#SOL 16 Day 14

One can find so many pains when the rain is falling. ~John Steinbeck

I really don’t like to be a complainer, because I have very little patience for other people who complain.  However, as a grow older I realize that I have become a human barometer.  You don’t need to tune into late night or early morning news to see what the weather is going to be for the day.  My knees will tell you when we are having snow or rain.  They throb and scrape bone on bone making it difficult to walk or even sleep. When the weather is really bad, my wrists join in the fun and make simple tasks like blow drying my hair, opening a jar, or holding something heavier than a  glass of water a major project.

But in case you really cannot put your faith in my knees and wrists, my sinuses will back up the forecast.  I feel a little dizzy. My head pounds, my eyes get dry, and even my teeth hurt when the barometric pressure is on the move.

Today was one of those days.  A cold, raw, nasty rainy day had me wishing I was in sunny Florida, and I don’t even like the heat and sun! I am looking forward to getting all my work finished for the day and climbing into my warm and comfy bed.  If only my head would stop pounding!!!

 

#SOL 16 Day 13

Sometimes we survive by forgetting. ~Unknown

Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me! is an hour-long weekly radio show on NPR where contestants play various games featuring questions based on the week’s news. When I can, I like to listen to it and play along on Saturday afternoons.

These days, however, “wait, wait….don’t tell me” has a different meaning for me.  It seems like I am constantly forgetting words or why I walked into a room.  This is frustrating and unnerving.  Here I am in the middle of class, and I can’t think of the word I want to say.  Sometimes I can even see the first letter of the word I want to use. It is on the tip of my tongue, yet I cannot retrieve it from the filing cabinet of my brain. My students even try to fill in the word for me.  That’s when I want to say,”Wait, wait….don’t tell me!” But they can only wait for so long.  They really are trying to be helpful.

When this forgetfulness first started happening, my mother would tell me that is was because I was doing so much and had so much on my mind.  I believed her. It was plausible.  Yet in the back of my mind I kept worrying that I had early stages of dementia. On more than one occasion I would be in the middle of a conversation and not remember what I was talking about! Then If I remembered, I would have to blurt it out right away before I forgot again.

So rather than ask a medical professional about my memory issue, I played Nancy Drew, and set out to solve the mystery myself.  The more I read, the more I realized that what I was experiencing, and am still experiencing, is a symptom of menopause. So of all the 34 possible symptoms listed I hit the jackpot and am suffering from memory lapses.  What are the other 33 you ask?  Sorry, I don’t remember.

#SOL16  Day 10

What we see depends mainly on what we look for. ~John Lubbock

Where Does Writing Hide?

• In the billowy clouds rolling acros the sky
• In the early morning giggles of a slumber party
• In the smell of lilacs
• In the aroma of homemade chicken soup
• In 4th of July fireworks
• In smiles and tears
• In the death of a family member
• In a child’s smile
• In the memory of a first kiss
• In an unexpected visitor
• In a friend’s supportive phone call
• In a whirlagig
• In the smell of fresh coffee
• In a new coat of paint
• In a cyclone fence surrounding Fido
• In a surprise party
• In a bridal shower
• In a baby’s first steps
• In a favorite song
• In an old prom gown
• In a photo album
• In the water droplets on a leaf
• In the mellow tones of an alto saxophone
• In the delicate notes of the windchimes

Ideas for writing are everywhere. You just have to look at the world with a writer’s eye.

#SOL16 Day 7

Music is your own experience, your thoughts, your wisdom.  If you don’t live it, it won’t come out of your horn.  They teach you there’s a boundary line to music. But man, there’s no boundary line to art. ~ Charlie Parker

I wish I were a jazz musician.  You see I played the string bass in high school and college and in groups at church. I loved it.  Arthritic knees and hands put a damper on my bass playing career though. I played Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, and Mozart in string ensembles and orchestras. I love Baroque music and listen to it often as I work. But “classical” music has a particular form; you know what is coming; it is safe, and I have always played it safe.

My son is a jazz musician.  Since the sixth grade he has been improvising – creating melodies from things he has heard or just from his head.  I am in awe.  I can’t do that. If it isn’t written on the page, I can’t play it.  I want to be able to swing and bebop, cakewalk and bossa nova.  I want to let go and be cool like Armstrong and Coltrane, Ellington and Gillespie. I can only dream.

Yet, what are the implications of Charlie Parker’s quote when it comes to writing?  Am I forcing my students to be “classical” when they want to be “jazz”?  Am I teaching them there is a boundary line?  Am I preventing them from creating art?  What about my own writing – am I playing it too safe? Starting this blog and taking on this “slicing” challenge is getting me out of my comfort zone.  Maybe I am moving from “classical” to “jazz” with little baby steps. I have a long way to go until I am “cool” though.

What Parker said about music can also be applied to writing. Writing is your own experience, thoughts, wisdom.  If you don’t live it (write every day) it would come out of your pen onto the paper.  There are no boundaries when it comes to where you can take your writing!

#SOL16 Day 6

We’re All Works of Art in Progress ~ Carmen Delle Orefice

In my 7th grade religion class we often begin class with a three minute retreat sponsored by the publisher of our text, Loyola Press. A couple of weeks ago our retreat was entitled “A Work in Progress.”  It really got me thinking about my students, others I meet each day, and myself.  The premise of the retreat is that “there is more to life than the present moment”, that we need to “be patient with what feels incomplete”, and that as long as we cooperate with God’s plan we can be assured that He is at work in us and through us and His good work will continue.

Now whether you are a believer or not, the essential question is one we can all benefit from.

“What changes do I notice in myself when I remember that other people are also works in progress?”

Thinking about this question led me to questions of my own.

If I am a continuous work in progress, do I allow myself to be fluid?

       How about my students or others I interact with?

Am I gentle with myself?

        Am I always gentle with my students? My colleagues?

Are my thinking and beliefs too rigid to allow that change and growth?

        How do I encourage that change and growth in my students?

What holds me back from accepting that change?

        What is holding my students back?

Am I afraid? Are they?

So as I embark on this new week of school tomorrow I am going to keep that thought in my head, “We’re all Works of Art in Progress.”  I am going to try very hard to be gentler with myself but more importantly with my students.  When I look at each one of them I want to remember that the child/adolescent they are today is not who they will be tomorrow, or the next day, or a year from now, or ten years from now.  My job is to help them find out a little bit more about the person they are today and help them evolve into the best person they can be as they continue working on their masterpieces.