Let it Go

On Saturday we had our handyman come over to do some drywall repair after yet another leak upstairs. Once he was all set up, we went out to run a few errands. The day was fine, sunny and warm, and when we returned, he had the front door open. Music floated from within our house. It was a familiar song, but I giggled when I realized that I heard Marcos singing along.

"You like Frozen?" I asked him. 

He laughed sheepishly and shrugged. "My grandchildren! They love it!"

This is Not a Drill

When the fire alarm went off a couple minutes before the end of first period, I assumed it was a drill, but the cold and steady drizzle that greeted us as we evacuated the building made me suspect otherwise. 800 of us shivered in what turned into an icy downpour, waiting first for the firetrucks to arrive, and then for them to clear the building for re-entry. Half of second period was gone by the time we slogged back in, everyone drenched.

What followed was an exercise in necessity. Teachers supervised their soaking students as one by one team groups were called to report to the locker room to change into dry gym clothes. We were all back on track by the bell for third period. All of us except the kid who pulled the fire alarm. His day did not improve at all.

Rule of Three

My students wrote Praise Poems yesterday. This was the second year for the assignment, and like last time, I explained that Praise Poems come from Western Africa and celebrate an individual's identity. They are often call and response, with the audience chanting a chorus between lines.

The formula I gave my students was to write six lines and a chorus. The first line is your name, the second about your place of birth or ethnicity, the third about your family, the fourth and fifth compare you to natural elements or entities, and the last chooses a positive, defining quality about you and repeats it three times. The chorus is an expression of what they hope might be said of them by their community, and so it is written in third person.

There is something about the writing that kids do for this assignment that is just so moving to me, especially the last lines of their poems. So often the defining quality they choose is stunning-- surprising but perfect.

Here are some of their words:

I am the force of a tornado
but I am steady, steady, steady

I change like the seasons
I am energetic, energetic, energetic

As silent as a hurricane,
but I am loving, loving, loving

I have the speed of a snail,
but I am happy, happy, happy

I am the crashing of a storm,
but I am wise, wise, wise

Determined as the cheetah,
I am daunting, daunting, daunting

I have the strength of a rhino,
but I am kind, kind, kind

I keep peace as the dove does--
I am cooperative, cooperative, cooperative

Totem Poll

My day was filled with animals that I don't regularly see. On a lark (haha) I decided to find the spirit meaning for each of the critters I encountered today. Here's my survey:

RABBIT: Reminds us to examine and utilize the tools we have within ourselves. Although our instincts are innate, they also need nurturing and development. Rabbit meanings deal primarily with abundance, comfort, and vulnerability. Traditionally, rabbits are associated with fertility, sentiment, desire, and procreation.

HORSE: You are being reminded that change is good for you. Only through constant re-evaluation of where you are in life can we continue to grow spiritually. It is not about getting there – but simply about the journey itself. Trust and have faith in your own personal goals, realize that when one door closes many more are open. You can always get there from here.

DEER: It is often a sign not to be too hard on yourself. Still the voice of the self critic and treat yourself with gentleness and understanding, be yourself and continue along your path. Seek out your inner treasures and use them generously to help those around you. Trust that kindness and graciousness will be well received.

DRAGONFLY: They are asking that you pay attention to your deeper desires and be mindful of the outcome we wish to have. There are lessons to be learned and you are reminded that “what you think” is directly proportionate to what you “see on the surface”. In other words your thoughts are responsible for your physical surroundings.

VULTURE: You are being asked to be patient with yourself and think things through. Take your time before making decisions and choose paths that support your higher consciousness and your heart. Use all of your resources combined with your past experience to approach the problem from a different angle. Know that you are always free to choose your own path but be flexible while moving forward. 

Hmmm. That's a lot to think about on a walk through the woods.

Writer's Cramp

A little while ago I was congratulating myself on having a pretty productive Saturday-- the heat pump was repaired, the dining room ceiling was patched and repainted, the grocery shopping was done, the cable box was replaced, and we even went out to lunch!

And I?

I paid for it all.

(I also read the New Yorker and deleted a lot of pictures from my phone, so, you know, I was busy.)

Absolutely A-maize-d

I was so taken by the description of frontier hominy in the book I'm reading, Abraham Lincoln in the Kitchen, that I promptly went online to order coarse ground corn meal. Arriving home from work this evening, I had no idea what the huge, seriously heavy, box on my front stoop could possibly be.

In a bank-error-in-your-favor moment I opened it to find that, rather than one 24 oz bag, I had twenty-four for the price of one. The company says I can keep 'em if I want 'em, so friends? In the event of a polenta emergency, call me.

In the mean time, I'll check back with news of the hominy. (I also recommend the book! It's fascinating.)

Sibling Rivalry

"This poetry challenge is the hardest one," I told my class yesterday. "It's Shakespeare's birthday and ... get ready for it... you're writing sonnets!"

I went on to give a quick overview of the rhyme scheme and meter (iambic pentameter is like five heartbeats), and then I wished them luck. To their credit, many worked diligently to fit words to the form. I answered questions and offered encouragement as they wrote.

"Your brother wrote an awesome sonnet last year," I told one student.

"He did?" the boy replied. "I'm going to try to make mine really good, too, then."

Here's what he came up with-- (I'd say he succeeded!)

Sonnet 1
by Andrew

Spring is a beautiful time of the year,
So many blooming flowers on the ground,
The weather delights and brings lots of cheer,
The morning is quiet with just the sound,
Of the beautiful birds chirping away,
At a rising sun on the horizon,
As the trees stay still but the branches sway,
In the perfect light from the glowing sun.
The afternoon is longer and lighter,
And great for exercise late in the day,
Spring has become the champion fighter,
As Winter has lost, and stumbles away.
Why is the time of Spring so important?
The days are longer, the nights are shortened.