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SOLSC #23 – To Health

Published on March 23, 2023

It is Tuesday and time to write a 'Slice of Life." 
Thank you  Two Writing Teachers for creating this supportive community
of teacher-writers!

A friend (a peer) jokes that we’ve reached the age where our conversations invariably become an ‘organ recital.’ I guess Day 23 of the SOLSC challenge leads me to this tiresome topic, lol.

My dermatologist had me follow up with the dermatologic surgeon, for a routine cyst removal – due to its irritating location at the center of my back. I feel so grateful that only a minor procedure was required and I do not have skin cancer or any other complications.

I was able to set up an appointment before leaving the dermatologist’s office, pleased at how straightforward this whole process was.

Not.

Two weeks later, I received a message that this appointment had to be canceled, because the surgeon was not available on the scheduled date. Unfortunately, this schedule change could not be handled by the practice’s portal – please call the office at my earliest convenience. This brief message was followed by a maddening, long game of phone tag with the receptionist, lasting several weeks. I’m not kidding. When we finally connected (I was in the middle of a visit from a friend, and I rudely interrupted our conversation to grab the phone), I was given an appointment for May – a date that was almost six months after that first visit with the dermatologist. The receptionist explained that they sometimes have cancellations, and she would call me, if so. Thank goodness I am retired and have ‘flexibility’ to bend with this unpredictability.

Yesterday afternoon, I received such a call – and this morning I went for the ‘minor procedure.’

The cyst ended up being bigger than anticipated, and the process more grueling than I had imagined. I had to be given extra anesthesia. I was curious, and the doctor let me see the cyst when it was removed. UGH. Consider yourselves lucky that this slice is photograph-free!

I received a whole litany of restrictions afterwards, which I have to observe until the stitches are removed in two weeks. I won’t be lifting our two year old granddaughter, for one. I guess I should have asked more questions about the procedure beforehand – not simply the schedule.

To health!

SOLSC #22 – Sparkling

Published on March 22, 2023

It is Tuesday and time to write a 'Slice of Life." 
Thank you  Two Writing Teachers for creating this supportive community
of teacher-writers!

it may not turn to gold,
but what she touches 
invariably 
sparkles

two-year-old Bird 
arrives at our house 
knowing exactly what 
she wants to do

she runs to “her cabinet” 
opens the door 
empties the gold mine

shiny pebbles 
bright sequins 
polished gems 
bright beads 
smooth marbles 
flash gleam glisten play

it’s all about the bling these days 

one lustrous activity after another

gather them 
mix them 
stir them into a cake

find Poppa’s cars and trucks
how many gems fit inside
the hood the trunk the doors

find some bins 
fill containers 
stuff a purse 
snap, zip, pop, close, open
pour them out, of course

Nana helps make a line
mold them into a shape

hide hold haul handle with care

how fun it is to fill a sink with water
add some bubbles 
wash them up and towel dry

repeat as needed
over and over
and over again

a gem of a day
together

let it shine

Thank you for visiting my blog.  Clicking the title of any post will open a comment box at the bottom of the page. I love hearing from you.

SOLSC #20 – Night Adventures

Published on March 20, 2023

It is Tuesday and time to write a 'Slice of Life." 
Thank you  Two Writing Teachers for creating this supportive community
of teacher-writers!

Thank you for visiting my blog.  Clicking the title of any post will open a comment box at the bottom of the page. I love hearing from you.

A few months back, a friend told me how to hold onto those sleep adventures commonly referred to as ‘dreams.’ I invariably wake with the vestiges of some wild trek slipping out of my mind – how might I hold onto these? They disappear before I have a chance to write them into my morning journal. According to my pal, the trick is:

Lying perfectly still upon waking.

When you open your eyes, try not to move a muscle, do not change position in bed. It is the body’s movement that sends the dream fluttering away.

Now, lying still, repeat the dream to yourself, over and over, several times, recording it to memory. Even if it is only a snippet, repeat this vision again and again.

Once you have repeated the dream to yourself several times, now allow yourself to move just a bit – reach for a pen and paper at your bedside and write it down. (Or, if your phone is at your bedside, make a voice memo.) Do not let yourself be interrupted by anything else: record the dream.

To be honest, my pal is no authority on sleep or dreams, but she spoke with such conviction, I decided to make this one of my experiments over the next while. As much as possible, I try to freeze upon waking, not moving or stretching my body in the least way, and I try to replay the night’s escapade.

