Latest
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Recovering from Achilles Tendon Rupture: A Personal Timeline
I thought I’d share the highlights and milestones in each phase of my recovery so far. I’ll keep updating this as I continue healing.
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Empowering GenX Women: Navigating Perimenopause with Expert Guidance
On one of my recent long walks, I was inspired to commemorate some thoughts on my iPhone. Seems as though walking gets the brain juices flowing and that’s when many of my thoughts spill out. Dictating through heavy breaths, I waxed philosophical about being smack-dab in the middle of the menopausal transition. Living in perimenopause…
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Practice makes habits
Whether you are a newbie or veteran gymnast, this article might be helpful when you consider how you create consistency in your training habits and why the journey is so darn hard. Gymnasts, particularly those of us “of a certain age,” work to develop complex physical skills through the obstacles of body limitations, fear and…
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When it’s time for them to come back
Last August, I wrote a couple of posts about the slow slide to the empty (albeit temporary) nest. For the first time, both of our kids would be in college, and my husband and I would rediscover life as a couple. This is an update, nine months later. Oh, how time slowly flies. Read When…
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A Primer for Back Tucks on the Trampoline
This article is designed to help gymnasts who are struggling with their back tucks on the trampoline. It offers lots of how-to tips and detailed, step-by-step descriptions of the hows and whys of the drills I’ve personally used to improve my technique. One of the main questions I often get relates to getting over the…
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Improving back handsprings, part 2
This article was actually written and published in February 2024, before my April version of Improving Back Handspring Technique. For some reason, it got lost in the WordPress ether and I had to do a lengthy archive search process to find it again. When I read it through, there was even more useful information than…
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Improving Back Handspring Technique
If you are looking to solve your back handspring issues, this article might give you some food for thought. Back handsprings are one of the harder basic skills to acquire, especially for adult gymnasts. The idea of hurtling yourself backwards onto your hands, then snapping your feet back down to the ground and rebounding back…
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Return to nature
It’s been eight months, but I finally returned to my beloved Ramapo Reservation for my first hike of the season. I had almost forgotten the amazing feeling I get from spending a couple hours traversing the nature preserve and all of its offerings to my soul. I was inspired to share some of the benefits…
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The Power of Yet
This article is the convergence of all areas of my life experience: teaching, parenting, singing, and being a Geriatric Gymnast. No matter what the effort is, I have found myself feeling like I am lacking in more ways than one. I’ve mused a lot about impostor syndrome. I published a meditation about it, talked about…
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Commit to the Fundamentals
In gymnastics, every choice you make is an important one. Each skill, whether a handstand, salto (flip) or a complex combination of moves, requires a laundry list of technical requirements. When you are first starting out, that list can be very intimidating. I coach adult gymnastics at Flipper’s Gymnastics in Ramsey, NJ. We now offer…
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Translanguaging in Arts Education
I am an arts educator. My charge is not only inspiring the creative spark in adolescents, but making sure our English Language Learners have equal access and opportunity to participating in the creative spirit. When you are in charge of a school theater organization, you shoulder the weight of so many things, artistic decisions being…
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You have to go through it.
This phrase is something I found myself saying since the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year. It was one of those wise things I’d say to the kids when things looked tough, like during the last two weeks of our fall show PUFFS when the Monday tech rehearsal was over three-and-a-half hours long and it…
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Mental Breakthroughs 2
Two years ago, I wrote an article about some of the mental blocks I’ve managed, largely due to injuries sustained, and the mental breakthroughs I’ve made in trying to overcome them. Months later, I did a little research and realized that the reason for the blocks was due to our lizard brain, the part of…
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Phytoestrogens and (peri)menopause
As a female Gen Xer firmly in the middle of her (peri)menopausal transition, I realize just how much I don’t know about this part of my own life cycle. In my (peri)menopausal quest for knowledge, I’ve been digging for good research to learn what actually helps and what is bunk. This article delineates some of…
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Passing the torch
As I write this post, I have three and a half years to go before I step away from teaching at Spring Valley High School. Now is the time that I am starting to think about succession; who will take over for me when I retire? What will happen to Thespians, which was handed to…
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Mid-life Musings: Insomnia and Brain Fog
Insomnia. Wake at 3:30 a.m. Go to the bathroom. Lay back down under the covers. Never get to slide back into the state that unlocks rest and dreams. It’s a form of slow torture. Historically, I’ve been a champion sleeper. Younger me would sleep 12 hours without missing a beat. Sit me down on a…
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Sometimes you break yourself, part 7
It’s been a couple of weeks since my last update. I’d been putting it off until this week’s doctor’s appointment, the anticipation of which was a source of anxiety and a bit of dread. I finally returned last week to the gym, not to flip, but to coach. It was good to breathe the air,…
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The Geriatric Gymnast chats with painter Tessa Lang
On the eve of the launch of her brand new Chtapodi Collective line, Tessa Lang was so gracious to sit for a chat to talk about her artistic journey and diving into the world of wearable art.
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Sometimes you break yourself, part 6
I’ve been back to work for a week now, and I have to say in the middle of week four, I am exhausted. The boot saga continues.
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When it’s time for them to leave, part 2
The final step of our college-bound empty nest.
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REVIEW: Tessa Lang’s Tigers and Toucs Leggings
My 5-star review for Tessa Lang’s Tigers and Toucs leggings.
