Summer Writing Camp -- Here I Come!

With this being the final week of school, I am buried in end-of-the-year assessments, report cards, wrapping up projects and saying goodbyes.  It's always a bittersweet time of year; a time to reflect on the journey of my students and myself throughout the year.  It's a time to look back and see how far we have come, how we have changed and where we are headed next.  This has been a challenging school year: maternity leave and a new baby at home, difficult student behavior, etc.  However, it has also been a year of fantastic growth; not only student growth, but my own growth.  I'm just getting my feet wet in this writing business, but I love it.  It's in me and I can't wait to see where it goes. 

When I think about making the time to write during the school year, I have found that my writing time is after my children are in bed...and usually after my school work is finished for the night.  That generally means I am writing during my tv/relaxation time before bed.  Most of the time that is the way it plays out.  However, there are times during the school year that aren't as busy and I am able to make time during my classroom teaching breaks.  Those are the rare days when there aren't copies to make or phone calls to return or things that I want to chat about with my teaching buddy across the hall.  Now that it's almost summer, I am thinking that my writing time will shift to the morning.  Most likely, the early mornings will become my writing time.  I am most likely to catch some quiet time then...assuming I can get myself out of bed to write.  I mean, it is summer after all, right?

I am sure that the place I write and the amount of time I write will vary depending on the day.  I will make time for writing but will also have to take what I get sometimes.  I have been teaching long enough to know that while I like to think of it as having the "summer off"...there is nothing "off" about the summer.  It's just as busy during the summer as it is during the school year.  The kind of busy is all that changes.

My summer writing plan?  I'm really not sure.  Since I'm just beginning to think of myself as a writer, I don't really have a plan yet.  I'm still going with the flow for now.  Maybe this writing camp will give me some direction?  Maybe my own reflections of the past year and the next school year will give me some direction?  Who knows?

A wise lady I know is retiring after spending her whole life in the business of teaching, professional development and school leadership.  When people ask her what her retirement plans are she says with a smile, "I don't know!  But I know I will keep busy.  I'm not planning to just sit around in my rocking chair!"  As I think about my writing goals for the summer I feel similarly.  I don't plan to sit in my deck chair all summer!  I'll stay busy with my writing, but I don't know yet what I'm going to write!  But, as Pete the Cat says, "it's all good!"