I’m not sure if it is her advice or the simple goal-setting/focus on my part, but I have been much more successful in capturing my dreams since I started this practice. What a wild time I have at night! Why does my mind travel in this way? Dreams are a bit like surprise trips, I think. I am always transported to weird and unexpected places, with characters known and unknown, and snippets of reality coupled with bizarre:

- I’m running through a fuchsia-colored high school gym with someone I coached with 20 years ago
- there’s an interloper at my house, weaving beautiful curtains and tapestries
- I’m a passenger in a driverless car on a curvy highway in the middle of the night 
- my grocery store opens into the outdoor Italian market in Philadelphia
- I’m wandering in rooms filled with handmade wooden toys

What in the world is going on with me at night? I’m going to try to track my dreams for six months or so, and see if there are recurring themes.

I am baffled by my night adventures.

SOLSC #19 – Rebirth

Published on March 19, 2023

It is Tuesday and time to write a 'Slice of Life." 
Thank you  Two Writing Teachers for creating this supportive community
of teacher-writers!

A full and lovely Sunday leads to a simple haiku and photos – spring is here, in Maryland.

bursting from the cold
gestation and rebirth
everywhere I look

SOLSC #18 – Stretched

Published on March 18, 2023

It is Tuesday and time to write a 'Slice of Life." 
Thank you  Two Writing Teachers for creating this supportive community
of teacher-writers!

As you do this exercise, remember to button your lower spine to the mat.

A friend of a friend was seeking clients for sessions on a Pilates reformer, to accumulate enough hours to become fully certified as a Pilates instructor.

I volunteered immediately to support her in this endeavor. I wanted to help this young person in her pursuit of this new goal, and, selfishly, I was eager to try this exercise approach. Years ago, I took a Pilates matwork class at our local YMCA, and I have always been curious about the machine workout, the Pilates reformer. According to the Pilates Foundation, Joseph Pilates worked with patients who unable to walk, helping them to become more physically fit:

I invented all these machines…it resists your movements in just the right way so those inner muscles really have to work against it. That way you can concentrate on movement. You must always do it slowly and smoothly. Then your whole body is in it.
Joseph Pilates

At the studio, I was immediately overwhelmed by the array of reformer ‘beds’, mats, and bars. I am so thankful that I had the studio by myself for personal coaching. I had to concentrate on every direction offered, there were so many precise and small movements.

Perhaps I exaggerate her prowess, but, wow, she stretched me. (Yes, that is a pun.) With her patient and clear guidance, we began with a series of leg exercises, sets of which were only minutely different from one another, and yet worked my muscles in unique ways –

toes on the bar,
mid-foot on the bar,
heel on the bar,
feet in Pilates V,
feet hip width apart,
feet wide - at the outside edge of the reformer,
feet and thighs tightly together,
feet together and thighs separate - like a frog…

I was putty, manipulating my body to follow her every command, holding no other thoughts in my mind than the movement she suggested. I think I “held my belly button against my spine” for the entire hour, lol, as she gently guided me through a variety of core-strengthening exercises. Just like that, the hour was over.

I was delighted to help this young woman accomplish her goals.

If you’ve ever doubted the value of small, incremental changes, try a session on a Pilates reformer.

SOLSC #17: Collaboration

Published on March 17, 2023

It is Tuesday and time to write a 'Slice of Life." 
Thank you  Two Writing Teachers for creating this supportive community
of teacher-writers!

You’ve been poemed ♥️

Her text flashed across my phone screen while I was reading books to my granddaughter. Immediately, a new smile crossed my face, and Bird asked –

What is it, Nana? Let me see.

Even at two years of age, she understands that my attention was (ever so briefly) diverted, and that the phone is very captivating.

Nothing, hon – I’ll check later.

We went back to our good book, while I held this tiny morsel of excitement about the new poem that awaited me from my friend Dee.

We’ve been good friends for years and years – Dee is my high school bestie. We live many states apart, but have always kept close. Early last April, we did a weekend girls’ trip together, exploring Richmond, Virginia. Simultaneously, I was participating in the April poetry challenge #VerseLove through Ethical ELA (you should check this out!).

A prompt that weekend was offered by two writers, Gae Polisner and Lori Landau, to create a collaborative poem, where you take a line from one person’s writing and use these words in a new poem of your own. I read this poetry prompt aloud to my friend Dee, and right there on the spot, we decided to begin our own collaborative poetry journey.

