SOLSC '22, Day Thirty-one: Wise words, thanks to all of you!

 

Terje formed a found lines poem from comments on her blog.  

I thought it would be a wonderful way to wrap up my tenth SOLSC.

The lines are from this year's comments.  Perhaps you'll recognize yours!

Infinite possibility, endurance, and hope...

Isn't if funny how traditions find their ways into our homes?

What is truly precious? Such an important question.

Life is precious.

It brings peace to think about the way beauty arises out of ashes.

The idea of what is fun has definitely changed for me over the years,

(Like) capturing the magic in your (own) yard.

God bless the advisors!!

(They teach) lessons worth learning: 

taking a risk and failing doesn't always end in shame.

Frenetic is definitely the word of the day;

the frustration you're feeling as you seek relaxation.

(We need) important gesture(s) of inclusion and affirmation,

safe spaces for all.

Give yourself grace.

(Take the) the day you needed instead of the day you envisioned.

(Appreciate the) comfortable, lasting, loving relationship(s).

Hold on to the week to squeeze out every drop of "free" time.

The labors of your hands are just beautiful - 

they refresh the eyes and the heart as well.

We need these moments to fill our souls daily - 

sustenance, sunlight, sights that speak to the spirit.

Goals are so hard and there's never instant gratification.

(But) life is made of more than modules;

(We need) a wonderful, restorative break

(with) meaningful events that speak to (us), 

(bring) clear joy, and hopefully, some rest.

The simple things of long ago pull on us...

especially those laced with love. 

Our inner selves know what we're really craving.

It's good to find the good things,

 to turn around those gnarled roots

 that tend to creep up in our thoughts from time to time.

SOLSC '22, Day Thirty: June bug graveyard/ Unexpected road trip

 

I turned on the kitchen light, dimly illuminating the backyard just enough so that I'd be able to see.  I headed into the laundry room to scoop up the birdseed to fill the feeder.  I stepped out of the front door and saw several dead june bugs on the walkway.  Turning the corner into the driveway, there were dozens of the beetles littering a foot-deep strip in front of the garage door; I avoided crunching them underfoot.  I quickly filled the feeder and made my way back,  carefully stepping around the little brown carcasses.

********* 

Yesterday, after tiptoeing around the june bugs, I caught a glimpse of my younger self.

The one that reveled in long stretches of highway ahead, sometimes for no reason other than to get away. Back then, there were no cellphones or GPS; trips were mapped out and written down on paper--or not, if the goal was to wander.  This time, I knew most of the way except for the last few turns, so I entered the destination into Google maps to speak to me via Bluetooth as I got closer.  The all-important roadtrip music has evolved from my favorite cassette tapes played one at a time, to CDs in a 5-CD changer, to curated streamed playlists activated with voice command.  My younger self would have been thrilled with this access to music, especially on those frequent Austin-El Paso trips, five hundred eighty-three miles one way on I-10.

Yesterday's trip equaled a one-way to El Paso. I headed north, leaving just as the sun was up over the horizon.  I drove four-and-a-half hours up, stayed for two-and-a-half hours, then made the trip back.  As I came home, the sun was just barely over the opposite horizon as it set.  Not sure I'll have a voice for read-alouds today, as I was singing at the top of my lungs both ways.  But it was totally worth it--just ask my younger self, still hidden somewhere under this gray and purple hair.  

SOLSC '22, Day Twenty-nine: All will be well

 

It was a mixed-bag kind of day

Started off well enough, camaraderie and smiles

Celebrations, and good discussions

But then bad news in a text made it hard to concentrate

Thumbs flying with questions and details during spare moments

Trying to listen and focus, but

Changing plans for the next day constantly 

Swirling thoughts just under the surface

Personal supersedes the professional when your child needs you.

But then I came home, took a breath, watered the plants

Looked down and noticed just the teensiest bit of hope

From old, gnarled roots

Looked up and saw budding trees,

And others shaking off brown leaves

As new green leaves take their place

I took another breath

Headed inside

And thought, "All will be well." 

