SOL #31 The Top of the Hill

Flat road tires me some but it is the hill in front of me that daunts me. As I get closer, the dread in my stomach grows heavier.  I can turn around now and enjoy the flat road but I want to get to the other side.  I'm just not looking forward to the discomfort and sweat.
Here it is. The bottom of the hill.  I dig my heels down and feel the strength in my quads.  I'm doing it. Wow. I'm stronger than I thought. I push on. I'm going to do it,
Whew. The incline grows steeper. I'm out of my seat now and pushing hard.  Feeling the burn up through my legs I tighten my abs and glutes and push on.  The pedals fight back and the wheels move less smoothly.  Doubt creeps in.  If I turn now, I could coast back home.
The top of the hill is closer now than the bottom.  I should be able to do this. I am barely moving now. It takes everything in me to push one pedal down. I can pull over and lay down in the grass.  One more push. One more push. The top of the hill creeps closer.  One more push. One more push. Loathing and disgust drip with the sweat. But it's one more push. One more push.

SOL #30 Slice of Sunny Spring Saturday

The errands are done and I'm returning home.  One text from one son's friend, a returned call to the other son's friend, plus a quick recruitment of some other neighbors and an impromptu, old fashioned playdate has begun. The back door flys open and closed as more and more weapons resurrect from the basement to supply the battle that has ensued in the back yard.  Armored warriors hang from the base as fighters fly in on the swing. Swords and light sabers lash through the air as pistols and lasers "Pew! Pew! Pew!"
 Little high pitched voices narrate and revise the show that I watch from the kitchen window.
"Im coming to help!"
"Back to the base"
They are playing "Fortnight" the same way my brothers and I played "Star Wars." My mind flips back to the summers of the eighties and forwards to the approaching long days of my boys magical summer.  Childhood is sweet.

SOL #29 The Friday Commute

It's Friday.  No meat.
We had pizza and Italian already this week. 
I could go for a Friday Fish Fry.
I could pick something up
Costco
Supermarket?
Maybe just go out. 
Who would have Fish and chips?
Ooo Flanigans.
That might be too long a wait with the kids.
Red Lobster!!!
Sean loves shrimp on a skewer."Hey, meet us at Red Lobster. Because I don't want Italian again."
Ring
Yes!!!
"Hey meet me at that other place.  My brother wants to take the boys to the movies.  I don't care what they eat.  So what they ate pizza twice already this week."
Yippee!! 

SOL 28 Writer's Garden

"I'm done!"
The dreaded words in a writer's workshop. 

Let's talk about the journey. 
Let's celebrate the growth.
Let's find the parts of the process that you took a hot air balloon ride right over.
Let's get down amongst the weeds and find the flowers and gems.
Let's maybe take a different path than what you first chose.
Let's fertilize this part.
Let's spruce this up a bit.
Let's get rid of the brambles over here.
Let's sit a while and enjoy the view from here.
Here the grass is soft and green and I can float right up to the clouds.
Let's stay a bit more.
Ahhhh!
Let's discover more.

SOL #27 Oprah's On

I miss Oprah. 
I use to spend every day with her.  Somedays we laughed and were silly.  Somedays we got into some serious stuff.  She was the perfect person to spend my after school/ work time with.  My roommate once came into the apartment to tell me something and I hushed quickly, "Oprah and I are talking." She really got me and she made me think in different ways. She validated me. What Would Oprah Do?
There hasn't been a show like that again. 
Not that I would even have the 4:00 - 5:00 time to even watch tv. 
Maybe I miss the wasting time that I use to have. 
Or maybe I still waste time in different ways.  Instead of flipping channels, I'm flipping facebook statuses.
No.
I miss Oprah.

SOL #26 Loving the Trenches

I like being a classroom teacher.  Some of my colleagues have left the classroom to specialize in one area. "C'mon! No report cards.  No parent-teacher nonsense You get to teach one subject and get really good at that subject."

But the thing is, I don't teach subjects.  I teach little humans. I enjoy all the areas we explore together.  I get to see their strengths and help build the bridges across those murky waters.  Yes, there is the parent-teacher nonsense but that comes with the privilege to spend my days with their people. Plus, it always makes for a good story later.
I like being home base.  I love knowing my kids.
I am in the trenches, but I don't want to be anywhere else.