Dee and I both love to write; we have been avid letter and email writers with one another through the years. We both keep journals, where we write to release. She had never really written poetry, and I am fairly inexperienced with poetry, as well – but we both enjoy poetry immensely. What if we used poetry as a vehicle to share with one another, to connect?

Just as Gae Polisner and Lori Landau shared about themselves, Dee and I created a single google doc for these treasures – Dee & Ree Write Poetry. It is our running log of collaborative poetry…a volley of words. I think I wrote the first poem; she read and reacted and found one line, one small morsel to use in her own poem. And away we went!

The google doc allows us to write when we – individually – have the time, and to respond whenever. There is no expectation of response time between poems; life can get complicated, stuff happens. There are times when I immediately answer her poem with a poem, and other times when several weeks pass before I find words. There are also no rules about what or how to write. Sometimes I create a poem using a particular poetry form, often it is just free verse. I enjoy sharing about what is happening in my life, and I also enjoy writing other poems that are my venting about the world. The google doc is a poetic conversation between good friends.

Here we are almost one full year out from the start of this experiment, and we both love love love the writing. We’re not even sure that our poems are any ‘good’ at all, but we love the window this writing has provided into each other’s lives. I know I am writing better, deeper, more wholeheartedly. Perhaps it is because I have a clearer idea who my audience is? I just counted how many poems are in this one document – there are 54 thus far this year, wowsa! We’ve each written 27…averaging two a month; how delightful is that?

This poetry collaboration has been one of the highlights of my past year, nourishing and joyful. Let me close with a recent poem of mine to Dee, using the line “we’re making new earth” from her preceding poem –

edge of spring

this chilly grey day at the edge of spring
the guys hung drywall and 
I worked in my son's yard
piling high the broken dried branches 
sweeping browned leaves from the deck
turning the hard soil to transplant 
extras from our place
yes, early this morning, 
Tony dug up mahonia, siberian irises, 
and wispy raspberry plants to share
we’re making new earth
I whispered to the worms
as I dug
I was surprised to see these
little soft-bodied beings
I’d imagined them much deeper 
in the ground this time of year
I guess winter is waning 
after what’s really been a wash 
of a winter, nothing but grey 
brown cold windy this year
still
everything is so clear with bare trees 
I cherish the way light peeks through 
I will miss this
I enjoyed the stillness
working by myself, dreaming
hearing the clunk-tap-gsh of my shovel
yes, I was making new earth

SOLSC #16 – Write As Is

Published on March 16, 2023

It is Tuesday and time to write a 'Slice of Life." 
Thank you  Two Writing Teachers for creating this supportive community
of teacher-writers!

I had the best-laid plans for writing my SOL earlier today; there are several topics I am ‘flirting with.’ Ah, well.

We were babysitting our two year old granddaughter “Bird,” and I had no doubt she would take a good nap. The time change had messed with her body a bit, plus she had a small cold; I knew I could write while she slept this afternoon.

(About that cold – in the midst of playing, she called out to me in horror – “oh no, there’s a droopy thing on my face!;” this may be my new nomenclature for a cold, “a droopy thing,” lol.)

I should know by now that plans will be thrown asunder when there are young children at the heart.

We got a call from school when we were putting Bird down for her nap. Big sister “Frog” (who is four years old and attends all-day pre-K) didn’t eat anything at lunch and proceeded to fall asleep in her teacher’s chair. She was probably sick. We should come pick her up early from school.

I can’t say we were terribly surprised; these two girls have been tossing germs back and forth this whole past school year. It’s been one virus after another, for all of us. Maybe they both have colds? Maybe they have spring allergies? Unclear, at present. Doesn’t really matter, because I was in the car, regardless, driving across town, picking up Frog from school. Poppa stayed home with the baby.

It’s funny what a creature of habit I am; I love my granddaughter but I didn’t like this change in our routine. Early in the school year, I missed babysitting Frog so very much; now, so many months later, I am totally used to her absence for most of the day. When Bird is sleeping, Poppa usually naps as well. This means, I have this quiet house all to myself.

Not today. My plans for quiet writing time were usurped. I was feeling a wee bit grumpy.

I gave myself a pep talk on the drive over: well, if Frog’s falling asleep at school, she’ll probably fall asleep here, too, yes?

Not.

