Thanksgiving
A Moment
I am sewing your Halloween costume.
Sitting in my chair,
under the light.
Needle
and thread
Needle
and thread
It brings me joy.
To do this thing
for you
for me
and for us
Why does it bring me joy?
Make me feel warm and cozy?
Cozy
Sewing your Halloween costume
after dinner
after a meal, lovingly prepared
after we gathered ourselves around the table
and ate
talked
shared
laughed
full and relaxed
we clear away the dishes
and settle down together
tv
or
tinkering
or sewing
your Halloween costume
Cooking with Love: Chicken Pot Pie
I believe that cooking is one of the true comforts of home; it's one of the best ways to show someone you love them. Cooking is also a fantastic way for me to be creative. That's why I relish crafting a good meal for friends and family, or putting out a spread for teachers at book fair time. Planning the menu is fun, and I love lingering around the table afterwards chatting or playing games. It's so satisfying when I see people go for seconds and there are no leftovers.
Pioneer Woman is one of my favorite sources for recipes. Grabbing key ingredients and ideas from two of my favorite West Greenville shops, Revival Butchery and Naked Pasta, is always a treat. I often don't know what I'm preparing for dinner until I walk into either place and find inspiration. What's more inspiring than pasta that's just been made or freshly ground beef? Mmmmm! So good!
The last time we got a craving for chicken pot pie, I decided to make one from scratch, something I've never done. I went with Ree's easy chicken pot pie, recipe, but made it double crusted with store bought pie crust from the refrigerator section for the bottom and a puff pastry top. I saved time by using a rotisserie chicken and frozen peas and carrots. Oven roasted asparagus completed the meal. It was delicious and comforting.
When I look back to my childhood, I remember how good it felt to come home, so hungry for dinner, smelling my mother's cooking as soon as I walked in the door. Spaghetti after softball practice, Chicken Cacciatore after band. I appreciate the memory of this now more than I did when I was a kid, and wish I had been more grateful.
I'm adding chicken pot pie to my list of go to comfort meals to prepare, alongside hamburger steak with mashed potatoes, shepherd's pie and good old fashioned chicken soup. It feels good to make it, share it, and eat it!
Ode to Shortie
Abandoned
We already had two dogs. “He has to stay outside.”
My first response to this little stinky dachshund’s arrival.
Within days
He was inside: house, heart.
His personality had taken hold of me. I could turn him out no longer.
Black wiry fur
He looked like one of those pot bellied pigs people keep for pets.
His love for food: comical.
His eyes and wobbly walk
Expressions and personality
Quirky, winning
Always wanting to be near you.
eyes begging
For love in any form
Food
Touch
Toys
He loved toys
Especially the squeakers
Sniffing and snorting with excitement
Throw, chase, tug, growl, repeat
Those little nails clicking on the floor
He loved to dig outside in the yard
Nose fresh with brown dirt.
And bury himself
in blankets
Stealing dirty socks and shirts to feather his nest.
Five years.
Diabetes and divorce, Insulin and lawyers
A new normal, soon back to our old playful selves
Taking the shots well
Another year, out on our own
Ready partner in this new life
Steady
Holding
Hopeful
Another move
closer
New loves, New job, New town
Family
He was a bridge, a band aid. Ambassador healer
Slowing down, he grayed and limped.
How old is he?
We don’t know.
His adventures do not stop.
Convertible rides
Nose out the window
He is the portable star
Covered with kisses
It’s been a while since he chased a toy.
But his costume takes home first place anyway
Shaky
Seizures
He’s just old.
This is the sad part
Full of hot tears and burning regret
It is the end
Endings can be long or short
Which one is best?
Guilt and Pain a lesson to grow me.
Forgive me. Next time, I’ll do better.
Let me carry you in my heart.
We were not
Ready
To say goodbye.
Story time is Sacred
In this second year of story time I now understand: the purpose of the story time rug, the story time chair and having a special corner or area for story time. But the biggest revelation for me was just how important story time actually is. Don't get me wrong, I have always known that story time is a big deal and that reading aloud to children is hugely important, but the richness of it and the depth of what story time can be and do is much more than I originally gave it credit for. I underestimated it. Story time is an educational playground chock full of opportunities to teach vocabulary, literary elements and much more. It is also a time to personally connect with students. It creates a shared, community experience that can be referenced and built upon. I bet whole college courses could be done on story time, maybe they are.
I now have a story time chair for the reader - that's usually me! And, I have moved the area where we do story time to the back of the library, away from the distracting flow of checkout, visitors and chatting teachers, closer to our beanbag reading area near the big windows. I remember first seeing the tiered area in our library with the bean bags and thinking that was the perfect place for story time. Now I know better. That area is too large and spread out for my version of story time.
I still don't have a story time rug, because I haven't found one that I like just yet. But, I do understand that the students need to sit on the floor to improve their ability to focus on the book and its' illustrations, and that being close to each other is important. The rug defines that area and makes it special. Children need to see the reader's facial expressions, and the reader needs to see the children's facial expressions. The setting is intimate and special. This is one of the reasons I have chosen not to use technology during story time. I believe it would create a barrier between the reader and the student and that face to face experiences in our world are becoming a luxury.
I have always believed in doing the voices and making sounds when reading a story. Now I also find that putting my own reactions into the read aloud is often effective. The look of shock, surprise or anger on my face when a character does something unexpected is entertaining and often helpful to children in confirming their own reactions to the story. It is also fun.
I certainly have much to learn about the art of an effective story time, but I have come a long way. At the very least, I now have a more comprehensive understanding and a deeper appreciation for the goodness and importance of reading picture books to classes of students.
Standing Up
I love reading picture books to learners of all ages. I've heard picture books and story time described as "cognitive playgrounds," and I love this perfect monicker.
I read "Let the Children March" to a class of fourth graders recently. The reading led to some excellent discussion. After we read, and talked, and read some more, we thought about the things that mattered to us. I asked the students what they would stand up for, what they would march for. They made signs for their causes, and we held them up as we marched around the library.
Books paired with activities like this turn the library into a cognitive playground. I love getting my students up and moving with activities like this, and I love learning about their dreams and passions.