Category Archives: Uncategorized

A slice of 2 PSSA pantoums of course!

April 16, 2019Family, poetry, Reflections on teaching, Slice of Life, Uncategorizedonathought

Part of Slice of Life by Two Writing Teachers

I saw this “Anatomy of a Pantoum” on instagram today, posted by @beabetterwriter. So, I did some more reading about the form. I guess it used to be a rhyming poem, and now not so much. So I thought I’d try both kinds… no rhyme, and a rhyme…. Because it’s April, and it was the first day of the PSSAs, the first time any of my own children have taken the test. I’m fairly sure I’m not doing this totally correctly… but hey! I’m trying!

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I don't think it's good for kids
a pantoum without rhyme 

One might be doing it to fit in
One might be doing it for the bubble gum
I'm not sure why I didn't just opt them out
But my kids took their first PSSA today

One might be doing it for the bubble gum
That's what motivates some through
But my kids took their first PSSA today
And by all accounts, it's fine

That's what motivates some through
For 4 more days they'll test 
And by all accounts, it's fine
I don't think it's good for kids 

For 4 more days they'll test
I'm not sure why I didn't just opt them out
I don't think it's good for kids 
One might be doing it to fit in


Cop out on the Opt Out
a pantoum with rhyme 

"I hope I get my teacher a good score"
You knew then you had copped out 
Because this was the very first time your
PSSA-hating self hadn't signed the opt out. 

You knew then you had copped out. 
Pressured from some unseen place, 
Tired of the invisible testing walkout
You can't beat it, so I guess you just embraced? 

Pressured from some unseen place
Your kids are annoyed with this task
Thinking the rules are stupid in this case
"Why no watches or snacks?" They ask.

Your kids are annoyed with this task
You knew then you had copped out 
You put on your happy mom mask:
"You can do it! I have no doubt."

It’s just a moment

April 3, 2019Family, poetry, Uncategorizedonathought

The boy is maybe 2
he reaches for his dad’s hand
(I assume it’s his dad
but that’s not the point)

He’s maybe 2
they’re on a walk
and he reaches for his dad’s hand
it’s just a moment

I drive by
back from a quick dinner drop off
because my kids aren’t 2
they are 16, and 12 and 9

I have pictures
of my kids when they were maybe 2
walking with their dad
(It’s definitely their dad)

But you can’t climb
into pictures
and hold hands
with your 2 year old

So I’m adding this
to my list
of stuff
I sometimes cry about

A slice of Harry Potter

October 23, 2018Family, Slice of Life, Uncategorizedonathought

Part of Slice of Life by Two Writing Teachers

I really had to pee, but I knew I’d be home soon so I didn’t run into my friend’s house when I dropped her off.

“Is this going to be a problem?” I asked myself as I drove home. I had been gone for 2 days, so sometimes it’s hard to run right in and go straight for the bathroom. But, my kids are older now, and I knew they’d understand.

I pulled into the garage, grabbed my bags as quickly as I could, and wondered why the dog wasn’t at the window wagging his tail.

As soon as I walked in the house, I noticed something was wrong. The lights were low, the dog didn’t greet me at the door – he was harnessed and held.

Then the music started, and the kids began their Harry Potter performance.

It was a very intricate performance.

It depicted all 7 books.

There were letters floating in the fireplace, fake smoke, wands, a broom, Quidditch, a Hogwarts Express Trolly stocked with actual candy, and even Voldemort. There were individual candles crafted with tubes, hot glue, and paint. There was even a Deathly Hallows garland strung on the fireplace. A Deathly Hallows garland!

I watched the whole thing. I clapped, I hugged. I admired the hard work.

And then, I ran to the bathroom.

#Sol18 March 8 Distractions

March 8, 2018Family, Slice of Life, Uncategorizedonathought

I am participating in the March Slice of Life Challenge: A slice a day for all of March. You should do it too! Thank you, Two Writing Teachers! Readers, check out their site, and start slicing!

Distractions. I have written, deleted, and been interrupted more in the last 2 hours than I can possibly describe. Someone needs a snack, someone wants to play a game, someone wants to go back on the beach to look for rocks. Someone has a story to tell me. Someone wants to know when I will be done, when I will make dinner, when I will play a game, can we watch a movie? If I had any ability to concentrate I’d tell you in more detail. I’m sure it would make a heartwarming, humorous tale. Vacations with 3 kids always do. Right?

