Gratitude List: 1. Personal pep-talks, for that is what this has been. It was a short night, and it promises to be a hot day in the classroom, me yelling my words out over the fans. Still, I cannot be anything but grateful to for the gift of this opportunity to help this cohort of 90 young people develop and perfect their ability to work with language, this magical tool for human connection. May it be so. 2. The great horned owls. I know I just wrote about them a couple days ago, but their deep and startling voices here in the fall are almost as trance-inducing as my friend the oriole was in spring. When I am grumbling at the rude voice of the alarm clock, the sudden surprised whooping of the owls in the bamboo forest will make me smile and be glad to be awake in this darkness. 3. Following my predecessor at the school. She was well-loved by quite a number of students. Random students keep wandering in and looking around, a little lost, and introducing themselves as former students of hers. Some of them even return repeatedly, as though simply the memory of her in that room makes it a haven amidst the bustle of the school day. Big shoes to fill. I’ll be my own me, of course, but do my best to keep her light shining in the window. 4. Word-bridges. Sentence-halls. Paragraph-houses. All these artificial structures and codes that we have created in millennia of human development that enable us to close the space between us. 5. Annoying as his constant demands for attention, food, attention, and food can be, I love the way Fred the cat meows, his whole face getting into the act. I love the way he won’t take no for an answer when he wants snuggles and I am wearing a dark blue dress that cannot have orange cat hair upon it. I had to go get a blanket to cover me because he would have his mama-cuddle this morning, no matter what I said. May we walk in Beauty!
Posted on: Fri, 05 Sep 2014 10:32:47 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015