_{“And you can dream, so dream out loud
And you can find your own way out…
And I know that the tide is turning ’round
So don’t let the bastards grind you down”
— U2}

My dear friends,

This summer has taught me that life is too short.

Life has always been a struggle for me… forcing myself into day-to-day life in accordance with neurotypical standards is like jamming a square peg into a tiny round hole, and it has caught up to me.

As I inch toward retirement, I am looking for ways to cultivate a life that more closely aligns with my soul.

I will continue to teach my wonderful students, to help them find their “voice” in a world that often tells them to shut up and comply.

I will continue to try to hold a mirror to them, to show them how worthy they are of their dreams.

But I am trying to dream bigger… for perhaps the first time since I was banging on my guitar in high school, wishing to be the next great songwriter.

You can stash and you can seize
In dreams begin responsibilities

I no longer want to be a rock star….

I just want to write, I want to create, and I want to do it at my pace, alongside those I love.

I have long resented society’s demands that we leave our loved ones for hours to do another’s bidding.
That was obscenely painful when I had to navigate the bureaucracy of “time off” as both of my parents faced acute health crises.
Institutions don’t care if you’re fighting for your family’s life.
It’s all spreadsheets and numbers.
And now that my Mom has passed away, I resent the hell out of this system that forced me to weigh what time I had with my mother against a rigid quid pro quo where the quid is never worth the quo.

It’s never seemed fair to me.
I guess that’s how the whole show works.
We log our hours, cash our checks, and call it “responsibility.”

I call it what it is… cruelty.

And I am not the only one persecuted in this regard.
We all take this as common sense.
It’s not.
It’s barbaric.

It’s never worked for me.

I don’t know the next step.

But all I can do is start to hope and keep putting my work out there.

If you find any value in anything I create, I humbly ask you to share it. I am not good at promoting myself. Never have been.

If you have any tips, advice, etc, I’d love to hear it.

I’ve a story to tell.

Mom told me so.