My husband is mostly retired, and even though we've already been on vacation this summer, he's taking three weeks away in Michigan - seeing friends, volunteering at his beloved camp, playing a lot of tennis. The dog is with him, too, so I am home alone.
I finally rallied for an early morning visit to the farmers market and bought myself this beautiful bouquet in the picture here; 3 yellow tomatoes, which I've eaten sliced and sprinkled with salt; and a basket of sugar snap peas, which I blistered in a piping hot cast iron skillet and topped with ricotta, lemon and mint. Just heaven - forkfuls of summer goodness.
But my real work of being home is to work (coach, plan professional learning, organize for fall) and continue the "big clean-up" of decades of teaching. One thing that helps me stay motivated is finding a new, meaningful home for my stuff.
* A bag of stationery and cards going to a youth writing program - oh, and how about some of my 20 jillion pens and journals-never-touched going there, too? Yes, please!
* Collecting all the office supplies and art supplies and gift wrapping supplies in one place, and posting up these awesome collections on Facebook, to help them find new life.
* A stack of middle grade novels going to a brand new 7th-8th grade ELA teacher.
* Another stack going to local Little Free Libraries.
The relief I get from doing a drop-off is huge, yet it also feels like the tiniest dent in the world that is my paper-filled, book-filled, stuff-filled teaching history. I am listening to music as I let go (yes, it's helping to quiet my own brain) and trying to hard to give instead of hold on. There is not really a "just in case" scenario, Lisa, my dear - those are distractions - move to the give-away pile, post haste!
(A somewhat sad aside: I have attended a few memorial services the past month, and the thought of my children being saddled with this clean-up and clean-out if highly motivational.)
So ever onward, and if you need a big stack of picture books, let me know - I can hook you up! (Not at all kidding!)
** RIH, the beautiful Andrea Gibson. Spend a few minutes with their poetry: https://buttonpoetry.com/andrea-gibson-a-letter-to-the-playground-bully-from-andrea-age-8/
I just saw the news about Andrea Gibson. So many creators’ lives end at a young age. It’s heartbreaking. About those summer veggies: We have zucchini going wild around here already. I know well that letting go of teaching stuff. I’ve done it in stages, mostly because I still present at NCTE, but when my term on the Children’s Poetry Awards Committee ends, the rest of the teaching books are out the door. Like you, I do t want my kids to have to deal with lots of stuff when I die. I’m working on the Swedish death purge.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I share your desire to share the gifts of teaching and learning with others. I always say that the best books are being used - not sitting on shelves. I am very sorry to hear about Gibson. She will be missed.
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