For the past eleven school years, I have been driving the same ten minute route every day to school. On this rainy Thursday morning I had a true lightbulb moment. It just dawned on me that the neighborhood I drive through five days a week has a method to its madness.
Here is a list of the streets that I pass, along with a few other connecting streets I found when I looked at Google Maps to confirm my suspicion.
Bell Lane
Franklin Lane
Wright Lane
Edison Drive
Ludwell Drive
Whitney Lane
Howe Lane
Fulton Drive
Blair Lane
Dillon Road
Purdie Lane
Shepard Drive
Do you see a theme here? Well, it took me eleven years to figure out that I was driving through a neighborhood whose streets were named after inventors! Duh! How did it take me so long?
I love spending time with my husband, but every now and then I dream about having a little place of my own – a hideaway – a reading and writing retreat space. Maybe something like this only with a different color palette. I like more of a blue and white cottage style or earthy shades of green, and brown.
Ideally, this would be located in a wooded area near some running water or a lake. Nature brings me so much inspirataion, and I’d love a place where there is a definite change of season.
So what is on my wishlist?
electricty
heating and air conditioning – even if it is portable
windows that open and have screens. I love nature but I am not a bug or bird person when they get too close for comfort
a hotpot to boil water for my tea or a Keurig so I can have a chai latte every now and then
a mini fridge for my veggies, fruit, and cheese and maybe a bottle of sweet reisling or moscato
something on which to play music – a record player for my vinyls – maybe somthing for my CDs (yes, I am this old) or I can always go to my trusty Spotify on my phone.
a drawer full of writing and drawing utensils
Books – lots and lots of books
Notebooks
I am sure there are things that I am missing. Feel free to send me some ideas for what to add to the she shed in my mind.
“A three-alarm blaze broke out Tuesday afternoon at Our Mother of Consolation School in Chestnut Hill and appears to have completely destroyed the building, according to an official at the site of the fire.
The official compared the swiftness with which the flames swept through the building to the fire that engulfed the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.” The Chestnut Hill Local
Tonight I am feeling sad for the children, parents, and teachers of Our Mother of Consolation School in Philadelphia. A fire broke out shortly after the school was dismissed at 2:45. About 40 children remained at school for an aftercare program but were safely evacuated when a parent of one of those students noticed smoke when she arrived to pick up her child. The building is a total loss. Thankfully the church and convent next door to the school did not sustain any damage.
Teachers pour their heart and soul into their classrooms often spending quite a bit of their own money. It is heartbreaking to think of all the “things” that were destroyed in this devasting fire. I know that things can be replaced, but that doesn’t make it any easier for the teachers involved. And what about the kids? Seeing their school go up in flames is traumatic. What if they left a prized possession at school today?
Our classrooms are like our home away from home since we spend so much time in school. I know how difficult it was for teachers at my school when a tornado ripped off part of our roof and water destroyed several classrooms. Fire takes the devastation to a whole new level.
When I go to school tomorrow it will be with a sense of gratitude for being able to teach in my own classroom. I will be holding the OMC community in my thoughts and prayers as they process what happened today and begin to make plans for their future.
Over the past week, my husband and I have had similar experiences. We call to make an appointment or to check on a missing piece of information we need to make decisions and have to leave a message rather than speak to a human. Now, I get that employers in all different fields are short on employees, but do they realize how frustrating it is when a customer/consumer leaves an inquiry and it goes unanswered for days upon days upon weeks?
On one hand, I think that I might be too used to the almost instantaneous replies of texting and messaging, but on the other hand, if a person/business still uses a phone to communicate shouldn’t there be someone to answer said phone and reply to voicemail?
I am old enough to remember answering machines that were separate entities from hardwired landlines. My parents sold advertising, and our home was their “office.” As soon as we came home from being away for any length of time – a day, an afternoon, a couple of hours – the first thing that happened was someone raced to “check the machine” to see if there were any messages. Then one of my parents returned the call once they banished us from the dining room where the phone sat.
Okay, so before my rant goes on too long, I better make sure that I am not a culprit of this form of torture and “go check my machine.”
