A Chapter

A slug,
a troll,
is what I've been.

A bit slow,
a bit small,
invisible I've been.

Not slimy
not hairy
but, I've been.

A bit sorry,
a bit pity,
a bit sad I've been.



So, I've been away from the blogosphere a bit. Not how I would have pictured my August to be. I had big plans to write everyday. Then, on a sunny August day, on my way outside to ask my husband a question snap, bam, boom, I broke my foot.
People...I teach kindergarten!
I looked at my husband after the realization and all he could say is, "I know."
I was in disbelief. It has changed everything about how I would normally prepare. It has changed my priorities. It has forced me to look at things differently. It is a small thing, really it is...but it has changed me. I can still do a lot of things and there are a lot of things I cannot do. It makes many things take twice as long, and again, there are some things I just can't do, so I save time! I can't go to my writing spot in my house, this changes me and my routines. I have had to give in and give up on some things, but it is really just a bump. A short chapter in the many of my life. I have always said, I hope to make my life a great read, everyone should.

Sometimes, I just wish I was the one writing it!
 

Lines Through the Day

 Visits the poets of Poetry Friday and share in their lines at Violet Nesdoly/Poem.

Today has come and gone. A busy day, a day full of words and lines but unconnected in meaning. I have been working on words that connect in my notebook and they are, well, not ready. So...I come with lines, seeds of poems to come, maybe.


Moments of my day...


1.
tree across the road
shall we move it?
sure
exhilarating, as I hurl a limb
my part, I feel
my daughter's words, "way to go mommy and daddy,"
as we clear the road of worry.


2.
the first glance
at the year
the room, still and alone
ready to be molded
filled with its purpose
a home


3.
deer in the dark
I see you
as you cross shadows
disappearing into night


And, someday my driftwood poem will be here, some Friday it will be ready. Never have I felt so guarded about my words. But, I think it's okay to think harder about some and let some others go.

Find a Penny...

I have been working on curriculum since I got up this morning. I enjoy the finished product and even the process can be fun at times. It can be so frustrating though, the time it takes to do small things makes my eyes cross. Then, as I was leaving my school today, I came across a penny. It was on the ground and I walked past it. Then I decided to go back and pick it up. Into my pocket it went. Maybe I will feel like I have accomplished more when tomorrow rolls around! Until then, back to work.

A Spider, Cicada and Water Play

I have an affinity for insect, bugs, arachnids...I can't help it...I like them. Maybe I should have been an entomologist. I find them absolutely fascinating and although I don't like being bitten or stung, I like to watch them. Several day ago I noticed that a spider had taken up residence on our window ledge in the bathroom. The spider was hiding behind a bit of decoration which it appeared was an anchor for the web. I watched the sweeping web a while. I decided to leave it alone and visit each day. If nothing else the web was great for gathering dust that would otherwise be landing on the window sill and I felt a little bit like I was rooting for the spider. A few days later it came time to clean the bathroom...hmm, what was I to do? I caught my little friend and sent her on some hydrangeas which I thought would be excellent web real estate and got to cleaning. I hadn't ever felt a web (on purpose) with my hand before. I had gotten plenty in the face, which is not as desirable, but I was curious. Here is my photo of my web exploration.

Then today my kids came running in, "mom, mom there's a cicada outside and it just came out of its skin, come look!"
I grabbed my camera and went out to see the cicada and was it ever a sight. We watched it for a while. He seemed a little bashful after I was finished photographing him as he went under the larger strands of grass and hid.

I know they are pests, destroy crops, create a mess, but they have a purpose too. If nothing else to fascinate people like me who are so entertained by six legs, huge eyes and veiny wings.



I had to share a couple pics of my kids on our last trip of the summer. That toe dipping starts out so innocent and then suddenly you are swimming fully clothed. For the whole story, you can read the end of a previous post here.

