Circle of Friends

My oldest daughter, Lindsey, had a very interesting end to her senior year of high school.  This spring she played her third season of varsity lacrosse.  The team was meshing beautifully and working well together, but many injuries, illnesses and concussions plagued the team throughout the season.  Excitedly, the girls entered the playoffs.  In the first 17 seconds of the first game, Lindsey got possession of the ball.  She turned and fell.  Pop! The athletic trainer's years of experience led him to believe (correctly) that her ACL and meniscus were torn.

You can only imagine the rush of emotions that followed.  While her leg didn't really hurt (but her knee was very swollen), Lindsey's heart was broken.  In her mind, she had let her team down.

The girls took their grief over Lindsey's injury and turned it into a force.  They played their hearts out.  We spent the evening in the trainer's office, and then we heard the news.  The team had won the game!!!

Lindsey commented later that week that she was awestruck by all the positive texts, tweets and hugs she received from her teammates and friends.  #DoItForLRay was their hashtag.  Lindsey and I talked about how she found out, through a terrible event, how much her friends cared about her.  We decided that people need to hear caring thoughts, especially when things are going right.

The next few weeks went by in a blur: senior picnic, senior breakfast, prom, a trip to the beach, and graduation.  All with a wrapped knee, and a smile on her face, once she decided to make the most of the situation.

Three days ago she had surgery to fix her knee.  The texts, snapachats, and visitors are helping keep her spirits high.  It's not the summer before college that Lindsey imagined, but I think she will look back and treasure the time spent with her friends.

A note to my students

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Two Writing Teachers

Dear reading students, 

This has been an EXCELLENT year, don’t you agree??

I am so proud of ALL of you.  Every one of you made progress with your reading, writing and thinking. 

You have all grown smarter -- your brains are sponges that continue to grow with all your learning.

I hope I have helped you to be excited about books, reading and learning.

I know I have learned many things from all of you. 

I learned that I need to give really good directions.

I learned that I need to show you examples of work.

I learned ways to help you remember to read every day.

Thank you for being respectful, funny and kind students. I have smiled and laughed many times this year. 

It’s so much fun to be a teacher. 

It’s truly the best job in the world.

An attempt at backwards planning

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Two Writing Teachers

A concept that I'm trying to even attempt is backwards planning.  As I face the month of May with a graduating high school senior, an involved sophomore, a traveling husband, and a case load of 18 developing readers, I have no choice but to try this.

My husband recommended using a calendar.  I explained to him that there is no way that I am ready for a calendar in my planning process.  I have yet to even discover what needs to be done for each event, let alone figure out what day I needed to do it!  (After 23 years of marriage, he should know I can't find my way out of a paper bag!)

I sat down Sunday night with my daughters, a Sharpie, and a stack of colorful notebook paper.  I started a page for every upcoming event.  I dumped our thinking on the paper.  I listed things we needed to do.  I listed what was already done just so I could check some things off!  (See "date" on Prom paper... tee hee)

Here's my brainstorming.  It's far from a backwards plan, but it's something.

I am hoping to add some dates to the to do lists.  I know I have deadlines.  Now I have to abide by them!

Wish us luck - we hope to thrive, not merely survive this crazy, exciting month and all the fun and joy May brings!

Spring Break finale SOLC #30

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Write every day in March!

Two Writing Teachers

I woke up this morning at 9:00 a.m. and thought to myself, "This is it.  The final day of spring break. Time to stress!"

Then I realized that I don't need to stress.  I need to relax more.  There are only 24 hours in a day, and (hopefully!) I always have tomorrow.  I need to prioritize.

Today's weather promised 50 degree temperatures!  Lindsey talked about bike riding, so we pulled the bikes from the shed and inflated the tires.  After a 4 mile ride (I asked for lots of stops!), I feel thoroughly exercised.  And exhausted.  And very sore!

Now it's 7:00 p.m.  I did accomplish some paperwork wrangling, room cleaning and more laundry. I really should open the school bag, but I need to practice for orchestra rehearsal tomorrow.  I'll set a timer and see how Dvorak and Brahms treat me.

Later, I'll get into pajamas, get comfy on the couch and then open my school bag.  I'll spend an hour just figuring out the week, and filing student work and assessments.  

I'm in no hurry to end break, but wow - it's been exhausting!  I'm ready to head back to school and see my students.  I wonder how their break has been.

Whoops! SOLC #29

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Write every day in March!

Two Writing Teachers

How is it that I managed to write slices 

from a itty bitty phone screen 

with limited WiFi 

from an RV in Disney, 

yet 

I get home 

and forget

completely

about the SOLC?

Whoops!

Maybe it's because I got LOTS accomplished on Friday!

• laundry washing and folding (5 loads)
• grocery shopping (12 bags!)
• spa maintaining
• pinterest pinning
• calendar filling
• teenager feeding (brownies, s'mores)
• movie watching

Whoops - I forgot to do two very important things:

• blog writing
• comment posting

Well... nobody is perfect!

Please forgive me!

What I'll Miss SOLC #27

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Write every day in March!

Two Writing Teachers

As the plane wiggled, shook and swooped its way into Chicago (breathing in 4s is a great strategy for staying calm!), I realized that our trip to Florida was a gift.  A gift of time spent with my traveling parents, a gift of seeing my daughter and friends march through Magic Kingdom, and a gift of being somewhere green and warm.

We returned to a rainy, cloudy Chicago day.  Nothing new for March.  There are still piles of snow here and there (70" of snow does not melt quickly).  We are happy to be back home.  I'll miss and not miss a few things.

I won't miss the MILLIONS of people at the Disney parks (pull your kids out of school, I'll forgive a few days to avoid spring break madness).  I won't miss the bugs that chewed up my legs.  I won't miss the stress of weaving between scooters and strollers.  I won't miss the sad part of my heart, wishing my husband was with us instead of working.  He truly needs a break!

I will miss the chirping of birds in the morning, the sweet taste of a Mickey ice cream bar, the thrill of the rides, the laughter, seeing band students enjoy themselves away from home, my dad's random conversations, my mom's hospitality, the green grass, the palm trees, and the warmth of the sun.

Now it's back to reality with only three days left of break.  Time to rest up before school starts on Monday!

Long day SOLC #26

Today was a long day. We started by pulling the RV out of our spot into the overflow lot at the campground.  This proved to be a lengthy process as parking spots were taken by cars.  This upset my dad?  He proceeded to rant about respect and entitlement.  I didn't blame him, yet I encouraged him to email the Disney resort and offer suggestions.

We then traveled via bus and boat back to Epcot for a lovely lunch in Italy.  We enjoyed wood-fired pasta a friendly service.

Later, we headed to the airport to catch an 8:15 pm flight, only to find that our flight had been delayed until 12:33 a.m.  This put me into a bit of a panic.  I called my frequent-traveler husband.  He sent me right to the ticket desk.

I was able to switch our flight to Thursday at noon.  The agent requested our bag to be returned.  She handed us vouchers for food and the airport hotel.  This was a pleasant surprise!  It's always great to have a calm ending to a hectic day.