In searching for a post today, I decided to be inspired by Cathy and Erika, and I crafted my own twist on a 5-4-3-2-1 daily review.
5 Things I’m Loving Right Now
A letter – a real live letter! – from a former student. An email from a kid I took under my wing about three years ago. Korean food for dinner. Feet in a foot massager. Getting Wordle in two guesses.
4 Things that Aren’t So Hot
Having to do dishes over and over and over and over and… A dog who brings back her ball, but refuses it to drop it within reach. The world on fire all about me. Not getting enough time in sunshine.
3 Things I’m Looking Forward To
Seeing my sister-in-law and nephew this weekend. Bedtime. Always, bedtime. The three separate anthologies I have students collaborating on.
2 Things I’ll do Better Tomorrow
Getting right out of bed. Eating my breakfast when it’s actually breakfast time.
1 Thing I’m Proud Of
Being a good human whenever possible.
Thanks, as always, for the Two Writing Teachers March Slice of Life Story Challenge. Check ’em out!
Ever have one of those days? One of those days where you want to say something smart, pithy, or clever, but nothing’s coming?
#AllTheTime
Today, I think, is one of those days. I’ve tried three or four different starts to a post #TryAgainSilly, but nothing seems to be catching on for me. #SurpriseSurprise
It makes sense to me, though. This is usually the time in the Challenge where I have to #DigDeep and work a lot harder to find something worth saying, and then say it in a way that makes sense. #EasierSaidThanDone
All of which is to say, sometimes a Slice comes easy, and sometimes it’s #HardFought. As for me, my time today might be well spent prowling around for ideas to use in the coming days. #SureImNotAlone
Thanks to Erika and Darin, who inspired me to incorporate #Hashtags into my post!
Thanks, as always, for the Two Writing Teachers March Slice of Life Story Challenge. Check ’em out!
Imagine the scene: 1987, sophomore year of high school, pre-calc class day one. Which means I’m unbelievably young to some of you, and unbelievably old to the rest of you.
Mr. Kaufman, the math teacher, gives a fun day-one quiz to the class: “Finite or Infinite?” It all goes quite smoothly until he asks about grains of sand on earth.
To me, the answer is that the number of grains of sand on earth are finite. Yes, the number is a LOT. Yes, that number is perhaps uncountable. Yes, it’s possible that more and more rocks will erode into sand, making more grains. But there is a limit.
Mr. Kaufman does not agree.
And I, in my highly pedantic*, adolescent brain, cannot let that go. In fact, I proceed to hijack his lesson to argue with the poor unsuspecting man for what seems an eternity (one could even say an infinite amount of time!). Back and forth we go until he tells me, in that I’m-the-teacher-and-you-need-to-knock-it-off-NOW voice we should agree to disagree.
I end my arguing, but am not (nor have I ever been) fully satisfied.
Cut to this morning. I’m puttering around the house, listening to Neil DeGrasse Tyson (admittedly my nerd crush) answer listener questions on the latest Star Talk podcast episode. And what’s the very last question he answers?
“Are there any instances of infinity in the observable universe?”
His answer? Maybe the multiverse? Maybe even our universe? And even infinity can be cut into something that’s finite. Notice please, dear reader, that he did NOT say grains of sand.
So. Is this my sweet, sweet vindication after almost forty years of holding a mathematical and philosophical grudge? I’ll take what I can get. Ha!
*Pedantry, n. the quality of being too interested in formal rules and small details that are not important
Thanks, as always, for the Two Writing Teachers March Slice of Life Story Challenge. Check ’em out!
One of my favorite things about the Slice of Life writing challenge is reading and taking inspiration from others.
As I was browsing posts yesterday, I came across Ona’s post toying with different kinds of poems, many of which I hadn’t seen before. Of course I followed this link to a site about lesser-known poetic forms, and that got my creative juices flowing! Unlike Ona, who wrote of soaking up the last moments of Spring Break, I have another week of school to go. So I’ll write my poems on the theme of the Slice of Life Challenge.
Here’s some of my ragged verse:
The March Challenge: A than-bauk Each March I write All my bright thoughts. It’s quite the task.
On Writing: An elfchen Writing is easy when it’s someone else who’s doing the work
Why I Write: A Fibonacci poem I write because it makes me clearer to myself, closer to the rest of the world
Thanks, as always, for the Two Writing Teachers March Slice of Life Story Challenge. Check ’em out!
