SOL August 19 Choosing to Smile

I could write about 

Providing children with books or

Overfocusing only on word attack or 

Potentially world altering proposals or

Federal government troops defending DC or

Space X getting millions and never paying taxes or

Stock market values escalating to levels exceeding profits or

Gerrymandering for congressional seats that exceeds my understanding or

A new mural dedicated to "celebration of a city that has been built by immigrants and where immigrants have been welcomed."

Commissioned in 2023, it's a bit of a reminder of the long standing respect

for millions of people from all around the globe (not just Europe)

who have left families, loved ones, lives to be in "America"  It can be visited in St. Patrick's Cathedral in NYC.  Today, I am choosing to smile.

August 18 Ethical ELA My Heart

                                

Today's Ethical ELA prompt asks us to respond to this amazing photo. 
Thank you Margaret Simon for the image and writing fuel.

       

                                                        

                                                         I       Am
                                                  Pulsating slowly,

                                                Stronger for surviving

                                                    Rejection, losses, 

                                                        Weathering

                                                            Storms

A piece of my heart

August 17 Ethical ELA: A Quiz

Today's Ethical ELA asks  us to write Hermit Crab poems! Hermit crabs are 

known for creating inventive homes in all sorts of surprising spaces and containers. A hermit crab poem takes on another existing form, such as recipes, glossaries, quizzes, applications....

I am sharing the first questions of a back to school quiz:

1. All you need to teach all kids to read is:

        a) complete phonological awareness and phonics

        b) phonics and a lot of books

        c) a lot of books and lots of time

        d) a magical teacher with multiple strategies for word attack, vocabulary, comprehension,                               fluency and books that will capture the interests of diverse readers and respect for the powerful                   connection between reading and writing. 

2. On that first day of school, it is important to remember 

        a) to take a first day picture with a sign to remember your children's interests

        b) to have new clothes that are stylish

        c) to remember parents know best 

        d) that one book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world (Malala Yousafzai)

August 16 Ethical ELA An Acrostic: Intimidator

Today's Ethical ELA asks us to write an acrostic poem
I honestly have not used this format in a long, long time.

This is clearly just my perspective on the events of yesterday.

In the cold, often barren state of Alaska, a red carpet and fly over announced 

Negotiations, which might have quieted bloodshed, ended brutal attacks,

Took place between a man known for threats, little patience for diverse

Ideas with a playbook that outlines clear strategies and punishments

Meant to promote an image of a home-grown hero determined

In a quest to solve all problems at home and in the world

Dared to think a dictator who really believes he is right

Along with pictures, handshakes on American soil

That clearly show the Intimidator and the

Oppressor's meeting was bluster would

Resolve something?

sol25 Capturing Joy

Yesterday, today, tomorrow,

Late summer celebrations

Fill social media, records of

Happy moments amidst real,

Diverse, busy, complicated lives.

Hikes, waves, reunions,

Piles of seafood,

Birthdays, anniversaries,

Embracing, capturing joy

 As school looms on the horizon,

As the daylight hours dwindle.

In the "olden days" we waited

Until the shortest day to

See images of loved one's lives!

In the olden days, there were 

holiday letters

Remember them?

 

August 9 Still Learning

Remember that time I went to the interview

Boasting I was a life-long learner

Reading, reflecting, critical-thinking kind

Convinced that the journey was

Really paved with opportunities

To grow as a professional as well as a person

Determined to be the best version of me

Possible at that moment in time?

On this glorious summer morning

Nestled on the porch with fresh coffee

My book is calling me to return

My heart is happy with the peace

Late summer promises, yet

 Heeding that long ago promise to myself?

Heading out the door, now

Facing hours of learning, scared

Can I still learn, worried

New moves, new possibilities?

Excited

I might be called

SOL25 August 5 Absolutely Boring

 

I started this post more than 14 hours ago, in a bathrobe, on the porch, with coffee, before I decided I needed to hop in the shower and get the day started. I was distracted by the trip ahead and the potential, for bad news.  

Long before I headed on the long journey with traffic that just kept coming and more road construction than I have ever seen in my life.  There was even a new-to-me exit I almost missed! 

Way before I to a reached that far away place in order to visit Crystal and spend an hour catching up on her kids and their summer. 

Before I settled into her recliner for the requisite welcome pics and she offered me her world famous "gel" to make the hour more more fun!

