Calla Lilies 6/31

Last April, my mother passed away, and I received a beautiful calla lily. These were also my mother-in-law's favorite flower, so I really wanted to keep this one alive.

My classroom is an ideal place for me to grow plants. I have a plant that I have had since my first day of teaching, 18 years ago, and it has sat in the corner of every desk. I have peace lilies from when my dad and father-in-law passed away in 2008, and another plant I received from a student over 15 years ago.

I've been pretty successful, so I was hoping the calla lily would enjoy living in my classroom too. 

But I was wrong. It died a slow death with leaves dying one by one. I finally stopped watering it, pulled the dead leaves off, and placed it on my computer cart in the back of room, not giving it any attention.

One day, I needed some dirt, so I walked over the black pot and dug my fingers into the dried-up dirt. I felt something, so I pulled it up. Examining it closer, I realized it was a bulb with some little shoots sprouting up. 

I thought, "I haven't watered this since last fall. How could something possibly be growing in it?"

I haven't had time to research it, but I truly want this plant to grow. If you know anything about growing these lilies, I would appreciate you leaving a comment!

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating 
a space for me and other teacher-writers to share our stories.

Spiritual Journey Thursday-Strength 5/31

  

Welcome to Spiritual Journey Thursday. We are a small group of writers hoping to strengthen our faith with each other. I am rounding up the posts today and would love to have you join us. Just add your link below!

This month's topic is strength, which also happens to be my one little word for 2026. I am working on many areas in my life that need strengthening, but strength is becoming a big part of my faith journey through journaling, Bible reading, prayer journals, and quiet time. Spiritual muscles, just like the muscles in my body, are built by exercising regularly.

Here are a few prompts that I have been writing about in my notebook:

1. When have I had to trust God when I didn't know what or why something was happening?
2. What weakness in my life has helped me to grow stronger spiritually?
3. Who strengthens my faith? How can I help strengthen others?
4. How does helping others strengthen my own faith?
5. How does my prayer life strengthen my faith?
6. What does it mean to be spiritually strong in today's world?

Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me," is a common verse that people associate with personal success or achievement. I have learned through reading the book below and studying scripture that this strength is much more than success. It's about being content with what we have, enduring hardships, staying faithful in suffering, and persevering.

Building spiritual strength is a work in progress for me, but something I am dedicated to doing.

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating 
a space for me and other teacher-writers to share our stories.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Let's Go with Dragonfly 4/31

Throughout my years of teaching reading, I have told my students, "If you are reading a story and come across a name you can't pronounce, just make one up that is close to it." This helps them to move past that sticky part and focus on the events in the story. 

I even use this strategy myself. One of my classes has been reading the book, Grenade by Alan Gratz. It is a war story and is set in Okinawa. There are many Japanese names in it that I can't pronounce, so I make them up. The students see me struggle but move on.

I learned tonight that I do the same strategy but in a different situation.

Medicines!

I fill weekly pills for a relative, and he takes 10 different medicines. As I lined them up on the counter to begin dropping into morning, noon, evening, and bedtime spaces, I realized there was a new medicine that wasn't on his list.

I called my cousin, his sister, and asked her if she knew what this medicine was for.

"Can you tell me the name of it?'

"Sure...dragonfly."

"What?"

"Well, I can't pronounce it, but it kind of looks like dragonfly, so let's go that!"

 

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating 
a space for me and other teacher-writers to share our stories.

When Your Brain Hurts at a PD 3/31

The first Tuesday of each month, we have professional development sessions. In one of our sessions today, we had to complete a self-assessment of our classroom management. I am all for reflections and self-assessments for my students and myself.

However, trying to read the packet in a room full of teachers who are talking becomes difficult for this old brain. I was having to think too much, and the talking was a distraction. I was actually thinking, "How in the world are they answering these questions with all this noise? How could they even think?"

I inconspicuously (one of our roots this week!) pressed my fingers against my ears and tried to really focus on these three sentences:

1. I provide frequent, specific, and immediate contingent acknowledgement for following classroom expectations.
2. I use multiple systems to acknowledge expected behavior (teacher reaction, individual and group contingencies).
3. I use differential reinforcement to acknowledge effort, successive approximations, and behavioral improvement.

What in the world did all this mean? How am I supposed to rate this when I don't understand it? At the end of the day, too many big words and too many distractions left me with this thought," Just mark it low, and make it a goal!"

And that's just what I did!

