Sacred Words, Sacred Friends

At a conference this weekend, I heard a speaker say that writers see and experience the world differently. Something happens and it becomes fodder for our notebooks (or blogs). We see life as a series of stories. I agree with this characterization and I feel grateful that I am a writer.

My friend, Christine, is also a writer. We met as writers in a writing group more than ten years ago! Our words connected us immediately and they still do years later.

Words are sacred to us. We notice them. We share them. We ask for feedback when we write them. Words are sacred and it seems that only writers truly understand that relationship. Christine lives far away now and we rarely get to see each other, but our friendship remains strong through the sharing of our words. Words from my friend mean so much to me. They lift me when I'm down. They show me who I am when I forget. They guide me to better places. They keep me company when I'm alone. Here are some words shared between us via social media since we live more than fifteen hundred miles from each other.

My wish for you is that you have a friend who shares their sacred words with you.

Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers for this amazing platform to write and share writing! What a wonderful community you've created! I'm honored to be part of it. Join us at Two Writing Teachers.

Walking Alongside Friends

Thank you to Ruth Ayres for the opportunity to focus on celebrations every week! September 19 will mark our 100th celebration! Please join us!

As I prepare to return for my twenty-first year as a teacher, I am taking time to reflect. Twenty-one years ago, I walked into a third grade classroom, Room 110, excited and nervous and ready to teach. I walked into that room alone armed only with my ideas. Twenty-one years later, as I walk into Room C10, I walk in with a crowd of support. I am not alone...

As I walk into my classroom,

I walk with Stacey who reminds me that I am a writer when I wonder and question myself. Her unwavering faith in me pushes me to continue when I think I can’t.

I walk with Lee Ann who inspires me to be more creative in my notebook and in my life.

I walk with Margaret who shares her creativity and poetry and her kindness.

I walk with Julieanne who always encourages me to think about things in a new way with her thoughtful words and ideas.

I walk with Tara who shares creative ideas that I borrow and use with my students.

I walk with Linda who reads everything and shares her thoughts about these books and words and ideas.

I walk with Beth who introduced me to my favorite new pens, Ener Gel!

I walk with Holly who reminds me to hold onto my faith and to make the world a better place and to share those qualities with my students.
I walk with Kathleen who lives her positive attitude in everything she writes and shares.

I walk with Ruth who celebrates and demonstrates the power of kindness and gratitude.

I walk with Leigh Anne who asks questions and reflects and shows me how to always work to improve as a teacher...and a writer.

I walk with Jennifer who shares her positivity and laughter and motivation and who invites me to be more than I think I can be.

I celebrate each one of you (and so many more that I haven’t named here). You walk with me on that first day of school and all of the days that follow. I listen to your voices when I don't know what to do and when I need support. I'm grateful that I no longer walk alone. It’s good to be surrounded by friends!

Note: The form for this post was inspired by Patrick Allen's thoughtful Facebook post to some of the greats in the world of literacy. He inspired me to think about who I carry in my heart. Here's a peek at his post...

Celebration in Pictures!

Thank you to Ruth Ayres for the opportunity to focus on celebrations every week! September 19 will mark our 100th celebration! Please join us!

Today begins a new month. August. This week I celebrate...

quiet mornings

school supply sales

laughter

ice cream

sparkly lights

reflecting

looking

planning

Hope this post finds you in a happy place! 

What are you celebrating today?

Small Moments

Thank you to Stacey, Betsy, Dana, Tara, Beth, Anna, Kathleen & Deb for this amazing platform to write and share writing! What a wonderful community you've created! I'm honored to be part of it. Join us at Two Writing Teachers. 

I woke up at 7:30 today. I slept through the night, didn't wake up at all until 7:30 this morning. That usually doesn't happen. I'm awake around five a.m. every morning and most nights I wake up a couple of times. Last night was filled with restful sleep. I find myself wanting a reason for this night of restful sleep, and then I can replicate it. Instead, I'll enjoy it.    Yesterday I met a friend for lunch. It was one of those lunches...we met at noon and we were still there talking after three o'clock. We used to work together and she left to open a new school and life got in the way for both of us. I missed our friendship so much. I missed our talks and laughing and how much we had in common...like our school supply addiction. That led us to stopping my Joanne's to look for washi tape to decorate our planners. We both have the Academic Passion Planners. 

A good night sleep. Yummy lunch with a good friend. Stickers & planners & washi tape...life is good. I'm reading a book, Simply Tuesday by Emily Freeman. It will be released on August 18th. It's about celebrating the ordinary as extraordinary in our lives...about being present for those "small" moments because our lives are a series of those small moments. 

I once asked Stacey why we write our slices on Tuesdays. She cited this clip from Seinfeld...

Writing slices and reading slices helps me focus on those small moments, helps me stay present and really witness my life. For me, "Tuesdays have a feel," Tuesdays are what life is all about...

Celebrating the Ordinary...Which, it Turns Out, is Truly Extraordinary!

Thank you Ruth for inspiring me to always look for the celebrations in life! 

Join us and share your celebrations!

There are weeks when writing a celebration post is so hard and I just want to skip it...and then there are weeks like this! This week wasn't extraordinary, in fact it was very ordinary and routine...but it was like a light was shining through the ordinary, to make it glow extraordinary.