It’s Pi day! It’s Pi day! And how did I celebrate?
By getting Pi-d in the face.
Not literally. Although that was literally what happened to the assistant principal at my school this morning. It was either him or the principal, whoever drew the least accurate circle by hand. I was even supposed to be the one measuring. I had my tape measure and lab coat at the ready for my scientific observations.
But alas, I missed it because I was busy getting Pi-d in the face, figuratively.
Lucky me, the first part of my day was spent with the IRS, trying to handle taxes from the last few years on behalf of my mom’s estate. After six months, a mountain of not-so-great guidance, and more phone calls than I can shake a stick at, I *think* I’ve cleared the hurdle. There may be more coming at me later (see: not-so-great guidance), but I’ll take what I can get for now.
But my day is not entirely Pi-less. A dear friend and colleague brought me a chocolate-cappucino whoopie pie. And if you don’t think I’m about to tuck into it heartily, you are sadly mistaken.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a date with a delicious baked good…
Thanks, as always, for the Two Writing Teachers March Slice of Life Story Challenge. Check ’em out!
I didn’t think my body would remember how to get up for an early-morning workout, but it leapt into action like it had done it for all the yesterdays.
I didn’t think I’d get a chance to do a quick baked goods drop-off for a dear friend, but I did – and I got a hug and some dog butt scritches as a bonus.
I didn’t think it was much to share the poem a former student wrote with the music teacher, but it got turned into a song that gave me goosebumps and brought tears to my eyes.
I didn’t think I’d get much in the way of breakfast, but there was that box of frittatas way back in the mini-fridge at school.
I didn’t think I’d get to see my fifth-graders today, but I was able to sweet-talk their teachers into working with them for a half an hour today.
I didn’t think I could be prouder of the third and fourth graders, but they knocked their school show out of the park.
I didn’t think I’d get much rest today, but here I am, shutting my laptop down and leaving it at school (egads!) until the morning.
And on that note, I shall leave you, my friends. As for you, what didn’t you do today?
Thanks, as always, for the Two Writing Teachers March Slice of Life Story Challenge. Check ’em out!
Who’s the most confident person I know? I’d name them here, but that wouldn’t be nice.
Let me explain.
I looked at this daily writing prompt, and the way it asks about confidence, it gives the impression that more is better.
Confidence is good. I work to build it in students plagued by perfectionism. I muscle it into myself when I try something new or difficult.
And I know people who are self-assured, who have faith in their talents and abilities. They’re the same folks who work to instill confidence in me.
I think the reason they believe so deeply in themselves is because they give themselves the gift of honesty. They know what to be confident about, and they know when that same confidence would equate to lying to themselves.
Folks who never doubt themselves, who are confident without fail…well, they’re the ones that give me pause. I don’t want people in my life to believe blindly in themselves simply because they have the confidence to do so. Give me someone with principles, with faith, with courage, and the gift of self-reflection. That’s the confidence I seek.
Thanks, as always, for the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Story Challenge. Check ’em out!
The last few days, I’ve shared a draft story, along with my fourth graders’ responses to it.
Today, I’ve got my revisions ready to go. The biggest changes I’ve made:
I’ve given more background about the dogs
I’ve cleaned up the punctuation and language to be more clear.
I’ve tried to be more descriptive and articulate about setting.
I’ve tried add more humor to the scene where Ralph distracts the dogs, so they can look more comical and ridiculous.
Once upon a time there was a family of squirrels. They lived in the black walnut tree nestled at the corner of a backyard of a house on Sycamore Lane. Ralph, Mabel, and Josephine lived together without much trouble. Of course, there were blackbirds and bluejays who would sometimes tease them from the oak tree across the yard, but usually they lived a life that was free and easy. That was, unless they had to worry about Lilah and Winnie. But that, my friend, is for later in the story.
One fall morning, Ralph looked down at the backyard and saw, to his surprise, that the oak tree on the other side of the lawn had dropped all of its acorns. Acorns! Big, crunchy, sweet acorns – a squirrel’s favorite!
Ralph shouted, “Mabel! Josephine! Look! Acorns!” The three of them, excited for a delicious morning meal, scampered down the tree. Just before they got to the ground, they stopped short.
“Go GET ‘EM!” they heard.
“Grrrr! Woof!” They didn’t have to look to know it was Lilah and Winnie, the dogs who lived at the house. Lilah and Winnie must have seen the squirrels while keeping watch at the back door. Their human had just let them outside, and now they were barreling towards the squirrel trio.
