Slice of Life Challenge #23: Day 31/31: March Coffee Date

For the month of March, each day I am writing and posting a slice of my life, hosted by Two Writing Teachers. 

Slice of Life Challenge #23: Day 31/31: 

March Coffee Date

When I wrote a similar post last year, I wrote about how I wasn't very comfortable about going to coffee shops because of the pandemic. However, since last summer, meeting up for coffee has become more normal again. It's something that I cherish.

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If we were having coffee, I would tell you how eager I am for Spring Break to begin. I would complain about how I'm not traveling anywhere warm, but I desperately need a break. 

If we were having coffee, I would ask you what you were currently reading. I would record your suggestions and add to my mile long to read list. I would tell you a little bit about the latest book that I am reading: Barbara Kingsolver's Demon Copperhead.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you about how I have been focusing more on crochet and challenging myself to learn new stitches and techniques. I would tell you about the Woobles crochet kits I adore. I might show you photos of the amigurumi creatures I've made.  

If we were having coffee, I would tell you that I recently discovered that the Mr. Mister song "Kyrie" has a religious meaning. (In Greek, Kyrie Eleison means Lord, have mercy.) All this time I thought that it was just a fun pop song. 

If we were having coffee, I would tell you that I have been thinking about friendships a lot lately. I would explain that I have realized that sometimes friendships change or shift and the loss of friendships can be incredibly painful, even though not many people seem to talk about this. 

If we were having coffee, I would ask about what's giving you joy lately. I don't think that we celebrate joy enough. For me, I know that sometimes it's easier to dwell on all of the challenges I experience. 

If we were having coffee, I would hope that I wasn't dominating the conversation and hearing about you! 

Slice of Life Challenge #23: Day 30/31: Crocheting With Cats

For the month of March, each day I am writing and posting a slice of my life, hosted by Two Writing Teachers. 

Slice of Life Challenge #23: Day 30/31: 

Crocheting With Cats

"Herbert! I'm trying to crochet!" Herbert's paw pounced on my yarn. I gently pushed Herbert out of the way. Within moments, Herbert was back on my lap.

"Herbert! Stop it!" Herbert batted at the green yarn and ignored my scolding. His paws grabbed at my yarn. I pushed Herbert out of the way for the second time. 

I adjusted how I held my yarn and attempted to focus on my pattern. Herbert jumped up again - this time he was on his back, the yarn between his paws. He tried to catch the yarn between his teeth.  

"HERBERT! That yarn is mine!" His eyes taunted me. I retrieved my yarn and re-positioned my grip on the yarn. 

"HERBERT! COME ON! Let me get this row done." I pulled the yarn away from Herbert. He grabbed at my yarn again, causing an entire row of stitches to unravel. This time Herbert clutched onto the yarn so tightly that I needed to pry it from his two paws. 

Why was I even trying to reason with a cat? They always win. 

Slice of Life Challenge #23: Day 29/31: Spring Hope

 For the month of March, each day I am writing and posting a slice of my life, hosted by Two Writing Teachers. 

Slice of Life Challenge #23: Day 29/31: 

Spring Hope

Last week Saturday we had a massive spring snowstorm. Although the forecast had been around 3 inches of total snow accumulation, we ended up with 13 1/2 inches of wet, slushy snow. The snow would have been beautiful had it not been at the end of March. The roads were terrible. I felt that all signs of spring were erased in less than twenty-four hours. It was so depressing. 

To my surprise, as I returned from a walk on Monday, I noticed that a significant amount of snow melted. New growth was emerging. It felt like spring was a possibility again. Here's a haiku I wrote in response.  

Saturday's snowstorm/

removed spring hope. Yesterday's/ 

new growth brightens mood. 

Saturday afternoon

Monday afternoon

Slice of Life Challenge #23: Day 28/31: Ten Things I'm Trying To Get To: 2023 Edition

For the month of March, each day I am writing and posting a slice of my life, hosted by Two Writing Teachers. 

