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.