Chanel No 5

This post is for Day 7 of the 2019 Slice of Life Challenge. Thanks to the Two Writing Teachers for bringing this community of writers together to share our writing in the month of March.

For many years, my mother kept a bottle of Chanel No 5 on her bedroom dresser. I remember that someone gave it to her as a gift. I can recall the rich scent like it was yesterday and it brings back so many memories.

My mom was humble and we lived within our means so she would never have purchased such an extravagance for herself. The bottle was beautiful and the perfume a golden color. I thought it was the kind of perfume that movie stars would wear.

There weren't many opportunities for my mom to wear perfume. But on very special occasions she would reach for the bottle of Chanel No 5 and dab it behind her ears or on her slender wrists. It signified that it was a special occasion that lifted her away from her daily existence. To me it was a bit magical. 

I don't know what happened to the bottle of Chanel No 5 when my mom passed away. I wish I had claimed it. Now, I visit the perfume counter at the department store in search of the scent that brings me memories of my mother. I find a Chanel No 5 tester bottle and spray it into the air or on my own wrists. I take a sample card, spray it with Chanel No 5 and slip it into my pocket. For days, it fills the air with memories of my mom.

So if you see me at the perfume counter in the department store, don't assume that I am shopping for a new perfume. Oh, no. I am visiting yesteryear.

W-R-I-T-E

This post is for Day 6 of the 2019 Slice of Life Challenge. Thanks to the Two Writing Teachers for bringing this community of writers together to share our writing in the month of March.

W-R-I-T-E

Write with wonder
as if you've seen the world anew
or searched deep into those memories
that stay close to your heart

Reflect on the words you've written 
ponder what you've said (or didn't say)
write the words that resonate 
with clarity and truth

Inspire and influence
with your carefully chosen words 
rouse the thoughts that speak
of who you are and the world you know

Tell in the clearest way you can
the parts of you that need to be written
reveal your reality and
impart your deepest sense of knowing

Entrust your writing to the world
let your words emerge and rise up
impart what you know so others
can feel the beat of your heart

Birthday Celebration

This post is for Day 5 of the 2019 Slice of Life Challenge. Thanks to the Two Writing Teachers for bringing this community of writers together to share our writing in the month of March.

The evening descends.
The house awaits a celebration.
It's ready for
My husband's birthday.

As the family arrives
The house shifts
From a quiet, peaceful place
To a crazy mix
Of noise and hugs and chaos.

We circle around
As he opens his presents
And the handmade cards
From the grandchildren.

We gather at the table
For pizza, cake and ice cream.
The conversation wraps around us
Like a warm breeze.

Our family is together
Here in this house
Surrounded by laughter
And love.

A Shift of Words

This post is for Day 4 of the 2019 Slice of Life Challenge. Thanks to the Two Writing Teachers for bringing this community of writers together to share our writing in the month of March.

Like many of you, I have been involved in countless conversations about education. Some of our conversations are about new instructional strategies or classroom environment. Some of them are about building relationships with our students and colleagues. Others focus on digital literacy or expanding our classroom libraries.

Among all those conversations that I have been part of, there was a time when a slight shift in words gave us a sharper focus as we talked about what happens in classrooms. I was fortunate to be part of a district that focused hard on improving teaching and learning. One day our Director of Education began to shift our thinking with a simple rearrangement of words. While it was a small and simple shift, it had a huge impact on our conversations and what we did in classrooms. This occurred several (maybe even many) years ago when the conversations about teaching focused on the how and what we as teachers did in our classrooms.

It was common in our district to frame our conversations around teaching and learning. One day, our director began shifting our conversations by flipping our focus to learning and teaching. It seemed simple enough. On the surface, one might not even notice the shift. But then, it began to change the way we thought about our classrooms, our schools, and our district. We began to pay attention to the learning before the teaching.