Slice of Life Challenge #23: Day 28/31:

Ten Things I'm Trying To Get To: 2023 Edition

Last year I made a list of ten things that I wanted to get to within the year. I like to think of them as mini-goals. You can read about them in this post. Reflecting on my list now, I was able to accomplish many of them, but not all of them. 

Here's my list this year, not in any particular order or importance:

go tent camping at least once

get better at making amigurumi crochet

learn how to use an over lock sewing machine

incorporate more vegetables in meals

learn how to play pickle ball

visit at least one new-to-me Wisconsin State Park

blog at least once a month during the entire year

paint the second story walls on the inside of my house 

incorporate strength training into my exercise regime

learn how to use the grill better

Like last year, I tried to select items that were manageable to me, both from a cost and time perspective. A few of my items are a repeat from last year (and are in even more manageable chunks).

What are you trying to get to this year? 

Slice of Life Challenge #23: Day 27/31: Begin Where You Are

 For the month of March, each day I am writing and posting a slice of my life, hosted by Two Writing Teachers. 

Slice of Life Challenge #23: Day 27/31:

Begin Where You Are

Recently, in the post Solace and Connection, Leigh Anne mentioned a book called The Curious Nature Guide, by Clare Walker Leslie. Intrigued, I looked up the book and realized it was on sale through Kindle. I purchased it and immediately began reading it.  

At the beginning of the book there is a recommendation to begin where you are. Even if you are only able to look through a window, readers and writers are invited to list six or seven nature observations you see, hear, or feel. I paid attention as I took a mid-afternoon walk yesterday. Below is what I noticed:

snow, sunshine, 

puddles, mud, 

deer, gnats, 

red-tailed hawk, robin

3:00 PM, 

March 26, early 

spring, Appleton, 

WI on a 

neighborhood walk

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Nature is a way that I can find solace and connect. Between assessing research papers and preparing for Monday's lessons on Sunday, noticing nature was good for my soul. 

Slice of Life Challenge #23: Day 26/31: Weekend Coffee

 For the month of March, each day I am writing and posting a slice of my life, hosted by Two Writing Teachers. 

Slice of Life Challenge #23: Day 26/31:

Weekend Coffee

One thing that I look the most forward to on weekends is my morning coffee. It's the same coffee that I take to school each day in my travel coffee tumbler- brewed at home using my brother's hand-me-down Keurig coffee machine. On weekends I can linger with my coffee - my fingers wrapped around the mug handle. The warmth of my coffee mug somehow makes me feel calm and safe. I inhale the scent of coffee. I savor each sip. 

One of my favorite mugs that a colleague made for me

In contrast, on school days I never have time to enjoy my coffee at home. Three people, including one teenage girl, share one bathroom in my house. It is a frenzied race each day to simply get out of the door so we all make it to school on time. My coffee is transported in my tumbler. Between checking lesson plans, making copies, and updating Canvas is when I take little coffee sips. Often, I am not even sitting down. For me, coffee on a school morning is just not the same. It's still a necessity but does not hold the same kind of magic as weekend coffee. 

Slice of Life Challenge #23: Day 25/31 The Spring Snowstorm

 For the month of March, each day I am writing and posting a slice of my life, hosted by Two Writing Teachers. 

Slice of Life Challenge #23: Day 25/31

The Spring Snowstorm

so much depends

upon

a strong spring

snowstorm

our city street 

blanket

concealed any new

growth

My mentor text was William Carlos William's, "The Red Wheelbarrow"

Slice of Life Challenge #23: Day 24/31 Keep Arriving

For the month of March, each day I am writing and posting a slice of my life, hosted by Two Writing Teachers. 

Slice of Life Challenge #23: Day 24/31

Keep Arriving

When I am leading a Literary Club session, we often begin with reading a poem and lifting a line from that poem as a quick write. Thursday's before school meeting was no exception. We listened to author Marwa Helal read "the poem is a dream telling you its time." The phrase "...keep arriving" really stood out to me. I used this phrase to jump start my writing. 

