Ask me what was best about today,
And I could tell you it was a sunny day
Or the crocuses in bloom
Or a good workout
Or a delightful dog walk
But the best part, by far,
Was having to set the table for four once again.
It’s good to have my guy home, if only for a weekend…
Today,
I was asked
to help with the general clean-up of the yard.
It’s…
an annual thing, of course: getting
flower beds
clear
for the season to come,
And I can’t help
but think
back
to that day
in April,
when we were cleaning the yard
and the call came
about my brother
I know
yard work needs doing, and
I do it, and
I’m still rooted
in that moment
every
time
And this year,
as I worked my way
around the side of the house,
cleaning up the daylily bed,
I cleared away the old growth,
and I was surprised by
the green shoots revealed beneath.
I don’t know
why I wasn’t expecting
to see them –
after all,
hasn’t the weather been good? and
isn’t it that time of year? and
isn’t that the way of plants in spring? and
isn’t that the way of spring? and
I thought,
Yard work is a poem,
waiting to
teach me
I must
(in good time, understand:
winter is still winter)
clear myself away
to make room.
Thanks, as always, for the Two Writing Teachers March Slice of Life Story Challenge. Check ’em out!
Yes,
my house needs to be straightened up.
Yes,
the dog hair dust bunnies accumulate in the corners.
Yes,
the laundry calls.
Yes,
the weather is probably just shy of warm
But
the sun is shining
And
the dog wants to play fetch
And
the day is quiet
And
there’s a cardinal greeting me from the black walnut
So
what choice do I have
But
to sit and soak?
Forgive me fellow writers, for I hath sinned:
I hath written my Slices dutifully day by day.
Yea, tho my fingers tippity-tapped their way across the keyboard to beget post after post, and lo! though I hath dwelt in enjoyment reading the honey-tongued comments of my colleagues, I hath failed thee.
Alack, my comments, they art lacking. So I shall thereupon commence to making amends by clicking hither and yon, and spending my evening in response to all of thy wisdom…
Thanks, as always, for the Two Writing Teachers March Slice of Life Story Challenge. Check ’em out!
When I was five, all I really wanted to be was a big sister.
But by the time I was seven, I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up: a TRUCK DRIVER. I mean, who wouldn’t want to travel the country, the object of every kid’s admiration and horn-honking gestures?
By the time I was nine, I knew I wanted to be an archaeologist. My class had gone to a dig site (and even simulated our own!) and it sounded like the most exciting job on the planet.
Until I was ten. By the time I was ten, I wanted to be an architect, because we did a unit on architecture and I thought it was cool what people could design.
And then a storyteller. And then a lawyer. And then an entomologist.
You’re seeing a pattern here, aren’t you? I’m guessing these tendencies laid the foundation for my lifelong career as a serial hobbyist.
And then junior high and high school hit. Honestly, I didn’t want to do anything with my life, really, other than survive it.
By the time senior year of high school came around, and it was time to look at colleges, I decided I wanted to be a high school English teacher so I could do for other kids what Ms. Stelmach did for me. (She needs to be the subject of her own post.)
Cut to summer after freshman year of college. I was a secondary education major working a job at a sleep-away summer camp. I told someone my major, and they responded, “Oh. I thought I pegged you for working with the younger kids.”
I had never thought about that. It set my wheels in motion.
And by that fall, I switched my major to elementary education. I haven’t looked back since. I’m a public school lifer, and I’m proud of it.
And what’s next? That’s still several years yet, but my guess is I’ll return somewhat to my younger inclinations: do something cool, get good at it, than do something else cool. Lather, rinse, repeat.
There are worse things…
Thanks, as always, for the Two Writing Teachers March Slice of Life Story Challenge. Check ’em out!
This was a fun one!
We started a quick road trip early this morning. I was surprised that the directions had us driving right through downtown Chicago, but I guess 6:45 am on a Saturday isn’t quite peak travel time.
Just after 7:00 we rounded the bend to see the skyline of the city, which got this ole brain musing. Thought I’d diagram my thoughts today, since they refuse to walk through the hallways in an orderly fashion. Enjoy my musings, and feel free to share your own ideas about skylines as well.
It wasn’t expressly planned, but it was a very happy coincidence that the days before spring break turned out to be the days my fourth graders and I constructed the artwork for our Leo Leonni anthology. We’re still a work in progress (I mean, aren’t we all?) but I thought I’d share the latest.
A brief sampling:
A lion and a turtle at the race track:
A ladybug and a caterpillar, communing on a leaf:
The inner workings of mouse tunnels:
And my contribution to the mix: the squirrel family:
Next week is spring break, so these projects are on hold. We’ll finish up during the first week of April, which coincides right with the start of standardized test season. It strikes me as a soft landing for us all, which this world could use more of.
Thanks, as always, for the Two Writing Teachers March Slice of Life Story Challenge. Check ’em out!
Yesterday, I wrote about how I was stuck on a story I’m working on.
Bad news: I’m still stuck.
Good news: I’ve got advice and direction, thanks to some wise fifth-graders. A sampling of their thoughtful feedback:
Ask me how lucky I am to have them…
Thanks, as always, for the Two Writing Teachers March Slice of Life Story Challenge. Check ’em out!
Writing is like ice skating: As soon as you think you look cool, that’s when you fall on your keyster.
I was on such a high a couple of weeks ago, too. I had just written the first real short story I had finished in several years. Boy, was I proud of myself! I couldn’t wait to share it with the fourth-graders I wrote along with.
Fast forward to today. There I sat, crafting allegorical stories with my fifth graders. We were gathered around a central table, lights down and lamps on. There was an energetic hum to the quiet as everyone toted along with their work.
Everyone, that is, except for me.
I’m stuck.
Don’t get me wrong, I did write things today. I actually wrote several paragraphs’ worth of stuff. But I didn’t really like anything that much.
No, maybe that’s not accurate. It’s better to say…I wrote some things, and I kind of liked them, but I don’t know how they’ll serve my story. I don’t know what order to put them in to best build the plot. And I know where I want my story to go, but I’m not sure yet how I’ll get there.
This is the part where I’m most likely to abandon a story. It’s the part of writing where I recognize there’s a difference between the movie that plays in my head and the words that appear before me. Things are getting difficult, and the realization whomps me.
I’m not dropping the ball this time, though. I owe it to myself to do hard things, and I owe it to my students to show them I can get through tough stuff. Because I believe they can get through tough stuff, and I’d like to think they believe the same in me, too.
So tomorrow during my fifth grade session, I’ll be back and typing away at my laptop. I might crowdsource some ideas, I might dive into my own thinking. Either way, I’ll be pushing through.
Thanks, as always, for the Two Writing Teachers March Slice of Life Story Challenge. Check ’em out!
Soapbox: The Way I see Things