This simple shift put the focus on children and learning. It was no longer critical that we focus on what or how we taught each day although that was still an important part of our conversations. Observing students, listening to their responses to our classroom conversations, valuing them as individuals, paying attention to our informal assessments became our true vision. We saw with new eyes, we sought to understand what students were thinking and understanding, we taught in response to what we learned about our students. Looking back, I know it was a simple shift in words but now I can see what a huge impact it made. 

Learning and teaching - paying attention to what comes first - our students.

The story that grabs me my the hand...

This post is for Day 3 of the 2019 Slice of Life Challenge. Thanks to the Two Writing Teachers for bringing this community of writers together to share our writing in the month of March.
 
I'm reading a book right now that grabbed me by the hand in the first crafted words, tugged at my heart and compelled me to venture on a journey into the story. 

The book is The Lost Girls by Heather Young

The story begins:
"I found this notebook in the desk yesterday. I didn't know I had any of them left, those books I bought at Framer's with their black-and-white marbled covers and their empty, lined pages waiting to be filled. When I opened it, the binding crackled in my hands and I had to sit down."

And it continues:
"The edges of the book's pages were yellow and curled, but their centers were white, and they shouted in the quiet of the parlor. Long ago, I filled these books with stories, simple things the children enjoyed, but this one demanded something else. It was as though it had lain beneath stacks of old Christmas cards and faded stationery until now, when my life has begun to wane with the millennium and my thoughts have turned more and more to the past."

The pull into the story was strong and I found I MUST read on.
What makes this pull so strong?

Is it the word selection?
Is it the author's craft?
Is it the promise of the unfolding story?
Is it the connection I find in those first few words?
Is it curiosity that makes me wonder about this character's life of writing?

Have your found books that impact you this way? What draws you in?

I wonder if students in our schools have a similar tug when reading books they have chosen to read?

What draws them in?
What keeps them there?

Can we know in the first few pages of a book that we will love the story?

Snow Visitors

This post is Day 2 in the 2019 Slice of Life Challenge. Thanks to the Two Writing Teachers for bringing this community of writers together to share our writing in the month of March.

A few weeks ago, I jotted some thoughts down in my journal after waking up to fresh snow on the ground. Today, I hope to expand my brief notes to a longer moment in time. I wonder what I will learn about writing, reflection and revision.

In the early morning hours, I step softly from my bedroom to greet the day. The house is quiet for now, resting in the slow muffled breathing of my family. In the hush of the early moments of my day, I glance out through the window and notice the soft, white snow that has fallen during the night. It's pure white flakes have blanketed the yard and covered the brown grass of winter. I love the brightness of this new-fallen snow. I strive to stretch those early morning quiet moments as long as I can. The peace. The quiet. The white. The calm.

I glance across the yard to see two rabbits darting through the snow. They leave the footprints that clearly mark their early morning dance.

And so the day begins. I am ready. I have seen beauty and felt peace in the beginning of a new day.

This is what I learned about writing, reflection and revision:

1. There are small gems of writing in my writing notebook that are invitations to revisit a moment in time and expand. They are starting points for more writing.

2. When revising, word choice can be an entertaining way to discover more words and enrich the writing piece. I played with a few words and the thesaurus as I recrafted this moment in time.

3. Revising is an opportunity to rethink something you've written. I read these words and tried to take a step back and think about how I could make it better.

4. Writing is never finished. On another day, I would enjoy working with this piece a bit more. Maybe I would make it longer. Maybe I would arrange it into a poem.

Blue Eyes

.                                                     

 
My father had blue eyes
They were the clear, deep blue of the lake.
They were the blue of the brightest summer sky. 

I always wanted blue eyes. 
Mine were brown.

I used to love it when he looked at me. 
His smile was sort of impish. 
The creases of his face framed his eyes
And etched the wisdom of the years.

My eyes were different than his 
But I'd like to think our eyes saw 
The same promise of each new day.
The good in others.
The magic of spring.
The love of family.
The promise of tomorrow.