Category: Essay

• Breaking News

  Today, Friday, May 10, 2019, I am currently propped up in a recliner in my den, watching BBC America and writing on my laptop. My left leg is jacked up on multiple pillows on the recliner extension, draped in a blanket. I am surrounded by tray tables, pillows, and the minutiae of a normal life:…

  michardillo

  May 10, 2019

  Essay

  anniversary, broken ankle, crutches, knee scooter, Libra, marriage, orthopedic, surgery

• Birthday Party Trends

  Check out my latest article in Washington Family Magazine! http://digital.washingtonfamily.com/issues/May-2019/index.html

  michardillo

  May 1, 2019

  Essay

• End in Sight: Tips for Fighting the Fourth-Quarter Blues

  http://www.washingtonfamily.com/family_life/article_bbf36b0a-685f-11e9-b3fb-7f5670bba115.html

  michardillo

  April 27, 2019

  Essay

• Leaned into Lent; Leaning into Holy Week

  So, we are in the final countdown. Finish today and Monday, make it through “circus day” (no, really, a circus is coming to my school) on Tuesday, and half-day on Wednesday…and then, EASTER BREAK. As a full-time teacher, I am 100% qualified to tell you who looks forward to school breaks more, students or teachers:…

  michardillo

  April 12, 2019

  Essay

• Language Learned, Passport Packed

  Sunday, March 17, 2019: This morning, the Second Sunday in Lent, Fr. Gabriel, our parochial vicar, began his homily at 10:30 Mass with, “How is your Lent going?” For the first time in a very long time, I felt as though I was fully prepared to say, “Good!” For a few weeks before Ash Wednesday,…

  michardillo

  March 18, 2019

  Essay, faith

  Heaven, Lent, passport, prayer, sacrifice, Scotland

• Writing through Lent: a Spiritual Exercise

  Dear friends and followers, today is Ash Wednesday, and for Christians, the beginning of Lent. For these forty days of Lent, I will try to focus my writings and thoughts on more spiritual things, helping me to center myself on these three things: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. For so long, Catholics were asked to give…

  michardillo

  March 6, 2019

  Essay

• The Battle of Evil against Good

  It’s mid-October and lots of my bookish friends are reading scary stories or mysteries that have elements of the supernatural lurking about. In my 8th grade classroom, we read a short story recently that is classified as science fiction but in many ways represents the materialistic and selfish ways of many in today’s society, making…

  michardillo

  October 16, 2018

  Essay, faith

  Button Button, Catholic, devil, edgar allan poe, evil, faith, Richard Matheson, science fiction, St. Michael the Archangel, Star Trek, Twilight Zone

• Just Say Cheese!

  For two years I lived in Belgium, where supposedly there is a different cheese for every day of the year. Just a few blocks from my house on Avenue de Versailles was my favorite store, Fromagerie Saint-Michel, and during those two years, I was a frequent customer. The ladies behind the counter were so helpful…

  michardillo

  September 20, 2018

  Essay

  Belgium, Brie, Cheddar, cheese, fondue, Macaroni, Manchego, Raclette, Ricotta, Swiss, Waterloo

• Good Things Come to Those Who Wait (And Work)!

  When I started teaching 8th grade English, I had the urge to do some writing for myself. Modeling essay structure for my students became fun, not work. I had many papers to write in my graduate courses for certification to teach, and my instructors would tell me I was a good writer. But, teaching full-time…

  michardillo

  August 14, 2018

  Essay

  Antiques Roadshow, Baltimore’s Child Magazine, essays, goals, short stories, Washington Family Magazine, writing

• Baltimore’s Child Magazine

  Please check out my article with this popular regional parenting magazine! Book It! Stuck at Home? Take a Literary Staycation! How to  End the School Year on a High Note!

  michardillo

  August 2, 2018

  Essay