Three years ago the landscape here was much different…18” of snow and frigid days tested these beauties…but they are slowly returning. Patience ✅
A precious grandson arrived during those days, too, and he was celebrated again this weekend. Birthday hugs and “kisses to grow on”✅
And while we expect high 70s this week, we did have a brief flurry on the radar after dark this weekend—little surprises to make us smile ✅
The Lenten book from my sister and some quiet time to read and reflect✅
Needles and threads and returning to stitch practices ✅
Finally, some good words from Joseph Campbell:
“You must have a place to which you can go in your heart, your mind, or your house, almost every day, where you do not owe anyone and where no one owes you – a place that simply allows for the blossoming of something new and promising.”✅
This past week, I celebrated the National Day on Writing with a couple of classes of college writers. That decision gives me way more than five good things for this post, so here we go:
Young adults exploring the natural world —some sitting and noticing, some standing, some taking advantage of the playground swings in the nearby park we visited, some sketching. All deeply engaged in the moments.
In answer to my question of what was the best part of writing outside, one student’s answer, “Peace…it’s just so quiet.” Yes.
Other words: “We all walked out of those front doors together, all of us —with all our differences— and we became united…and we were free.” Wow.
We are writing sonnets now, and the work we do is influenced by that short time apart from the daily classroom. We draw from the solo classroom of attention. I hope they’ll return there as often as they can. I really think they will. 🌟
The simplicity of teaching and learning…some things really are like poet Mary Oliver told us:
I can list five good things from the week …and I will…but first I need to say a couple of things.
It’s hard to look for the good when the whole WORLD is facing the same problem:Covid-19. This week has been a mental challenge. I see how my friends and family are adjusting to a new way of life. Nothing is easy. We all cope in different ways.
However.
While I do indeed look for the good, I’ve also seen people spend time looking for various supplies this week. World: stophoarding…and thank you to the postal worker who brought hand sanitizer out from behind the counter so I could use it. This is her third bottle—the prior two “disappeared”—yes, really. That is what we have become.
On a better note, she now wears gloves that do not fall off because a regular customer saw she was wearing oversized gloves secured with rubber bands and brought her a pair that actually fit. These are people handling our mail. Answering our questions. Moving our boxes. Connecting us with loved ones. Surely, they deserve gloves that fit.
So many heroes. We have power to be heroes. Will we? Will you?
Ok. Five beautiful moments from this “not so beautiful” week for our world:
—my son and his family playing Red Light, Green Light as if it were any ordinary weekend night…little children delighting in counting and laughing and moving game pieces with their mommy and daddy.
—Skype sessions with my across the world daughter. I feel the distance so strongly these days, but I’m so grateful for the technology that allows us to stay connected.
—the postal service. They are a lifeline connecting so many of us. There is such beauty in receiving a real letter. Join me in writing more during this time, if you wish.
—the kindnesses of strangers including doors held open, eyes that meet in understanding, and simple smiles as we navigate our new lives from six feet (or more) apart.
—the tiny orchid that whispered Buy me this week when I made that last grocery trip for awhile. My daughter’s birthday is coming, and she doesn’t know it yet, (unless she happens to read it here), but her mom decided to buy that plant and nurture it in her honor throughout the coming days/weeks/months.
To end tonight—-
One of my granddaughters peered out across my yard of spent jonquils yesterday and looked at me in dismay. “Where did they all go, Loulou? All the flowers?” I explained how there is a season for everything. “They’ll come back” I answered.
It is the easiest thing in the world to obey God when he commands us to do what we like, and to trust him when the path is all sunshine. The real victory of faith is to trust him in the dark, and through the dark.
“God has two dwellings: one in heaven, and the other in a meek and thankful heart.” — Izaak Walton
This quotation says beautifully how I feel today.
My heart is filled with thankfulness for many good things.
I have been reminded today how a person’s greeting or reply or response can totally change one’s outlook, how easy it is to say something positive to someone, how making a choice to do good benefits the giver every bit as much as the recipient.
I believe that God shows His great love for us through His people. I just have to remember to notice it for what it is.
It is love.
Every encouraging word, smile, and effort to be kind can change us for the better…
to have God dwelling in our hearts.
“Scratch the green rind of a sapling, or wantonly twist it in the soil, and a scarred or crooked oak will tell of the act for centuries to come. So it is with the teachings of youth, which make impressions on the mind and heart that are to last forever. The highest function of the teacher consists not so much in imparting knowledge as in stimulating the pupil in its love and pursuit. To know how to suggest is the art of teaching.”–Amiel
I have paid attention to a lot of trees this summer. I have photographed them, studied their shadings and textures, tried to capture their differences on various art papers. Each tree and branch and leaf holds its own story. The more I experiment, the more I want to learn.
Many new students are coming my way soon. They will have their own stories as well. I want to remember that what I do each day will shape their futures in some way.
Because of the time I have given myself to watch and experiment and create, I am still wondering and questioning. Still learning. That is the kind of year I want for my students. A year of wonder and appreciation and experimentation…with writing, art, books, and most importantly, with imagination.
English: Signature of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
“Correction does much, but encouragement does more.”–Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
I think this is a good quotation to think about as I start getting things ready for a new school year. I enjoy finding quotations I like and listing them in my writer’s notebook.
Goethe’s quotes are among my favorites. I remember seeing his name on a street sign in Chicago, and my colleague pronouncing his name correctly: Ger-ta. I had mispronounced it for so many years, but it doesn’t matter. What I keep from his quotes is what really matters. Still, it is nice to know the right way to say his name, too.
His message rings so true to me. I know that as teachers we must correct. It comes with the territory. If students didn’t need correction, we wouldn’t have jobs. Still, it is crucial to temper that correction with an encouraging word.
It is so easy to walk in and see what is wrong with a picture. This year, with my students and with the interns I mentor, I am making it a daily goal to focus on what’s right.
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agnestirrito 