Wednesday, April 1, 2026
It’s Wednesday with Joyce!
Also, I opened my Currently link up yesterday and posted my own early; I had good intentions but then kind of flubbed it up. Oh, well – check it out and link up if you wish!
1. March is rolling on out of here. Sum up your March in ten words or less.
I had a good March! Some highlights for me were: walking more, reading outside, making an Irish meal for St. Patrick’s Day, plant BINGO, some patio hangs, new spring shoes, new spring blouses and clothes, new fence completed, quality time with my dog Eddie Otis, and learning mah jong better.
2. Are you afraid of heights? When was the last time you found yourself dealing with a height, and did it make you nervous?
I am not super afraid of heights. With that being said, I do feel weird looking down once I get to the height. I can’t remember the last time I was nervous about heights, though.
3. What’s a word you struggle to spell on a regular basis, and sometimes need to double check before writing it down? Use the word in a sentence that tells us something about your April calendar.
Occasion – see I just had to look it up. The double cc’s don’t seem right. I want to put double ss’s. But fun fact…I have five spelling bee trophies in my basement. I won in 4th, 5th, and 6th grades and then I won an advanced round and something else. We had a high school “spellbowl” team and I did that one year, too. I have always prided myself on my spelling. I used to study the dictionary.
“I have many occasions to look forward to in April.”
4. Love ’em or hate ’em, with Easter comes the sweet treat known as Peeps. So… do you love ’em or hate ’em? Speaking of peeps, what’s your favorite way to have chicken?
Love them! My mom would put them naked in our Easter baskets and they would have Easter grass stuck to them. Try putting a Peep on a S’more and your life will change!
I love grilled chicken the most I would say. I also love a perfect chicken tender on occasion – see, I must use this word a bunch!
5. This week’s Hodgepodge lands on the first day of April, which happens to be National Poetry Month. Do you like poetry? Share a favorite line or two from one of your favorite poems. What makes this one a favorite?
I am not a big poem person unless it’s a limerick or funny or it rhymes. I did enjoy teaching AP Spanish the poetry unit in their book because we had some good discussions and I got to “go deep”. This might be a generic answer but Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken has been a favorite since I was in late elementary school and read it.
The Road Not Taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
I see it as do your own thing, be your own person, and don’t just be a follower. In my own life, I completed all the steps to be a high school administrator when I was only 28. I did a Master’s in Administration and Supervision, completed the portfolio, and passed the 6 hour test, and then got married. Just a year and a half later I was pregnant with twins. I chose to remain a teacher and not jump on the assistant principal track because I wanted to be home with my kids after school. As time went on, I considered if I would regret it, but I was still enjoying teaching so much. No regrets.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
I decided to freeze my Amish friendship bread starter. I just wasn’t excited to bake this cycle.
Amy
Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa 
That has always been my favorite poem ever since it was introduced in junior high/high school too. I definitely took the road not taken when we jumped into homeschooling– in fact I wrote a homeschooling post titled The Road Not Taken.
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It really is a good one. Yes – you did. That was a big risk but it paid off.
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I feel like I’ve taken the road less traveled a lot. Actually I wrote a bit about me in high school. I definitely lived my best (different) life in high school than many and I was OK with that! A question about the administration track- don’t administrator have summers off, too? How much different would your schedule have been being an admin vs a teacher is I guess what I’m asking. Not getting your own package of Peeps was WRONG, lol!! You had stickage issues and you didn’t get a whole pack!!
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Omg! Don’t get me started. They come back to school almost a month earlier in summer. A high school is open til late hours of the night with all the games and activities and the admin rotate supervision. So it wouldn’t have really been a raise but many more hours and mostly discipline. I would have liked to be an instructional leader and help other teachers the most but that’s such a small part now. I did get put on a higher pay track due to having two Masters degrees so it was worth it financially to do the admin track .
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OMG I used the SAME poem- great minds!! Occasion gets me too- double c’s or s’s? Geesh- ha!
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I knew I liked you! Ha! Why is it such a hard word?
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I loved your answers! I never knew that about you- that you went down the admin track when you first began teaching. I would say that the only time it would be more “fun” to be a principal (and to help/inspire teachers) is in the elementary world. I laughed at the beginning of this, when you said you flubbed the Currently post yesterday. I think it turned out fine! I was glad you posted yesterday, because I did mine a day early as well.
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In KY, you had (no longer) to have a Master’s started within 5 years of starting so I did that after my second year, then I got an opportunity to get half off of another Master’s and did that, too – it was a cohort group of teachers who wanted to be admin. I used to have so much energy. Lol.
Oh, for sure, it would be more fun but high school has my heart and I love teenagers. I wouldn’t feel equipped for the elementary world.
I am a hot mess this week! I posted too many posts and then messed some things up. I should have acted like it was an April Fool’s joke!
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While I do think women can have ‘a lot’ (maybe not all) we must constantly make choices with our family as a factor. I feel like you never regret the time you devoted to raising children, and know I certainly don’t. I think my daughter would make an excellent administrator but she’s home with her babies now and for that I am so thankful. Have a great day!
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So true! My school got out at 2:20 and my kids elementary got out at 3:45. I was able to be at the school door, meet and talk to other moms, let them play on the playground, help with homework, make dinner, and be home in the evenings. I will never regret that. I think I would have been good as an administrator, but being a mom was my favorite job. It sounds like your daughter is thriving, too.
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March does sound like a good month for you. You are right, the double c’s in occasion don’t seen right and it feels like it needs another s. lol A Peep on a S’more sounds amazing!
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Thank you! Right? The sugar caramelizes perfectly!
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Occasion is such a good word for that answer and I agree on this word too. You are such a good mama and I’m so glad you’re enjoying a well deserved retirement! March sounds like a good month for you.
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Thank you! Thank you but I have many flaws. It was a good month.
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Once upon a time (probably 15-20 years ago, because all the kids were still living at home) I found chocolate peeps. Now THOSE make an amazing s’more!
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Oh man! I bet that would make a great one.
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I also like Peeps and they remind me of my childhood.
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Totally!
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I’m so glad to meet a fellow Peeps lover! I really only like the yellow chicks and love to leave them out so they get stale and crunchy! I’m going to have to try them as a s’more, though! I considered being a principal, but after talking it over with Mike, I realized I wanted to be with kids not administrators!
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
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I like all the colors and they even have them for other holidays now!
Same for me – I wanted to be with the kids.
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“occasion” and other words that have some letters doubled but not others will stump me at times. Congrats on all your spelling bee wins!
Hope you’re having a wonderful week!
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