Under the Stars

Last night I was under a northern Michigan sky. A clear sky that reflected its constellations on the still black water of the lake. I stood there looking, neck stiffening from the strain of trying to see it all at one time. I saw many formations of stars, some that I recognized and some that I did not. I did see the most popular though, the big dipper. It is always interesting to me how excited I get when I see it, I have to verbalize it out loud every time, "look, it's the big dipper," in my excited whisper. When it is that late and that peaceful you can't help but have a hush in your voice.
Tonight we are home, southern Michigan. It is late and we went outside for a moment to look up at the same sky. Sure enough, there it was again, the big dipper. There is comfort in knowing that the sky is the same sky, every night. Even when I can't see it, when it is covered in clouds, when it is filtered with light, it is all there, looking down at me.

Sighs and Sparkles

 

We take this drive every August. Miles of dirt road that leave a memory of dust clouds. Scraping tree limbs on my window as we enter a canopy of birch and pine. The final stretch, a grassy two track and then the glittering veil. We park. We sigh. The quiet lake in the middle of the woods with wind songs for entertainment and wildlife for companions. We listen, look and long.

Loon

you wail

calling our ears in your direction.

We see your wake

as the water sighs.

Once black and still

now rippling with sparkle

as the sun melts into night.

I didn’t get to post yesterday, but I found humor in moments of my day. We went into town and for some reason I took my children out of their bathing suits and put them into clothing. Is this my first rodeo…no, I know better. Even when you go into town, there is likely water nearby and you will find yourself toe dipping. This turns into wading. Then one big wave comes along and from eye brow to ankle you’re soaked. From there nothing is off limits. Sandcastles are started, swimming fully clothed ensues and you just wish you all had your bathing suit and a towel…and a lemonade (or in my case an ice tea)…and probably something else, like a sandwich. However, this just proves that you don’t really need anything to make a memory.

That Kind of Day...

Kinderblog 2012 Question:
My tips or trick for getting through a day I don't feel at my best?

I have to say that the culprit for me not feeling my best is usually feeling overwhelmed by my workload. Creativity is my prescription. If I put out a cosmic explosion of materials and say have at it, that usually loosens everyone up a bit. I am also able to get a little something done too, which lessens my likely overwhelmed feeling.

The colder months are always tough too because there are those days you can't go outside and then there are the days you can and you have all the boots, snow pants, blah, blah, blah and mittens (the worst)! So I dream about the day when it will be 60 degrees or warmer and we can ditch all that stuff and run outside with no coats on. I usually have chalk and bubbles at the ready to celebrate. It is bound to put a smile on your face.

If all else fails, I go across the hall to my teaching buddy and talk with her until we are both laughing so hard it hurts. That is always a winner.
Happy August school dreams everyone. Have yours started yet?

Sweet Challenges

 Share in some poetry fun this Friday with Rena at ON THE WAY TO SOMEWHERE...

Trying to blog on my phone while in the car, not sweet.
Blogging from my computer via my husband's phone tether while sitting in the car...sweet!

I am on my way to an up north family weekend to a quiet lake full of turtles, fish, sunsets and loons. It is always a peaceful celebration of the near end of summer and our kids look forward to this getaway every year. Last week we took a trip along the Thornapple River on kayaks. My first time kayaking was awesome and left me quite sore, but it was worth every muscle aching stroke even after three hours. We had a great time and this is the poem that came from that experience.

Drifting
current slow
my eyes cast
and watch
snails netted in muskgrass
congregations of duck weed
water bugs in a whirl
swift fins below
break the tension in hunger
and I fly
across a watery sky.



I hope to have some photos and poetry to follow the next few days while we dip our toes in more serenity as I blog through August with a "sweet" theme.


 

NaBloPoMo and Hummingbird Moments

I saw lots of "sweet" things today. However the sweetest was a perspective of a full moon that I have never noticed before. In my backyard we have several trees. One in particular is a stand out as the moon was framed beautifully by its limbs tonight. I tried to photograph it and couldn't. This has happened before...when something amazing is right in front of me and I can't capture it with a camera, and yet, I can with words. Amy Ludwig Vanderwater from The Poem Farm told me (@ Teachers Write) I would see a "hummingbird" today and the whirring was the moon. My hummingbird moment was a full moon lighting my night.
Here is my photo, in my mind of course.

Moon
Swooning
Calling my eyes up.
Branches
Trapping you,
framed
And yet you'll escape by morning.


I am going to try out NaBloPoMo this month. The theme is sweet. You can sign up through August 5th!