Enjoy the Moment

Sometimes you just have to enjoy the moment.

My daughter went to school with me this morning and her sitter picked her up there.  This happens a few days per week.  With all the snow we have had she has been enjoying a few minutes of playing in the snow each morning while the sitter and I chat. 

She ends up being a snowy mess when it's time for her to go.  While the sitter doesn't mind, I feel bad for adding all the snow to her van!  This morning, I made a silent vow to keep this from happening.

It didn't work.  My daughter had other plans.

As we were walking out of the school, hand in hand, she scooted us over to the edge of the sidewalk.  She is a bright, slightly mischievous little thing.  She knows I'm not going to walk in the snow, so she moved us over just enough that she could scuff her little feet through the snow while mine stayed on the dry sidewalk.

She laughed with joy as she shuffled her feet this way and that way through the newly fallen inch of snow.  The light fluff coated her pink boots and she giggled out loud.  She checked over her shoulder every few steps to see the footprints she left behind.  She had such a look of joy on her face!  Just a simple walk through the snow brought a satisfied smile to her face.

And to think I almost didn't let that happen today.

Day 1 - My Journey

 

Slice of Life Challenge - Day 1

My Journey

I'm so thankful for my journey.  My writing journey started long ago when I used to write in notebooks and hide them away.  Those words and notebooks are long since gone and forgotten but I still remember writing letters and poems and stories and the feeling of freedom that waited for me on each new, blank page.  I had no idea what I was doing then, but now I know I was trying to find meaning in my everyday life.  I was writing to understand life.  I was writing to create, to see my thoughts spread out in front of me, even when I didn't know what those thoughts were yet.

There are long stretches in my life when I didn't write a bit.  Not a word or sentence for any purpose beyond school assignments.  But even then, I was filling my writing tank.  I was tucking away little pieces of memories.  I was unconsciously gathering gems for later use.

As an adult, I didn't think of myself as a writer at all.  Deep down I wanted to be but I didn't feel like I had anything to say and even if I did, who would want to read it anyway?  That all changed when I had the opportunity to work with Geri, who I now think of as my writing guru.  She's my friend, my mentor and my first real encourager of writing.  She planted a seed (or two or three hundred) and it slowly began to grow within me.  She said that a teacher of writing should be a writer herself.  A teacher can not fully appreciate what she is asking of her students unless she is taking part in the act of writing herself.  I knew this must be true and I wanted to become this teacher who writes but it took me a while to mess around in private before I finally worked up the courage to think beyond my notebook.  It wasn't until a friend introduced me to the idea of joining the Slice of Life Challenge that I began to think of myself as someone who could write and be involved in a community of writers.

I joined the challenge for the first time in 2012 and felt relatively safe in doing so because I didn't figure anyone would read my blog anyway.  I was wrong and I am so glad I was!  I met some of the sweetest ladies, the most caring people began to stop by to leave some comment love.  This early encouragement did an amazing job of feeding my writing soul and I've been so lucky to meet some of these same wonderful people in real life in the last couple of years.  I never would have guessed where this blogging journey would take me.

Now as I look March in the eye again I am so excited to know that I might be able to share some bits of encouragement to feed someone else's writing soul.  I can't wait to see all the new bloggers take wing and settle into this year's challenge.  I also can't wait to see old friends and hear 31 new stories of their lives.  

I chose STORY as my OLW this year.  I am ready to share mine!  I'm ready to read yours.  

My Plate Runneth Over!

There are so many things on my plate, everyone's plate, everyday.  It can be overwhelming!  Or, you can take one thing at a time and keep plugging away at your list.  I have found that is the best option for me.  If I try to think about everything, it's too much.  If I just focus on one thing at a time, I have breezed through several items without really even realizing it.  The trick for me is to just keep going and know that eventually, I'll land at the bottom.  Preferably on the couch in front of the TV for a little mindless entertainment before bedtime.  No strings attached.  But, until then...

I keep thinking.  I keep moving.

I cannot stop.

The list - it never ends!

Send conference forms home with my students.
Clean out their overflowing book boxes.
Shop for new books to stir up some reading excitement.
Remember to read the opinion mentor text before writer's workshop tomorrow.

Choose a student for a thumbs up award.
Pick a child to read at open mic night.
Find an author to read a writing piece on video.

Rush out the door.
Daycare pick up.  Girl scout cookie pick up.  Book club.

Empty the dishwasher.
Put away the three baskets of clean laundry.
Clear clutter off the table.  Make dinner.
How was your day?  Tell me your best and worst parts.

Dinner's done. Clear the table.  Fill the dishwasher. 

Sign and return school conference forms for my children.
Remember to sign their planners.
Don't forget to send snack on Thursday!

Play Barbies.  Tickle bellies.  Find lost toys.  Laugh.

Pjs, cuddles, books, bedtime.
Take a breath.