When we get back to the house, Poppa was just getting up from his nap. He fixed their favorite sandwich for both himself and Frog: peanut butter and banana, with a serving of fresh blueberries on the side. I sat back in my writing chair and smiled. Even if I don’t get to write today, this is heaven – to live near our grandkids and have this close relationship with them.

A moment or two later, a blueberry rolls onto the floor, knocked accidentally by the sandwich in Frog’s hand.

Poppa picks it up and hands it to her – “We believe in the five second rule,” he says with a smile.

“What’s the five second rule?” Frog asks.

For some unknown and regrettable reason, I decided to explain the five second rule to her:

"If something falls to the floor and 
you are able to grab it 
before five seconds pass, 
it is good enough to eat."

“What’s five seconds?”

"1….2 … 3 …. 4 …. 5"

She looks at me stricken - 
"Do I have to go nap now?"
The ominous countdown has sent fear through her four year old body; 
she is worrying that my counting 
has led to a nap.



(Wait, who is doing a countdown to send her to nap? Is this the teacher? Is this her parents? Hmm, this is an interesting insight.)

“No, hon, I was talking about 
the five seconds; 
it’s a slow count, like that...
1…2…3…4…5.”

“Okay, okay, count while I eat now.”

“What?”

“I’m eating my blueberries, and you count.”

“No, kiddo, the counting is when 
food falls onto the floor.”

“I CAN’T EAT MY DINNER OFF THE FLOOR!”

“I’m not asking you to do this,” 
I laughed; 
“it’s just a way of saying 
if something falls down briefly, 
it’s probably still okay to eat.”

She looks at me impatiently, and confused.

“Hon, your dinner wasn't on the floor. 
It’s just one blueberry that fell.”

She continues to give me a piercing look of incomprehension.

“Um, let’s just keep eating.”

Here’s the truth, it takes longer than five seconds to explain the five second rule. Something got lost in translation. Slipped through the cracks. Missed a beat.

But, hey, there’s my SOL for today!

SOLSC #14 – Circling

Published on March 14, 2023

It is Tuesday and time to write a 'Slice of Life." 
Thank you  Two Writing Teachers for creating this supportive community
of teacher-writers!

I’ve long forgotten what I accomplished that led to the prize – was it scoring high on a test? I clearly remember how awkward I felt. I was “the new girl” and an introvert, that horrid combination of trying desperately to fit in while seeking to avoid any and all unusual attention. Mr. M called out my name in the middle of math class, to come forward to the front of the room and handed me: a slide ruler. He proceeded to ask me what I loved about math and how I became so accomplished at it, to share my math background with the class. He might as well have asked me to undress in front of everyone. Please oh please oh please, can the floor open up and whisk me underground?

I remember going pale and stammering, my emotions spiraling, and I said something simple such as “I like that there is always one clear answer.” I somehow found my way back to my seat, circumnavigating the room while holding this glaring tool, one that I never ever learned to use. Just like that – in one unexpected whirl of a moment – this teacher had sealed my fate not only as the new girl, but as a nerd. In the 1970s, nerds were not as loved as they are now.

It’s strange to circle back in time to that memory…my own social ineptness and this inability to connect with any of my peers … all the strife at my own home, with my father’s new high-level job at the Navy yard and our hard transition to living on base in Navy housing after ten years in our own suburban home in Norfolk, Virginia…my mother was experiencing severe mental health issues…my brothers and I were ‘on our own’ to figure out this whole new world we were living in, so very different from all that we had known before.

What irrationally pops into your head, making you stew and relive and wonder? Isn’t it strange how moments from the past jump out, and you find yourself rotating the memory in your mind, looking at it all around again, puzzling out different aspects? Or am I the only one who does this?

I did succeed in making one friend that school year, one very, very dear friend. When I think about my closest friends, it’s as if I have one dear friend from all the different time periods of my life:

my high school senior year bestie,

my college bestie,

my grad school bestie,

my first job bestie,

my first child bestie,

my parenting bestie,

my teaching bestie.

I continue to be very, very close to each of these women. They don’t know each other very well at all – though they’ve met on occasion. I wonder, sometimes, if it is strange that I am not comfortable, really, with a group of girlfriends. I am a solitary friend, a ‘one at a time’ friend. Still, they are my circle, my go to, my supports in life.

What else am I spinning about today?

I guess I have jumped around a bit in this slice, with no real pattern.