SOLSC '22, Day Twenty-eight: No FOMO here

The Oscars are on, and we're....watching a different channel.  Sure, we indulged in a few minutes of red carpet interviews, recognized a handful of celebrities but didn't know three-quarters of the interviewers.  We haven't been inside a movie theater since 2020, maybe even 2019.  Yes, we have streaming service, but staying awake for two-plus hours while resting feet up on the couch?  Pffft.  Impossible.  We're lucky to make it through two episodes of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel", and that's with frequent bathroom breaks.  

I realize that I may be out of touch with several conversations at work tomorrow.  But hasn't that been my status quo since this pandemic started?  The same anxiety that kept me from being able to focus on reading, kept me out of restaurants and entertainment venues, pushed me farther down the introversion scale also made me less willing to spend any time at all following celebrity gossip.  Instead, I cultivated a growing collection of music CDs inspired by watching old ACL episodes on PBS with my husband, bolstered the economy through online retail therapy, and worked on those atrophying reading muscles.

If I have to, I can at least say that Jada Pinkett Smith had on a gorgeous emerald gown (my favorite color), and that I chuckled over Billie Eilish's account of writing a song on the road while performing at our local ACL music festival.  That will be the extent of my offerings to any conversation about tonight's awards.  

Maybe I'll get around to watching the nominees, if they are streaming.  If I can stay awake on my couch.

SOLSC '22, Day Twenty-seven: Time to talk

 

We share

a love of literacy

and blank journals

and pens

and stickers

and planners

We share

the journey of motherhood

and learning

and growing

and changing

and improving

We share

the same career

the pursuit of knowledge

the love of education

the belief in the supernatural

the appreciation of a well-poured drink

(even if we can't indulge like we used to,

in our young lives apart,

but I'm glad we take the time

together now,

as crone and near-crone,

 to talk)

Here's to good friends--cheers!

SOLSC '22 Day Twenty-six: Snippets

(Please note:  all these times are "ish")

745a:    S--"Look, I found my book!  It was in my desk the whole time."

            Me--"Tucked way in the back, hiding?"

            S--"No, just in there.  My desk is messy."

810a:    Me--"We're going to learn a few ways to evaluate a website today.  Because...is everything on the internet true and kind and safe for kids?"

            Ss--"NO!" (Without hesitation.  Makes me smile.)

            Me--"Can you teach some grownups that?" (Makes them smile.  Lesson continues, wraps up.)

            Me--"Okay, push in your chairs, grab your shelf markers, and go find some good fit books."

840a:    Me--"What was something new you learned about animals today?"

            S(PreK)--"That elephants have big families."

            Me--"And you?" (Pointing)

            S(PreK)--"Same!"

            Me--"You?" (Pointing)

            S(PreK)--"Same!"

            Me (after prodding for different answers)--"Remember how we are safe, respectful, and responsible when finding our books."

920a:  Me--"We're going to learn to be more efficient internet researchers by using better keywords.  Who's going to be surfing the net this summer?"

            (Every hand goes up, including mine and the teacher's.)

            Me--"How many of you have trouble finding exactly what you're looking for when you are doing research?"

            (Every hand goes up, including my assistant's.)

            Me--"Notice, scholars, it's not just you.  Internet searching isn't something you can ever necessarily be perfect at; we just get a little better.  Here's one way."  (Lesson ends with discovery that using our online databases INSTEAD of Google gets us better results more quickly!)  

            Me--"Okay, push in your chairs, grab your shelf markers, and go find some good fit books."

(Principal comes in with a parent, shows her around the library, introduces me, we chat about upcoming changes to the space, show her the mockups.)

1020a:  (Back to website evaluation again, different grade level.  Extensive talking about how we really can't trust photo evidence anymore, with digital photo editing and AI making it hard to trust what we see on the internet.  There's got to be jobs now as forensic photographic investigators, yes?)

            Me--"Okay, push in your chairs, grab your shelf markers, and go find some good fit books."

1130a:  (Logging into a Google Meet with three classes at once.)

            Me:  "Okay, when we last left Janey and Captain Superlative, they were in the cafeteria, getting ready to hand out mints..."