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Changed for the Better, episode 48
On Changed for the Better, we’ve talked a lot about how people’s lives shift over the course of time. Floryane’s story is all about accepting change, re-defining her purpose and establishing a plan for course-correction.
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Not for the faint of heart
While I have shared a lot of personal stuff on this blog, this may be the first time that I am being this candid about some of the uglier aspects of the second act experience. If you shy away from female stuff, this may not be for you. If you want to get into the…
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30 years later…
After 30 years of space and time, I finally reunited with some of my college peeps. Of course, I had to write about it.
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Changed for the Better: special episode #2
In Ask Tirro episode 2, Hernz Laguerre, Jr puts me in the hot seat. We talk about my “second act” and what direction I think it will go. There’s even a Lightning Round!! Tune in!
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A second opinion
When you get a diagnosis you are not sure about, get a second opinion. It may reveal a better path forward. It did for me.
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Changed for the Better, episode 47
Michael J. DelPup has an artist’s heart. He discovered his love for Thespians in his senior year, and that experience has shaped the person he is today. He is a SCAD trained graphic artist who works for Off White design, and he is responsible for the newest logo art for this podcast!
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Changed for the Better: special episode #1
Welcome to the premiere of a new segment of “Changed for the Better: the power or arts in education” called “Ask Tirro.” In this episode, Nathalie Alcime (CFTB Episode 36) puts me in the hot seat!
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Changed for the Better, episode 46
While I couldn’t possibly admit to favoritism, some of my guests have stuck in my memory and the thought of them instantly makes me smile wide. Nausheen Rokerya is one of them.
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When injuries attack
What happens when a Geriatric Gymnast gets MRI results that are less than favorable? She makes plans to heal. Read on.
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Heading towards the empty nest
From adorable cherub to high school graduate, this is my tribute to my youngest kid. I couldn’t be prouder of her journey so far and what’s to come.
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Sometimes, it’s nice to win
On June 21, I had the honor of attending the Arts Council of Rockland 2023 Arts Awards as a nominee for the arts educator category. After four nominations, I finally heard my name.
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Why do I post so much?
I started at 36. I’ve been injured, frustrated, had setbacks, and enjoyed every moment at the gym. Read my thoughts on having safe, adult, flippy fun.
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Weight -loss part 11: the ups and downs
Oh, the ups and downs of middle-age weight maintenance. Up a few pounds, down a few pounds, up a few more. The mid-life struggle is real.
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Changed for the Better, episode 45
In performing arts education, there are some students who love the spotlight, and others who just love to be there, participating, without the pressure and responsibility of being the lead role. Samuel Auguste was one of the latter.
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Changed for the Better, episode 44
Not all of my Changed for the Better guests craved the spotlight. Some were very happy behind-the-scenes, putting their production talents to good use in quieter ways.
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Changed for the Better, episode 43
From teen mom to LPN to NP, Esskee Nance-Doucet has climbed mountainous terrain in order to smell the sweet, clean air of success. Read on for her story.
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My first yoga retreat
Check out my review for the Enlighten Asheville retreat experience. Spoiler: It was heavenly.
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Changed for the Better, episode 42
What do you do when you have the lion’s share of talent, intellect, and drive to make real change happen? Perhaps, you follow a path like Tina Vasquez’s. Taking great care to carve one that suited her needs, she followed her heart’s passions and explored the challenging opportunities that called to her. That tendency started…
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Another publication!
I am officially published in an academic textbook! Read on to learn more!
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Changed for the Better: Upgrades
I have something exciting to share for “Changed for the Better, the power of arts in education!” It’s time for some UPGRADES!
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Inspiration is a two-way street
On the final weekend of our spring musical season, I was reflecting on what it takes to create, to develop and to thrive. It’s all about the people with whom you surround yourself.
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Moments from the Geriatric Gymnast
I hope that any adult looking to explore their inner Olympian can find a place to realize their childhood dreams. My goal is to help encourage them to take the leap.
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More than an in-law
The other day, Facebook sent me a notification – the 14th anniversary of my friendship with someone special. Little did they know how much that “friendship” means to me and how much longer it has actually been since I’ve known her.
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Changed for the Better: episode 39
Joseph “Royalty” Wallace, once a pulsing ball of energy, has focused his creativity and discipline to become a successful man in finance and entrepreneurship. Read on to learn how dance was the catalyst for his leap into leadership.
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Michael Morenberg
Mike and I talk about our community of adult gymnastics: the “Hive Mind,” being a quinquagenarian, spotting and coaching, and the necessity for the gym to be a judgment-free zone.
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Changed for the Better, episode 37
Episode 37 features Rushane Dunn, the first alum to be profiled from the class of 2019! Always the high-achiever, he is now finishing his senior year at Brown University. We talked about his dual passions for STEM and performing arts, being at the precipice of his adulthood and his impending journey into medicine.
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An Overview of Geriatric Gymnastics
For anyone who is into fitness, gymnastics or aging gracefully, I present An Overview of Geriatric Gymnastics. You’ll find links and descriptions of all of the articles I’ve written in the series, including strategies that this middle-aged woman uses to defy the clock.
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My Tired Teacher Soul
My body and brain are weary and need recovery before doing it all over again, one more time.
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