Merely Day By Day

Don't worry, I'm not wishing for winter.  I'm not sure I will ever wish for winter.  We went to the Columbus Zoo yesterday and saw the moose.  The moose looked a little sad and as I researched I realized moose really do not like heat.  They don't like temperatures above 57 degrees.  I'm guessing Ohio summers are as pleasant to them as Ohio winters are to me.  So today's original poem is dedicated to the moose as they struggle through these sizzling days.   Thanks to Amy Ludwig-VanDerwater at The Poem Farm for hosting today's event .  Stop by for more Poetry Friday fun --- and try not to get lost on Amy's amazing treasure of a site.   Winter Wish The sun beats down I hide under this tree Wanting to remove My heavy coat Or wade in a deep cool pond Instead I rest Panting Wishing For the cold days of winter I miss snow Weeks of winter white  My hooves are snowshoes My lanky legs keep me movin...

Today's piece is part of the  Slice of Life Challenge hosted on Tuesdays  at T wo Writing Teachers.   Thanks  Stacey  and  Ruth .  Yesterday was the first day of Teachers Write hosted at Kate Messner's blog .  I was excited to see many of the participants from Slice of Life joining this writing event.  This is my first year to participate and I'm looking forward to continuing to build my writing community.  Today's post is a reflection of yesterday's conversation --- and a continued problem for me.  I hope you can help.   Notebooks:  The Beginning It's been a little over ten years now since I trained to work as a literacy coach in my district.  I often look back at that time, not just as training to be a literacy leader, but also a training in life.  I learned many life lessons along the way and changed the way I do so many things.  Our trainer at the time, Max Brand, taught me perhaps the ...

Today I join the Poetry Friday fun with this poem original poem about lilies.   Carol Wilcox is hosting today and has some great poetry books waiting for you there.   Stop by Carol's Corner (carolescorner.blogspot.com) for more poetry fun .     Lily Dance Lily, as the tulip and iris bloom, you wait unnoticed, staying close to the ground for warmth. It's hard to resist the sun, calling you to play. You reach your ladder-like leaves, connecting ground and sky. The warmer days call you out, you climb, rising above others watching. You ascend higher, hoping for a better view. Finally you can see her, orange and hot in the deep blue sky. You burst like a firework in stunning color. Together, you bring color to the green all around, in your magical stance. Lily radiating from the earth, Sun singing from the sky. © Cathy L. Mere

Today's piece is part of the Slice of Life Challenge hosted on Tuesdays at T wo Writing Teachers.  Thanks Stacey and Ruth .  It is written in response to the numerous "I quit" letters written by educators that float around the internet.   A few months ago our son, at that time a business major with nearly two years of business classes completed, came to us with news. I could tell he was worried and nervous as he sat us down to talk. My husband and I listened intently as our son explained his reasons for wanting to switch his major to education. Jeff and I, both educators, looked at each other and smiled. I think we both had known this day would come eventually. John's decision made me think carefully. It is one thing to endure the current stresses in public education, yet quite another to envision your child (another one of your children) in that situation. The long hours, the continued attacks by politicians, the enormous amounts of mandated testi...

Today I'm joining the poetry Friday conversation hosted at Reflections on the Teche  with poem inspired by my cat who seems to have two personalities.   Stalker she lounges in the warm sun on patio chairs purring softly our sweet gray tiger cat peacefully waiting for attention then  without warning she leaps  to her feet stealthily she saunters like a shadow through tall grass feathered creatures flit from tree to tree they don't see her watching  peering planning slowly she steps one paw  in the tall green grass patiently pausing another step closer to her unsuspecting victim our gray tiger cat peaceful predator with bad intentions © Cathy L. Mere

Today I am participating in the SOL event hosted at Two Writing Teachers .  Thanks, Ruth & Stacey. After several days of work I finally said goodbye to my classroom for the summer.  Books are back on the shelves, supplies are put away, charts are off the walls, and there is very little sign that learning takes place there for most of the year.   Having that work behind me allowed me to begin to kick off summer with some of my favorite events. I joined the 48 Hour Book Challenge , planned summer learning , filled my Shelfari shelf with books I hope to read (both pleasure and professional), and started filling my calendar with times to catch up with friends and family.   Today I started with the first road trip of the summer.  Each summer my dad waits until I have my classroom closed down and then we take a day to drive to Logan County where he grew up. There's nothing quite like a road trip with Dad.  We kick off our trip with a coffee sto...