Wow, what a beautiful morning. I am on the deck, again. I came out to supervise Ivy. You would think one would not need to supervise a dog, but, they are like children: curious and they can get themselves in a jam when you are not watching. A couple of weeks ago, she had an encounter with a raccoon and won. Last week Beth found a dead chipmunk. And, a notice came from the wildlife center that the raccoon had distemper a seriously nasty canine virus. Continue reading Another beautiful Fall day
It has been a while, too long a while. But, I’m back. Over the past two weeks, I’ve had so many ideas to write, but so little time. I know that almost sounds like a whine, and it is. I really enjoy the time to sit, think, and create. When I started writing MtDC in May 2010, I had no idea where it would take me or what it would teach me; all I knew was that I wanted to be a better teacher and that if I was going to teach writing, I had better get good at it. I really wanted to write about Making the Days Count and I think I have, though at times it is more diary than other blogs and chronicles how the days count to me and the people and things I care most about. Continue reading Saturday, update – Falling ahead
It’s Saturday morning and I should’ve been writing for over an hour, but I’m just starting right now. I have successfully distracted myself with various interesting, but not necessarily important tasks this morning. It has been a crazy week and I should have done the smart thing last night and simply gone home, gone downstairs to the basement to my incredibly messy work area and tried to work before going to bed on a Friday night at a sensible time, say nine o’clock. But, I didn’t and I ended up making an idiot of myself and staying up far too late.
As I mentioned it has been a doozy of a week. Overall, it has been good and I can count several successes along the way. I have wanted to write several posts Continue reading Knee jerk leads to what a jerk!
It seems the last two posts have been Sundays, so I decided to start a new day with the blog. But, to tell you the truth it has been very busy since school resumed in late August and I have been struggling to keep all of the plates spinning, or balls in the air, or even my nose above the water. You get the idea. It’s not just for me but the entire family, including Ivy. Well, maybe not Ivy, but the rest of us.
Last week, as all of us were painfully aware, was the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. I can remember precisely where I was and what I was doing that morning. I know all of us who remember that awful day have those memories seared into the fabric of our being, the makeup of who we are and how we look at life. Last Saturday morning, I watched Olivia play softball and was incredibly distracted by the air traffic overhead. Continue reading Saturday morning
It’s yet another Sunday morning. This one finds me in Michigan, for perhaps the last time for a while. It’s the end of summer. Summer has been ending for us for the last few weeks. The end began with school re-starting; first with me, then the kids. I’ve been back at school for over two weeks and had kids in my classroom for ten full days. William and Olivia have been back in school for nine days and we find ourselves at the official end of summer – Labor Day weekend. Continue reading Sunday morning – part two
Today is the first day of school – WITH KIDS! I am excited. I have spent the summer resting, relaxing, and re-setting for this day. The best part of teaching is every year you get to start all over and begin again. Today is the day. I remember my mom telling me, “You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.” I am ready. Continue reading First days of school
Ivy greeted me very enthusiastically this morning. It had been a while since we had seen each other and she wanted me to know she had missed me, at least that’s the spin I am going to take. It was just after five with the moon sliding over the horizon and the sun was beginning to creep up, just enough light to cast a faint light in the yard. It is the time in summer when the days are getting shorter and evening’s dark before nine. It can only mean one thing, school’s back. Continue reading First Day
It seems like a long time my last post and it has – six days. Summer is almost over and I was thinking of what needed done today, what really had to be done, finished and I got sad. I was bummed because summer is nine days away and I have several incomplete projects, some of which are more urgent than others. Then, I realized I had accomplished quite a bit and I felt better, for a moment. I really have lived true to my core beliefs this summer, to make the days count. I haven’t had the day count as prominent as last year, but I have been keeping track. Continue reading A week of Sundays
August the first sounds bad, it really does. It sounds like the end of summer vacation and the return to serious things like school, work, and responsibility. I read the quote in my Franklin Planner this morning and it read,
“There shall be Eternal summer in the grateful heart.” Celia Thaxter.
I had never heard of her so, I let my fingers do the walking and discovered she was an American poet and author in the nineteenth century. Her father was a lighthouse keeper and ran an inn and she lived her entire life in New England. In addition, she is known for running her father’s summer inn, which attracted America’s literary elite in the late 1800s, and hence she lived a summer-like existence, year-round. I suppose summer does live on in our hearts and minds. It is the motivation when the mornings are dreary, the workload enormous, or the chores unpleasant. Whatever is coming in a few weeks when school resumes will not be as much fun as summer has been. Continue reading First Day New Month
Saturday always feels like a Saturday at the cottage. It doesn’t matter that we aren’t following a schedule it still feels like a Saturday. It is time for a few chores and mostly time for recreation. It is also a busy time on the lake. There are more boats and jet skis zipping on the lake, more water skiers, and more noise. You run into more people on the lane, up for the weekend arriving Friday night and leaving, or planning to, on Sunday afternoon. Continue reading Reading and more reading