Tonight was the night. I was to participate in my second poetry open mic night at the local library. There, I would read two poems I had written and listen to the fantastic poems of other poets. Unfortunately, my body has other plans.

My sinuses have been wonky all week, and I chalked it up to the daily temperature swings. This morning, however, I woke up with a scratchy throat and a slight headache. I popped two Sudafed, hoping to feel better quickly, but it’s been over two hours, and they are not doing the trick. Begrudgingly, I emailed the librarian facilitating the evening and bowed out of my performance slot.

It’s lunchtime now at school, and honestly, I could put my head down and sleep, but I am afraid I would snore. So, this tired teacher is going directly home after school, putting on my pajamas, and wrapping myself in a cuddly blanket with a hot cup of tea. It looks like a late afternoon nap is in store.

I am disappointed because I was looking forward to the evening but trying not to be too upset. Obviously, I can’t control this cold, allergies, or whatever is putting me under the weather. As the above quote says – there’s no point. (Shrug)

What are your favorite things to do on a lazy day? This question was the writing prompt for my 7th-graders today. As I was writing along with them, a lightbulb went off – why wasn’t I using my in-class writing as my slice? So here it is – my favorite things to do on a lazy day.

• Sleep in until I awake on my own. I enjoy not setting an alarm.

• Linger over a cup of tea and the NYT puzzles while listening to coffee house jazz or Baroque strings.

• Binge-watch something on Netflix while snuggled in a comfy blanket. I am too tired most days to watch TV after dinner.

• Eat a leisurely lunch with my husband. Lunch at school is usually at my desk while multitasking.

• Read for pleasure – our latest book club pick or one of the books in my ever-growing TBR stack.

• Take a nap or not. Having the option is a treat.

• Light a scented candle (no flower scents) and write in my notebook in longhand, accompanied by a chai latte.

• Order take-out for dinner. Since my husband cooks every night, I would give him the night off. 😉

• Go to bed feeling calm and peaceful.

This makes me want to schedule a lazy day soon. What are your favorite things to do on a lazy day?

This slice grew from “Write With Us Wednesday” with Linda Rief and Penny Kittle. https://book-love-community.mn.co/spaces/9300719/feed

When I was in school, I was never popular or athletic. I was just the nerdy girl who worried about her grades. I wasn’t enough. High school was similar – I didn’t get into NJH in the first round.
BUT
In my senior year, I was named first chair of the string bass section and was a member of the Philadelphia All-City Orchestra.

Even in All-City, I faced imposter syndrome, which followed me into college. I never measured up to everyone else. I commuted instead of living on campus.
BUT
I used a distorted measuring instrument – my view of myself from within.

I didn’t think I was doing enough because I wasn’t doing what other music teachers were doing in their classrooms.
BUT
So many students have fond memories of our shows at SCS.

Growing older has liberated me (mostly) from not feeling “enough.” Being satisfied with doing the best I can do is “good enough” for me.

This winter has felt long, and the state of the world has made it feel even longer, but today, I feel lighter. The trees are budding, the temperature reached 65, and I didn’t need to turn on my lights until 7:00. While I still feel the effects of losing an hour over the weekend, the extra daylight at the end of the day is a welcome sight.

Spring may still be 10 days away, but I finally feel it is coming. Living in Pennsylvania, we experience “false spring” quite often. The daily fluctuation in temperature causes my sinuses to become an indicator of the changes in barometric pressure. Today, I feel it’s time to prepare for the next phase—allergy season! I’m not complaining, though. I’ll take allergy season over “can’t decide what season it is” season.

Here’s to the hope of spring – just what my soul needs.

This afternoon, I enjoyed reading and grading odes. Grading writing is my least favorite part of my job as an ELA teacher. Sometimes, it becomes tedious, and I can’t wait to get to the last paper, but today was sheer pleasure.

After reading “Dear Basketball” by Kobe Bryant and learning about the qualities of an ode, my students took on the challenge of writing an ode to an everyday thing. They are always a little hesitant to write poetry, but they outdid themselves this time.

