SOL #11 On Not Meeting the Challenge

So I did not meet the commenting challenge.
I did comment over 30 posts.
I enjoyed reading some very interesting posts.
I laughed at funny posts.
I saw myself in others.
I admired craft of other writers.
I found topics for future posts.
I discovered formats for future posts.
I uncovered ideas to try with my student writers.
I learned about books that I should read.
I learned about books my students should read.
I recognized the names of writers who commented on my posts.
I became more of a part of this writing community.
I discovered that challenges are not just for meeting.
I appreciated the journey.

SOL #10 Mommy is Coming Home

My Mommy is coming home! My parents have been on a cruise in New Zealand and Australia for two weeks. How wonderful that my parents can celebrate their relationship and the hard work of their youth with these wonderful trips.
I miss my mom being home and a phone call away. I did call her one day as I was leaving work.  It was 4:00 pm Wednesday for me but it was 8:00 am Thursday for her.  It felt like my parents time traveled. I know she misses me and the boys too.  It will be good to have them home.
I wonder if my husband and I will be able to enjoy retirement like my parents. We started a lot later than my parents.  My parents were in their young twenties when they started their family. John was in his forties and I was in my thirties when we got married.  I worry that we will have to work longer to make sure that our young children are stable in their own lives.
This slice is making me too anxious.  I just want my Mommy home.

SOL #9 Follow that Wiener!

 The two of the are completely annoying me and I am that horrible mother that gets those sideway glances.  Im mad at them, mad at myself for getting annoyed and for not finding a way to tame them. "Its Daddy's birthday. I want to tell him how good you two were." Nope. That didn't entice the loud pinballs that I birthed. I grab my two loves by the upper arm and warn them out of the side of my mouth as we head out the door of errand number one and go on to errand number two.
"No."
"Put it down."
"Shh."
"Get off of your brother."
"No."
"Stand still."
"Because."
"Because No."
Breathe
One last errand to go.  Thank goodness. And then, in my rear view mirror, I see the tail of the Oscar Meyer Wiener Mobile.
"Hold on boys!" I say in a u-turn that would have made Bo and Luke Duke proud. I think it stayed on the service road so I petal to the metal on to the expressway!
I get off the next exit and just around the turn the Wiener wags. "I see it!" Sean yells!
"Go Mom! Get it!" whoops Liam.
HONK HONK HONK HONK! I triumphantly pull up along side the Wiener mobile, window down, waving like a lunatic.
Wiener driver dismisses me but the boys are laughing and I am not that mom anymore.

SOL #8 I Was That Girl

She sat at the table. Here she was again.  That burning disgust brewed in her belly as she looked down at her scuffed up sneakers.  Pulling on the denim threads and scratching the skin of her knee, she made the hole in her pants bigger.  It would never be big enough.
She would need a hole much larger.  A home to dive in and escape herself.  Escape her and her bad self.  Why couldn't she does do as she was told?  Why did she always seem to say the wrong thing?
The pretty girls with the big JoJo stupid bows in their hair looked back at her as they lined up for recess.
Here she was again.

SOL #7 Today I Wrote Crap

Today is a day I can't write.  I was inspired by other slices.  I used the #DWHabit from yesterday to inspire my students to write and they did beautifully.  My students were sparked by Paula Bourque musical writing incentive.  One student wrote this long beautiful thread of a dream within a dream.  Another student wrote a skit. One wrote a silly little poem.  I wrote crap.
I'm even struggling to write now.  The boys have interrupted me several times and now the younger one has said Mom or Mommy a kagillion times. He has developed a new fear of our cat. He is in the kitchen now crying, claiming he is trapped.
It was a successful day in that my student writers felt excited about writing and asked for more time. Today is not about my writing.

SOL#6 Honesty

Today, I told my dear friend and colleague that I accepted the Slice of Life Challenge.  It's real now.  It reminds me of when I told her I was auditioning for a play at my local theatre.  As soon as I told her that I was thinking about auditioning I knew that I had to go through with it.  Being honest keeps us accountable.
When we open ourselves up and let others know about our challenges, we are so vulnerable. People are now able to see us fall flat on our face but being part of this community, I am learning that we are also allowing others to encourage us, lift us and move us forward.
I am hoping that the collaboration opportunities that I offer my students help them be the kinds of people who can be honest about their challenges and also be the warm support that others need.
In being honest, my lunch is almost over and I need to not only feed my stomach but I'm looking forward to reading your slices.

SOL #5 PJ Time

I had no idea what I was going to write today.  I think I was actually going to write about that I had nothing to write about until I saw the link for the Pajama Program that donates "the magical gifts of pajamas and books." As soon as I saw this line I was flooded with "Yes!" pajamas and books are magical and flashes of m sons and my childhood came to mind before the wave of sadness for the children who are forsaken these magical items.
Last night, my sons and I traveled back to 1600 Japan and rode on a dragon. One son was dressed as an Incredible and the other a Lego Ninjago. Soft little hands grabbed mine as we enjoyed another adventure by Mary Pope Osborn.  We have traveled many nights together.  Cuddled on rocking chairs we became hungry caterpillars. Now we are laughing and questioning and wondering through chapter books. 
Our bedtime routine was interrupted because I needed to attend to something before I fell asleep in between these warm little bodies. I heard the boys talking and when I asked them to settle down they told me they were saying their prayers. "Job well done, Mom," I said to myself and in my head my own mother.  She, after all, began this tradition of books and prayers and back scratches and cuddles.
This ordinary routine is more than ordinary.  It is extraordinary safety, love, and magical journeys.  My boys throw aside the boxes of clothes unwrapped on Christmas and birthdays but pajamas have a special place. They know too that PJ time is a special I Love You Time.
I'm going to spread the love now and shop the swag on Two Writing Teachers Online Shop.