SOL #25 Tired

Tired
Bone Tired
Put my head on the table Tired
Another cup of coffee Tired
Blinking hard dried eyes Tired
Eating junk food just because Tired
Headache tired
Grouchy Tired
Everybody just be quiet Tired
Can't wash my makeup off Tired
Done Tired
Tired

SOL #24 Reeling Out the Line

"Put down your phone," I told myself "and take it all in." My little babies are becoming slowly more independent.  It is the little things that they can do for themselves.  Liam finally learned to swing high on the swings today.  Sean pushed those little legs round and round on his bike, up the hill that separates us from the school and the playground. And then, I was able to sit and watch.  Liam made it across the monkey bars and Sean climbed to the top of the playscape. All I had to do was sit and watch.
"Yes. I see.  You did it! Wow! I see you! I am so proud of you."
Little by little, they are conquering the world.  I get to witness these accomplishments as I slowly let go. Like a flyer, I slowly release my string and watch the wind catch my beautiful, soaring kites.
Facebook memories make me miss the chubby babies that clung to me. I clung back as we learned the new world of family together.  I sometimes want to go back to those days but I remember the isolation and tether to the home.
Now we experience a bit of freedom both together and apart.  Our areas are increasing. My boys explore their perimeters as I watch from the center.  I let out a little more line knowing there is still time to reel back my kites away from the wind and bring them home.

SOL #23 Laser Mom

Tonight I played laser tag!!  What a blast! Ha! I showed no mercy to those seven and eight-year-old boys and girls.  Yup! I was the crazy mom that joined in.  My husband and I were the only volunteers to suit up.  My boys insisted I be on their team.  We made Daddy join the other team.  My team won the first game and the other team won the second game.  I did, however, have the second highest score, which was higher than my husband', so that is really the only thing that counts.

"You got me!!!!  Aghh! 

One little boy kept telling me he found a new base for us to hide in.  

Two evil girls with black light teeth kept chasing me and delighted in shooting me.  

There were times I was surrounded by small people with vengeance in their eyes but smiles on their faces.  All were yelling lines they must have learned from TV or movies.

"FBI!!  We're coming in!"

"Cover me!"

"Retreat! Retreat!!"

The room was hot, smelled like kitty litter and I was sweating my Mommy butt off but we had the best time.

Pepsi and ice cream cake never was so refreshing.


Tomorrow..... Dodge ball!!!!

SOL #22 Inside Out

So today I met my student observer.  It has been a while since I had a student teacher or observer.  It is so weird having someone watch you all day.  I caught myself.  Am I being natural enough? Wow, I should have planned that better.  

Knowing that she was there made me a better teacher.  Not that I was showing off or anything but I definitely was more reflective.  I was forever monitoring the effectiveness of my planning, my take aways.  What would I do differently the next day or next year?  And now I'm writing about my reflectiveness.  I'm so inward thinking I'm about to turn inside out.
Hmm.  Whenever my boys are getting changed and putting their dirty laundry in the hamper, I yell, "Outside Out!" to remind them to turn out their clothes.  Outside Out. That is the kind of person I don't want to be.  I don't want my outside to be the only thing that is showing.  I want to be the kind of person who wears their heart on their sleeve but it is the sleeve that is turned inside out.

SOL #21 The Quietest Part of My Day

How lovely!
Some time for myself.
I sit here with my thoughts in peace and quiet.
 I've been running all day and I finally have some time to relax and just be with the still of my brain. My brain has been a constant motion of decisions and questions and requestioning.
This peace is such a delight.  A reprieve from the constant barrage of noise and demands. What a gift just to be still and anonymous.  Nobody here needs my approval or food or supplies or butt wiping.
It is just me.
Quiet.
Relaxed.
Me time.

Gotta go they just called me in for my dental cleaning.

SOL #20 Old Math New Math

For some reason, I was thinking of my seventh-grade math teacher, Dr Bird, on my way home from work.  I did not like his class nor did I like him.  He was a big, socially awkward, age-spotted bald man.  His lips slapped together as he lectured math.  I was in accelerated math at that time but I found him dry. He found me irritating.  I soon found myself out of accelerated math.
Math is one of my favorite things to teach now.  It is exploration and storytelling, finding patterns and making connections.  Today we made models of different groups of sea turtles in order to determine which fraction of the groups of sea turtles were more affected by pollution. Then we played math games.  My stomach turns when I hear, "I don't get this new math." It is the same math, same properties.  We just want mathematicians to be able to discover.
I wish I had the opportunity to discover.  Maybe Dr Bird would have discovered I wasn't so irritating.