Do slices have to revolve around one topic?

Well, then, let’s go full circle –

Happy Pi Day!

SOLSC #13 – Whirlwind

Published on March 13, 2023

It is Tuesday and time to write a 'Slice of Life." 
Thank you  Two Writing Teachers for creating this supportive community
of teacher-writers!

Winter Storm Warning
…in effect from 5pm Monday to 8am Wednesday
…accumulations of 12 to 18 inches
…heavy wet snow expected
…travel will be difficult to impossible
…likely result in power outages
…a long duration and high-impact snow event

These words blasted across my friend’s phone, as she checked the weather for the next few days of my visit in Connecticut. 

Oh no!, she exclaimed, Maureen - I hate to say it, but you have to get out of here. Now. This is going to be a doozy of a storm.
 
What?! 

If not for AccuWeather, we would have been absolutely blindsided by this storm. The weather yesterday was an absolutely gorgeous winter day in New England - it was sunny and in the low 40s. Impossible to believe a big storm was hurdling this way! This was a perfect day for a brisk walk, and we took a wonderful one around the lake. The world looked especially beautiful. Here’s a photo of Harwinton Lake –

We enjoyed a three mile walk, with our usual nonstop conversation. The only pauses in our talking were the hills, lol. I always forget how much hillier it is in her neighborhood. I walk a lot at home, but I am not used to getting winded as I walk; my neighborhood is mostly flat. Note to self: I will set the goal of walking more briskly at home, picking up my pace.

Check out these fun rock sculptures someone built in their yard. They reminded me of people, bundled up for the cold and trudging through snow to gather together. It’s been a fun visit here.

But the weather forecast was clear: this gorgeous weather was not going to continue; the storm would begin Monday evening and continue through Wednesday.. So much for a loooong weekend with my college bestie; I needed to get home to Maryland ahead of this snowstorm. With that, I was looking up flights and changing my itinerary, and I was able to book a flight for this morning.

Fast forward – first thing this morning, I woke to a rap at my door – my friend had to wake me up, because I was oversleeping. The daylight-savings time change had wrenched my “I’m always awake by 7 a.m.” into an unexpected “Hey, it’s 8 a.m., you have to get up!” I raced about in foggy-headed confusion, and we were out the door for the airport.

A fitting end to a very full two weeks, I suppose. I crammed in every possible thing – including my sleep, lol.

My friend will have the thrill of shoveling and possible outages; I will rest and recover from all the fun I have had for nearly two weeks now. And, I’ll be home and ready to babysit my grandchildren later this week. Yes, it is time to be home.

Goodbye, Connecticut!

Welcome back, Maryland!

SOLSC #12 – Anniversary

Published on March 12, 2023

It is Tuesday and time to write a 'Slice of Life." 
Thank you  Two Writing Teachers for creating this supportive community
of teacher-writers!

Happy Anniversary, to Tony and me! We were married 35 years ago…which I understand is the ‘coral’ anniversary. It was appropriate that we were at a beach last week, I guess.

We are actually apart for our ‘anniversary day’ this year. He is traveling to visit with family, while I am in Connecticut for a bridal shower (as I mentioned in yesterday’s post).

The bridal shower cake – isn’t this exquisite?

There have been several years where we have had to be apart on our anniversary day, so we plan a celebration before or after the date. When the kids were young, and money was tighter, we didn’t always go out for our anniversary – but we had a ‘date night’ in, with the children ushered upstairs to bed as early as possible, followed by a special dinner for just the two of us.

Now that we are retired (my third year, his seventh year), we are awed by how much fun together we can weave into our life. We have so much flexibility to head out on a local hike or a walk in our favorite park, pretty much any day of the week. Thirty-five years in, we still enjoy being together very, very much.

We have never been big gift-givers with each other, and the older we get, the less we seek having more stuff. We love time together and new experiences, a time apart from others, just the two of us. A couple years ago, we tried to write a list of what we did each year to celebrate – and we were so surprised by how many years we simply could not remember. What are our favorite places? The mountains, without a doubt. Hiking – yes, sheer joy. A room with a view of water or the ocean – ooh, that’s nice. A new city or town, to stroll around and investigate. It’s all good!

Truth is, I love the touch of his hand with mine, as we fall to sleep – we can make that happen anywhere.

I sent Tony this photo collage first thing this morning – every photo is less than one year old. We are truly blessed!

Happy Anniversary to us!