 

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating 
a space for me and other teacher-writers to share our stories.

Moms Can Do Anything 2/31

It's Saturday night, and I just got out of the bathtub. I am settled on the couch eating Troll jellybeans and playing a game on my phone. My son is home for the weekend and is upstairs in his room talking on his phone to his girlfriend.

I get a call, and it is him.

"Yes???"

"Are you in the living room?

"Yes???"

Can you go downstairs and get the WD40?"

"Yes??? Where would it be?

"Either on Dad's workbench or in that open cabinet."

"And why do you need that?

"My bed is squeaking, and if I move, I might not be able to find the squeak again."

I get up, go the basement, fetch the can of WD-40, and go upstairs to his room. He is lying in bed squeaking away. 

"Can you get down there and look under the bed and see if you can find where it's squeaking?"

"I can't do that! My knees won't let me. Here, let me try something."

I go over to the top of the bed and pull it away from the wall just a little. The squeak stops. I look at him and laugh, "Moms can do anything!"  And I walk back downstairs to my jellybeans.

 

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating 
a space for me and other teacher-writers to share our stories.

The Gap Between Intention and Action 1/31

Another page on the calendar has turned, and March has arrived. And with it comes another unopened notebook full of emotions, ideas, and untold stories.

I first participated in this challenge in 2014 and have returned each year. Many years I wonder why I keep coming back, and I wonder if I can even do it anymore. 

Yet here I am again.

Yesterday, I read a post on social media from Alan Wright. He has a new book out about writing:  Notebook Notions. Two things he said on his post stayed with me, and I feel they were a gentle guide to help me realize why I do return each month.

"Narrow the gap between intention and action."

I have been trying to get reacquainted with my writing life for quite some time. My notebooks sit stacked on my desk, unopened for weeks (or months) at a time. I attend my writing group and set goals each week, only to say, "Well, there's always next week" after reporting I didn't reach my goal again.

I think about this challenge and realize that this quote is really why I join each month:  to narrow the gap between intention and action. Knowing that I have the support and encouragement from a community makes that gap seem so much smaller.

"Serious writers write, inspired or not. Over time they discover that routine is a better friend than inspiration."

I am inspired each day by others in this community, and I have many books that have writing prompts and ideas meant to inspire the writer in me. Opening my computer and clacking out a blog post for 31 days, is a bit intimidating. But hitting that orange publish button gives me a sense of accomplishment and builds my self-confidence. Maybe it IS the routine that I need most and not all the books.

I am ready to find those words that have lain dormant for almost a year. I welcome the feedback in the comments, the community visitors to my corner of the world, and the joy of sharing my stories once again. 

 

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating 
a space for me and other teacher-writers to share our stories.

SOL Preparation

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating 
a space for me and other teacher-writers to share our stories.

 Five more days until March and the Slice of Life Writing Challenge! One of the things I like to do ahead of time, is create a draft of all my posts. I do this for a couple of reasons:

1. It saves me time on those days when I it seems like extra minutes can't be found. I open my blog, and boom! There it is ready to go.
2. It holds me more accountable. I have all the days ready to go, and seeing those numbers helps me to think, "Well, why not another one!"

As I was copying and pasting my Two Writing Teachers spiel and numbering my posts, I realized that because I started with 1, the posts move down, and number 31 would be on top. To me, that was backwards. After writing post number nine, I decided this was a silly way to organize it, so I started with 31 and worked my backwards. 

To some, this may sound silly. But for me, whatever it takes to keep me going in March is all good!

Is there such a thing as too many books?

 

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating 
a space for me and other teacher-writers to share our stories.

I am sitting in my reading room thinking of something to write about (and wondering how I am ever going to make it through the month of March!).

I am an empty nester, and my reading room is my daughter's old bedroom. She has golden oak shelves that line the perimeter of three walls. It didn't take me long to fill those shelves with books, taking them from storage boxes and stacks in my classroom and my own bedroom.

Looking around at the shelves, I have concluded that I have a real problem. Most of the books I have not read...yet! And, I have several bags full of more titles that I haven't shelved.

Many of these books I have had for years and some I just bought this weekend, thinking, "I am going to read this one next", or "As soon as I read this one, I will take it to school." 

I might have to change those thoughts to, "Once I retire, I will have time read all these books!"

Whatever my logic, I don't think I will run out of reading material anytime soon.

The Magic of Snow Days

 

Where have all the snow days gone?