Monday: I celebrate NO COMPUTERS at school. Nothing worked. It was like rewinding ten or fifteen years. No email. No internet. No promethean board. No nothing. It pushed me to think creatively and I LOVE the result! (I even pretended computers were still broken after they were fixed in the afternoon.)

Wednesday: I celebrate the last day of the graduate class I taught. The teachers in that class grew so much and I watched them push themselves out of their comfort zone as writers and support each other. Being able to witness that is such an incredible gift. I'll miss seeing them Wednesday nights! (I also celebrate getting some time back as it's been a very busy year!)

Thursday: I celebrate miracles and friends who love me well and kindness and generosity! Wednesday started out with some frustrations at work. My friend, Jessica, reminded me to just hang on! When I saw her later that day, she handed me a card. It made me smile because getting cards and letters is just about my favorite thing in the world...but that isn't even the best part. When I opened the card, she'd bought tickets for both of us to meet our new favorite author, Glennon Doyle Melton! We are going to hear her speak AND get to MEET her!!! And we are going together!!! Don't you just LOVE friends who know you and get you?!?! I am so blessed!

Glennon is the author of the blog Momastery. This past Thursday she had a 24 hour LOVE FLASH MOB Day. She asked people to tell stories of their HER-Os or their SHEROs. This past Thursday she asked people to donate to help all of these amazing women. No donation over $25. In 24 hours her foundation raised $259,245. MIRACLE!! To get to be a part of this takes my breath away! Glennon is one of my HER-Os and I get to meet her in a few weeks!!

Friday: Today some of my students take "the test". UGH! I usually dread this day, but today I decided  to turn it around. We’ve been talking about genius hour and planning and slowing dipping our toes into this project, so I decided to give them a taste of it. I asked them to help with my genius hour project, redesigning the classroom. I wanted to observe them working together and problem solving and creating a comfortable environment.  

I thought of some committees: books, desks, supplies, decorating, and furniture. Desks had two sub-committees, design and labor. I asked for additional suggestions and someone suggested a cleaning committee. Students created their own committees, made a plan, and carried out their plan...all without me! They needed to work together. I needed to GET OUT OF THE WAY! I have never seen anything like this! Three different groups of students worked for almost an hour on re-creating our classroom. Everywhere you look, you see evidence of my students! 

Trying out their newly designed reading area!

It is really their classroom. My favorite comment of the day came from a boy who volunteered to be on the cleaning committee. 

Our cleaning committee is washing the windows!

He came up to me at the end of the block, clearly tired and said, “Ms. Haseltine, custodians have hard jobs. I mean, REALLY HARD. They do this everyday in every classroom. Can you believe that?!?!” What did he learn? Compassion.

My clock hasn’t worked for months. I do have another clock, but apparently the broken clock has really bothered some of them. One boy insisted that he be the Clock Committee. I said, “OK.” He couldn’t fix the clock. He asked me what to do, and I gave him permission to join another committee or figure out what to do here. Did he give up? NO! He stayed and look what he made…

At the end of each class, they looked around the room in wonder. (Some returned at the end of the day!) They adore their space. They have ownership. They ripped down “my stuff” and created their own and I loved every second of it. 

We are ready for genius hour! Bring it on!

Kindred Spirits, Strawberry Shortcake and Frozen Lemonade

Thank you to Stacey, Betsy, Dana, Tara, Beth, & Anna for this amazing platform to write and share writing! What a wonderful community you've created! I'm honored to be part of it. Join us at Two Writing Teachers. 

I left school today to meet a friend for a "grandma dinner".  It's the 4:30 dinner...you know, when grandmas eat. I totally splurged on a yummy steak for dinner and an even yummier strawberry shortcake for dessert! (By the way, strawberry shortcake is the only acceptable dessert with a fruit in it!) 

This friend and I talked and talked and talked. We shared stories about family and work and teaching. There's something about getting to know a new friend over good food. Making new friends can be hard...being vulnerable, feeling insecure, wondering if I'm talking too much, not enough. It can be nerve-wracking. I felt very little, no I felt NONE, of that tonight! Feeling trust like that is such a gift! I thought I'd get home for a bit before my next friend meet...but our dinner took hours!

Back in the car to Panera to meet another friend. TWO friends "dates" on a school night?!?! (I'm living on the edge.) Yummy frozen lemonade and sitting outside in the warm spring air made this visit...perfect. Do you know those people who make you feel happy? Those people who seem to have sunshine radiating from their smiles? That's this friend. We got a long, overdue chance to catch up. This moment in our lives, we are...Content. Happy. Grateful. Joy-filled. We shared about our lives. This friend knows how to ask good questions. And oh, how she listens!

As we were leaving, my friend asked about FLY, my word of the year. I confess that I've been struggling with my explanation for my word this year, but tonight the words came flowing out of me... FLY...I want to stop making decisions from fear. (I am working through an extreme fear of anything that flies.) FLY...when a bird is about to FLY, it has to let go of the branch and go. I am also working on letting go of control...working on believing that there's something BIGGER that controls my life and by FLYing, I will believe that my "wings" will carry me there.

Friends. I am grateful for friends. I feel so FULL tonight...so grate-FULL for these amazing women I call my friends.