Remember When

The text came early this morning from a friend who had recently lost her senior dog. So, this happened.

Of course we added 'puppy gifts" and "visit puppy' to our to-do list. As yet unnamed, this little 8-week old Australian Shepherd was an adorable handful. In the time we were there he nipped our noses, chased his new big brother, and pranced proudly about with the squeaky bunnies we brought. It seemed hard to believe that our big bruiser of a doodle dog had been like this less than a year ago.

As we bid our farewells with promises to visit again very soon, the intoxicating mixture of puppy breath and cuddles was almost enough to make us consider getting another one for ourselves.

Almost.

Happy Spring Break

Leaving school today, I was seized by the desire to do something special to mark the advent of spring break, but at 4:30 on a Friday afternoon, I couldn't really come up with anything. So we came on home, walked the dog, went to the grocery store, and now we're having burgers and beer and watching a movie with 9 days of vacation stretching before us.

Special?
No.

Perfect?
You bet.

Character Flaws

Two students were working on their fiction piece this morning when I stopped in for a quick conference. "We're working on the character of the antagonist," one told me.

"Tell me what you have so far," I said.

"It's the evil skating coach," her partner said.

"Yeah," agreed the first student, "and we want to her to have a name that sounds really mean. She's pretty old, too, like maybe your age."

Her partner gasped, then quickly recovered. "I think she means upper middle-aged," she corrected.

Oh yeah, that's much better!

When Seasons Collide

Winter, this is Spring.
Spring? Meet Winter.
Winter, these are flowers.
Spring? This is snow!
Winter-- listen to all those birds!
Spring-- that perfume in the air is wood smoke.
I think you both know puddles and mud, don't you?
Winter, I know you were on your way out,
so don't let us keep you.
See you next year?
Spring, come on in,
we've been waiting for you!

Make Up Your Mind!

We've had several near misses in the Nor'easters that have hammered the Mid-Atlantic over the last few weeks, but it looks like we might have a significant spring snow storm aheadin' our way. In advance of this iffy forecast, today we were treated to temperatures just above freezing with drenching rain and sleet.

Bundling up this morning to walk the dog in the frigid, wet, gray dawn, I struggled to open my umbrella with my mittens on, and, for just a moment it seemed like too much.

Cold?
Bring it!

Rain?
Okay.

Both at once?
That's just crazy talk!

On Their Own

The day was sunny and warm, the chatter on the bus friendly and excited. We were on our way with 225 sixth graders to George Washington's Mount Vernon. Fortunately the place is big enough with so many different options and activities that it almost seemed like each small group had it to themselves. My 13 kids chose a scavenger hunt based on Washington's Spies to guide their exploration of the grounds and out buildings, and down at the museum, they loved the 4D movie so much that they wanted to see it twice. "Why not?" I shrugged. Who was I to deprive them of a double dose of Revolutionary War history?

It was their day, and I was just along to make sure no one got injured or hurt as they explored and learned about our first president on their own terms. Being allowed to make their own responsible choices is still a novelty in sixth grade, and these kids embraced the freedom.

Back on the bus, the group seemed pretty satisfied. "I thought it was going to be boring," I overheard one student say, "but it was actually awesome!"

Independence is always engaging, as I'm sure Washington himself would have agreed!

Old Book, New Book

When we were teenagers my brother, sister, and I devoured popular epic novels at an amazing rate. Plot driven and securely anchored in place and time, those books taught us a lot about the world. James Michener was a favorite, and long before any of us settled in Virginia, we knew all about the history and ecology of the Chesapeake Bay, particularly its Eastern Shore, because we had read his book, Chesapeake. To this day, I can't look at a great blue heron without thinking of the nickname fishing long legs.

Even so, and as much time as I've spent on and around the actual Chesapeake Bay in the last 35 years, I have never thought to revisit the book. Set aside the 865 pages(!), when it comes to stories, I'm a forward-looking reader, and I like to be surprised. But there was something about the heron I saw yesterday on my walk around a little local lake that prompted me to download the book last night.

I needn't have worried. As Billy Collins says in his poem Forgetfulness, 

The name of the author is the first to go
followed obediently by the title, the plot,
the heartbreaking conclusion, the entire novel 
which suddenly becomes one you never heard of

as if, one by one, the memories you used to harbor
decided to retire to the southern hemisphere of the brain,
to a little fishing village where there are no phones. 

It wasn't quite that bad~~ I remembered Michener and fishing long legs~~ but the rest seems new to me!