Foresight

I had the foresight to see his plan coming;
separate his words from his intent.
Inside my voice vehemently pleaded
for me to ignore his words

As I stifled my thinking,
his cunning creation
shaped the space between us.

Strong pillars of my resolve leaned
And he stepped his fragile being
right through.

Asshole.

L Squared

(L²)

1970

Laura Lee

Yes. Spell it L-a-u-r-a space L-e-e

Yes. It is two words.

Yes. Two first names.

Yes. There is a space between

Yes. Do capitalize the 2nd L

Twenty years later

1990

Whew

2000

No. It is not Lora

No. Please don’t call me just Laura

It’s Laura Lee

2018

Today when they ask me the same questions

I just smile

Sometimes I let them spell it like however

Sometimes I let them say it like they wanna

No matter.

I know my name.

Laura Lee

Thankful-Grateful-It's-All-Good

Instead of looking back at all I wish I'd done, at this semester's end, I am choosing focus on all I am grateful for!

• My students writing their lives on the page and sharing pieces of their stories. 
• The beautiful blogs crafted with creative ideas and color mixes that made my eyes and heart happy. 
• The gratitude I could hear in their words reflecting on the time they spent with their Case Study students.
• The nuggets of understanding they will take forward
• The "yet" that holds the hope that in spite of me, they will continue to grow and evolve into a reflective, loving, learning, and patient practitioner.
• Their hugs, thank-yous, and sweet-spirited souls

This morning I read Our Daily Bread online. Printed in large font were the words God's care for me eases my mind. Today I am thankful that God's care for my students eases my mind. To know that I don't have to worry about the likely gaps in my instruction... He's got us. Taking care of God's precious children in the right ways will happen, in spite and despite. ☝

Thank you

Thank you

Thank you

Teacher As Writer

Most of the time I sit down to write, I am not sure what I am going to say. I have so much to say that I don't know where to begin. One of the Dons (Murry or Graves) said that writing is a tool for knowing. That is isn't until you write that you can know; know the way you think about a given issue without the muddle.

When I am walking, I think the most genius things. I have great ideas to write in my notebook. I come across ideas that I want to explore but most times, I do not stop to record them on my phone, so by the time I sit down to write, those pristine thoughts are replaced with a muddle. That is how I feel today. And that's okay... okay that I have so much in my mind, writing is great for that, but not okay that I am in the habit of letting those sweet thoughts slip away.

Today, I will invest in my writing by stopping to record thoughts as they come. Today, I will love myself enough to be my own thought paparazzi. This morning, I stumbled upon an article written about Donald Graves by Tom Romano and it just what I needed. In the article, he included this piece about teachers writing regularly:

Time Blocking

Yesterday, I read an article by Darius Foroux titled "Time Blocking: Improve Your 
Focus and Get More Meaningful Work Done". There were two quotes in the article 
that struck me: 

It’s Steven Pressfield’s famous analogy, from his book The War Of Art, for getting work done.

"The amateur only works when inspiration strikes. The pro sits down every day and puts in steady work. The key is steady. Not irregular or extreme."

“The sure sign of an amateur is he has a million plans and they all start tomorrow.” 

Oh, the truth of those statements. How many goals have I pushed aside? How many grand ideas have I forgotten? How many times have I committed myself to accomplishing tasks only to let something else of less importance bump it out of the way? I don't mean to bash but I am totally tired of not being an effective manager of my time. SO I am, once again, committing myself to working this method. Hey, true failure is giving up, right? I will not. So here is my commitment: 

1. Create bullet journal.
2. Set aside time for planning
3. Look at the plan throughout the day and adjust accordingly. 
4. Keep trying! 👏👍👌 

Good Lord Grant Me

Dear God. I just want to take each day at a time. I love this prayer. Serenity, courage, and wisdom. 

Just Like Mr. Rogers' Shoes...

Sitting in my car changing my shoes, I thought of good ole Mister Rogers. I reminded myself of him, changing into my more comfortable shoes. Boy has my perception of shoes changed. Back in the day, my main concern when it came to shoes: cuteness. Shoes didn't have to fit well or be comfortable. I could walk in uncomfortable shoes all day long and not be discouraged about wearing them again. I would look at others' shoes and be a bit perplexed when their shoe game didn't meet my standards. From there, I would judge them, "Oh Lawd, please don't let that ever be me!" When we were young, a few friends couldn't believe that I could wear heels period, let alone all day. Equating high-heeled, hella cute shoes with youth was my default.

I still remember thinking about my mother's shoes, penny loafers, and wondering how she could wear them for almost every occasion. Now I know, comfort matters. As my thinking transitions from cute to comfort, I find it really hard to balance the two. Comfortable shoes are rarely cute and if they are, they are super expensive or do not fit my feet. All my life my feet have been long and skinny: a Nordstrom, mail-order-custom type of foot. And you know what that means; extraordinarily high prices line the box of almost any shoe that fits my foot and style. 

On the bright side, I have feet to be thankful for. Big, skinny feet that deserve to be comfortable. So, no matter what, I will keep my feet focused on comfort.

Thank you, Mr. Rogers 💙