Find a place to land.

Ahhhh.
The couch feels nice.
I'll just lay down for a few minutes.

Can you hand me the fuzzy red blanket?

zzzzzzzz.

I guess everything else can just wait until tomorrow...
when it starts all over again.



March is coming soon!!  Have you signed up to participate in the Slice of Life Challenge?  I have and I can't wait to begin!  I hope to see you there!

Ice Frosted Trees

As I drove to school this morning, my children playing together quietly in the backseat, I noticed the trees.  It was like they were standing guard over the road before me.  They were frost covered and white; stark against the bluing morning sky.  They were beautiful!  Unfortunately, they were also rushing past my window and I couldn't snap the perfect picture.  I caught myself thinking that it was Tuesday, slicing day, and that's when the poem began to form in my mind.  I did some editing and revising as I drove and quickly typed it while sitting at a stop sign, thankful for quiet country roads.

I was able to try out PicMonkey yesterday for another poem I was working on and when I remembered a photo I had taken last winter after an ice storm, I decided to do some playing.  How was your drive today?

Come join in the slicing fun at the Two Writing Teachers blog.

Snow Day!

On Sunday, like many others, we were bombarded with snow!  We went from barely enough to cover the grass to a knee-high blanket.  It's beautiful and it bought us a snow day on Monday.  Along with the frosty fingers and toes it brought my children and the happy giggles I heard from the sleds, it also brought me this poem. 

snow streams

     down

   blows cold
            on my face

SLASHES

the air
      with frost

and finally

     lands on the Earth

a frozen message
        from Heaven

it's meaning
and beauty

         different

for each


Did you get a new thick blanket too?  What did your snow pile inspire?

There are days...

 

There are days when frustration is at the forefront of my being

When everything up my sleeve has been tried once, twice, three times

Days when I can’t imagine one second more or I might just explode

There are days when joy is brimming over the edge of my cup

When everything has been brilliant, fulfilling, successful

Days when I can’t imagine feeling more victorious

There are days when nothing fits in the box

When everything stacks up, higher and higher, trembling, tilting

Days when I can’t breathe for fear of dropping all the spinning plates

There are days when giggles fill the air and feed my soul

When everything shines a little brighter, warmer, happier

Days when I can’t believe it could get any better

There are days

When everything makes me wonder, worry, value

Days when I can’t decide what to decide

There are days.

What kind of day is today?

One Little Word

My OLW last year was light.  You can read about my inspiration here.  I chose this word because I wanted to celebrate all the wonderful things that bring light into my life: my family, my friends, a hot cup of coffee on a cold morning, my student’s laughter and learning, etc.  I wanted my word to remind me to appreciate those things, to remind me to notice the “lights” in my life.  I think it was a good word.  I don’t think it was the right word.  I have been very absent from the writing and blogging worlds.  My last blog post was in September, just before the start of the school year.  What?!  I haven’t blogged, I haven’t written in my notebook, I just have not written anything.

I have continued to appreciate the “lights” in my life.  I have enjoyed watching my children grow every day.  I have enjoyed watching my students take on learning and improve behaviors.  I have noticed all the little things that make me happy and create light, but I have not written about a single one.

My word wasn’t enough to inspire me this year.  I don’t know why I haven’t written.  I actually feel better when I write with some consistency.  I notice more, things feel more in place, and I feel more content.  But I haven’t been writing.  I have no grand reason or rationale for this.  I just haven’t.

As I began to think about a new word for this year, I knew it had to be good.  I knew it had to inspire me to write again.  I knew it needed to be something that connected to everything else.  It had to be a word that wouldn’t easily be forgotten.  It had to be intertwined in my life so fully that I couldn’t resist it.  That’s a lot of pressure to put on one little word!  After some suggestions from a friend and a little soul searching, I think maybe I have found it, and it makes me laugh because it’s a pretty simple word.

Story.

There are many stories I want to write.  The ones that belong to my children.  The stories that are from my students.  The stories from my head and my heart.  The novel/story I began writing last year and haven’t touched since.  I just need to write again and begin to restore the balance that writing helps me maintain.

As I began to think about my OLW, I wanted to find a way to share it.  A friend shows her’s through beautiful art.  Others share theirs through stories.  What was I going to do?

I started to notice quotes that I have around me in my everyday life that are about story.

There is the quote that hangs in my classroom:  “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you” by Maya Angelou.  There is the quote that hangs in my kitchen: “Your story matters.  Share it!” that was given to me by a great friend.  “Know your heart to find your voice,” which is on a magnet hanging next to my computer.  

And, finally, there is a new quote I found by Neil Gaiman, that seems to fit just perfectly.  “The one thing that you have that nobody else has is you. Your voice, your mind, your story, your vision. So write and draw and build and play and dance and live as only you can.”

I hope that my OLW, story, will help me do just that.