A perspective on my evolution as a Geriatric Gymnast coach. My goal is to offer a safe space where grownups get to explore their inner child. Celebrating their successes fills me with joy.
Author: Stacey's Headspace
Educator, family woman, author and Geriatric Gymnast.
Back in business
After a long hiatus away from our home stage, Thespians is finally back in business. Here's a little overview of our first few weeks in prime theater-geek season.
Maintaining a positive self-concept at the gym
How do we build the courage to do hard things? Do we see ourselves as competent and able to tackle the challenges? In this post, I discuss how a strong support system bolsters our training experience.
Baking on a day off
Today, my daughter and I spent a little time in the kitchen on our day off making banana bread. It's a great way to build some culinary confidence while making something delicious.
Keeping the bones strong
This geriatric gymnast's plan is to stress her bones just enough to stimulate the remodeling process and avoid the fragility of old age. Chapter 4 discusses what that process is and how gymnastics helps that happen.
Managing Fear
A discussion of how I've managed fear throughout the course of my Geriatric Gymnastics training and how it continues to be a factor in my decision-making process at the gym.
The road to mastery
The road to skill mastery requires successful attempts over hundreds of trials over years and years. This chapter of Geriatric Gymnastics delves into the mental and physical development that is necessary in order to safely build confidence and consistency when you're training as an adult gymnast.
Weight-Loss part 3: The Saga of the Last Week of the Year
How quickly the pounds creep up when you stop paying closer attention. Read about how I navigated the temptation of the last week of the year.
Highs and Lows
Weathering the storm as a teacher is tough. Doing so in the pandemic adds so many layers of challenge to education. Trying to make theater happen in that situation is a whole different ballgame. It's been one of the greatest challenges of my teaching career.
Flipping for all to see
When we actually arrive at that seemingly impossible skill that we can perform either once or with consistency, who wouldn’t want to share that with the world?
Happy New Year!
Some quick thoughts I have for the beginning of 2022. Happy and healthy new year to all!
Decluttering for the new year
Sometimes, you just need to declutter your physical and mental space.
Comfort and joy
I bid you comfort and joy this holiday season.
Weight-Loss part 2: Remembering What Works
Understanding the habits you must adjust and/or maintain to keep your weight and overall health in check. These habits are both mental and physical, require thought, planning, and daily mindfulness in order to get to and stay in your healthy weight zone. Here’s a little summary of some of the main the strategies I’m using on a daily basis.
Designing a book cover
Of course, when you are publishing a book, you have to make important decisions. Hard decisions, sometimes. This is the story of how my cover design for "What Ronnie Sue Knew" came to be.
These are the moments when it hits me the hardest that Mom is gone.
My daughter is in her second year of college. After many years of crippling mental health struggles, many directly related to high school, she is finally on a healthy upward trajectory, developing a personally satisfying academic career. She is organized, diligent, precise, and a formidable student. Taking ownership of her education, she is eating up… Continue reading These are the moments when it hits me the hardest that Mom is gone.
What high school students need
In the sea of revolving educational philosophy, the same themes always hold true: them feel safe, make them feel like they matter, and teach them how to lead. This blog post looks at how Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs informs my approach to teaching.
Ruminations of a good person
When I start to notice ruminative thoughts creep in and multiply, I try to write. It's a way of acknowledging the thoughts, accepting they are there, and trying to insert thoughts that are more productive. This is a product of that process.
My Latin heart
Sometimes, when you are teaching, you have lovely little moments that happen. Random surprises that come your way that make your heart smile. Read on to know why I smiled big on this day.
Hot to Trot
Another Turkey Trot in the books. Thanksgiving dinner never tasted so good.
Random Mom dream
I had a dream about Mom. It’s actually a pretty rare occurrence that I remember any part of my dreams, and even rarer that she makes an appearance in them. When those wake me up in the middle of the night, I think it bears recording.
Some birthday musings
My first 50 years have been educational and illuminating. Now, I'm excited to learn just how much I do not know. I just hope this brain has the space to remember it all.
A new chapter in parenting
t’s been a long time coming. We hadn’t been away from the house for more than several of hours, much less an overnight. For a long stretch, maybe 5 or 6 years, we have had so many reasons to stay home. Kids, anxious pets, viral pandemic - they all gave us more than enough pause to do anything that was just the two of us.
November reverie
This is why November is my month.
Foam-rolling and wordsmithing
What do I do on a day off? Use the time to exercise my body and brain.
Teaching ELLs
Maintaining effective teaching relationships with students who don't speak your language is a special challenge. These are some of my perspectives on developing strategies that help.
Authors connect
Part of being a writer and author is connecting to other writers and authors. Inspiration comes in all forms. Meet two people who have inspired me.
My weight-loss journey, part 1: Choosing to be Honest and Accountable
My doctor told my aging self that it was time to drop some weight. Here's how I did it. WARNING: There's no magic pill.
Education’s worst nightmare
Once again, we are back to remote education. This time, it's not COVID.
Shifting back to remote
As I left the school building on Tuesday afternoon, I noticed an ambulance and several first responders milling about the entrance. They didn't seem particularly "activated" so I figured they were responding to something routine. I got in my car, went home, and didn't think too much about it. When I got home, messages started… Continue reading Shifting back to remote
Stacey's Headspace 