It feels like I’ve been sitting here forever trying to write. I sat listening to the ocean, watching the waves through the deck doors.

I thought I might try a list poem: vacation or trip?/shells/rocks/interruptions/cold breeze/waves crash. . . .But, it wasn’t just my family distracting me… I was distracted by the shadow of a song being played in the back of my mind. What is that song? A squeaky guitar, almost spoken word singing a kind of list? It was on a mixtape. I ask my mixtape high school friends, I google all sorts of search words. No success. Shouldn’t my brain work better than this?

I won’t write a list poem today. I may never find out what that song was. But, I will make dinner, do the dishes, look at new shell collections, play a game, find a family movie, and put kids to bed.

Ahhhh. Vacation.

#Sol18 March 7 All in a day: the beach

March 7, 2018Slice of Life, Uncategorizedonathought

I am participating in the March Slice of Life Challenge: A slice a day for all of March. You should do it too! Thank you, Two Writing Teachers! Readers, check out their site, and start slicing!

All in a day: the beach
(6 word memoir slices of vacation)

sunrise coffee with chilly beach view
fresh doughnuts eaten before seagulls land
comfort sad children on sound walkway
watch kids play, find free library
browse beach tchotchkes but don't buy 
restaurant's first ever "Is sauce vegetarian?"
get bunches of "Thank you ma'ams" 
bundle up, sit on beach, read
bundle up, sit on deck, write

A slice of not nice

November 14, 2017poetry, Slice of Life, Uncategorizedonathought

Part of Slice of Life by Two Writing Teachers

I’m not always nice.
I think maybe I used to be nicer.

There’s this lady down the street
She has a “Love everyone” sign in her yard
But she was so mean to my baby last year.
and when I see her around, I yell at her
in my head
“Love everyone? What about a little kid trying to make his way in this world?”
But on my face, I smile.
Yesterday I saw her running by me in the park
and I’m waiting for my reward since
I did not stick out my foot
and trip her.

I’m not always nice.
I think maybe I used to be nicer.

I went on a walk with my puppy
who pulls and tugs, tail wagging to greet
every
person
he
sees
and when a young college student grimaced and hid in her boyfriend’s arms,
I raised my eyebrows and said,
“He’s just a baby”
In a sarcastic, condescending tone –
Even though I totally get why she was worried

I’m not always nice.
I think maybe I used to be nicer.

Celebration – trying to find the balloons

November 12, 2017Celebrate, Family, Uncategorizedonathought

So happy to Celebrate with Ruth Ayres this weekend!

Some weeks are harder to celebrate.

I followed a new person on twitter, and when I went to her page, balloons started floating through my screen. I was a little surprised. Was twitter just so excited that I was following someone? (It was actually just her birthday, but whatever.)

Inspired by the balloons this morning, I decided to try to see the celebration — where could balloons float around here? I was trying to, but man it was hard! As I tried to edit some writing, boys were scream-playing, L was watching loud instagram videos, and Mr. Thought was editing his video in the next room.

“Ahhh the sounds of a busy family,” I told myself as I took a deep breath, trying to see the balloons.

I asked the kids to have a simple breakfast of a bowl of cereal, but that was a no go.

“So thankful we have food in our fridge,” I reminded myself as I helped E make some breakfast on the stove. Where are those balloons?

I asked the kids to start emptying the dishwasher. I asked the kids to start emptying the dishwasher. I asked the kids to start emptying the dishwasher. I asked the kids to start emptying the dishwasher. I asked the kids to start emptying the dishwasher. I asked the kids to start emptying the dishwasher.

“Strong willed, busy children are a blessing.” My fake smile probably scared off any celebratory balloons.

I started to read my math homework… watched a couple of cute instagram videos that L was desperate for me to see, listened to multiple people singing, humming, and making dumb jokes. I took a deep breath, tried to focus. I couldn’t find a pencil to use to talk to my math text, and E was drumming a beat on the table. No balloons.

“Maybe I shouldn’t write a celebration post today,” I decided. Because really, some weeks, some days, some times…

But, then I laughed. A pencil! I found a pencil, well half a pencil — and it really felt like a celebration.

