Wonderment

I am practicing what I "preach" this week, as I prepare remote lessons for the ELA Summer Institute graduate class that I will teach online.  Teaching in this fashion is a brand-new experience for me. I do believe that teacher-learners need to move beyond their comfort zone if they are to guide students to do the same but what a journey it is to be caught in a cyberspace storm. While learning the Canvas platform, I cyberspace swooped down and sucked up major portions of my work with just a click. My blunder! A few more of these led me to be more vigilant and persistent. I was frustrated but eager to move through the frenzy of getting my work finished but when my husband suggested that I join him and my son for a walk on the boardwalk, I realized that I deserved a break. Off I went into the car, starring at the bright sunshine and wondering what I would find at the beach.  The lure of a seaside walk on a beautiful June day was too appealing to worry about work. 

Masked with iPhone in hand, I stepped from the ramp onto the boardwalk and listened to the sound of the sea lapping the shore. I scanned the beach looking for signs of compliance. Social distancing was seen on the beach as well as the boardwalk. Even the gulls swooped in a format that fit quarantine life. 

What a splendid afternoon walk I had. I left the beach in wonderment of nature and its constancy while wondering if this is what a weekend day at the beach would look like?  Probably not, but I want to hope for the best! 

The sea has a soothing effect on my quarantine life perspective. Inspired by the sights and sounds of the beach, I returned home to find the poem on wonderment I wrote for a poetry swap for Brenda Harsham.  My walk in the sun by the sea led me to pair the poem with a question for my teacher-learner students. Where will wonder lead you this fall? 




I certainly can say that poetry allows me to be in a state of awed admiration of nature. My jaunt to the beach was medicine for the body, mind, spirit, and soul. Poetic thoughts were flowing as I watched the waves swoop to shore and gulls swoon in sweeping gestures. 

As I finish tonight's work for my course, I join the Poetry Friday Roundup at my friend Karen Eastland's Blog, Karen's Got a Blog!  Come, join me for some more poetry goodness.

A Mother's Day to Remember

"Grandma, I love you." A sweet little voice exuberantly greeted me when I popped on a Zoom call. What a touching moment, spontaneously given the day before Mother's Day.  After the call, I reflected on past Mother's Day when my family gathered together and went to church, my mother and I standing at the end of Mass to receive a Mother's Day blessing. 

This year a new normal way of life surrounds Mother's Day. Church bells ring from an empty cathedral and we gather together to view a telecast Mass in our home. The unfamiliar pairs with the familiar-traditional love greetings, flowers, and card, a most welcomed sight from my husband and son.  Yet, we were alone and no sun in sight.

It just so happened that the sun decided to flood the sky with light. It was time for a walk so we sent a text to our friends.  A new idea sprung from the text. We decided to meet later in the afternoon for an outdoor, social distancing gathering.  Masked, we traveled to the other side of town with a tray of homemade cookies, chocolate-covered strawberries, and salad. Five of us sat in the sun at a proper distance away eating, laughing, and enjoying a few hours outdoors. It was a spontaneous act of friendship that turned a day into a memorable event.

I am offering this slice to Two Writing Teachers

for the Tuesday Slice of Life.

Virtual Travel Diary

Each new day is a blank page in the diary of your life. 
The secret of success is in turning that diary into the best story you possibly can.
-Douglas Pagels

As the pandemic rages across the globe, colleagues practice social distancing Twitter-style. With no mention of quarantine life, a tweet chat turns into a travel diary. Places across the states and as far away as Brazil and South Africa are shared with those who shelter in place.

Honey blush sunrise stills Central New York.

Sunny bluebird feather skies shine in California.

with a similar sight in North Carolina.

Rose-pink florals cascade in Los Angeles.

Courtyard green vegetation thrives in Texas while

Colorado white snow snowscapes share faith over fear.

Kansas white downy clouds billow

and ducks congregate in Wisconsin.