“Abort mission!” cried Josephine. “Get back up the tree!” They turned around and scurried up the tree just in time to escape the jaws of the barking dogs.
“That was a close one,” sighed Ralph.
“Agreed,” echoed Josephine. “You’d figure dogs with such cute names might be a little nicer to the wildlife, but noooo. Of course not,” she continued, shaking her head.
The three hungry squirrels huddled in their nest. Ralph, Mabel and Josephine waited for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, Lilah and Winnie lost interest in the squirrels and began sniffing their way around the yard and back inside.
Josephine looked over the side of the nest and inspected the yard. “Well, the dogs have gone back inside. Looks like we’re safe to try again!”
Ralph, Josephine, and Mabel gathered up their courage again. They made their way back down the black walnut tree, a bit more cautiously this time. Just as they were about to place their little front paws down on the ground, they heard the back door click open and a human shout, “Go GET ‘em, Winnie! Go GET ‘em, Lilah!”
The dogs bounded out the back door and into the yard once again. The squirrels barely had enough time to turn around. They could feel the dogs’ hot breath on their tails as they ran back up the tree for the second time. It took a while for their little hearts to stop beating so quickly, but eventually they calmed down.
Ralph shrugged. “Well, that was a fail.”
Josephine said, “Darn! I wish we could have those acorns! I can smell them from here. I guess there’s just no way we’ll get those acorns with those dogs around.”
“I suppose we’ll have to raid the bird feeder again,” agreed Ralph.
Just then, Mabel, who had been quiet through all of this, perked up. She said, “Maybe we can’t run free around the yard, but maybe there is a way we can get acorns after all.”
“Really?” Ralph questioned doubtfully.
“Maybe,” Mabel explained, “Maybe we have to beat the dogs at their own game.”
The next few minutes were a series of whispers and giggles as Mabel explained her plan to the other squirrels.
Later that morning, Ralph made his way to a fencepost along the side of the house, the one that sat right across from a big picture window. Mabel had known it was Lilah and Winnie’s favorite place to watch and bark at the world outside. She also knew the dogs couldn’t get out from that side. So Ralph was ready for his part of the plan. He looked straight at the dogs. He wiggled his tail. He waggled his ears. He hopped about back and forth.
Lilah and Winnie, ever on watch, leapt at the window and started barking furiously. Reader, have you ever seen a dog go bananas? It’s pretty scary if you’re on the same side of the door. But it’s pretty funny if you’re not. And Ralph? He was on the other side of the door.
He wasn’t afraid! He kept looking those dogs straight in the eye. He kept wiggling. He kept waggling. He kept hopping. And the dogs went even more bananas! He could hear the human yell at them. “LILAH! WINNIE! Stop your barking this INSTANT!”
Ralph heard the dogs whining and chuckled to himself. He almost felt sorry for them.
Meanwhile, Josephine and Mabel took advantage of the distraction. They headed down from their tree and grabbed as many acorns as they could carry back up to their nest. Back and forth they went for as long as they heard the dogs barking inside.
In time the dogs calmed down, and the house was quiet. Ralph hopped his way back along the fencepost, across the yard, and back to his family’s nest. There, he saw a mound of rich, delicious acorns.
“Mabel! Your plan saved the day!” shouted Ralph and Josephine.
“Aw, thanks,” beamed Mabel. “It was nothing. ”
The real-life Lilah and Winnie, shown here at their ferocious best…
Thanks, as always, for the Two Writing Teachers March Slice of Life Story Challenge. Check ’em out!
Three years ago today, I got a gift from my “secret pal” at school. It was a fun mug, some cool fine line pens (insert goosebumps <<here>>) and a three-year gratitude journal.
Over the years, it’s been fun to just record one little snippet of what had been great or wonderful about the day. And in this last year of the journal, I’ve enjoyed looking back over time. (Psst…did you see March 9 from last year?)
I’ve smiled at the memories of lunches with friends. I’ve shaken my head at the number of times a meal was my daily highlight. I’ve seen how I’ve gently worked around gratitude during periods of crisis.
And I’ve grown accustomed to taking a moment each day to reflect. So accustomed, in fact, that I bought this little jobby for myself:
Five more years to track. I’m looking forward to it!
Thanks, as always, for the Two Writing Teachers March Slice of Life Story Challenge. Check ’em out!
Soapbox: The Way I see Things 