Yesterday I spent the afternoon and evening with my two granddaughters ages 6 and 9. I brought my big bag of arts & crafts supplies: paper plates, pipe cleaners, tissue paper, tongue depressors, all sorts of paper, beads, and more. Usually I go with a craft in mind, but yesterday I was winging it.
I simply put all the supplies on the kitchen table and let the girls go to work creating. E.(9) created a ripped tissue paper collage on a plain paper plate. She ripped and glued until she had the four colors of tissue paper just the way she wanted and then arranged a pattern around the edge of the plate. I.(6) began with making a paper plate mask (a lion) and then used cupcake cups to make fireworks like we had done once before. She told me she chose to put them on a piece of black paper because the sky had to be dark. She also made an alien mask and one that was a mystery to me.
What struck me was that each of the girls looked through the supplies, thought of what they wanted to create, and went for it. When they finished each creation they were very proud of their work. Neither of them looked for flaws or something that didn’t turn out quite “right.”
At what age to we start judging ourselves and our work? Was their total abandon because they were in a safe place with a person who they know loves them no matter what? Would they have acted differently in school?
I want my students to create with such abandon, but in 7th grade there is a lot of judgement going around – judging themselves, each other, and worrying about how the teacher will judge their work. How can I change this? How can I stop them from asking me, “Is this good?” I try, but it is an ongoing challenge. I will definitely be thinking about this a lot this week.
I am sorry I have no pictures of E and I’s creations. We got distracted – playing charades, taking turns reading, and taking spelling tests (at their request). LOL.
***Thanks to my daughter-in-law I now have pictures!!
It has been a little while since we saw our granddaughters in person – just over a month. That is too long!!
We have been looking forward to today and the chance to get much-needed hugs and kisses.
I wonder what they have in store for us. They usually have something on their agenda. I will bring my “Mary Poppins” bag with art supplies and see where their creativity takes us.
It’s Haiku Saturday, so here are my haikus.
Spending time today With my lovely granddaughters Emma and Izzy
Can’t wait to see them Catch up on their little lives Play a few new games
Maybe arts & crafts Will be on the list to do Many giggles too
Life is always good When spending some time with them Our hearts overflow
On my drive to school today I was beginning to stress about what I was going to write about this evening because yesterday was so hard. When I sat down at my desk and flipped the page on my calendar I immediately knew this was my answer!
The definition of a best friend is a person who you value above other friends in your life, someone you have fun with, someone you trust and someone in whom you confide.
yourdictionary.com
For the last almost 50 years, Chuck has been my best friend. We met in high school when I was just 15, and he was 17. This year we will celebrate 43 years of marriage and 50 years of dating. Yes, we still think we are dating.
Chuck is the first person I tell when I have good news to share, and he is the one person I want to help me get through the bad news. I just love being at home and spending time with him. We take care of each other, trust each other, and respect each other. We laugh; we cry; we hold each other up.
On every step of our journey together we are a team. Chuck has supported me in every way – all of my college concerts & recitals, the many shows I produced during my career as a music teacher, becoming a Writing Project Fellow, my pursuit of a master’s degree, my writing, and all the stress and meltdowns that went along with each of those things. There was never any judgment – just support.
Chuck definitely brings out the best in me. He is my biggest champion. He knows when I need a pick-me-up and when I need a smackdown (a Moonstruck moment – “Snap out of it!”). Chuck is such a good man; he makes me want to be a better person. My high school sweetheart, my husband, my best friend. He keeps me grounded and helps me fly.
It’s been some kind of day. I started off feeling peaceful and ended up anything but peaceful. I could ruminate all night, but I think I am just going to unplug from what got me stirred up and plug into the things that bring me joy.
Chicken Pastina soup for dinner
Working on a project for my grandkids.
Reading
That’s about all I can muster this evening. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.
Of course, I was struggling for a slice today, so I Googled creative writing prompts and I came across 365 Creative Writing Prompts on thinkwritten.com. I got as far as prompt #52 and stopped.
What does Memory Lane look like? How do you get there?
When you have a lifetime (64+ years) of memories, where do you start? How can you pick one? When I got home from school, I felt the urge to make a visual representation of Memory Lane.
I think I will keep adding to each “road sign” when memories pop into my head. This should give me plenty to write about when I am stuck again. Who do you find on Memory Lane?
Rita DiCarne 