SOL #19 Just A Volunteer From The Audience

Oh no.  All their little faces are looking at me.  OK OK.  I'm going.  I have just volunteered to be in the Brain Challenge Assembly! I wade through the pretzel legged sea of students to the front of the cafetorium. I have already embarrassed myself by falling on my back in the Tug a War.  I pray that I know the answers. 
Man! That fifth-grade teacher sure does know her trivia.  She is going to be hard to beat.
Oh missed that one. 
Is my buzzer working?
Of forget buzzing in for that question. Lord knows I can't spell.
"Potomac!" Fifth Grade Teach yells.
Poop! I should have known that one.
"What hot cereal is also known as porridge?" 
Buzz!!!!
It's me!
Oatmeal for sure? Right? But wait I think. It could be farina. Cream of wheat?  Oh I can't lose on a question about cereal.
Oatmeal!
Correct!!!!!
I don't know Potomac but I know Oatmeal.
Why is my heart beating so fast?  This is crazy!!!
Buzz!!!!
Me Again
"Washington."
Washington....?"
"Washington DC!"
YES
Buzz!!!! 
Me again!!!
"District of Columbia!"
RED TEAM WINS!!!
Thank goodness.  I only have to walk back across the floor without falling and I'm safe.

SOL #18 By George, I Think She's Got It

Today some of my writers were working on #DWHabit, some were working on research for a project and some were working on their independent writing.  I sat with Lillian today and we looked through her quick writes.  I noted that she wrote some really nice summaries of some nice moments that could become stories.  I referred to the post by Beth Moore to help me help Lillian figure out what her next steps were.  Lillian decided that she would like to add more dialogue and inner monologue after she looked at some of my posts.  After she read my Follow that Weiner post she said "Oh. I can make the characters talk." We tied her writing back to the reading strategies that we have been studying.  We know that readers learn about characters by what they say and think.  As writers, we need to give our readers that same opportunity. We later shared with the class what she was working on.  When she shared she was using my story Follow That Weiner as her mentor text. Alex said, "That one is my favorite too."   Holy cow!!  I'm a mentor author!!
Other students shared some of their notebooks. After all these years of teaching, I now see the importance of the notebook.  Yes, it is a place for gathering ideas and for writing daily. More importantly, it was something to bring to your writing community.  Students shared their entries but then they needed to tell us what next.  Where did they think this idea could go?  What project do they think they can make?  Classmates offered suggestions about what it needed.  One student is easily able to write clearly, creatively and lengthy notebook entries.  When he shared his entry, the class enjoyed his humor and format.  When we posed the, "What next?" question, he realized that this writing wasn't finished, it was just the beginning.
Being part of this challenge has been such a powerful learning experience for me. I see the power of the notebook, the beauty of writing daily and wonder of a writing community.  Thank you Slice of Life!!!

SOL #17 Thank God I get to Tuck Him in at Night

And I tuck him in
and he snuggles his body to mine
snuggles up close and
I breathe in
I'm home
this is my greatest gift
and my greatest creation
Every time his soft, velvet, silky hands close on mine,
I'm surprised.
one more hug is never enough
I drink my child in and
Thank You God
my greatest gift
my greatest creation.

SOL #16 Because I Said So

 

 I was thinking about some discourse I had about religion.  There were times in my life when I practiced my faith but it wasn't my choice.  My parents dictated that I would go to mass, say my prayers and learn my catechism.  I realize now that if my parents had not made the choice for me that I would not have the ability to choose to practice today.  By not letting children have a choice, we give them the opportunity to choose later on in life.
      When it comes to the music program that our children are so lucky to have, I tell them they do not have a choice. I say we do not give them the choice to not learn math. We would not take seriously if a child said, "I don't want to learn to read and write." I don't understand why some adults comply when children want to quit the band or orchestra. I get that you know your child will not probably make a living as a musician.  However, I will remind everyone, I do not make my living figuring chemistry formulas. If we let them not take an instrument now we take away their choice later to enjoy playing or having the ability to choose a musical path.
     I've always been an educator that has given the children choices in learning.  The children choose what books to read.  They choose what they want to write.  They choose their own research projects.  I now see the value in retaining the choice from students.  Sometimes we need to remember that we are the adults and we do know what is best.  We are not letting them choose now so they can choose later.
   

