We’re Not in Kansas Anymore
— Helen Baldwin

I don’t remember when or why my general interest in working with children gravitated toward those with special needs. Before returning to school for teacher certification in special education, I spent a year substituting in self-contained schools and classes throughout the massive Fort Worth, Texas, school system. My father was…

According to my mother, I made sure she was being “kessul” (careful) during her pregnancy with my brother. I wasn’t thrilled, however, about sharing the spotlight with baby Paul. Thinking outside the box, even then, I asked sweetly to push Paul around in the buggy. My folks, weary from parenting…

When I was growing up, I gravitated toward creepy, hair-raising movies and books. I loved being spooked, especially on Halloween. I’d become deliriously giddy when the autumn wind in my native Fort Worth, Texas, howled during trick-or-treating. By the time I became a teacher of kindergarteners…

The fall of 1996 brought the usual glorious colors, cooler weather, and a whammy of a news bulletin: I was pregnant. In our 40s, my husband, Randy, and I adjusted as well as possible, as did our equally stunned son, Matthew, who was 10. Our ecstatic daughter, Katie, then 7,…

My teacher parents were hardworking, generous, creative, witty, and caring. Shortly after I began college, my beloved maternal grandmother moved into an apartment added to our family’s house. During Grandmom’s episodes of congestive heart failure, Dad took her to the emergency room every time. Genuinely happy to help, he…

I was born on an Air Force base in Tacoma, Washington, but I grew up in Fort Worth, Texas. Texas was a wonderful place despite the chiggers, mosquitoes, and traffic. It was also oppressively hot in the summer, when only ice-cold watermelon, iced tea, ice cream, and Mexican food sounded…

As a high school senior, I belonged to our school’s coed spirit group. I belted out the cheers at the football games enthusiastically, although my pigskin smarts fit on the head of a pin. An astute observer, I quickly identified “first and 10” as a good thing because of the…

I was a conscientious student, highly motivated to excel whenever possible. My father was a public school teacher and later a principal at the elementary level. My mother taught piano at home. Neither parent browbeat my younger brother and me into obsession over schoolwork (or, for…

Life for our family has never been dull, but after our fortuitous move to the North Carolina mountains, “never dull” acquired new meaning. A blizzard hit a week after our arrival, flying squirrels gnawed their way into our dining room, and snow kept students hunkered down at home at least…

My brother’s birthday was July 13. While we generally aren’t able to get together to celebrate, we managed to do so in 1997. Paul’s birthday fell on a Sunday back then, too. At the time, our parents served as innkeepers of the still relatively new family lodge on the…

My late mother, who was musically gifted, fostered an appreciation of quality music in our family. I took enough piano lessons from her to serve as her other half in a two-piano duo that lasted for decades. Whether we were performing for others or simply our own enjoyment, our go-to…