KellyVollmer
Kelly first moved to New Orleans to attend Tulane University, from which she earned a B.S. in Psychology and English and an M.A. in English. She quickly discovered New Orleans was the place where she had always belonged and her high school sweetheart, Jeff, soon followed her here. They have now been married for 12 year and have two beautiful girls, Emma Jane (7) and Hannah (3). Kelly is a lover of all things nerdy and a proud fangirl. Though she loves to stay busy and involved, she recently left her job as a high school English teacher and sponsor to focus on her family and health. She is now teaching composition part time for a local university, working to revive her love of reading and writing, and focusing on being a more present mom.
Am I Sick? :: When COVID Has You Questioning Everything
I have always loved school and was never one to play hooky, so as a child if I ever told my mom that I didn’t feel well and wanted to stay home from school,...
Why “My Bad” is So Bad
Sometime earlier this year, my 8-year old picked up the phrase “my bad.”
I’m not really sure where she got it from. My husband uses the phrase every once in a while, but it’s far...
The Power of Ruth
When I became pregnant with my first daughter, I knew I was going to name her Jane. My husband wanted a different name. I knew I was going to get my way, but I...
Names are Important
As an English teacher, one of my favorite lessons to teach my students through literature has always been “names are important.” I ask my students to consider what a character’s name reveals about him....
Yes, I Do Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans
The first time I came to New Orleans, I was a high school senior considering Tulane University. After spending an afternoon in the French Quarter, before I had even set foot on Tulane’s campus,...
Bye-Bye Babies: One Onsie at a Time
Growing up I only had a younger brother, but I also had a large extended family. I was constantly surrounded by aunts, uncles, and cousins, and as a result, I always knew I wanted...
My Biggest Fear This School Year
Nearly every year that I was in high school, a student died from a car accident. Most of the accidents involved alcohol. In my junior year, the father of a child who barely survived...
Ten Thousand Dollar Dog
During grad school, I worked for a short time as a receptionist at a local veterinary clinic. After hurricane Gustave hit, a number of strays were brought into the clinic, including one strikingly beautiful...
Invisible Mom
If you are anything like me, you more than likely saw the title of this post and thought, “I’d like to be invisible sometimes!” Being invisible as a mom is next to impossible. We...
Pairing Socks: A Labor of Love
I have many memories of my mom performing traditional “women’s work.” I can close my eyes and picture her ironing my dad’s shirts as they watched the nightly news or watching crime shows while...
Don’t Judge a Book by Its Author
2020 has been an unbelievably crazy year. It literally started out with the world on fire, and it seems everything has gone downhill from there. While we have all struggled with the chaos that...
Pick Your Battles
The first Friday of the COVID-19 quarantine ended with me screaming at my husband in the kitchen.
The whole week had actually gone quite smoothly. I knew that a color-coded hour by hour schedule would...
To Each Her Own :: Commiserate, Don’t Counsel
This morning I woke up grumpy and unmotivated. We are a month into the quarantine, and though rules and routines have gone a long way in making this whole situation easier for my family,...
My Family’s Rules for Survival During the COVID-19 Quarantine
When Governor Edwards announced the closure of all K-12 schools for a solid month to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus, I wasn’t surprised. I had seen the local universities switch to online classes;...