SOL #15 A Slice of Lent

In preparing for my son's first Holy Communion and guiding his classmates as their teacher, I have been more conscious of Lent.  I learned about St Ignatius's examining conscience prayer.  It is similar to the prayers that my boys and I say at night.  We think about the best part of our day and then we thank God for that good part of our day.  

This week's news about airplanes crashing and then yesterday's mass murder in New Zealand hit too close to my heart. My parents came home on Monday from Australia and New Zealand.  I thanked God for my parents to be home safe.  I thanked God that I don't have to worry.  

Part of the prayer is to reflect on my shortcomings.  I didn't pray for the lives lost.  I didn't think of the families broken.  I thought of me and my family.  God, bring me closer to your grace.

SOL #14 The Evil Witch

Once upon a time, in an old craggy house on a cold and windy mountain, there lived an evil, ugly witch named Mommy.  All the children in the land were terrified of her.  "Oh no!" the little children cried. "It is the mean witch Mommy.  She will make us put pajamas on before we can eat our fresh, baked cookies."  The children ran and hid, tears streaming down their cute, adorable, little cheeks. One brave, little tike called over his shoulder. "You are the worst! You make us wear pajamas all the time!"
"Hee Hee Hee Hee" cackled the mean, old witch Mommy. She rubbed her hands together and crowed, "You can run but you can't hide from me, little boy" I will find you and you will put on pajamas!!"
She flew towards the boy and grabbed him by his teeny but stinky toes!!  "There is no use fighting little boy! Soon you will find yourself cloaked in pajamas and eating fresh, baked cookies."
The little boy fought with all his might. He kicked. He wriggled. He screamed. Alas, it was all for naught for soon the boy was in fact robed in fuzzy fleece.  Sniffling, all the boy's dreams were shattered.  The other village children looked at him with mournful eyes.  They did not want to fall into the evil, witch Mommy's clutches.
Every night since, as they gather around their fresh, baked cookies, the village children all tell the story of the boy who lost to the witch.

SOL #13 Refresh.... Click...

Refresh...
Click.
2 likes still 2 likes.  Lets see what else is going on.  Weird puppy meme, another bad singing video, her new haircut.  40 likes? Ten hearts in comments?
Refresh...
Click.
Still 2 likes.
I knew mom shouldn't have posted it.  Nobody cares that my poem got chosen for the magazine. At least I'm not the one posting my stupid haircut.  "OMG!!  YOU LOOK FANTASTIC!!!" 43 likes?!
It looks exactly the same as yesterday.
Refresh...
Click.
oh 3 likes and a new comment.
Oh Jeez.  Grandma! 
"That's my baby girl! I knew my little bookworm would become famous someday!"
Hardly famous, Grandma.  Just 3 likes and Grandmas don't count.
Refresh...
Click.
I guess it was kind of a big deal that my poem was chosen for the high school magazine.  I don't think too many middle schoolers get chosen.
Refresh...
Click.
Oh good. Another kissy emoji for DuckFace's stupid haircut.
Refresh...
Click.
Refresh...
Click.
Click.
Click.

SOL #12 A Moment in the Grey

"Huh? What?"
She got caught again in her own world.  She was happier there.  She felt like a cartoon character caught by the back of her collar and whooshed back into this other grey dimension.
She was in a greener place, splashed with movement and color.
Now she was back in the cold and boring, answering a question that she answered in her head at least twenty minutes ago.  Why should she stay here to wait for the pretty Dum Dums? Sure she could have answered the question and gotten the kind smile from the teacher. But all she got was the pursed lips scolding her for not paying attention.  How did Old Mrs Frog Face get the lipstick inside the wrinkles on her lips?
She crunched up her paper and put her head down.  Why even bother showing that she had gotten the answer forever ago?  Frog Face was only interested in slow brained, pretty girls that followed her every single direction.

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.

