#SOLSC15 Day 13

Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers and the Slice of Life writing community for providing this opportunity to share our "slices." Thanks to Stacey, Anna, Beth, Tara, Dana and Betsy for creating a place for us to share our work. Check out the other slices and join in the fun!

                                                 
As part of our National Reading Month celebration we had poet, Allan Wolf, come to our school this week. He was absolutely fantastic. He even wore one of our "Keep Calm and Read On" t-shirts that we made as a staff. He was engaging and oh-so-talented. We laughed, we oooooo'd and ahhhhhhh'd, and we marveled in his amazing ability to recite poetry, sing, and entertain. 

Here's a bit of video I recorded from Tuesday: 

Our library media specialist introduced him like this: 

Ten Things You (Probably) Didn't Know About Allan Wolf
10. Allan can recite hundreds of poems from memory.
9. Allan’s latest book is about the RMS Titanic.
8. Allan is a second degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do.
7. Allan once had a pet chicken named “Atilla the Hen.”
6. Allan has two cats named Scurvy and Mange.
5. Allan is a dad with three teenage kids, two boys and a girl.
4. Allan never watches television. (He doesn’t even own one!)
3. Allan plays drums in a band called The Dead Poets.
2. Allan dreams of one day living in a house with a secret room.
1. Allan can ride a skateboard standing on his hands.

Teachers left inspired to teach.

Kids left inspired to write. 

I left inspired to create my own... 

"Ten Things You (Probably) Don't Know About Marcie" 
10. I have a favorite blanket from childhood.
9. I can not make it through a movie without falling asleep, but my favorite all time movie is The Cutting Edge.
8. I used to figure skate.
7. I have always wanted to join a women's hockey team.
6. I attended a live taping of The Katie Couric show in NYC last spring.
5. I failed my first road test.
4. I went to see Celine Dion in Vegas three times.
3. I love to travel and can pack in 30 minutes.
2. I find P!nk to be an inspiring, strong woman.
1. I'm the world's worst road trip passenger.


Believe it or not this took some time and A LOT of thought to create. It was not as easy as I thought it would be due to the "probably don't know" part because I tend to live like an open book :)

#SOLSC15 Day 12

Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers and the Slice of Life writing community for providing this opportunity to share our "slices." Thanks to Stacey, Anna, Beth, Tara, Dana and Betsy for creating a place for us to share our work. Check out the other slices and join in the fun!

                                                  
 "The problem in the world is that we have forgotten we belong to each other." 
~Mother Teresa

This is a quote I heard while listening to a TED talk that was suggested by fellow blogger, Michelle.  I not only enjoyed this TED talk, but I haven't been able to get that quote out of my head. Since hearing it, I've walked around every day since then thinking about it. Here are just a few observations from today.

We belong to each other when we...
-commiserate over a broken copier
-lend a K-cup to a coffee-less friend in need
-stop what we are doing to help a colleague find info on a topic they are searching for
-stop at an entrance/driveway and wave to the driver to get in front of you
-give a sincere thank you to someone holding the door
-bring papers from the printer down to the person who printed them
-listen with a willingness to be influenced
-fulfill a request for some dental floss
-share concerns with administration but refrain from using names to ensure anonymity
-stop rushing and give another person our gift of time
-chew gum after eating onions
-put in a phone call to a friend instead of a text
-laugh and share our awkward moments/stories
-watch a show our spouse chooses (but we would never choose)
-brainstorm with a colleague
-put our cell phone down to look our kids in the eye when we talk to them
-comment on another slicer's slice :)

                     
I'd love for you to share your "belong to each other" moments!

#SOLSC14 Day 11

Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers and the Slice of Life writing community for providing this opportunity to share our "slices." Thanks to Stacey, Anna, Beth, Tara, Dana and Betsy for creating a place for us to share our work. Check out the other slices and join in the fun!

           

Lipstick In The Park

"Let's sit and rest."
     "Great idea. Let's take a selfie, too."
"I feel like I need lipstick."
    "You do? Well, then let's get some!"
"Where?"
 
The other morning driving to work, I got to laughing by myself in the car as I remembered this funny exchange between Kim and I. Earlier that morning I noticed that I ran out of my favorite lipstick. But, rest assured, I have back up ones that I stock up on. My little secret in life is that I love lipstick. I wear it everyday, but my BiFFy, Kim does not.

In the fall we attended The Saturday Reunion at Teachers College. We had such an amazing "girl's weekend." And guess what? We got her some lipstick.

There are just loads and loads of memorable moments, funny moments, and serious moments from that trip. As I reached into my stockpile this morning for my spare lipstick, a flood of funny moments fell upon me. This particular tube was bought in NYC in a pharmacy like Rite Aid, CVS or something. A dollar and tons of laughter.

It all started when we felt the need to spice up our selfie in Madison Square Park just after leaving Eataly. The first fifteen shots were not good because we couldn't figure out how to (a) fit both of us in the selfie and (b) struggled to do so without having our mouths wide open laughing.

You can't put a price on friendship, but it only takes a dollar and tons of patience to nail a selfie.

                                                               Me and  Kim (my BiFFy)

#SOLSC15 Day 10

Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers and the Slice of Life writing community for providing this opportunity to share our "slices." Thanks to Stacey, Anna, Beth, Tara, Dana and Betsy for creating a place for us to share our work. Check out the other slices and join in the fun!

                                       
A 3-2-1 Reflection

Last night I finished Wonder.

