I am a writer and high school English teacher at a Catholic, all-girls private school. I began my teaching and writing career over 30 years ago, earning my Ph.D. in English Education from and first teaching at New York University. After I finished my degree work, my husband and I moved to Florida; I have taught at both Nova Southeastern University and The University of Tampa.
I left academia to raise two beautiful daughters and help care for my parents, which is when I turned to blogging to help me process my experiences. I started in 2003 with a LiveJournal entitled "Afternoons with Coffee Spoons" which I eventually translated over to Wordpress. In 2019 I was invited to join "The Gloria Sirens" blog, which gave me space to develop my voice.
Over the past few years, as I have raised teenagers and gone back to teaching, my writing has become more focused on the interplay of the Catholic faith, mystery, and storytelling. This has, in 2025, led me to return to writing exclusively for my own blog where I can more fully explore "Every Grace and Blessing" that God has bestowed upon me and those I love.
This made me wonder if, at some point, we’re going to become a society of “the masked vs. the unmasked.” If so, how will we be viewed? Will the masked be applauded? Ostracized? And will the opposite happen to the unmasked? Which way is society going to go?
Welcome to The Sirens new monthly feature: Non-profit of the Month. The Sirens have many causes that are near and dear to our hearts, but one of the most urgent ones at […]
In 1918, my great-grandmother, Frances Pengelski, was married with two babies under two years old, living in relative poverty in Brooklyn. I was fortunate to know my nana well. The year I […]
I have been in absolute panic mode now for almost a full week. The health scares in the news are perfectly designed to hit dead-center in the Venn diagram that comprise my […]
When I drive, I tend not to take things personally. Interestingly, my practice in doing this on the road translates very well into how not to take things personally in my life.
This week the kids went back to school after our beautifully long winter break, and I’m drowning in silence. I miss them. It’s hard, after the house has been full of joy, […]
Last week I said I’d write about my favorite Christmas traditions (plural), but when I started writing about my favorite one it took over this whole post. The tradition: Advent. Now, I […]
For adults, the holiday season is not an easy one at the best of times. Around Thanksgiving, the pressure starts to make this time “perfect” for ourselves and those around us–especially those […]
It seems almost impossible to be thankful when everything is falling apart around us. . . . Yet conventional wisdom tells us, “It’s not happy people who are grateful. It’s grateful people who are happy.” Interestingly, recent scientific research backs this up.
I’ve had a problem with Halloween for quite awhile. If you’ve read my earlier posts about how we are becoming a culture of death rather than a culture of love, you might […]
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