just what I need

Ali Edwards often has an idea just when I need it.  Her creative weekend idea is to write something by hand.  I am taking this challenge.  I have been feeling a bit like my pen has run dry the last few days and maybe what I need it to pull out my notebook and just write.  Happy Friday.

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Lunchbox memories

I don’t have much memory about taking my lunch in elementary school but I do remember lunch trays, the benches on the cafeteria tables, and lunch monitors who made you “try” everything when you bought lunch.  And I remember how my own daughters did not want to buy lunch but I made them buy at least once a week (so they would try new foods!) until I started helping with a lunch time reading program and saw how awful the food really was.  After that, they pretty much brown bagged it except for an occasional pizza day.

This weekend I bought a new lunch box – a la 2009.  It has wonderful little places for different foods and an ice ring that fits inside the lid to keep things cool.  And today I started the new year out by taking my lunch – but now brown bag for me.

More Memoir Mondays at TwoWritingTeachers.

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one year ago . . .

there was this puzzle on our dining room table, an extra car in the driveway, and three of us for dinner most nights.                                              Much has changed this last year.   Our nest is really empty now – both girls out of college and on their own.  We have grown comfortable with this new season of life.  I find I do not dwell on what is different much. 

Life is good.

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Friday haiku

It feels like a splurge

red, glass lids, lovely handles

spicing up my stove

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It’s thursday

I borrowed this idea from Elizabeth.

It’s Thursday –

It’s Thursday and it is already 65 degrees at 6am but it should be 10 degrees cooler than yesterday,

It’s Thursday and I woke up without my alarm clock today – a sure sign that I am back to work,

It’s Thursday and I have made great progress on my To-do list this week,

It’s Thursday and I have a new audio CD to keep me company as I visit my other campuses today,

It’s Thursday and I have a great coupon and some gift cards to JJill,

It’s Thursday and I get to have dinner with my friends tonight,

It’s Thursday and I only have to work a partial day on Friday,

It’s Thursday and I am looking forward to the day.

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did you ever . . .

have one of those days that started out so right but veered off the path?’

Tomorrow I will need to remember this sign, and be careful that I don’t wander out of bounds and find myself in the gap.

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Slice of Life – unplugging

How did my life get so plugged up?  I have my laptop which has a great battery but it needs to be recharged daily.  Then there is my cell phone and my Blackberry – two more plugs that cannot be ignored. 

I am on a mission to simplify this year.  I can now walk to week at least two and probably three days a week.  I am turning in the Blackberry and sticking with my simple little cell phone (at least until I qualify for a discounted I-phone) so that will eliminate one plug.  

Reading books like In Defense of Food and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle have really made me think, not just about the food I eat but the way I care for the environment.   I will be on the lookout for other ways to unplug and simplify as I move full swing into the new school year.

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sorting through memories

It has been almost a year since she packed up the essentials and moved into her own apartment.  This weekend she came over to begin the process of sorting through the memories.  There were two large boxes of things from elementary school.  Lots of  class books and writing journals.  There was some pretty funny things in there but what really struck me was her question.

“Is it okay if I throw away this stuff ?” 

Then we went to visit mom and dad and they are asking the same question as they prepare to move out of their home.  So much stuff, things kept that don’t really hold memories. 

So my responses to her and to my parents, go with your gut.  You know what memories are important, they are your memories.  Sort away, toss if you need to and keep the ones that are precious, the ones that make you laugh and cry and want to tell a story.

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I wonder . . .

As I watched her cut and style my curls, I noticed that there is no denying the grey in my hair.  And even without my glasses, I could see that the wrinkles around my eyes have deepened.  For a moment, I wondered about this woman looking out at me.  I don’t spend a lot of time in front of the mirror on a daily basis and sometimes I catch a glimpse of myself that leaves me with a brief moment of uncertainty.  Is that me?  Then I look at the photos taken this summer and sure enough, there she is, smiling at the daughters I love, holding hands with the man who is giving me so much of himself.  How is it she has changed so much on the outside but I feel so much the same on the inside?  I wonder . . .

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Festival of Faith and Writing

At some point last spring, I found this site and have been getting regular updates from them.  Imagine how wonderful it would be to attend a festival that blends reading, writing, and faith.

When you visit the site, you will find wonderful links and recommended reading.  enJOY!

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