I am currently sitting in a professional development session with principals and instructional coaches about how students can using writing as a reflection tool. Just a few minutes ago I was told to sit and do a little writing about my experiences about writing. So...with that permission a new blog post was born as I think about that the majority of my writing is done on this or my work blog. (Sadly, I was only given two minutes so everything you read after this was done later. Apparently they weren't kidding when they said to to a "little writing".)
When I think about writing the first thing I think of is this little blog. If you would have asked me 10 years ago if I was going to be writing on a fairly regular basis, and sharing it out with the world, I would have told you that you were high. I wouldn't have considering myself a writer and I pretty much hated teaching it. Now though, it is my favorite thing to teach (and help others teach) and "writer" it something I would consider calling myself.
And while this little exercise was supposed to be focused on how students can learn through writing, we just read a little essay by someone who outlined 5 things they have recently learned about life and the two topics meshed in my head and here we are. Writing has been an incredible processing tool for me. It makes me look at life differently and has provided me a way to think about what has happened to me and make sense of it. So, in the spirit (kind of) of the original assignment, here are 3 things that I have recently learned because of writing I have done (or thought about doing).
1. I need to trust my gut. My mommy gut, in particular. Taelin has been less than thrilled at preschool for several months. I have written about it several times and it something that has been weighing heavily on my heart and mind. Something happened this week that gave me the push to look for a new preschool for her next year. I set up an appointment to take a tour of a different place and the relief I felt afterwards showed me that I finally did something that I had really wanted to do but was scared because of the possible confrontation switching schools presents. I don't know if the one I am touring will be the one that we end up with, but I know now that I am heading in the right direction.
2. Taking pictures makes me happy. One of the things I have found great joy in, especially in the last year, is taking pictures. It isn't so much the actually snapping of the pictures, although I do love thinking of the composition and viewpoint, but it what taking pictures has meant regarding how I spend my time. I am taking at least one photo every single day and while I share one on here, I have so many more. I look for the moments and try to capture them, knowing that they might very well never come again. That awareness has helped me live in the moment to read one more story or sing one more song before bedtime. I am not taking any pictures of my spotless kitchen floor or my perfectly folded laundry because it isn't important, so therefore don't exist. So I am spending more time doing the important things, and capturing those things with a picture. Both of them make me happy.
3. Time moves quickly. People told me before Taelin was even born that the time would fly by. "Fly" isn't even a fast enough word to describe it. A couple of weeks can make such a difference in the way she looks and acts (thank you pictures...again), what she knows and how she learns. Without wishing the time away, I am already thinking about how we can make the most of the upcoming summer. She has a list of her own...she wants to go camping and kayaking. She wants to bake 4 kinds of cookies (not 3, not 5, but 4 kinds), have picnics, go swimming, play t-ball and play at the park. I want to do all those things and more so I am already planning. Reserving campsites and scheduling swimming lessons but not filling up all the days so that a spontaneous mother/daughter day at the beach or a family hike up to Silver Creek Falls can happen too. It feels like I am already looking at the August calendar and I just need to s-l-o-w it all down a little. Every once and awhile something happens that reminds to stop and breath and it is usually when at the end of a day when I am sitting on the coach and writing and it seems like this has happened more than a few times recently. I am so thankful for the reminder.
It seems like I haven't been blogging much lately and I was feeling guilty about it. When I stopped to think of why that was I, realized it was because I was busy doing all the things I have listed on my blog (and a few that are not) and I stopped feeling guilty. (No...really, I did!)
I have been reading up a storm, taking pictures, traveling with my family, working out and cooking new recipes, scrapbooking and hanging out with Taelin and so much more. I was feeling really worried for awhile that I wasn't getting everything done on my list but I am honestly not worried at all. But all the things I am doing, and the writing that I do manage to get done has fulfilled my life more than I could have ever imagined.
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