Their subjects ranged from the expected—summer, the beach, soccer, and such—to chicken sandwiches, Chipotle, donuts, tacos, and the American Flag. Their use of figurative language and concrete images was noteworthy. I could feel the love jumping off the page. These odes are some of the best writing they have done to date. I am so proud of them and can’t wait to tell them tomorrow.

Doing nothing was not the plan, but plans are meant to be changed, aren’t they? I woke up early to do a few errands with my husband. It was more like he was doing the errands, and I was along for the ride. We were out for about an hour, came home, unloaded the car, and hubby made us a delicious omelet for breakfast. Now, it was time to tackle that “to-do” list.

My first mistake was sitting in the living room “for just a few minutes.” Then, the few minutes turned into a “few more” minutes. The second mistake was picking up that comfy blanket from the blanket alongside the recliner. The minutes turned into hours that included catching the ends of two different movies, a phone call with my daughter, and a nap that may or may not have benefited from resetting my phone timer. (SHRUG)

Now, I will tackle a couple of things from my list – the easier ones, of course, and then be ready to settle in with my book after dinner. At another time in my life, I would have felt guilty about “wasting” a Saturday, but not anymore. I am on a schedule Monday through Friday, so Saturdays get to be whatever I need them to be. They are sometimes busy, which is great, but slow Saturdays are my favorite.

My seventh graders love candy treats, and I usually get rolls of Smarties. I recently realized they also love Lifesaver Pep-o-mints and the five original flavors. Hence, two two-pound bags reside in the closet behind my desk.

Last week, I felt the urge for something sweet, and since I had no chocolate, a Lifesaver would have to do. I reached in and pulled out a light-yellow, individually wrapped candy, popping it in my mouth. I had forgotten that the yellow ones were pineapple-flavored, and immediately, I was transported back to my childhood home and the Lifesavers my dad usually had on his desk.

I don’t remember if they were the original five-flavor rolls or the tropical fruit ones. Still, I vividly remember trying to calculate when the pineapple one would be the next candy to appear at the open end of the roll. (We were not allowed to be choosy).

Dad’s been gone since 1995, but the sweet memory of those Lifesavers remains.

My oldest grandchildren turned 11 in January and February. Right now (because my birthday is not until October), I am six times older than P and E. That got me thinking about where the past 55 years have gone, what I was doing at that age, and how I got to where I am today.

At age 11, I played with Barbies with my friends on my block. We weren’t “rich” enough to have Barbie houses, but boy, did we make some great ones on our own with things we found around our homes. I was also reading the Nancy Drew books the “older” girls around the corner had gifted me.

At age 22, I was married to my high school sweetheart and pregnant with my first child. I was teaching music part-time and establishing our first home.

At age 33, I had two elementary school-aged children and was working full-time as a music teacher.

At age 44, I had a child in college and one in high school. I was still teaching music and would soon begin pursuing my master’s degree in English.

At age 55, I had recently survived the closing of the school I had taught in for 23 years and began a new teaching job at a newly formed regional school. I gave up my music teaching career and was teaching ELA only.

At age 66, I am still married to my high school sweetheart. I have survived two knee replacements, gall bladder removal, and two cataract surgeries. I am in my 39th year of teaching and signed on for at least one more.

Those multiples of eleven seem like yesterday and yet so long ago. I will never be six times P and E again, but I hope to be making memories with them for many years.

#SOLC 25 Day 6/31

I spent the morning in the waiting room of the ambulatory surgical center, waiting for my husband to have a procedure. He is fine, home, and resting. It struck me how this space differed from my usual Wednesday, not just because it was a surgical center but because it was so quiet. School is a never-ending cacophony.

Here are some things I noticed while sitting in the waiting room.

• Beeping machines have a rhythm of their own and also a peculiar melody.
• Reading was a challenge at first. I kept rereading the same page over and over for several minutes before my concentration kicked in.
• The office was clean, bright, and new, which made me feel calm.
• At least five patients came to the surgical center for appointments with their cardiologists, and the receptionist patiently repeated that those offices were next door around the side of the building.
• It was difficult not to eavesdrop because of the silence.
• I could hear my own thoughts – loud and clear!
• Sitting in silence is so peaceful.

My big takeaway from today is to spend more time in silence. It is suitable for the soul.

#SOLC25 Day 5/31