Silver strand clouds brush across Brazil's sky.

Evening nears with a heartthrob sunset hovering over Los Angeles.


☵
as day closes
nature shades evening light
shelter in place
humanity needs peace
 ataraxia exists

Nature Nurtures

©CVarsalona, 2020

Photographs collected from Cheryl Abla, Robert Breyer, #chazchaz, Christelle, colldingwithscience, Al Dhalla, Eric Hayes, Faige Meller, Sharon Norden, 
Karl O'Leary, Dr. Jill Ries, Elizabeth Russell

I invite you to join me bring voice and the artistry of nature to heal troubled hearts during these challenging times. See the special invitation by clicking here. Reminder to add your offering to my Nature Nurtures! padlet and on social media using the hashtag, #NatureNurtures2020.

Nearing the End of the Challenge_SOLSC 30

Today marks the near end of Two Writing Teacher's March Slice of Life Story Challenge. The journey has been filled with many stops along the way: greeting new friends, chatting with already acquainted slicers, and alone time to write and share. I'm feeling grateful for this opportunity and the quiet time tonight. Below is a found poem created from eleven of my March Musing 2020 series titles. I added in some of my digital art and nature photography.

The weather is chilled but I

walk lonely streets finding peace,
Watching nature at bloom.
I reflect on a gray day.
My March Musings pass on by.
Mesmerized by roads, I pen
A thought to live by mantra.

• 
• Traveling home, tensions mount.
• Social distancing is real.
• Dear spring buds, what is normal?
• 

☵☵☵

Each year since March 2015, I have engaged in Two Writing Teacher's Annual Slice of Life Story Challenge. Slicing allows me to ponder life, literacy, and learning, capturing small moments poetically through writing, photography, and digital art. Welcome to Day 30 of 31 days of writing with Two Writing Teachers. 

More on Social Distancing_SOLSC 19

Poetry heals the soul in trying times.

 Since the onset of the concept of social distancing, 

poems are appearing giving rise to the collective voice. 

After writing my commentary on social distancing, I was pleasantly surprised to see that my slicer writing friend, Kevin Hodgson, responded poetically to my poem. Several years agao, Kevin introduced me to the video-writing platform, Lumen 5.  In gratitude for his gifts of Lumen 5-created video poems of my work, I am returning the favor. Below is the print version of Kevin's poem. You can view the video poem I created of his response to my poem by clicking on the word preview here. 

Sharing our writing and creative spirit with friends is a way to bring voices together

and soothe the soul.

Do the birds understand

the concept behind
social distancing?

Neither flutter
birds still sing
of coming spring

While we fret
our days away
on the heels of
Winter

I'm noticing
the wire, the
gathering point
of convergence

feathers touching
to remember
the rains

before the presence 
of sound -- it's me, 
after all --
the flock

gone, distancing
the social norm
of the scattering
--a poem response --Kevin Hodgson

☵

Each year since March 2015, I have engaged in Two Writing Teacher's Annual Slice of Life Story Challenge. Slicing allows me to ponder life, literacy, and learning, capturing small moments poetically through writing, photography, and digital art. Welcome to Day 19 of 31 days of writing with Two Writing Teachers. 

Commentary on Social Distancing_SOLSC 14

A  cool breeze filters through the open window with a dull, grayish sky opening day. There are no birds singing their tunes. I wonder why. Is life here in my suburb close to Manhattan finding its way to cope with the pandemic? Is nature responding to the crisis? Do the birds understand the concept behind social distancing? I imagine this gray day moving toward Manhattan as I write. 

May this poem help us understand the gravity of the pandemic's reach and bring us closer together in thought as a global community during this trying time.

Each year since March 2015, I have engaged in Two Writing Teacher's Annual Slice of Life Story Challenge. Slicing allows me to ponder life, literacy, and learning, capturing small moments poetically through writing, photography, and digital art. Welcome to Day 14 of 31 days of writing with Two Writing Teachers.