The Sunrise Story

I just arrived home from a surprise trip to Massachusetts. I drove north to surprise my niece and nephew for Halloween...and I did!  On my second day there, my niece grabbed a notebook she had from a year ago. She asked me to work in our notebooks together. I told her that I was her age when my mother gave me my first notebook. She said she wanted to use notebooks too- just like me- except she wants to draw in her notebooks. I told her that she's the boss of her own notebooks, and that sounded like a great idea to me! We spent time each day doodling and writing in our pages.  She showed me some of her drawing tricks and I showed her some of the things that I wrote. It was heaven.  Saying goodbye is always hard, so a tradition I started when they were young is I leave them a goodbye note. My nephew always reminds me that he has a collection of all of my notes. I usually leave in the morning before anyone wakes up, so it gives them one more surprise.  ...

It's only day three. It can't be possible! How can I feel like I've already run out of things to write?  Gratefully, I've been through this before and this is no time to panic. It's a natural part of the process. Yesterday, I was confident and had so much to share. It's a natural progression in my process for that to be followed with a day where I feel lacking. How do I handle it?  Write anyway. Show up anyway. I've learned that life is about going through not going around. I'll go through the doubt and I'll write anyway...and before you know it, I have written.  I will share this...yesterday started with a great phone call with my aunt. She's always been there for me. We can talk about anything. She listens and makes me laugh!  To bookmark my day, I Facetimed with my nine-year-old niece. She, too, always makes me laugh. She invited me to go trick or treating with her! (I wish I didn't live 400 miles away!) She told me t...

In just two days, I'll be flying south to Houston, TX to attend my fifth NCTE conference. This is the first time I'll be presenting. I just reread some posts from previous NCTE visits and I'm more excited than ever to be in this space with educators and authors. My post from NCTE 2016 includes a bunch of collected quotes from brilliant authors and it turns out I get to present WITH one of these writers this time around: Amy Ludwig Vanderwater ! Amy, Linda Urban and I are sharing our passion for notebooks. Together on Saturday, we are presenting, with my brilliant colleague, Jen Cherry , moderating the panel. I'm so excited and unbelievably nervous!! Will anyone show up? Will they like what we have to share? These are the thoughts that plague me! After my presentation on Saturday, #TeachWrite is hosting a notebook exchange and meet-up at 4:30. I can't wait to get to meet my writing friends in real life...and get a new notebook! On Sunday, TeachW...

Time spent with family is good for the soul... Here they come! I love getting to meet the bus, especially on the day of my arrival! Intense concentration going on here! Auntie tried to braid her hair...this is my second or third try.  Wrigley gets so excited he leaps onto the bay window to see who's coming! Hard to get him into pictures this year, so I'm happy to get this one! Last day of school selfie!  I swear, I have more family here, but I adore my time being an auntie. More family pics coming soon. I hope you get a chance to enjoy time with your family this holiday season. 

I'm spending a long weekend with family. It started Friday night with dinner at my favorite restaurant, Red Rose.     Wait, back up...it started with time spent with my niece and nephew, playing games and having fun!   I'm here for a baptism. My sweet cousin Danielle and her husband, Henry, asked me to be Godmother to their beautiful daughter, Josephine. Time spent with my family is filled with laughter and giggles. It fills me up the way nothing else can. I'm savoring every moment of these days as I remember the words of Maya Angelou, "I sustain myself with the love of family."      Thank you to Ruth Ayres for providing this space for sharing our celebrations. Please join us and share your own!

Today is my last day at the beach. I'm always surprised at how much I yearn to go home at the end of a vacation.  Don't get me wrong, I adore the beach! The ocean. The sand. The sun. The cool breeze. The waves. Peace. All of that is why I come back again and again every chance I get...but, I love my home too. Waking up and writing morning pages at my desk. Walking Bella. A cup of coffee from my own coffee pot. Reading a good book. Just BE-ing. Today I celebrate vacations. I celebrate the beach. I celebrate family. I also celebrate home.  Thank you to Ruth Ayres for providing this space to share our celebrations. Please join us and share your own!

  from our last trip to the beach OBX Today I celebrate a summer filled with writing and learning and meeting new people. I attended the All Write Conference in June. July was filled with day after day of writing at the Invitational Summer Institute with the teachers at the Northern Virginia Writing Project. My goal is to carry those days with me into August and the school year ahead. I want to write morning pages everyday. I want to incorporate some fiction writing into my daily writing practice. I want to continue with my writing group. These are the goals I'm working towards. Today, my goal is simple. Pack my car. (Make sure I have my notebook and pens!) Drive north. Meet my family. Drive to the beach in Maine. We are celebrating my mom's 70th birthday!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! The ocean is always good for the soul...the beach with family is exactly what I need.  Thank you to Ruth Ayres for providing this space to share our celebrations. Please join us...

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 . Traveling changes my perspective.  I get a chance to slow down and look at things from another angle. My cousin got married this weekend and I drove up to Massachusetts to be there.  I could have flown, but there's something about that long drive that brings me peace. I know the route like the back of my hand, so I can relax into the drive.  It's been fifteen years that I've been taking this route home and I feel like I  notice different things each time. This trip brought brilliant autumn leaves. I love the freedom of leaving before the world wakes up and watching the sun rise.  Rest stops provide a moment to stop and look around. Flying might save time, but it doesn't bring me peace of mind. I figure th...

Thank you to Ruth Ayres for the opportunity to focus on celebrations every week! Please join us! Time with family is precious. This weekend, my cousin is getting married so I drove north!! Driving through New England in the fall is amazing. I gasped over and over again at the colors. I'd forgotten how vibrant and gorgeous the colors are. I attempted some pictures, but they just don't do it justice. About an hour after I arrived, the school bus delivered two very special packages. We made some arts and crafts.  We took silly pictures. Jack showed me a very special box that his mom bought for him.  He told me that he's going to use this box to hold notes from me. When I leave, I usually leave before anyone in the house is awake. (It's a long drive and leaving early helps the trip move along.) I started leaving notes for Jack when he was little and now I leave one for both Jack and Jillian. He keeps them all and now he's...