Dear Notebook, #SOL22 Day 28

Dear Notebook,

The end is in sight. Four more days. Four more. We can do this.

I’ve missed you this month, dear Moleskin. Your ivory colored, thick lined paper. The way the my Papermate 0.7mm pencil glides across your smooth page. The flipping and turning to read snippets from past entries.

The calm I feel after sharing my soul with you. My thoughts on the page and out of my head. The unconditional acceptance you give me. No matter what, you’ve got my back.

I even snuck back to you a few days this month to brainstorm some Slice of Life ideas. But, shhh…don’t tell my hp Chromebook. I’m sure there would be hard feelings. It’s just not the same. Tapping the keys vs. flowing the pencil across the page. It’s nothing personal, but I don’t think he would understand.

When I return to you on Friday it will be glorious! Hang tight! Four more days. We’ve got this!

A Bright Spot on a Rainy Day #SOL22 Day 18

The forcast looked like rain the whole day. We had a decision to make. Pack up and head home a day early, or stick it out and hope for a bit of dry weather.

We chose to stay. Even if it rained all day, we had books to read, basketball to watch, and computers to connect us to the school week ahead.

We lucked out with a few rain free hours in the morning to be outside. Walking, hot tubbing, and reading in the wind and clouds. I was scrolling Twitter with my headphones in preparing to listen to a podcast when I came across this tweet.

For the last two years, listening to Penny and Kelly has been a bright spot in my spring. They talk everything reading and writing throughout 30 conversations together. Sometimes they have guests, sometimes they let us take a peek into their notebooks, and sometimes they share what they are reading. Their conversations are always so rich; so relevant and so meaningful. I feel uplifted and hopeful after listening to them.

I immediately clicked on the padlet link and the YouTube video. After listening, I quickly added two books to my “Want to Read” list on Goodreads. I imagine I’ll be adding many more over the next 29 conversations.

One Hour a Day Challenge #SOL22 Day 6

After reading Britt Decker’s post, I was intrigued to try the #onedayhh challenge. I know this typically takes place in November, but I decided to give it a go yesterday. I knew I was going to have a fun filled day visiting my daughter in Chicago, and I wanted to document the day together.

6 am–rise and shine

4 scoops, 10 cups of water, and a little half and half = liquid gold

My morning routine of scripture, prayer journal, poetry, and writing grounds me for the day ahead.

7 am–packing up

A small bag of essentials for our weekend in the Windy City.

8 am–taking the dog

Loaded up and ready to drop Josie off at Mimi daycare for the weekend.

9 am–on the road

Getting a little Breathe For Change work done on the 3 1/2 hour drive up.

10 am–still on the road

The city is in view

11 am–Lakeshore Boulevard

The first mild day of the season in Chi-town. So many people were riding bikes, walking, running just on the other side of the bushes.

12 pm–but first food

Filling up before we hit the town-YUM

1 pm–Field Museum

Such a beautiful, light, airy museum.

2 pm–Field Museum

Quick family picture with the huge hanging plants

3 pm–Field Museum

Obligatory picture with what we thought was Sue, the T Rex

As we were trying to find our way out of the dinosaur exhibit be stumbled across the real Sue 😂😂

4 pm–Shedd Aquarium

Cool jellyfish

5 pm–Shedd Aquarium

Seeing the beluga whales was a highlight of the aquarium.

6 pm–leaving the city

Exiting the museum to a beautiful view of the city. The wind was brutal and we headed to the parking lot. A storm was approaching the area.

7 pm–dinner time

We walked to a restaurant in G’s neighborhood—The Bad Apple. I’m always the one taking the pictures. So thankful for this one of just the two of us.

8 pm–pub grub at its best

Beer flights and burgers—double YUM

9 pm–family time

No picture 🙃 But it was so great to hang out on the couch, cuddle and just visit.

10 pm–bed

It was a great, but exhausting day! We made the most of every moment.

Inspired by Garvey’s Choice #SOL21

It’s the kind of book you read in one sitting. A page turner. So many life lessons told in carefully chosen, impactful words.

Nikki Grimes wrote this novel in tanka poems. (A tanka poem follows the syllable pattern of 5, 7, 5, 7, 7) Garvey struggles to fit into the mold his father wants for him, that of an athlete. Instead Garvey has a passion for space, chess, and chorus. Garvey also struggles with his weight and constant belittling by classmates. He finds companionship with Joe and Emmanuel and learns more about himself through them.

Three Bears

It doesn’t matter

how wide I am when I sing.

Like Goldilocks, I

have finally found what fits:

my high tenor is just right.

–Garvey’s Choice

by Nikki Grimes

Three Bears
It doesn't matter
where I go, or what I do
words bubble in me.
Whether in notebook or screen
telling stories is just right.

What fits just right for you?

Capturing a Moment in History

Kelly Gallagher shared lesson plans today encouraging students to capture this moment in their history. He wrote,

Years from now, our students’ children and grandchildren will ask them about this moment in time, and I want them to have a record of it. Their history.

I’ve thought a lot about this. How important it is to record the events, our thoughts, our feelings, our history. I think back to 9/11. My own children have asked me what things were like in the weeks after 9/11. I remember where I was when I heard about the Twin Towers, I remember that our football game that week was canceled, I remember how numb I felt, but I don’t remember specifics. Oh, how I wish I would have journaled my thoughts and feelings during that historic time.

Today I took some time to record what the last few days have been like. I’ve put in writing how my daughter’s college suspended in person classes for the rest of the semester, how restaurants have closed their dining rooms, how teachers are responding to e learning possibilities, how I was in a bit of a panic this morning and rushed out to buy gas and more groceries. I want to preserve these moments in history, so that one day when my grandkids ask what was it like during the coronavirus of 2020, I can look back at my notebook and remember these days.