I feel like I need to write a song with that title. When I was a child, we rarely had snow days. Our superintendent's last name was Ader, and he was not one to call them often. He did, however, call a lot of one-hour delays. Thus, the nickname "one-hour later Ader."

As lawsuits and risks to young drivers became more prevalent, we began having more snow days. Superintendents didn't want to be responsible if someone was in an accident on the way to school. My kids would pray for snow and the surprise early morning phones calls announcing a SNOW DAY! We would have 5 snow days built into our school, and we didn't have to make them up. Actually, if we didn't use them, we had the Fridays in May off! A teacher appreciation gift for every teacher!

But those days are gone too. Now, we have eLearning days. Days filled with onscreen teaching and missing assignments that kids don't do. I don't know who dislikes it more, the kids or the teachers. I usually create an assignment that has them go outside, play, observe, and then come back and write.

I wonder if this pendulum will swing back the other way. I wonder if we will get to enjoy the magic of snow days once again.

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating 
a space for me and other teacher-writers to share our stories.

Three Simple Words

Tree. Table. Book. 

These three simple words lead me on a journey full of emotions. Tree. Table. Book. is a book written by Lowis Lowry where one of the main characters is in the beginning stages of cognitive decline. Her name is Sophie, and she has young 11-year-old friend also named Sophie. When young Sophie overhears a conversation about her friend moving closer to her son because of her dementia, she sets out to help.

Young Sophie thinks if she can help her pass the three-word test, then she won't have to move. Young Sophie tries to get her to tie stories to the words to help her remember them. But this leads older Sophie to tell stories of her childhood in Poland during World War II, stories untold until now.

It is a beautiful story, but that's not the story behind this slice.

My mother also had dementia, and she was given this same cognitive test. The doctor gives three words and tells the patient to remember them. Then a series of additional questions are asked. At the end, the patient is asked to recall the three words.

We would sit beside mom and wonder how in the world she continued to pass this test. But as time went on, and my mother's cognitive ability declined, this part of the test became more difficult. I found myself, just like young Sophie, willing my mom to say those...

three simple words.

 

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating 
a space for me and other teacher-writers to share our stories.

Snowstorm 2026

 

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating 
a space for me and other teacher-writers to share our stories.

I was in the 8th grade in 1978. The year of the blizzard. The blizzard to which all other Indiana winter storms are compared and probably will be for the next generation to come.

I don't remember much about the storm. After all, I was a "junior high" student then, and I am sure I had more important things to remember than storms. Like bad haircuts! I don't remember being out of school, the minus 50 degrees wind chill, or the whole state being shut down. 

Instead, I remember the images. I remember the snow drifts taller than me, and the snow piled high on the street. We lived on a busy street in town--a snow emergency route--so our street was one of the first to be cleared. I remember my parents not going to work, which was not something they did often.

This weekend, 48 years to the day, we had another storm.  The snowfall was close to the 1978 storm in my area with about 14 inches. It wasn't as catastrophic as '78, but it was still significant. But that amount was the most we have had since then. For some, it would be considered historic.

As I see pictures of younger children in this year's storm, I have to wonder how social media will affect their memories and if they will be talking about it like we did in 1978. Will they be mesmerized by the amount of snow and how the town was shut down? Will they remember the empty shelves in the store? Will they remember having eLearning days instead of snow days? Will they even know what a true snow day was?

Sadly, I don't think it will be quite the same.

A Strengthened Faith

 

Welcome to Spiritual Journey Thursday, a small group hoping to strengthen our faith with each other. Margaret is rounding up posts if you would like to join or read along.

I have been a Catholic all my life, a practicing one for most of my life. We fell away for a short time but have been back now for many years.

As a child, we didn't memorize scripture, and if I am being honest, I really didn't know much about Bible. I listened to our three readings at Mass and sang the responsorial Psalms. But I didn't know them, and I could not recite verses.

Over the past several years, reading the Bible has become a part of my spiritual life. Even if it ebbs and flows. I can now recite verses that hold special meaning to me, and some that "people say I should know."

This year, one of my goals is to read the entire Bible in chronological order. I am following a plan, like many others. I know that many people have started this on January 1 and have failed within a few days.

I think failure is part of any goal. But through this failure, I hope to find strength. I hope to build such a strong habit, that missing a day will only make me want to return.

The word strengthen is found in many verses in the Bible. This one in Isaiah 41:10 is one I am holding on to.