Well before she began sharing her powerful water and her special polish and we chatted about choosing healthy diets and water picking in the shower.  Even before we talked about her new laser toy to see if it might help because at this point, my bridges are geriatric and my implants already middle aged. 

Before Dr. M. studied my pictures and peered into my mouth before smiling ear to ear and acknowledging his long ago implants. "Looking good," he said quietly although I think he might have been patting himself on the back for providing my mouth with urban renewal way back when.  He then, declared me "absolutely boring."  I can honestly tell you it was the very nicest compliment I have ever received.  

There has been a bumper crop of not-so-good news among my friends and relatives recently and thus, I am very happy and very proud to have finally, after many years of complex dental issues to have become absolutely boring!

August 1 Grumpy

My Dad's special day, usually hot and humid with a sprinkling of thunderstorms on the cusp of corn season, began what was for many years, a busy month with more than a dozen birthdays and a few anniversaries. Those of us with special days at the end of the month knew to celebrate at the beginning before the energy dissipated into "back-to-school" frenzy. 

Today, as a strange cool snap settled into the Northeast on what would have been his 100th birthday, I ate an ear of corn and wondered what my Dad, an avid news follower, would have thought about today's headlines? I thought about how my Dad tried to be positive and hopeful even under tough circumstances. I thought about the unlikely moniker given him by his oldest grandchild as he woke up from one of his late afternoon "power naps." 

I was thinking of my Dad when a message arrived about a restaurant at Grand Central Station. There was a picture and a note about needing to check out this place!

Here is where the story gets spine-tingly. The name of the restaurant, Cafe Grumpy, is an unusual name for a place to get food.  Grumpy was also a very uncharacteristic name for my Dad who was usually smiling even during the hardest of times; yet, he wore the name proudly.

It is also a strange moniker for the sender of that message, my cousin, who now also responds to the name Grump around  his gaggle of grands. My Dad and my cousin have a lot in common, besides family heritage.  

We all learned about plowing through challenging times from watching my Dad; but, today, I was reminded that we all touch the future in ways we cannot even imagine. 

SOL25 July 29 THEY Are Lucky

Thanks to the Two Writing Teachers Forum for encouraging me to focus on

the small moments of life.

Summer vacation, from school, is an agrarian society phenomena with roots in the days when children were essential for harvesting on family farms.  In spite of a few attempts at "year round schools " eight week-ish summer vacations have endured. For many, it is a long hot, boring summer of video games and time spent inside; for others it's bus rides to camps. For the lucky ones, it is a chance to meet new people and explore new worlds. While I maintain a position that rethinking our school calendars would be a good idea, my own very lucky grandchildren are thriving in ways I could never have imagined as they explore new-to-them venues.

Love, feed goats, chickens,

Nurture, growing plants,
Plant beans, flowers

Harvest the ripe ones

Man the farm market.

Craft magnificent stories,

Create intricate lanyards,

Swim that lake,

Learn pickle ball, golf,

Try a sleepover,

Catch a book

THEY are lucky ones.

July 27 Reckoning

Like the many baby boomers out there, this grand dog is growing older.  He still chases squirrels and can bark like a puppy when the dreaded mail carrier visits, but his activities are limited and he naps a lot.  He's been a loved dog, but I bet he has some regrets (like getting kicked out of doggy day care) as he reflects on his life. 

I thought about him as I read Robert Reich's interview this morning a small part of which I am abstracting and sharing here:

The title of your memoir ... refers to your argument that your generation failed to strengthen democracy, failed to reduce economic inequality and, generally, failed to contain “the bullies.” 

What went wrong? We took for granted what our parents and their parents bequeathed to us .... The so-called greatest generation gave us not only peace and prosperity but the largest middle class the world had ever seen. What I try to understand is how we ended up with Donald Trump. Trump is the consequence, not the cause, of what we are now experiencing. He is the culmination of at least 50 years of a certain kind of neglect. And I say this very personally, because I was part of this failure. It is a reckoning that is deeply personal...

Yikes, as a member of that baby-boomer crowd, sadly, I am part of the failure, and this reckoning is painful and personal.  

The stock market is booming

Never seen before numbers but

We failed 

To strengthen democracy, reduce economic inequality. 

To contain bullies,

We took for granted

Peace, prosperity, decency