Below is my quickwrite:

"Keep Arriving" 

When we finish formal schooling, 

it's tempting to think

we've accomplished all we can - 

as if we're done learning.

Are we ever really done

with wonder?

Are we every really done 

with trying new things?

Are we every really done

with striving for improvement?

I never want to be done learning.

I hope to keep arriving. 

Slice of Life Challenge #23: Day 23/31 Where's Your Shoe?

For the month of March, each day I am writing and posting a slice of my life, hosted by Two Writing Teachers. 

Slice of Life Challenge #23: Day 23/31

Where's Your Shoe?

Did you pack yet? This was a question that I had been asking nagging my seventeen-year-old for the past week. 

Did you check that you have all the clothes you need?

Do you have money for meals?

Did you check in with your teachers for missing work?

Did you pack yet?

Did you pack yet?

Did you pack yet?

For each request, my son replied in an annoyed tone, "I got this, Mom." I was skeptical, but I let him be in charge of his own packing. 

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Fast forward to Wednesday morning, the morning he left for his school- sponsored robotics competition. He was running around the house, looking for his team competition shirt and clean underwear. It was all a little chaotic.

"Are you ready to go?" I yelled up the stairs. 7:10 AM. We needed to leave by 7:15 so I could drop him off AND be on time to be prepared for my first hour class.

"Coming!" He yelled. 

"I'll be in the car."

Five minutes pass. He's still not there. I am getting more and more impatient. 

"What is he doing?" I thought out loud and concluded with a sigh. My daughter rolled her eyes.

I dashed back inside the house, leaving my daughter in the car.

I opened the door to see my son balanced on one stocking foot.

"What is going on?"

"I can't find my shoe!"

"What do you mean? You had your shoes yesterday. They couldn't have gone very far."  

"Someone took my shoes!"

"No one wants your stinky shoes," I offer. I looked around the entry way and immediately spotted his shoe.

"Is this it?"

"Yes! Where did you find it?"

"Right in front of you."

We both giggled. In the end, my son left the house with both shoes and packed. His idea of packing ahead is radically different from my own.

Slice of Life #23: Day 22/31: Alone

For the month of March, each day I am writing and posting a slice of my life, hosted by Two Writing Teachers. 

Slice of Life #23: Day 22/31: 

Alone

Yesterday's post really got me thinking about lists. In my writer's notebook, I frequently write lists. I realized that I process so many things in list format. 

Amy Ludwig VanDerwater's, Poems Are Teachers, provides an abundance of mentor texts and suggestions for how to craft different poems. It's a wonderful resource. When writing a list poem, VanDerwater reminds readers that lists do not need to be ordered by time. She suggested to first list a group of related words, topics, people, questions. She also reminds writers that often list poems end with some sort of change. 

A mentor poem by Kwame Alexander

Kwame Alexander's poem is a list poem mentor text in Poems Are Teachers. The repetition of the word alone stuck with me all day. It made me think about when I was a young mother with two small children. Although I cherished spending time with my children, I was often exhausted and barely got a break. Periodically, I fantasized of time on my own. When I first separated from my then husband and had to get used to seeing my kids only 50% of the time, I had to quickly adjust to spending time on my own - something that I had once yearned for. Those first few months were so challenging. After three and a half years, I still have many moments of feeling sad when I am without my kids, but I manage it much better now. 

Here's a list poem to describe my time when I am alone:  

When I'm Alone

I read,

crochet,

linger on walks,

dance while doing dishes,

make dinners with black olives and mushrooms,

watch edgy shows and dramas,

spend time with my boyfriend,

blast my music,

go thrifting,

and miss my 

children

deeply.

  

Slice of Life #23: Day 21/31: Things I Like/Things I Dislike

For the month of March, each day I am writing and posting a slice of my life, hosted by Two Writing Teachers. 