1203p:  Me--"We have a really silly story today--The Yawns Are Coming!"  Let's look at the book--do you think this is informative/ nonfiction, or fiction?"

            Ss(Kindergarten)--"FICTION!"  (Makes me smile.)

            Me--"I bet this book will make you yawn!" (And it does.)  "Remember to be safe, respectful, and responsible when you are finding your books!" 

1233p:  Me--"Let's try walking into the story area again safely, okay?  Now, wasn't that much easier and safer?" (Proceeds with another reading of The Yawns Are Coming!)  "We are safe, respectful, and responsible when looking for our books!"

1245p:  Me--"You did a great job finding your books today!  Here's a 30 Second Dance Party on the way out."

115p:  Me--(Takes a deep breath.  Chats with library assistant.)  "One more class to go."

130p:  Me--"We have a short lesson on website evaluation today.  Get your hand sanitizer and join me at the gray tables."  (Repeat of 8a and 1015a lesson.  This time remembering to talk a bit more about the tree octopus website.)  "Any questions about website evaluation?  Okay, push in your chairs, grab your shelf markers, and go find some good fit books."

250p:  (At car rider duty.)

            S (before getting into car)--"Can I have a hug?"

            Me--"Sure." (Side squeeze.)

320p:  Me--fascinating discussion in the hallway with colleague who is working on her master's degree in early childhood.

330p:  Me--working on the end-of-year student library survey.

400p:  Me--check email, discover that my flashlights have arrived.  Head to office, pick them up, spend the next twenty minutes labeling them for flashlight time next week.  Chat with the custodian.  Check email one more time, pack up laptop and meeting bag, head home.

I love being a librarian!

SOLSC '22 Day Twenty-five: You'd think I'd be sick

 

The stomach gets

what the stomach wants

tonight, it was

an onion sandwich--

two pieces of white bread

plenty of mayo

and thin slices of salted yellow onion

and chips

can't forget the chips

but that wasn't enough

so I shook some raisin bran

into a bowl

poured unsweetened almond milk

to soften the flakes

and crunched my way

through "Law and Order"

there is decent food in the fridge

leftover chicken and noodles

sliced bell peppers

cucumbers and sugar snap peas

lettuce ready for a salad

(but I had that for lunch)

hamburger patties

sweet corn and beans

there is decent food in the pantry

cans of soup

packages of ramen

pasta and rice

sauces and gravy

almonds and peanut butter

lentils and seasonings

but

the stomach gets

what the stomach wants

and tonight it wanted

an onion sandwich

chips and

raisin bran in almond milk.

This is the second time in a week I've had an onion sandwich for dinner.  It's a taste I inherited from my mother; I have to wonder if she's trying to tell me something...

And no, I didn't feel sick after this odd meal, though I don't know why.

SOLSC '22 Day Twenty-four: A wet blanket

 

I was on a high on Tuesday, envisioning my plans for next year's library program, thinking about where the books are going to go when the space gets updated, getting excited about injecting more creativity into my teaching.

And then Wednesday came, and we had standardized testing training.  

Do I really need to say more?

(This may just be the shortest Slice I've ever written...but there's loads to infer.  And inference is always a hot testing category, yes?)

SOLSC '22, Day Twenty-three: It was a good day

 

It was a good day.  

Everyone seemed happy to be back in the library.  Students were engaged in the read-alouds and lessons.  Several classes had no overdue books (a school librarian's dream!), and at least two students who had shown difficult behaviors in our space in the past had successful visits, warranting high fives and praise.  We even had time for a few dance parties at class dismissals (the 30 Second Dance Party button makes taking a movement break fun and easy!).  My assistant was back, too, which freed me up from the circulation desk so I could take care of clearing out emails, getting lessons ready, and assisting students in the stacks.

I'm already thinking of next year's library program, and am seriously considering turning it ninety degrees.  We will hopefully have an updated space by then, and I need to update my purpose and plan to spread reading joy to all members of my campus. I'm contemplating flipping my lessons on library use, genres, and research skills with digital badges, so I can make time for book tastings, poetry slams, book talks, DEAR sessions, inquiry weeks, genre challenges, reviving my Wonder Wall, and read-alouds for the "big" kids. I need to get the data, but I'd venture to say that only thirty to forty percent of our collection is regularly accessed by students and staff--I need to raise that percentage.  I discussed some of these ideas with my after-school Readers' Advisory Club, and they seemed excited.

