Cold Days Continue

It's March 4th and cold. Oh so cold.

This is nothing new of course, I've lived in Michigan my entire life. Cold is expected. Snow is inevitable. That doesn't change the fact that when March hits I want things to change.

For instance, this morning all I wanted to do was wear flats. I love my boots. I have boots I can wear from the snowy parking lot and then all day long. I'm just tired of them. I wanted to wear shoes. As I looked out the window I saw snow was already coming down and the bitterness in the air was already visibly uncomfortable. So, instead, I packed my shoes in my school bag and put on some warm fluffy faux fur boots to wear in the car.

I can't wait for warmer weather, but I will. Those first days that hit sixty degrees are so super special. Coats hang in closets and sandals emerge. It's something to look forward to!

A Bringer of Wisdom

"Code-switching," I stated. "You know what I mean? I'm realizing it is not just an assumed trait."

"Yes, I know what you mean," he responded. 

As the weekend came to an end I realized I had encountered three worlds from my life. Each of which I am able to take on different parts of myself. At this stage of my life, the three worlds are less different from each other. I suppose at a different time they might have been more easily differentiated. Mostly just by language, or shades of language. 

I never thought much of the differences or likenesses. However, watching other members of my family grow into these worlds has opened my eyes a bit more. Watching them interact in ways different from my own is--at times--challenging.

I'm finding myself thinking about what a family becomes as they grow up together. A child is born and lives a childhood and at the same time a parent is born and lives parenthood. The two are side by side, parallel in life yet bonded by abstract intersections. All these different pieces connect them but each is its own line running in an infinite direction of its own making. 

There is so much to learn on these paths. I am reminded I did not always know or wish for the learning. I did, however, find it. And time is a hopeful thing and a bringer of wisdom. 

Over the River and Through the Woods

On an early Saturday drive

we pass cozy homes 

bare swept branches,

and an ice capped pond. 

Overhead, two geese together 

then later, one alone

amid a backdrop  

of flurries and brittle air. 

As time and trees pass

the brittleness turns paler

giving a blur of white-gray

to already squinted eyes. 

Snow capped cattails 

pepper a sheet of frozen wetland

with unseen amphibian life below

in a blissful darkness. 

Awaiting a resuming spring,

I’m reminded of spirals 

and cycles of a season,

seeing what I’ve seen.

Over years of my life

but with eyes of today

seeing a newness 

for the first time. 

A Season for Seeing

I sat down this morning and could tell my daily slicer brain was starting to cue up. I've been writing almost every day but not slice of life stories. I've been in deep thought thinking about processes while reading and researching. In my first eye flutters of the day it hit me I had to write differently, think differently, and as I did the dust cloths came off, and I began.

At first, I thought, when am I going to write?
          Maybe right now would be best.

What will I say? Should it be profound? Should it be basic?
          Maybe it should just be this.

Or, should I write a poem? [Begins listing words, delete, delete]
          Maybe that just made me think.

I feel warmed up.

My eyes are bigger.

I'm ready for seeing.

I like this season of seeing in March. So much of my brain gets re-wired and focused. So much of my thoughts are given a bit of extra time to settle, and some become a word on a page. And, I think what I'm most looking forward to is it reminds me of when I first had these feelings. They mostly would come on my drive to work, which I've been taking for granted. But, I've noticed the lighter mornings. The dark grays that slowly dilute to lighter tones as we drive through the woods, past houses, and cautious deer. I've started to notice the few brave birds. I wonder when I'll hear them too? I'm hoping this will be the year the herring and the egrets come back to my favorite pond. They've been gone for years now, but I continue to hope.

It's a season for hoping.
It's a season of wishes.
It's a season for seeing.

Snow Days for Days

We don't typically get a "mid-winter break" in my school district. However, it seems like the weather has inadvertently created just such a break.

I had plans this week, ideas to try, things we would accomplish. Instead, I have spent way more time in my pajamas than I thought I would and had a few extra boxes marked off on the to-do list.

There is a real bliss to snow days. I only hope my students are getting the same bliss I am. I have a warm home, plenty of food, water, people around me. I have everything I need.

I most likely won't see my students again until Friday, at the earliest. I have a feeling we will spend a good portion of the day talking about our snow day adventures. It should make for some really good storytelling and maybe some good story writing too.

Ten Minutes

I started back to school yesterday. My lesson plans were pretty loose. I had some general things I wanted to accomplish and my expectations were pretty low as far as achieving "normal day" status. We started off slow, and by mid-morning kids had fresh books to read and were choosing reading spots for the month of January.

Since the beginning of the year, I've been giving students almost daily sacred writing time. I've done this in the past but this year I made a real commitment to doing it daily. Sacred writing allows students to write about whatever they'd like in any genre. They can work on collaborative projects, blog, or just write in their notebooks if that's what they prefer. It is separate from our writing workshop time. I dedicate about ten minutes a day give or take. I have a lot of kids working on books together and making publications for our Student Authors Reading Box in our classroom library. I have had more students writing at home than any other year before and had a parent scan and send me a 13-page book their child made AT HOME! It is fully illustrated about a character he has created.

I sat in my classroom yesterday during sacred writing time and watched students QUICKLY get their materials and get right back to their independent projects. I just sat and watched. One interaction that I found particularly interesting and exciting was a table of three boys, papers spread out all over the table and a heated debate on the direction they were taking the book next. They were quietly arguing, lots of "No, I think we should..." or "I don't think that should go there." They were completely civil, getting their point across and never needed my input, they had it figured out eventually.

We ended up accomplishing a whole lot more than I would have ever anticipated for the first day back after a break. It was a refreshing surprise and I was feeling pretty proud of my class.
Not everything I do every day has a tremendous impact on students. I do my best. Not every part of our day is perfect but I have to say, those ten minutes were pretty outstanding.

OLW 2019

When this time of year comes around, I usually revisit all my past words.

2018-Note

2017-Step

2016-Possible

2015-Open

2014-Silence

2013-Pace

When I go back and think through my past words I also usually revisit those times in my life and think about what was going on in each of those years. It's like a walk down memory lane in some respects. 

This year, like every year, I struggled to come up with a word. I've been grappling with several waiting for the word to hit me like it usually does. In some strange moment or encounter, the word always becomes crystal clear.


I've tossed around many. Heart was a really strong contender for quite a while. I even started a playlist inspired by the word, but it didn't feel like the best choice. Start was a thought for a while. Then I thought about Finish. Both of these were inspired by long amounts of procrastination. I felt like I had a trial run with each and neither seemed to make an impact. Then I went back and read several of my OLW posts and I realized every year I seem to reflect in some way. I always want to be just a little bit better. I don't have any desire to be the best at all things, but I do hope to be better at all the things I want to do in life.

Things like:

• be a good mom
• supportive wife
• helpful daughter and sister
• empathetic citizen
• inspiring teacher
• encouraging colleague
• empowering writer 

I just want to be a little bit better version of myself. Knowing that not every day will get me closer but some days will. 2019 is a good year to focus on what is better and what goals I'm setting for myself. I'm sure there will be some surprises along the way too.
Cheers!