Slice of Life #23: Day 21/31: 

Things I Like/Things I Dislike

I was feeling a bit stuck for a slice today. Thank goodness that Elisabeth and Britt shared a feasible form to emulate. I was intrigued about the origins of this and noticed that it was originally a mentor text of Susan Sontag's. You can read a little more about Susan Sontag's work here. 

There is just something about making lists, isn't there? Below are a few of my likes and dislikes in no particular order.

Things I Like: coffee, reading books, cupcakes, lap kitties, Mr. Sketch Scented Markers, spending time with my kids, Wordle, snuggling with Steven, the smell of fresh herbs on my fingers, crocheting, sushi, libraries, black olives, mushrooms, doodling zentangles, walks, murals on buildings, walking along the river, hugs from my children 

Things I Dislike: putting away dishes, folding clothes, driving in downtown Chicago, sauerkraut, figuring out home repairs on my own, long staff meetings, arriving late, making meals when it's just me, holidays and birthdays when it's not my turn to have my children, unsolicited salesmen, multilevel marketing companies, cleaning the gutters, products that cannot be fixed when one part breaks down, being too warm when I sleep, pictures of myself  

What are some of your likes and dislikes? 

Slice of Life #23: Day 20/31: Longing for Spring

 For the month of March, each day I am writing and posting a slice of my life, hosted by Two Writing Teachers. 

Slice of Life #23: Day 20/31: 

Longing for Spring

According to our local weatherman, spring is supposed to officially arrive today at 4:24 PM. However, spring seems unimaginable. Snow is on the forecast for the next several days this week. The trees are still bare. Snow and ice cover most of the ground. As I took my morning walk, I was still dressed in my winter gear. 

Bundled with coat, scarf/

on the first day of spring, my/

spirit yearns for growth.

Slice of Life #23: Day 19/31: Writer's Block

 For the month of March, each day I am writing and posting a slice of my life, hosted by Two Writing Teachers. 

Slice of Life #23: Day 19/31: 

Writer's Block

Mid-March. This is always about the time in the Slice of Life Challenge that I hit a wall. I feel like I have nothing to write about. 

This morning I crafted the beginnings of some slices. I began with dialogue, attempting to explain last night's Saint Patrick's Day party. I just couldn't articulate my words. Then I tried a Haiku about how different coffee is on the weekends because I am not in a rush and how I get to savor my coffee. I couldn't craft enough contrast between my first and third line. Finally, I started writing about this morning's winter walk, and how frustrated I am with the sting on my cheeks in this unseasonable March weather. I didn't like how whiny my tone was. 

In the end, I decided to create a new post and just started writing. This post will need to suffice for today. 

Anyone else with me on a bit of writer's block today? 

Slice of Life #23: Day 18/31: Writer's Notebook Records

For the month of March, each day I am writing and posting a slice of my life, hosted by Two Writing Teachers. 

Slice of Life #23: Day 18/31: 

Writer's Notebook Records

One thing that I love about keeping a writer's notebook is the ability to return to your writing and reread it. I find that it provides me with great insights about myself. Sometimes I jot down lines or poems that resonate with me. Other times I write conversations I want to remember. At times, I even craft rough drafts of what I will write in a letter or card to a friend. 

Back in fall, I jotted a Mary Oliver poem in my notebook: 

"The Uses of Sorrow" 

(In my sleep I dreamed this poem)

Someone I loved once gave me

a box full of darkness.

It took me years to understand

that this, too, was a gift. 

This poem especially made me think about my divorce and how painful it was. It was as if Mary Oliver wrote that poem for me; I felt like I was given a box of darkness. It took me a long time to recognize some of the good that came out of this heartbreaking period. 

Before my ex-husband and I decided to separate, I was conversing with a friend. At the time, my life felt so messy. I felt unlovable with few options. Writing seemed to be the only way that I could make sense of anything. Writing saved me. At one point, I wrote these words to her: 

Did I tell you that lately I think of myself as tangled yarn? You know how when you are in the middle of a project and all of the sudden you have to stop and untangle the yarn before you keep going? Or how sometimes you have to go back to what you are working on and start taking it apart (the knitter's term called frogging)...and in the yarn you never know how many knots there are and what it will take to untangle it (or what I need to cut) or what you have to do to fix it?  That's totally me these days.