So it was a good day.  I had a chance to look at my email, and there is a job opening at the state library for sharing resources.  That is so aligned with my passion and I thought, for a second, could my days be even better?

But those plans...there's still a lot more I can do, staying right where I am. 

SOLSC '22 Day Twenty-two: Go home, she said

The announcement came

ten minutes before the last bell

"Check your email now, please."

The principal telling us

to go home, as soon as

all students are dismissed

After-school activities canceled

across the district

So I left after car duty,

too hot in my raincoat

the sun still peeking

while dark gray clouds rolled in

Home in five minutes

I texted my husband

who called back to say

he was on his way home, too

I had a headache

rested on the couch

made dinner 

rested some more

And then the rains came

and the nonstop weather coverage

and the tornados touching down 

to the south, the east

while our rain stopped, and

the sun shone

and a rainbow appeared

outside my kitchen window

The headache 

was still there

so I drank some water 

ate some chocolate

went back to the couch

More tornado warnings

still far away

as the sun went down

I fell asleep on the couch

only to be awakened when

the rain started again,

overflowing the gutters,

sending me off to bed

with a thunderous lullaby.

 

SOLSC '22 Day Twenty-one: As it was in the beginning...

 

Spring break began with puttering, and it ended with puttering.  Kind of.  

I was up before anyone else, even the sun.  I drank my coffee, wrote my Slice, filled the birdfeeder, and started organizing jewelry in the new containers I bought online from Michael's, all before "CBS Sunday Morning" came on.  Halfway through that, I started cooking the bacon I promised college grad boy for his send-off breakfast.

The show was watched, breakfast was made, and then the real puttering began.  Planning outfits for the week.  Finishing the jewelry organizing.  Watering the container plants that looked wilted.  Shooing the squirrels away from the bird feeder (that happened three times!).  Doing some more online jigsaw puzzles.  

College grad boy headed back home mid-afternoon, and I sat down to work on the professional development modules I had put off.  I was forty-five minutes in...and there was a video requirement, one that called for access to a doc camera and definitely makeup.  Since I didn't have access to the former, and wasn't in the mood to apply the latter, I took it as a sign from the Universe that I should just take some of my prep day tomorrow and work on it then. 

I set out my clothes for the week, even picked out some of the jewelry I could now clearly see in the new containers to go along with the outfits.  Then I poured myself a libation and got to work writing. 

It's been a nice, puttering-kind-of-Spring Break.  May the next nine weeks be productive--and go quickly!

SOLSC '22 Day Twenty: Pleasant procrastination

 

There is a certain state-mandated professional development unit made up of a dozen modules that takes twice as long to wade through (at least for me) as the creators estimated, which is supposed to be completed within a year.  Our cohort has a timeline to stick to in order to accomplish this goal.    

I am already a week behind on the eighth module.

I brought it home for Spring Break, thinking I could hammer out an hour or so each day.

I haven't touched it yet, and it's Sunday.  We go back to work tomorrow.

So what have I been doing instead of this module?  Procrastinating in the most pleasant of ways.  I have:  

Read three books, working on the fourth.

Sipped coffee on the front porch.

Eaten lunch on the back porch.

Done oodles of online shopping.

Baked cookies for St Patrick's Day.

Slept in, and taken naps.

Watched the birds at the feeder.

Completed several online jigsaw puzzles.

Installed, played, then uninstalled Candy Crush on my phone.

Played several rounds of solitaire and mahjong on the computer.

Celebrated my husband's birthday and baked him a cake.

Enjoyed a libation or two.

Applied fun St Patrick's Day nail wraps to my fingernails.

Finally put away the Christmas plates.  (The mugs, on the other hand...)

Dyed my hair purple again.

Watched a lot of PBS shows.  

Reinvigorated my container gardening.

Cooked a few dinners.