"Fear not, for I am with you; 
be not dismayed, for I am your God; 
 I will strengthen you, I will help you, 
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

By reading His word, I am finding a different kind of strength. A strength from something much bigger than myself. And I am looking forward to seeing how this strength plays out in other parts of my life throughout the year.

Hard Habit to Break

 

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating 
a space for me and other teacher-writers to share our stories.

Being an English teacher, I know how to make words plural. I know the spelling changes and the rules. But my son has pointed out one word that I say incorrectly, and he takes great pleasure in reminding me.

Maybe you do this as well. 

Aldi is a grocery store that is found in 30 states across the country. One recently opened here in my small hometown. 

Me texting my son:  I'm going to Aldis, do you need anything?

Son's reply:  Oh, is there more than one now?

Yep, I make Aldi plural and call it Aldis. I do the same thing with JC Penney. I never call it "JC Penney." It's just "Penneys."

I try to be intentional now and try to say correctly, but some habits are just hard to break.

Strengthening 2026!

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating 
a space for me and other teacher-writers to share our stories.

My writing well has been quite dry. This is the fewest number of blog posts I have ever written in a year's time. I miss writing. But have I missed it enough to change my patterns, my habits, my motivation?

I know many people are thinking and writing about their one little words. I have been thinking about it, too. But have I been thinking about it enough to write about it? Did I even want to?

Maybe.

The last few weeks, the word build has been on my mind. What would I like to build in my life? What do I need to build in my life? After contemplating this word, I knew it wasn't quite right. I don't need to build anything new; I have enough "stuff." And I am getting too old to build new things in my life.

What would happen if I strengthened the things that I have spent years building but seem to have crumbled in the last year? That thought became my ultimate question and the word strengthen began showing up in unexpected places throughout my day...until I knew I had found my word for 2026.

What are some things I already have built, but I need to strengthen this year?

• my relationships (personal and professional)
• my health (my knee is still not where it should be)
• my faith
• my writing habit
• my discipline (ok, maybe this one was never built!)
• my positive habits 
• my home

As the page turns over to a new year, my thoughts turn to strength and its ultimate source.

Spiritual Journey Thursday: Family

  

I am delighted to be hosting Spiritual Journey Thursday this month. This month our topic is family. Please link up below if you would like to join us.

When I chose this topic, it was the Sunday our priest gave a homily about the importance of family. It was really much more than that, but I can't remember, and I did not write it down. So, as I was thinking about what I was going to write about, my thoughts turned to my mother.

My mom passed away in April after years of suffering from dementia. As many dementia patients do, my mom repeated the same stories over and over. Sometimes within minutes of each other.

One of her favorites was about her family. She would tell how she had “two daughters and a granddaughter who were teachers: one high school, one junior high and one grade school.” She was so proud of that.

Today, we added another granddaughter to the story. Although we told Mom Addie was going to be a teacher too, that part of the story just never stuck. Mom didn't live to see this moment today as we snapped this picture at our opening day, but I know she was smiling down from heaven.

Me, my niece, Addie; my daughter, Megan; and my sister, Janis

Over the years, I have wondered why some stories stick and others don't. I am not a brain expert, but maybe it's those stories about family that we hold closest to our hearts that we remember. Maybe God places them there to help those left behind feel our loved one's presence after they are gone. Maybe those stories are the ones that connect our hearts.

I know Mom would be so proud today, and I am grateful I have this story to share.

If you would like to join us and share your family story, please link up below. And don't forget to come throughout the month to find later posts!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Screen Free Classroom

We just wrapped up our standardized "testing season." For the last two weeks, I did my best to keep my classroom screen free because I wanted them to save screen time for the hours of testing. We worked on a creative project, wrote some fun stories, and played word games.

Friday, the final day of testing, I only had my afternoon classes because of the testing schedule. I decided to give them free time, which they know I do not do very often. I was catching up on my to-do list after missing almost two weeks of school due to the passing of my mother, and my only requirement was that the noise level had to be tolerable. 

Fifth period, I looked around and couldn't believe what I saw. Every single student had chosen to NOT be on their computers. Instead, they were playing games and having fun with each other. Some sat around one desk while others sat on the floor. It was glorious.

This made me wonder what if we gave students more opportunities to be screen free. Would they choose no screens on their own? Would not being on computers help them focus when they do have to use them? 

This experience has certainly given me something to think about...and to smile about.

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating 
a space for me and other teacher-writers to share our stories.

