A walk to remember Zelda
(originally written on November 14, 2025) I walked today. Not for the first time, but for the first time in more than 4 months. For the first time without a leash in my hand. For the first time without some geocache waiting for me 300 meters away. The last week has been filled with reminders and lessons about grief. And although it didn’t start with a podcast, listening to Clarissa Sorensen Unruh and her sister Christy Albright talk about grief with Bonni Stachowiak on the most recent episode of the Teaching in Higher Education podcast (wow, what a mouthful) really got me thinking. That podcast auto-played after listening to a recent episode of The Opposite of Cheating. Rissa, Christy, and Bonni shared stories of relatable grief like failing bodies, losing loved ones, and deciding to leave a PhD program; woven together with lessons connected to psychology, pedagogy and work-life balance.…