It's funny how as we grow older, waking up early becomes an everyday thing. As much as I love to sleep, I know that if I don't wake up early on the weekends the work week is going to be utter hell.

I went outside this morning and I saw some intersting things:

Absence

In the time that I've been gone, I haven't done too many exciting things.

The Power of Literature

With the end of the Potter series looming at the end of the week, and the Twilight series final movie installments just around the turn of the calendar, some people are saying good-bye to their childhood literature comforts.


It’s moments like this that I like to step back and people watch. And I can’t help get emotional. Not because I’m sad that it’s the end of the series, but because of the immense power literature holds over people.

As a lover of words and stories, I have always found comfort in stories, poetry, and my own words. For so long, I felt like I was the only one who felt this need to live between the pages of Superfudge, wishing Ivon Villa from Desert Blood:The Juarez Murders really existed so I could call her up and chat, wondering what people said about the Buendias in Macondo, creating my own world in which I was whoever I wanted to be at the moments. But as I’ve taken my wonky path through life, I’ve found other people like me.

It’s incredible how the simple act of opening a book can change a person forever. And that, is not only why I love reading and writing, but also why I don’t ever want to stop teaching.

I Think...

Chasing Brooklyn

I just finished reading Chasing Brooklyn by Lisa Schroeder, and I’m emotionally spent. It was such an incredibly sad story.  One of the most touching poems is the following:

#289

Dear Lucca,

I miss you.

I miss your beautiful blue eyes and the love I saw in

them for me.

I miss your hand that held mine.

I miss your arms around me.

I miss your lips on mine

I miss your laughter.

I miss the way you called me Brooker the Looker

I miss your voice and the sweet everythings you

whispered in my ear.

I miss the drawings you showed me before anyone else.

I miss our midnight conversations for no other reason

than to say, “I love you.”

I miss how I felt safe when I was with you.

I miss you, Lucca.

For my whole life, I will miss you.

Love always,

Brooklyn

Although the resolution seems to come too easily, this book is so powerful. It tells a tale of lost love, and yet, it offers so much hope.

Brooklyn and Nico are complex characters depicted through the simplistic language of Lisa Schroeder. It was hard to put this book down. I'm so glad one of my students recommended it for me.

A Long Awaited Break

It seems like last week could not end fast enough. Every day, I would wake up thinking it was the next day.

An Allegory

There are many similes and metaphors teachers can use to describe what it’s like to be a teacher these days, running on a treadmill, a mountain being capped by snow, etc.

This morning, I woke with that sentence on my mind, and had to add but to it. Because those comparisons are old and trite in my mind, I’d much prefer to use an allegory at this moment…