Those words about tangled yarn are dog-eared in one of my writer's notebooks. That notebook is probably seven years old. Although it was (and still sometimes is) an incredibly painful time for me, I am grateful that I have a record of my thoughts and feelings.

What kinds of things do you record in your writer's notebook?

Slice of Life #23: Day 17/31: Writing and Learning With Them

For the month of March, each day I am writing and posting a slice of my life, hosted by Two Writing Teachers. 

Slice of Life #23: Day 17/31: 

Writing and Learning With Them

Each Thursday morning before school I meet with a dedicated, yet small group of writers for our school's literary club. Yesterday I led the group in writing a Rambling Autobiography. I read Linda Rief's example, shared a past example I had written the day before, and I wrote with the group. 

My Quickwrite from Thursday morning,
unedited

As usual, nearly all of our writers from Literary Club shared their Rambling Autobiographies. Yes, they shared their Quickwrites! (No editing or time to process.) These young writers consistently play with words and ideas in the best ways. They take risks in their writing and are not afraid to share their initial drafts or thoughts. Although I knew these writers pretty well already, I was delighted to learn more about them through their Rambling Autobiographies. 

As I was thinking about writing with my students in Literary Club yesterday, I couldn't help but reflect that there was a time that I did not write with my students. I didn't make my thinking visible. I did not show my students that writing or reading could be difficult. Back then, I showed students writing that was polished. I didn't share how, even as an adult, I sometimes struggled with understanding a text. When I began my educational career, I thought that I needed to enter the classroom knowing it all and there was no way that I could show my students that I didn't know something or that I made mistakes. As a young teacher, I was afraid that my students wouldn't find me credible. I was taught to be the sage on the stage. This is what was modeled to me from my own teachers and by one of my cooperating teachers. 

 

Around my third year of teaching middle school Language Arts, I discovered legendary teacher authors such as Linda Rief, Kelly Gallagher, Nancie Atwell, Penny Kittle, and Cris Tovani. These writers changed how I approached teaching and learning. I learned to provide choice to students and to use mentor texts as our teachers. Since then I have steadily worked hard to show my thinking to my students - especially through making meaning annotations and in crafting writing. Although it took a while to feel comfortable doing this as a teacher, now I share my confusion with students. Now I share my mistakes. Now I show my students how I continue to grow as a learner. Last year, when I was working on my alternative education teaching certification, I showed my students my process in writing research papers and how I tackled dense educational articles. 

When I feel a bit lost or frustrated as a teacher, I return to texts by those legendary teacher authors. All these years later, their work still inspires me and nudges me in the right direction. 

In reflection, I think that it is a gift that I have been able to learn and grow as an educator. After nearly 23 years of teaching middle and high school students, I know that I STILL have so much learning and growing to do.  

Slice of Life #23: Day 16/31: Rambling Autobiography

For the month of March, each day I am writing and posting a slice of my life, hosted by Two Writing Teachers. 

Slice of Life #23: Day 16/31: 

Rambling Autobiography

You may be familiar with Linda Rief's writing prompt of the Rambling Autobiography. She suggests to write as quickly as you can for two to three minutes. Here's a bit of mine...

