The Sunrise Story

Today is the final day of #TeachWritetober19! I set some goals and more often than not, I met my goals. I leave this month having written and post thirty blog posts. I finished and started a notebook and I revised more than half of my book. That's not bad for thirty-one days of work. I leave this month feeling proud of myself. I did it! I focus on what I achieved and how I can keep this habit going!

Yesterday I cleared out all of my email accounts. Answered emails. Organized emails. And then, the best...delete, delete, delete! I sent from over four hundred emails in my three accounts to twenty-nine. What is is about organizing an email account that feels so good? It's like an empty sink and all the dishes have been washed or a freshly vacuumed floor. It's like laundry folded and put away.  And now I feel old...I just wrote a blog post celebrating an organized email inbox. Well, whatever brings you joy, right?!?!

Halloween has never been my favorite holiday...even as a kid. A few weeks ago, I was Facetiming with my niece, Jillian, and she was telling me all about her costume. She even asked me to come trick-or-treating with her. The problem with that is we live 400 miles apart. After I hung up I thought, "I could go trick-or-treating with her..." It's a surprise. I'll be driving up on Halloween to surprise her. I can't wait! Now for my costume...we Facetimed again and she suggested what I should wear on Halloween for trick-or-treating with my friends. She said that I should dress up as HER. My dark curls are the opposite of her blond tendrils, so I solved it.  For the first time ever, I am looking forward to Halloween! 

Listen for  the love Ignore all  the hate- Listen for the kindness Ignore all  the malice- Listen for the laughter Ignore all the yelling- Listen for the honesty Ignore all  the liars- It's not easy Nothing worthy ever is... It's what I'm trying to do today- Ignore the  phonies and  Listen  for the     love,  laughter, authenticity, friendship,  and the truth. I'm feeling a bit down today...struggling with some relationships in my life. As always, writing to the rescue. Poetry to the rescue! I needed these words and I'm sharing them because maybe someone else needs them too...

A few years ago, I began sorting through my notebooks- all of my notebooks. I decided that I wanted to count them. That seems easy enough, right? Until another notebook pops up in a different spot and I've already numbered beyond that. I will usually tack it on to the end and keep going. Today I started a new notebook.  The last notebook that I wrote in was number eighty, so you'd think the next notebook would be eighty-one, but NO. I found a notebook that I hadn't counted.  Number 80 Number 81 So, my new notebook is number eighty-two. I still include -ish because there may be another notebook hanging around waiting to be counted...until then, I will happily write in my new notebook. 

It's Saturday. #TeachWritetober coming to an end. I've blogged 25 out of the past 26 days. It's been a process. I want to continue, but I'm realizing I'm struggling to come up with ideas. I feel like I've used all the ideas, all the words, and nothing is left. Thinking about "theme" days for writing. Thinking about more poetry. Thinking, thinking, thinking...

I wish I could sing- In the car, I bring down the house. I wish I could paint- My watercolors frame the pages of my notebook. I wish I could dance- My hustle burns up the living room. I wish I could draw- Sketches and doodles emerge from my pencil.    I'll never be famous for my singing or artistic skills (or lack of skills), but I still sing, I still paint, I still dance, I still draw... For myself because it brings me JOY! What do you wish you could do?  Do it anyway! It's not about the fame. It's not about the money. It's not about the skill. It's about the love, It's about the JOY you get from the process! DO it anyway!

Yesterday was my blog anniversary. Six years ago I was inspired by an NCTE Twitter chat. Penny Kittle was talking about how everyone has a story to tell.  I shared my fear of doing that and she reminded me that everyone is afraid. I took that fear, that advice and I dove into blogging.  Blogging has brought me so much. Blogging has taught me so much. It's brought people into my life. It's made me a better teacher, writer, person. Penny Kittle was right. It's my story. I am writing it. I am writing my story here. If you are reading this, thank you...having a reader or two has inspired me to continue blogging!  I'm proud of this achievement and all these years later I remain One Grateful Teacher!

Celebrating my successful painting! I've noticed, as a teacher, I can get bogged down in the day to day work of teaching and forget to celebrate student successes. As we approach the end of the first quarter, I want to stop and notice growth and success.  1. Three students finished books yesterday. 2. One student who refused to write earlier in the year picked writing as a choice activity. 3. Another student who had been withdrawn from class participated wholly. 4. I noticed students working out differences as they collaborated on a project. 5. On more than one occasion, I saw students treating each other with kindness. 6. A student who had been very quiet easily shared with the whole class. 7. Groups worked together to finish planning on a challenging project. I saw the groups working through disagreements and finishing. Teaching is hard. Being a student is hard. It's important to stop and notice the successes..big and small. I'm proud of my stude...

I started daily blogging at the beginning of October. It had been weeks, even months, since I'd blogged so I used this challenge to bring me back to this space.  Also, I was inspired by something Seth Godin said on a podcast. He mentioned that he's blogged every day for the past twenty years. He's written more than 7,000 blog posts. The explanation was simple, just make the decision to do it and you will.  I made the decision and I'm here, but I've already missed one day. AND my blog posts are more involved than his posts. Here's his post from today:  Seth Godin's Blog Brilliant in its simplicity. He talks about how blogging has helped him notice the world around him. I feel like when I sit down to write, I complicate my posts. I worry about it. I consider the impact, the audience. He writes. He notices and he writes.  I will continue to blog every day. I will continue to revise my posts and revise my expectations. Thanks for the inspiration, ...

Being alone- I feel strong I am independent My life My decisions My destiny belongs to me. Feeling lonely- I feel small I feel invisible My thoughts My time belongs to fear. Alone means choice. Lonely means despair. I am alone and essentially not lonely- Until the days I am... They say feeling lonely  in a room filled with people  is the worst. It's not. Feeling lonely- all by yourself is worse. Lonely is  being invisible. Lonely is being left behind. Lonely is self-doubt. Someone once  told me that this world is built for  couples- I don't know if  that's true, but sometimes it feels true. As I write these words, I am alone AND  I feel lonely... but- Lonely doesn't last. I am stronger than lonely. Lonely will drift away and I will be alone, but not lonely. Blogging can be a challenge when what's on my mind is hard to share...

Bella napping after our walk. I have a dog and her name is Bella. Bella and I take walks every single day. Recently, a new dog park was built within walking distance. We tried it on Thursday and didn't go inside...big Doberman barking at us. We both got a little nervous because it was a new place.  This morning we went out for our walk and tried again. There were two other dogs there, the same size as Bella. She sniffed every square inch of the place. She ran around. I talked with the other human there. It looked like she had fun.  As we were walking home, I realized the rut we'd gotten into, every walk we took the same route. Today with our new dog park, we met some new friends and took some time to play and have fun. It was a perfect way to begin a Saturday. 

What is your favorite holiday? Mine is National Day on Writing. Thanks, NCTE! It happens on October 20th each year and yesterday we celebrated!  Students had many choices for their time.  Some students worked on new stories, while others created writing buttons. Some students used magnets and made some graffiti while others played word games. Everywhere you looked, students were playing and writing and creating and collaborating. Some students created stop motion movies about writing. We had FUN! Here's a peek into our celebration...