Visited with my son.

Made a couple of returns from online shopping.

Attempted to reorganize my cluttered vanity.

Swapped out the painting over the mantel from winter to spring.

Washed the winter throw blankets and brought out the Irish shamrock blanket.

Started planning for next week's work clothes and tasks.

Guess there's nothing left to do but get to work on that module today.  No more procrastinating...after I make a yummy breakfast and watch "CBS Sunday Morning".

SOLSC '22 Day Nineteen: Can't live with it, can't live without it

 

After staying up past midnight to finish reading a book, I woke up and groggily made my way to the kitchen to make my coffee.

I'm going to be good today, I thought to myself.  My overnight oatmeal for breakfast, maybe some veggies and hummus for lunch, and the garden vegetable pie I had on my menu.

I drank my coffee, and had my oatmeal.  Taking care of some loose ends, I looked up the return process for an online purchase.  College grad was home for a few days, so I asked him if he wanted to go with me to the FedEx location, and then I would treat him for lunch.  He chose Dairy Queen.

All my resolve disappeared in the drive thru lane.  I craved a burger and fries.  It was the last weekday of Spring Break, and I deserved it, right?

Then there was the bowl of frozen chocolate custard at 4p...and the cheese pizza at 630p.

Food has got to be one of the hardest addictions to manage.  Can't live without it...but my waistline, and soon enough my health, can't keep living with it like this.  Tomorrow will be another chance to dig out those sugar snap peas and blueberries and salad fixings.  Good thing I like veggies and fruit almost as much as cheese pizza.

SOLSC '22 Day Eighteen: Chocolate and dough

I don't worry anymore

about being pinched

with green permanently inked

on both ankles and a shoulder

The coins were hidden again

by Seamus, the leprechaun

for the now-twenty-three-year-old

to find and enjoy--

all sixty-eight bits of chocolate

And I found a smidge of motivation

to bake again,

first a shortbread of knots

then some orange-flavored,

mint-iced shamrocks

It was a good day to be Irish.

 

SOLSC '22 Day Seventeen: Lunch al fresco

I pulled out a gift card and navigated the website to order lunch.  Chicken wrap, Texas caviar with chips, and creamy chicken tortilla soup.  The receipt said it would be ready in fifteen minutes--just enough time to make myself presentable and drive the five minutes to the restaurant.

It was my first visit, and I passed the pickup shelves before turning around and realizing my order was already bagged and ready.

The skies were cloudy, the weather warm and breezy as I got home.  Too nice to stay inside, I thought to myself.  I dropped off my purse, grabbed a drink and some paper towels, and headed to the backyard with lunch in hand.

The mama cardinal at the feeder fluttered away at my approach.  I settled in at the patio table, my back to the sun.  I purposefully left my smartphone in the house and enjoyed the feeling of being unplugged.  The food was delicious, and as I munched my way through lunch, the birds worked their way back to the feeder.  The chickadees and titmice arrived first, zooming in with their quick touch-and-go pickups.  A wren took its time, as did the doves, before the bluejays scared them off the perches.

A hawk rode the air current far overhead.  People came by in ones and twos on the hike and bike past my yard, chatting on phones and with each other.  I could feel the sun slightly burning my arms.  It felt good, and I took one deep breath after another.

A full hour passed before the breeze became stronger, threatening to blow away my trash.  I threw it in the garbage bin on the side of the house as I headed back to the front door.  Settling in on the couch with a good book, I couldn't help but smile.  Lunch al fresco filled my stomach and my soul, leaving me content for the remainder of the day.

SOLSC '22 Day Sixteen: Gap year

 

The containers were barren repositories of dried up branches, windswept leaves and the occasional petrified cat poop.  Most had been that way since the Snowpocalypse, aka Icemageddon, of 2021.  There had been hope that something would spring forth from the roots, but it was false; aside from one lone sprout from a holly fern, everything died.

Was it hope that kept me from replanting last spring?  Or was it the consumptive pandemic malaise that caused me to give those pots of dirt nothing more than a sideways glance as I passed them upon exiting and entering my home...most likely the latter.  Maintaining the milkweed pot and half-heartedly planting a butterfly bush for the monarchs, and a cherry tomato plant for our salads on the back porch, was the extent of my gardening energy last year.

