#sol23 April 18 I Breathed Deeply

 

We sat there, waiting

Women of a certain age

Awaiting the results of an assessment.

Squeezing into a refrigerator door

Waiting with baited breath

Hoping you will be cleared to leave.

Someone called my name

Greeted me warmly

Escorted me to her room.

I held my breath

I smiled as she introduced herself,

I breathed as she described her journey

A former student, a struggling reader,

Now a radiologist.

#sol23 Learning to Sign Up

There was the obligatory plastic-egg hunt

Followed by the expected separating and sorting.

There was the obligatory deviled eggs

Along with the expected shrimp and antipasto.

Then, there was an unexpected activity

Created by creative emerging writers

Partnering young cousins with adults

Who "sighned up" 

Not in scrip" please

For an adult egg hunt.

That sign up is special in

Learning to be writers ways.

The memories are special in

Post pandemic ways.

 

#SOL23 April 4 Promise of Good Eats

 

.

Deer were a recurring theme 

When a I lived deep in the woods.

Admittedly, "I" was in their territory.

Now, I live 10 feet from my neighbors

Not far from busy highways.

Deer were a recurring theme

As I wrote every day in March

Leaving babies for "day care"

Crossing highways for "better eats."

Deer seem to be a recurring theme

As this new month begins

With a promise of new life, good eats,

Family gatherings and celebrations

"Keep hope alive," as she samples

Golden forsythia blossoms?

#sol23 March 31 That Last Day of School Feeling

 

At this finish line,

Feeling a little 

Empowered to write regularly, 

Proud that looked into my daily life

To find each post. 

Happy that I wrote every day,

Stronger in my ability

To reflect on my experiences.

Encouraged by comments,

Pleased to have commented more than ever.

Grateful for this amazing community,

The new Slicers with new-to-me stances

The overseas Slicers with amazing journeys

The old familiar Slicers, sharing their families,

Pets, children and even grandchildren,

Thankful for Two Writing Teachers for

Administrating this Challenge.

Wondering if I will do it again?

"Of course," I answer this morning!

I'm sad that it is over, yet

Celebrating the journey

In a last day of school sort of way.

#sol30 March 30 When Dreams Go

 

Greek salad sprinkled with Feta,

A delicious treat, lunch with leftovers.

It's been a long time

Yet, the oily, lemony taste was familiar

Those grape leaves memorable.

Conversation sprinkled with sadness,

A chance to catch up with life.

It's been a long time

Yet, the tone, tenor were familiar

Even if strained. 

Long drive with time to reflect,

Of days, weeks, years, lost time

A chance to think of dreams lost

Of lives altered,

Even if caring remains.

"Hold fast to your dreams,"

I wanted to scream to the passing car

As my leftover Greek salad 

Slid to the floor.

 Langston Hughes

Hold fast to dreams

For if dreams die

Life is a broken-winged bird

That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams

For when dreams go,

Life is a barren field.

#sol23 March 29 Is There a Message?

 

Traffic came to a complete stop 

As I entered the highway

I assumed an accident.

Wondered if I would be late

Wondered about frustrated drivers

Cars began moving, slowly

To avoid an injured deer

I assumed an accident

Wondered if it was my backyard deer,

Wondered about her fawn

Driving resumed with a vengeance

Thought about deer

Impacting my life and slices

Wondered if there was a message?

#sol23 March28 No, No, No, No, No!

 

This month, I am writing my thoughts

Based on real slices of my life and thought

With Two Writing Teachers  

I really do not want to write this slice. 

On a day when every nearby forsythia emerged from hibernation as if needed.  

On a day when the rain held off just long enough for outdoor recess and runs across the courtyard,  

On a day when worries and concerns were stacked vertically in order to find enough space.

On a day when a struggling economy and a shaky diplomacy infused our news.

On a day when the promise of spring was clear in the morning sky and the need for a light jacket.

On a day when some children were learning to read and others were learning to write.

On a day when politics and power attempted to be news.

There was yet another school under attack.

There were children who lost their lives, their future, their story.

There were educators who lost their lives, their future, their story.

I cannot and will not ever understand how anyone, anywhere could ever attack innocent children.

I cannot and will not ever understand how anyone, anywhere could ever attack educators.

I do not want to write this post.

I do not want to believe this has happened again.

In my head, I am screaming No, No, No, No.....

#sol23 March 27 Kiss Your Brain

 

"Kiss your brain," I said enthusiastically borrowing a powerful line from a teacher in Tarrytown, NY, I observed many, many years ago.  In reality, I should be paying royalties for that line that has encouraged a zillion or so readers! 

The reader continued to decode wall, ball, thing, shock with accuracy and confidence that I had not seen before. "Do more," the reader begged so I continued to build words song, long, bath, wish, shop, chip, shall, mall, lung...and the reader continued to read them!

"I didn't get any wrong. I really really read them, I did not guess," the reader smiled in that moment of understanding the power of really reading rather than guessing and hoping the task will end. 

"Kiss your brain," I smiled as the reader was already offering that reading brain a kiss!  I've experienced that moment of lift almost as many times as I have said, "Kiss your brain," but it never gets old.  This time, I had to wipe a few tears from my eyes.

"Good job brain," the reader offered without my prompt a few minutes later as we wrapped up a short story about an ant.  "I am going to read like this in school," the reader said with a confidence I had not seen before. 

I know the journey is not over as reading is the most complex processes we ask students to consider; however, I know the reader's brain has been kissed by a positive reading experience. You only need a few hundred of those kiss your brain moments to develop the confidence to try complex reading tasks with confidence.  

#sol23 March 26 This Journey

Tried to connect, secure, clarify plans,

That were about to change.

Heard about aches, pains, heartaches.

Shared thoughts, ideas, perspectives.

Real issues, real concerns.

Heard about problems, worries, procrastination.

Offered hopes, dreams, perspectives.

Problem solving, plans,

Felt empathy, caring, understanding. 

Watched the tide of real-life-problems

Slowing, without heading to sea.

Remembered, we are not alone,

On this often challenging journey.

#sol23 March 25 Fawn Gone

 

Yesterday, what appeared to be a newborn fawn, nestled in my Fairy Garden for the whole day.   A part of me wanted to get closer and make sure the fawn was Ok and the rest of me just wanted it to find a safe place away from cars and frankly my house. I really did not want my yard to become a nursery for other nearby, ready to deliver deer. As selfish as it sounds, part of me does not want deer to decimate my gardens. As night fell, he/she seemed to disappear into the landscape, but in my mind, he/she was still there.

I awoke several times during the night wondering if 1) the mother had returned; 2) the fawn was hungry/cold/upset; if the fawn had wandered into the dangerous nearby roads. Unless I went out into the cold rain, I really could not tell.  So, I laid in bed thinking about the (in my head) lonely, cold, and hungry fawn.  I wondered what I would do if the baby was still there in the morning - alone?  

Finally, after a fitful night, I headed into the cold rain before 5 AM in my jammies, hoping my neighbors were not yet awake.  My baby fawn was not there but a swarm of mixed emotions filled the empty space in my yard and in my heart.  Yes, there was even a little part of my heart that was sad.