When Melina was in second grade, she had to write a letter each week called The Friday Five. The letter actually started out as a list of five things she had done that week. By the time the end of the year rolled around, she had progressed to writing a letter, complete with the date, salutation, and closing. She'd bring her notebook home, I'd sign it (saying that I'd read what she wrote), and I'd write back to her in the same notebook. I started with lists, too, and made my way up to letters.
Now Melina is in third grade, and she's not bringing home The Friday Five anymore. However, I liked reading those lists and letters, and I liked writing them, partially because it gave me a reason to relive Melina's week as well as my own. Sometimes, those weeks were long, and other times, they flew by so quickly. Most of the weeks varied on a theme: busy, busy, busy, with teaching and writing thrown in. But every so often, like last April, I wrote that I'd watched far too much White Collar because I'd been pretty sick for four days.
I'm thinking about instituting The Friday Five for the blog because this semester, as you know, is insanely busy. (I'm not even sure those two words adequately express my level of busy, but I'll leave it at that. And, I have no one to blame but myself.) I'm thinking that The Friday Five will make me slow down, think about the week, think about each day, and force me to simply enjoy each moment for what it was and what it is. I'm thinking, the inclusion of the The Friday Five will force me to write each Friday, too, even though I quite possibly might not want to.
So here we go. (This week, it's a list. Other weeks, it might be more.)
1. I helped a student (not one of mine) find his classroom--the same one he'd been trying to find for a week.
2. I edited several pieces (none of them mine) that struck a chord with me and made me want to keep writing.
3. I listened to a person very dear to my heart vent.
4. I teared up, on the way to work, at the sight of Canada geese flying over the Miami River.
5. I drove in circles on at least two days. (Really. I had to pick up the girls from school, drop them at viola lessons, then go get Aaron. I seriously drove in a circle.)
*A little note about the artwork. I thought about making my own art, but instead performed a search for what was out there. The image shown caught my eye, and I'm glad it did. I followed the links and found that, sadly, the artist had passed away in 2011 from Ankylosing Spondylitis. That disease name is tough to pronounce and even tougher to live with. But part of Sara's legacy is the Choose Joy Foundation. You can read about the foundation's mission, and whether or not you believe in God, I think we can all agree that choosing joy is the way to go.
Now Melina is in third grade, and she's not bringing home The Friday Five anymore. However, I liked reading those lists and letters, and I liked writing them, partially because it gave me a reason to relive Melina's week as well as my own. Sometimes, those weeks were long, and other times, they flew by so quickly. Most of the weeks varied on a theme: busy, busy, busy, with teaching and writing thrown in. But every so often, like last April, I wrote that I'd watched far too much White Collar because I'd been pretty sick for four days.
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| Artwork by Sara Frankl* |
I'm thinking about instituting The Friday Five for the blog because this semester, as you know, is insanely busy. (I'm not even sure those two words adequately express my level of busy, but I'll leave it at that. And, I have no one to blame but myself.) I'm thinking that The Friday Five will make me slow down, think about the week, think about each day, and force me to simply enjoy each moment for what it was and what it is. I'm thinking, the inclusion of the The Friday Five will force me to write each Friday, too, even though I quite possibly might not want to.
So here we go. (This week, it's a list. Other weeks, it might be more.)
1. I helped a student (not one of mine) find his classroom--the same one he'd been trying to find for a week.
2. I edited several pieces (none of them mine) that struck a chord with me and made me want to keep writing.
3. I listened to a person very dear to my heart vent.
4. I teared up, on the way to work, at the sight of Canada geese flying over the Miami River.
5. I drove in circles on at least two days. (Really. I had to pick up the girls from school, drop them at viola lessons, then go get Aaron. I seriously drove in a circle.)
*A little note about the artwork. I thought about making my own art, but instead performed a search for what was out there. The image shown caught my eye, and I'm glad it did. I followed the links and found that, sadly, the artist had passed away in 2011 from Ankylosing Spondylitis. That disease name is tough to pronounce and even tougher to live with. But part of Sara's legacy is the Choose Joy Foundation. You can read about the foundation's mission, and whether or not you believe in God, I think we can all agree that choosing joy is the way to go.
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