I was born in the mid 1970s, a time when bell bottoms and high-waist jeans were in. I often wore my brother and sister's hand-me-down clothes, or my mom sewed dresses for me. I had clothes designated for play, for school, and for church. My neighbor Andrea and I often covered the sidewalks with colored chalk, biked down to the community pool (without adult supervision), and played Ghosts in the Graveyard in the park across the street. One of my childhood bedrooms had one orange wall, three white walls, and blue carpeting. It was perfect for a rainbow themed room. My favorite activity was roller skating; I forever had holes in the knees of my pants for all of the times I wiped out. Our golden retriever, Sandy, was named after the dog in the movie Annie. On weekends, sometimes our family watched a movie in the family room. Mom would lay out a plastic checkered tablecloth on the carpeting, and we had a popcorn and cheese picnic. In fifth grade I made a small quilt for a 4-H project. Later, when I was in high school, I made a twin sized quilt. In sixth grade I wrote a novel on an electric typewriter. I went to church camp most summers and later worked at the same camp as a summer job. In ninth grade a poem I wrote was published in a magazine. I played the piano in elementary school and later the flute for nine years. As an adult, I regret that I didn't continue to play piano or flute. Maybe some day I will pick it up again. I am a teacher who writes. At 46, I am still learning how to write. I am still learning how to teach writers. 

Have you ever tried writing a rambling autobiography? If you are looking for a great writing resource to use with students, try The Quickwrite Handbook. It's wonderful. I just realized that Linda Rief has a new book out - Whispering in the Wind. Has anyone read this?

Slice of Life #23: Day 15/31: Lap Cat

 For the month of March, each day I am writing and posting a slice of my life, hosted by Two Writing Teachers. 

Slice of Life #23: Day 15/31: 

Lap Cat

Herbert and Binx aren't always naughty. Both of them can be sweet and loving cats. For example, each evening, when I sit down to relax, Herbert climbs upon my lap. His presence is calming. He often feels so good that I don't want to get up from my spot! 

Blanket arranged,/

legs reclined, Herbert climbs on/

my lap. His purrs soothe. 

Slice of Life #23: Day 14/31: Cat Shenanigans

For the month of March, each day I am writing and posting a slice of my life, hosted by Two Writing Teachers. 

Slice of Life #23: Day 14/31: 

Cat Shenanigans

Beginning last fall, two of my cats began causing quite a bit of mischief in my kitchen. If someone accidentally left out a loaf of bread, they would chew the plastic bag and eat part of the bread. Once they got into a pan of brownies. Another time they got into fresh bagels. As I don't think that it is a healthy diet for cats to eat people food or chew on plastic bags, I quickly learned not to leave out any kind of food unattended on the kitchen table or on the counter tops. 

Dear readers, understand that Herbert and Binx are not malnourished. They are well fed and even have a bit of wet food twice a day. However, if they could, they would eat all day. Therefore, food is carefully portioned and served at consistent meal times. 

When I returned home from work yesterday, I came home to a surprise. This time, instead of a mess in the kitchen, it was a mess in my basement. Herbert and Binx got into a new, sealed bag of garden soil in the basement. 

The bag was split open with bits of dirt everywhere. 

As I tried to sort out what happened, they continued to try to play in it. (Have you no shame, cats?) 

I tried distracting them with a cat puzzle. This occupied them for less than two minutes, and they continued to try to play in the soil.

Since there was already a mess, I planted a few tomato seeds in seed starter trays. Again, Binx and Herbert tried to get more dirt.

By the time I was finished planting some seeds and cleaning up the area, I must have shooed them off of the table twenty times. 

At least the seeds got planted. 

What kind of mischief happens in your home? 

Slice of Life #23: Day 13/31: Life's Little Equations

For the month of March, each day I am writing and posting a slice of my life, hosted by Two Writing Teachers. 

Slice of Life #23: Day 13/31: 

Life's Little Equations

I first discovered Amy Krouse Rosenthal's Life Equations in her book Textbook. I also read This Plus That: Life's Little Equations to my children when they were young. I adore the late Amy Krouse Rosenthal and continue to refer to her books. Last year I played with Life's Little Equations in this post. Here's another post from 2018. 

Based on parts of my Sunday, I created a few Life's Little Equations:

Eight additional inches of snow in twenty-four hours + Day Light Savings = Crabby Trina

(knocking over a food canister + playing in freshly folded laundry) x scratching on the backside of the chair = mischievous cat. 

(Lesson planning + posting weekly learning intentions and success criteria in Canvas) X giving feedback on research papers = Sunday Scaries. 

What equations have popped up in your life lately?