The Sunrise Story

I haven't posted in a couple of weeks. I've been thinking for the past couple of days about this post...but I can't think of anything to write. Frozen in my failure, I want to quit, but I push through and show up here...even though it seems pointless. Who wants to read a blog post about nothing?  I begin to panic a bit...Have I "lost it"? My passion for blogging? My ability to blog? Why can't I think of something clever? What do I have to say that anyone will want to read? (By the way, I'd have all of these answers if it was you asking the questions!) Should I quit? Give up? Accept defeat? NO.  Instead, I show up.  Instead, I remember the words I said yesterday to my seventh-graders,  "Show up. It gets easier." Instead, I write and show grace to myself. Instead, I remember that blogging is a muscle that I haven't stretched in a while and I need to warm up, I need to take some deep breaths. Here I am. Showing up to the page. I'...

Here it is. March 18th. This post usually comes sooner, for me, in this challenge. It's my "I don't know what to write about" post...or maybe it's my "I don't feel like writing today" post. Either way, here it is. I'm fighting a headache. I have a lot still left to do on this Sunday afternoon and writing a blog post is not high on my list...yet, here  I am. Show up. Sit down and show up to the page even when there's nothing to say. That's what a writer does...a writer writes. So, here I am...writing...about nothing. Nothing to say today. Really. Nothing. I keep waiting for a story to pop up or for something to spark so I can delete this and start over, but nothing. So here it is: my yearly post about nothing. It's kind of like my tribute to Seinfeld, the TV show about nothing. Here's hoping that something happens before tomorrow... March is the Slice of Life Challenge. I'll be sharing a post each d...

Write about superheroes? No. I could write about Bella, my dog, and her obsession with penguins? No.  How I have too many tabs open (on Chrome) and it's stressing me out? No.  UGH! I don't know what to write about. I've been blogging for years. Maybe I've run out of things to say. No. I know that isn't true, but I'm stuck and I think I'm too focused on making it "good" and "worthy". I hear my own annoying advice rattling around in my head, "Just show up and write!" so here I am.  Um.... Yeah, I.... Arrrggghhhh!!! This writing thing isn't easy. You know what's ironic? I've been writing (not on my blog) a lot recently. How do I balance different kinds of writing? I have to switch off what I'm writing over there and really be present here. I guess it's like reading more than one book at a time. Oh, and that reminds me, I'm reading an AMAZING book that every single educator I know...

I'm tired today and I didn't plan well enough to have a blog post ready for this morning...so here I am, struggling to find something to write. I realize it's only day five of the challenge, but I am already struggling with topics. None of my mentor posts feel like something I could write today. I just want to skip today. I could write later in the day, but that always seems to get away from me. I feel like I've failed if I don't post first thing in the morning. So here I am, frustrated...with the challenge, but if I'm being honest, mostly with myself. This is why I'm here. Writing is hard. It's hard to show up every day. It's hard to be clever and interesting and creative on a daily basis...but I'm here. I have to be. This is what writers do. Writers struggle to write. It's not easy, but it's worth it. I hesitate to use "writer's block" to describe my experience this morning. A writer friend, Patti Digh, once told m...

Thank you to Stacey, Betsy, Dana, Tara, Beth, Anna, Kathleen & Deb for this amazing platform to write and share writing! What a wonderful community you've created! I'm honored to be part of it. Join us at Two Writing Teachers . Friday. Only day four. How could I already need more ideas? I’m stumped. I guess, it isn’t that I don’t have ideas, but it’s more I don’t want to write about any of them. It reminds me of these words, “I hate writing, I love having written.” Dorothy Parker said that. Usually, I don’t agree...tonight I do. I want to write about how tired I am. I want to write about the book I’m reading. (Honestly, I want to read the book I’m reading.) I want to write about going to the movies this weekend with my friends and watching American Idol on TV. I want to write about Bella and how she runs away whenever I start cooking. I want to write about how my niece wants to be a mermaid when she grows up. I want to write about how my nephew loves his too...