still going into his office daily, but we are following all the “hunker down” orders in effect for our community.) We never make a big to-do of our anniversary, so it wasn’t a huge … Continue reading Frame by Frame
So COVID-19. Wow. Many of us are simultaneously working, teaching, learning, parenting, and disinfecting. Let’s be honest: if these are our frustrations, we are the lucky ones. It means we are healthy. I desperately want to write about this global pandemic, but it’s so overwhelming and I don’t even know where to start. So many topics are ping-ponging through my brain right now: Check my … Continue reading Today. Just Today.
Last Saturday was the ceremonial start of the 48th annual Iditarod, the 1,000 sled dog race across Alaska. How ironic that a day devoted to dogs turned into a morning all about cats at our house. It all started with a text from a neighbor, warning us to keep our dogs inside because a lynx family was hanging out in his back yard. This was … Continue reading Lots-o-Lynx