#DWHabit Stretch

Stretch
like yoga
feel every bit of tired muscles that are needing attention,
sore spots that I didn't know were there until I twisted and bent and stretched
reaching for a new bend, a new release, a new goal
aware of limitations but pulling and reaching just a bit further
holding on for one more second, another second
breathe
little creaks in my spine
more mobility
taller
bolder
relaxed
onward

SOL #4 Thankful for a Writing Community

I'm so happy that I dedicated myself to this Slice of Life Challenge.  So far so good. I've written everyday, have gotten positive feedback.  I've surprised myself. 
The challenge has also immersed me in the blogs of many writers.  Even though I have held on to the belief that to be a good writer, you must first be a good reader, I have not been practicing my belief.  I noticed and admired craft in others' writing and caught myself saying things like "I love how she meticulously described each person instead of listing the people in the cafe."
Different topics have struck a chord in me. I am going to write about that next.
So now I have this rebirthed knowledge that writers learn from other writers and I need to reflect on my own teaching of my fourth grade writers. 
Getting ready to embrace the Classroom Slice of Life Challenge, I googled some ideas about kids blogging.  Thank you Karen Arrington for your blog about table blogging.  Students are encouraged to comment on others writing on a table sized dry erase board. 
Using her ideas about how students can meaningful comment on each others writing, I encouraged my students to comment on each others opinion essays about colonial life.  The students were engaged and thoughtful.  Sharing after one student said, I noticed that my writing is not as long as others and I am going to try to include more details in my body paragraphs. Wow! What might have taken fifty mini lessons and seventy-two writing conferences, this student arrived at his own writing goal through this one experience.
Thank you for giving me this month to be reflective about what writers really do.

SOL #3 The Treadmill Calls

What makes you so daunting?
Why do I run and hide?
I bury myself under comfy blankets only poking my nose out for a slurp of hot coffee. 
I find projects and excuses once I emerge.
The guilt bubbles in my gut.
Once, I'm there I'm fine.  I mean, I'm not fine. I hate it. But I do it.
I promise, "Right after blah, blah, blah.."
Oh no. I just finished my coffee.
but this remodeling show has not shown the big reveal yet.
I should tweeze my eyebrows today.
What are the kids doing?
I have to go to the grocery store.
But, if I get ready to go to the store, I wont want to get all sweaty later.
I should get on the treadmill now.
In just a
few
minutes.

SOL #2 Marvelous Monotonous March

As a teacher, March is the month with no holiday breaks.  It is the long stretch of not winter, not spring. Weathered in my twentieth year, March has new appeal.  

I realize that this is the time of year that my students and I really get our groove on.  Expectations are habit, foundations are laid and we just dive into the work, bettering ourselves everyday in small easy increments.  The long month is a quiet time of slow and steady but happy, cozy and familiar.  Yesterday, the first of March, I should have started the day harried from a slightly, snowy commute. March miracles! Every single child was working on writing, or spelling or finishing up a math project.  The classroom volume was at the perfect decibel. I breathed.  I smiled.
After lunch, we snuggled down to conclude our read aloud, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, an annual favorite that has shaped me as a person and teacher and crowns each of my students. "Once a king or queen of Narnia, always a king or queen of Narnia."
The day culminated with one of my struggling students receiving a classroom certificate to his total surprise and another struggler's work honored at a school wide assembly. Can I say it?  It was the perfect day in the classroom.
Today, I slept in, as much as a mother of a 6 and 7 year old boys can.  My husband wants to know what we want to do today.  This. Just this.  The boys made a fort of those jumbo, cardboard, building brick, blocks and inhabited it with army men.  I'm writing this and I'm still in my pajamas, coffee in a think cozy mug, enabling me to savor thick warm gulps that my weekday travel mug just can't deliver.
March is nothing special but everything just being.

SOL #1 February End Resolutions

Making resolution for the new year is so 2018.  I have just realized that I have made some promises to myself to begin at the end of February.
I've promised myself to make a commitment to writing everyday, getting back to healthy eating and getting my butt on the treadmill everyday.
I started getting myself healthier over the summer.  I committed myself to eating right, pushed myself to do cardio everyday and weight train twice a week.  Besides the weight training, the healthy habits have fallen by the wayside since the holidays.  Today, I went on the treadmill and set my alarm to wake up to do it again tomorrow.  My portions and choices of food were healthy today and my food is prepped for tomorrow.
Prepping myself for the week of teaching I came across Slice of Life challenge.  This is something that has intrigued me in the past but I never committed to it.  So here it goes with my first slice.
Why the gung-ho ness at the end of February?
Why not?
The winter is coming to an end and I can almost feel spring coming.  Perhaps I will be the crocus this year, the first to emerge.