I read until 11:15pm and this is just unheard of in my world. First, of all I have a very hard time reading anything but professional books (crazy, I know!). Second, I have a hard time staying up past 9pm. Third, there are very few books that hold my interest. But, this one has a story. Wonder had a place in my life even before I read it, which I elude to in a previous slice. I'm so happy a colleague recommended this book. Using the 3.2.1 strategy to reflect I wanted to share:

3 Things I Discovered: (I wish it were 30 things I discovered).
 

     1. Precepts. (p.46) I started to reflect on this concept and I just love the idea of having rules about really important things. We have a mini chalkboard in our kitchen and I never knew it, but we use it as a place to write precepts. I just never knew it. My favorite precept from Wonder: When given the choice between being right and being kind. Choose kind.

     2. "There are always going to be jerks in the world." (p.279) Yup. Lots of them. I really love the simplistic, honesty of this statement. I discovered some time ago, that we can't control the jerks, but we can certainly control how we react to them.

     3. "...if you do this, if you act just a little kinder than is necessary, someone else, somewhere, someday, may recognize in you, in every single one of you, the face of God." I believe in second chances. I believe in new beginnings. I believe in being kinder than necessary. However, that can be criticized as being a doormat or as trying to be friends with everyone as I was once told. Those words stung. However, after a few months of reflection at that point in my life, I learned that sometimes the problem lies within the messenger and that sometimes the messenger displaces their own traits onto others. Another perfect moment to choose kindness. 

2 Interesting Things

      1. People change. Sometimes for the better. Sometimes for the worse. But, when Via started to notice that Miranda sort of moved on without her (p.94), I began to think about a couple similar situations I had in my life. One in high school and one in the workplace. Same scenario, different players. Sometimes it is our perception that actually changes. 

    2.  Page 62. We are told our differences make us unique when we are little, but there are very few times in life, especially as teenagers and adults where we experience that to be true. Differences tend to separate us if we let them.


1 Question

"...the best way to measure how much you've grown isn't by inches or the number of laps you can now run around the track, or even your grade point average...It's what you've done with your time, how you've chose to spend your days, and whom you have touched this year." (p.299)

How have I spent my last year?

#SOLSC15 Day 9

Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers and the Slice of Life writing community for providing this opportunity to share our "slices." Thanks to Stacey, Anna, Beth, Tara, Dana and Betsy for creating a place for us to share our work. Check out the other slices and join in the fun!

 

The Weekend

Time together- cherish.

Back to Zumba- phew!

Dinner with neighbors- fun!

Groceries stocked- check.

 Teamwork cleaning- refreshing.

Birthday gift shopping- check.

Mass and religion- blessed.

Husband's bonus- thankful.

Dinner with parents- celebration.

Book finished-Wonder!

Slicing and commenting-inspiration. 

Accomplished. 

Re energized

wait...

When is it Friday again?

Anticipation-smile. 

#SOLSC15 Day 8

Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers and the Slice of Life writing community for providing this opportunity to share our "slices." Thanks to Stacey, Anna, Beth, Tara, Dana and Betsy for creating a place for us to share our work. Check out the other slices and join in the fun!

March 8th, 2003

Dread. Worry. Wonder. I was in my second year of teaching and was finishing my Master's Degree. The entire degree came down to one test. ONE comprehensive written exam. Somehow I never had the "must-have" professors that everyone raved about. I felt so pressured to perform on this test because it was the last step in obtaining my permanent certification here in NYS. The day before this test, my room parents in my classroom arrived and threw a good luck party. They brought me a beautiful "spa" basket with lavendar bath accessories, a Feng Shui CD, and other niceties. When the day arrived, I walked into the exam room and sat next to a bulletin board with a poster that had the following headline: Warning: High stakes testing...

Ironic.

March 8th, 2015

As I sit here typing and reflecting, this three year old little guy stops by saying "Mommy! M is for Matthew!"

Dates can stick

BUT

Time passes.
Worries change.

Perspective happens.

#SOLSC15 Day 7

Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers and the Slice of Life writing community for providing this opportunity to share our "slices." Thanks to Stacey, Anna, Beth, Tara, Dana and Betsy for creating a place for us to share our work. Check out the other slices and join in the fun!

I love friendships.

Put me in a social setting and I'm good to go. I enjoy getting to know people. I like to hear about their life experiences and feel there's so much to learn from each other. Yesterday I found myself thinking about one of those connections when I saw a house for sale.

My husband and I lived in a GREAT home when we were first married. It was just a cozy, gumwood trimmed home with tons of character, brightness, and memories. Just this week we noticed it was for sale. Of course this led to some online snooping around the realtor's website so we could see the inside and it brought back such awesome

m e m o r i e s      of

bringing home our first puppy

hosting our notorious New Year's eve parties

making my first lasagna

backyard birthday parties

meeting new neighbors

lots of renovation projects

chasing the puppy down a busy section of town

landscaping projects

yardwork

firsts for everything

The memories were flowing, flying, rushing, swarming. Things I had forgotten about even.

Then, I began to think about Valerie and Walt. They were the owners who sold us that home. They had only moved around the corner when we began living there. We'd see them in the neighborhood and at mass. We somehow kept in touch over these years and with the help of Facebook, we have continued to maintain and grow a beautiful friendship even though we are now all an hour apart. This friendship carried over to my parents and now my mom and Valerie keep connected so much so, that Valerie sent my mom a beautiful prayer shawl when my mom broke her shoulder in December. My mom found this so comforting in a time of so much pain. To think this chain reaction was set in motion all because we bought our home from them.

Yes, in that home we had all the right ingredients to stir, bake and serve up some warm memories, but we also got something more. A friendship.