Navigating Reality - IF Poem

Life continues to be full of bumps in the road, creating an uncertain journey. Piles of paperwork sit in different rooms, waiting for me to add to the accomplished box. Beautiful sympathy cards with sentiments from family and friends lay in another box. I look through them often. They are reminders that support comes from family and friends. It is quiet in my home now. Loneliness floats through the rooms of our beautiful house, designed together.

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Puffy grey clouds circulating through the morning sky wash away streams of sorrow. Sunshine opens a new day, but the big IF haunts my thoughts. I look for ways to open my heart to the whispers of my soul. I remember the peace found at the beach so with pen in hand, I write a poem for my husband, Richard, centering on the word if.

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This month, the Poetry Sisters, Liz Garton Scanlon, Tanita at {fiction, instead of lies}, Laura Purdie Salas, Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect, Sara at  Read Write Believe, and Mary Lee Hahn, challenged poets to "write in conversation with a vintage photograph". Since I was preoccupied by the sudden, silent, cancerous disease that aggressively attacked my husband and led to his passing, I did not have enough time to plan out a poem that applies to one of my vintage photos. Instead, I kept thinking of my husband and our love of the Long Island beaches near our house. We made memories with family and friends at the South Shore beaches. The above photo shares our days of walking and sitting at the boardwalk. The poem is dedicated to Richard since our last conversation before his passing was short but memorable.

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Thank you to our poet-teacher, Heidi Mordhorst, who is hosting Poetry Friday today. She is honoring the last Friday of National Poetry Month, our community's Kidlit Progressive Poem, and all the poetic goodness that follows at the end of Heidi's blog. Please click here to relax while reading.

Mid-Year Review of 2021 One Word-SJT

Life is about transitions. I look back on this year. Winter was filled with urgent to-do lists. Sell the Long Island house, find a spot open for COVID vaccinations for myself and my family, call the movers, and in the weeks before the move have an estate sale of my antiques and collectibles. I pause to reflect on my 2021 one word, begin, knowing that it has brought me through many challenges since I asked it to be a guide on my life journey. 

I contemplate my one word's presence in my life, consider what it offers for the future, and deliberate on what can be done to stop brooding over past missteps. Sometimes, I celebrate the word begin and other times get wrapped up in fairytale-like ponderings of an ideal new life. In reality, life is not an easy road to transverse. It is filled with detours, congested pathways, and bridges to cross. I am fully aware that life is fragile and uncertain but can be a hopeful journey if i remain positive. 

From the beginning of January, I trusted my one word. With faith on my side and the word begin, I crossed several hurdles starting with getting lost on the trip down to Virginia. I am not quite sure how I did that but it happened and left me in a quandary. I circled around, tried to find a new route, and finally broke down in tears. Was this a warning on how life could be if I continued to be stressed? Did I slow down when I finally arrived in Virginia? No, afterall there were so many tasks to be completed as we moved into our new home. My granddaughters have provided love and joy that dismisses tense-filled weekly tasks. 

I am happy to say, that I have prevailed through surging storms, service calls, and edginess amidst open and unopened boxes so I decided to revise my January 2021 Commitment Statement. 

with faith

I shall rise above

life's constant challenges,

blossom like a bud of spring,

celebrate new beginnings with positivity,

and begin a new walk on more solid ground.

©CV, 2021

I must admit since we moved, sometimes I felt like the wilting flowers in my new garden. They thirsted for a new beginning but I did not know how to nurture these new young plants.  I want to stand tall like the other blooms in my gardens. They offer their presence reminding me to sing the praises of nature's blessings. 

Like my young plantings, I journey onward despite changeable patterns of life. I will cast doubts aside and focus my thoughts on new beginnings now that I am left with only a dozen or more boxes to unpack on the first floor. As Meister Eckhart said, "Be willing to be a beginner every single morning." I shall make this quote a priority during the next few days, I will also, follow the wisdom of Proverbs 16-9: "The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps."

Finding Peace

mapping life's journey 

begins within heartstrings-

wander with hope

©CV, 2021

I thank Ruth Hersey, teacher-poet from Haiti, who as the June host of Spiritual Journey Thursday chose today's topic. Ruth reports that despite the challenges of life in Haiti, she is still flourishing. I will walk beside her as I begin a mid-year journey.

#StartStrong

Recently, I watched my grandbaby gingerly rise and take a few cautious steps across the deck. Then, she plopped down. She rose, tried again, and we all clapped. She was determined to triumph on her way to mastering walking.  We recognized and acknowledged her efforts as a life step in learning.

As we move into the new school year, I recall this event and am reminded that we, as educators, parents, and grandparents, need to be the champions of our children. 

We encouraged our little one despite her many false attempts at walking while guiding her on, and applauded her attempts to become a walker. She knew she was in a safe environment with people who cared for her well-being. So too, in the classroom, educators as positive role models and influencers, need to watchfully observe students' movements, encourage their attempts to succeed, and celebrate their milestones. In turn within a culture of trust, students must find their stride, aim for a goal, and move gingerly toward its completion. 

At the start of school each year, educators, guides on the journey of learning, bring their passions and dreams for a hopeful future. They steer the ship to cross endless waters with their students bringing them the joys of lifelong learning.

Are we ready for this journey? I see that many educators on social media are either already embarking on a new year of exploration and discovery or just about to start their school year. 

Let's navigate through clear and muddy waters to #StartStrong!

I'm Ready!

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6-Word Teaching Story

From our life journey, stories evolve.

Educators have stories to tell. Their lives are a mix of teaching, learning, and family and are guided by passion-filled principles. When Kathleen Sokolowski sent a tweet asking educators to share their teaching story in a 6 word memoir, I paused to reflect on why I teach.

Teaching is my passion  and I have been: 

My long-standing career in education has taken me on an incredible journey from urban educational settings in Albany and Syracuse to Long Island where I taught and supervised K-12 students from diverse backgrounds. Experiences from novice reading teacher to reading specialist/coach to districtwide Language Arts Director have provided me with many windows into the hearts and minds of students. 

Because passion was still burning when I retired from public education, I changed gears to consider an unretirement lifestyle. I decided to go back to my passion, teaching and thus, began a career as an ELA Consultant. Teaching teachers has been a fascinating experience. Doors of possibility have opened. For the past two summers, I have taught an ELA Summer Institute at the local college to graduate students (teachers in the field). This summer, I asked the teachers to unleash their creativity with the end goal of finding their voices. They responded as I expected-with enthusiasm, passion, and pride.

You can see their accomplishments here.

No matter what type of student came before me in my career, I have been guided by positivity to impact learning. Motivating the learner from a passion-filled perspective has provided me with the opportunity to encourage all types of learners to move in small steps to succeed. 

Motivation is a key factor in engaging students

 in the task of becoming lifelong learners. 

What are my takeaways from decades of teaching experience:

Build a culture of trust and solid relationships
Engage learners from a stance of positivity

Kidwatch
Look for teachable moments

Scaffold

Honor ALL voices

Release responsibility

Celebrate the sparks that ignite

👏👏👏

What is your teaching story? 

Share your six-word story on Twitter 

with @MrsSokolowski and #liwp6words.

It's Slice of Life Tuesday at Two Writing Teachers. 
Join me to read what others slicers are writing about today.