So I wrote this, and somehow, by some miracle, I hear the children emptying the dishwasher in the kitchen.

Poetry Friday Debut

October 27, 2017poetry, Uncategorizedonathought

I haven’t done Poetry Friday before
Maybe I’m worried I’ll run out of words
Although, have a little chat with me
And you’ll quickly see
how impossible that would be

Just breathe, I remind myself, just listen
Close your mouth, no one needs your opinion unbidden!
I’m used to speaking out
letting words just spout
before my thoughts have a chance to reroute

But I’m learning action starts with reaction
I’m not an expert, I just have passion
And so much more I want learn
I have thoughts I need to overturn
also a pile of decisions to discern

So this is my #whyIwrite I guess
A place for my brain to confess
I’m sure I’ve done it wrong, it’s true
But I’ll toss in this poem, my big debut
Be nice to me, I am new

Thanks for the Poetry Friday Link Up, Friendly Fairy Tales!

Celebrating Grandparents

October 16, 2017Celebrate, Family, Uncategorizedonathought

So happy to Celebrate with Ruth Ayres this weekend! (In a better late than never sort of way. . . )

Last month we stopped by to visit my grandma on the way home from a trip. She met us with her caregiver on the porch of the home. She had a newspaper in her lap, and told us she loved to come out on the porch every morning to read. Her voice carried like memories, like my whole childhood wrapped in the silky smoothness of her cheeks. She hugged us and told us that we made her day. We only visited for 20 minutes or so, on strict instructions from my dad and his sister. “More than 20 minutes will tire her out.” So we started our goodbyes, even though she looked sad to see us go. Walking back to the car and getting resettled for our car trip took some time, but still, as we drove out past the porch, my grandma waved from her wheelchair. I honked my horn a few times, thinking back to all the old family horn-honking goodbyes at Grandma’s house.

My grandpa turns 101 next month.

101.

The other night we sat around the table after my dad’s birthday dinner, and my mom asked my grandpa to tell us about his old dog. It was a great story about a smart dog, but I was busy listening to the ebb and flow of my grandpa’s voice. I was busy thinking about my childhood, when I sat at family dinners and heard my grandpa talking, telling stories, riddles and jokes. How is it that a piece of my memory is now so embedded in the present day? 101! E says it’s more fun to say “Over a century!”

Most people don’t get to have their Grandpas and Grandmas still at this age. Mr. Thought doesn’t even get to have his parents anymore.

Somehow, I’m so lucky… My kids get to have these very same pieces of childhood that I had. The stories, the voices, the love, the jokes, the hugs. . . And that is worth celebrating.

Celebrating. . . Children speak in poetry

October 2, 2017Celebrate, Reflections on coaching, Reflections on teaching, Uncategorizedonathought

So happy to Celebrate with Ruth Ayres this weekend! (In a better late than never sort of way. . . )

I want to celebrate going outside to write slices of life with second graders.

We walked outside, a monarch butterfly to release, and slices of the butterfly garden to write. After a brief butterfly lesson, we sent them off to notice and wonder and write about the things they saw. Their teacher and I looked at each other and decided we couldn’t write with them … we would be too busy supervising, conferring, helping…

And we were busy… but later, as we gathered the children to go back inside, we both confessed that we had put pencil to paper…we couldn’t help it.

These children speak in poetry! I kept crying out to them, “That sounds like a line in a poem! Write that down!” And they did. They wrote their words down (after speaking them to their teacher, to their friends, to me). As I walked around, I heard these kids noticing and wondering, and saying lines that belong in poetry and on inspirational posters.

Goldenrod Butterfly
       Children speak in poetry

We found red berries
This is the perfect spot for monarch butterflies
And also spiders

Write it down, friends! 
       Children speak in poetry

Follow me!
Another path!
I know where everything is in this school

Write that down, the things you say are lines of slices
       Children speak in poetry

This leaf feels like wool
I see nature all around me
I notice, I love nature
Trees, plants give us oxygen

Say it to the page, boys and girls! 
       Children speak in poetry

Oh! The monarch's still here
A path full of plants
Even though some plants are pokey
You should want them to live. 
It's nature

Goldenrod, Butterflies
     Children speak in poetry

I almost wrote down everything.