A Literary Hug

When a writer sends words out into the world, she never knows upon whose heart they may land.

A comment on my mom's online obituary began a serendipitous trail. 

Let me back up to March 24th, where I was wrapping up my slice of life challenge. My writing group had a journal club meeting, and one of the prompts was about a hiding place. I wrote about a mulberry tree that I used to play in with my childhood best friend. I turned that entry into a poem and posted it as a slice the next day.

As I was reading the comments on the obituary, I saw one from this childhood friend. She wrote about how my mom always included her even with all my mom's responsibilities. I was touched by the comment because I have not seen this friend since we graduated high school over 40 years ago.

A few days later, my sister sent a text showing me a post by my friend. Apparently, she Googled me and found my blog.

And found the poem I wrote about her.

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating 
a space for me and other teacher-writers to share our stories.

Another Post about Comments

During the slice of life March challenge, I wrote a post about commenting. Commenting on slices is similar to giving writing feedback to students. It really is an art.

And I am not feedback artistic. It is something I constantly work on.

I currently teach an education class at our local university. I love it, but I still have so much to learn about teaching at that level. It is definitely not middle school.

Last week I was teaching about quick writes and the many different ways teachers can use them in classrooms. I had them write an admit ticket, and to show them a way to apply accountability, I had them share their exit tickets and write a comment or an add-on to the writing.

I could tell right away this was something they were not comfortable with although I can tell some of them put some thought into their response.

And then there was the one that made me think I need to add feedback to the syllabus for next year!

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating 
a space for me and other teacher-writers to share our stories.

Tinker Toys and Slicers

Image by Aldren Gamalo from Pixabay

What do the numbers 12, 1000, 2013, and Tinker Toys have in common? It's the history of this blog and my connection to the Slice of Life community.

This is the 12th year of participating in the challenge for me. The past three years I debated on participating, but the community is what kept me signing up. Last year, I didn't complete the 31 days, but I was still proud of what I did write. This year was not as hard as what I thought it would be, but my knee injury provided much fodder for writing.

I started this blog in April of 2013, not knowing what I was doing or who, if anyone, would ever read what I wrote. Two months later, I was brave enough to write my first slice. It was about milk jugs, of all things! A year after I started my blog, I participated and completed my first challenge. This challenge gave me confidence and was the catalyst for creating a true writing life.

Through those early years of blogging, many slicers became very dear friends. The following summer, I attended an All Write Conference and met many of them in person:  Ruth, Elsie, Linda, and Christie. I attended a slicers get-together at that conference. Since it was my first time, and I knew no one and am an introvert, I stayed on the outskirts. Stacey and Betsy were there, and I regret not introducing myself.

Through time and at other conventions I have met many more slicers:  Diane, Erica, Margaret, Denise, Glenda, Heather, Christie, Cathy, Arjeha (Bob) and I am sure I am missing others. 

It is one thing to have online connections, but face-to-face connections and real hugs are so much better. 

This blogging community is like the picture of Tinker Toys, different parts coming together to create something amazing. I am so grateful for the friendships that have developed and the friends I have met in person simply by sharing my words these last 12 years.

The number 1000 stands for my 1000th post. And I think it is only fitting that I write it on the last day of this challenge with the community who built my writing life and who continues to sustain me.

May you keep writing and may that writing continue to create connections.

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating 
a space for me and other teacher-writers to share our stories.

The Sky We Share--A Book Spine Poem

With two days left, I realized I have not done a book spine poem yet. I typically do one toward the end of challenge when I am stuck and have writer's block. This year, I have not had one of those moments where I needed inspiration, but since I love "writing" book spine poems, today seemed to be the perfect day.

Late fall, I received a grant to purchase books for my classroom library. The books were delivered in January, and because of that topic I refuse to write anymore about, I have not had the opportunity to get them ready for the shelves. They are stacked and bagged in my bedroom. 

I opened the bag and played with, arranged, and rearranged the titles. Several of them were sports books, and those titles just weren't working. 

Off to bag number two and the stack sitting on the floor. I stacked a few, but they weren't right either. Dove in and restacked again. This one had some potential. I liked the two titles with the -ing words together, but I needed an ending. I love the idea that the sky we share will carry me home!

Here is spine poem 2025!

The sky we shared

where we used to roam,

racing the clouds,

learning to fall,

carry me home.

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating 
a space for me and other teacher-writers to share our stories.