But not this season.  I decided that hope springs eternal; my awkward green thumb and quest for knowledge were reignited by container gardening books.  With list in hand, I headed for not one, but two nurseries in search of plants both known and new-to-me.  After hours of shopping, I came home and spent another two hours refilling pots, fertilizing, and planting.  Fingers crossed that my research pays off, and these green shoots stay upright and happy.

Plants purchased:  Anthurium, Persian shield, English ivy, sansevieria, coleus, creeping jenny, lemon ball sedum, lamium, croton, dieffenbachia, aglaonema, unknown plant that looks like a twisted croton (it was on sale), rosemary, milkweed, salvia, cherry tomatoes, and sunpatiens.  

Plants already owned:  The butterfly bush seems to be coming back, as well as a pot of sedum my son planted years ago (the lemon balm will probably reappear in that container, too).  I took a failing branch of indoor pothos and stuck it in the tall urn outside, hoping the roots will take and it will leaf out. The lone sprig of holly fern was transferred from the tall urn to a shorter one by the door.  Not pictured:  a small, sad tuft of monkey grass and a full-to-bursting pot of dark-green haworthia succulents that survived winter on the porch, undercover.

As of this morning, they were all still upright!

SOLSC '22 Day Fifteen: Puttering to pondering

 

Spring Break Mondays

are meant for puttering

Body and mind still unsure

 of time and location

Priorities unknown

Task lists self-generated

(and often left undone)

Spring Break Mondays

are meant for meandering

Whether down roads, home halls,

or thoughts 

No specific destination

or problem to be solved

(but often surprises along the way)

Spring Break Mondays

are meant for pondering

What lies behind this school year

and what lies ahead

A slight panic as you think

about the fast, final weeks...

(STOP.  You are on Spring Break!) 

SOLSC Day Fourteen: Good vibes

 

I am an introvert, and I am blessed to be married to an introvert.  We are not ones for loud parties (though we will take in a rock concert now and then).  Quiet days are welcome and bucket-filling.

So the hubby turned sixty yesterday.  I didn't plan anything big...well, except for the big platter of sixty mini-cupcakes I ordered and had delivered to his workplace last week.  He and his coworkers appreciated the gesture.  

I belong to a wine club at a vineyard about an hour's drive away, with subscription pickups every three months.  My pickup was ready, and hubby kindly suggested celebrating his birthday dinner at the attached bistro.  There is lovely terrace seating between the winery and the restaurant, and the weather was cooperative.

One of the reasons I continue my subscription is because of the scenic drive through the Hill Country to the winery.  It forces me to get out of the house and do something purely for myself.  Hubby drove his newish SUV; I sang with the radio and enjoyed the views from the passenger seat. 

After picking up the wine order and our free glasses of cuvée, we settled in at a table in the sun.  There were a few tables of young adults chattering away, one near a tree decorated with metallic mylar balloons spelling out "MBA".  A group of silver-haired ladies were laughing at another picnic table.  Several other couples, some with dogs in tow, were enjoying the sunny, breezy weather.

Hubby and I chatted a bit ourselves, but mostly we sat in pleasant silence, sipping on our wine and eating the delicious food.  We enjoyed the cuvée so much that we went back to the winery building to purchase another bottle. 

We walked to the edge of the terrace to view the vineyard and fields below.  I asked hubby if he wanted to take a selfie, but he declined.  "I have the view up here," he said, tapping his head with his finger.  I said I was the opposite, needing photos to confirm my misty memories.  I didn't want to break the spell through artificial posing, though, so I didn't insist on pictures. 

After a stop at a Goodwill in a ritzy area (hubby loves a good thrift find) and some frozen custard purchased in a drive-thru, we headed home for the cake I baked the night before and a couple hours of TV.  The time change was wearing on both of us, and we were yawning by 9p.

It was not an exciting day, not a loud or raucous celebration.  But it was filled with good vibes; just what this introverted couple needed.