Mikey starts kindergarten on Wednesday.� He is attending the same Catholic elementary school I did as a child, which pleases me to no end.� Growing up without extended family in a new country means everything is new, including your history.� I used to envy the kids in my class whose parents or cousins or Aunt Petunias twice removed were “alumni.”� Mikey will now be one of those kids who can point to the asphalt on the far east side of the play ground and know his mother skinned her knee there, 24 years ago during recess.� I am thrilled to give him something he will most likely think is completely ordinary and never appreciate.
In exchange for history, Mikey is giving me–I hope–almost eight hours alone with Nicholas five days a week.� In addition to quality time, I’m also getting time to write.� I’ve decided to give myself a writing assignment.� I don’t know what, exactly, I will write about.� I don’t even know what I will write.� Fiction?� Essays?� Haikus? � The goal is to simply write creatively.� We’ll see how it goes.
Anyone else looking forward to school starting up again?� What do you plan to do with the change in your schedule?
Nap!
First time ever all 4 are in school all day. Taking the bus to and fro… my to do list remains sky high. Think BIG :) Back to school time holds more resolutions for me than Jan 1, hands down
So looking forward to first day of school next week � and almost 3 uninterrupted hours of work time!
Do you know what I think you should write? Favorite thing blogs. I miss them.
Really? I haven’t written a Favorite Moment post in a long time. What do you miss about them?
I’m also looking forward to uninterrupted work time when my boys head back to school, but I still have a couple weeks of chaos.
We have a few years until school for our family, but have you heard of National Novel Writing month? (“NanoWriMo”) –www.nanowrimo.org. The idea is that you write 50,000 words in one month. Not good, well-planned, beautiful words. I think it is a riot. The forums alone (where people post to discuss plot and character development) are worth signing up to do it. I just looked and topics there today include: “Voodoo: How to Make and Control a Zombie,” “All things potato,” and “Deaf culture and male dancers.”
Lynn,
YES. I have heard of it, and I have been to the forums. If ever there was a confidence booster, that place is it. Last year I was looking at the literature forum, and every single person there was a) convinced they were writing the next pulitzer prize, and b) writing about characters who were phenomenally tortured. Drugs, depression, mental illness, you name it. I know it was supposed to be “serious work” they were discussing, but I laughed for a solid 30 minutes. I’m not cut out to write serious literature, I suppose. I’m too happy. ;)
Ha ha ha – this sounds like fun.
I always wanted to be a write. I guess I sort of am, with that blog of mine. Or not.
School starting up again means school for me – my little one is just five months old – and as impossible as it seems, it means even less free time for me.
i’ve started writing couple months ago. no Pulitzer material there, let’s be clear!i don’t really know how it started and where the ideas and words come from but it’s fun. i love it but i stopped few weeks ago, my laptop passed away… can’t wait to get the new one!
will go and check out this NanoWriMo forum, sounds like fun!
xxx
Ugh Jules. Do you have to point this out?? I already get sort of jealous (even though homeschooling is my calling and I wouldn’t really change it) when I go to the store during the day and all the other moms are quietly pushing a cart and perusing…I’m herding 3 unruly children running pell mell through the store. (Well, they’re not really that unruly-they’re actually pretty great, but it seems unruly when everyone else in there is a grown-up!)
I’m glad that you are so happy for this though! That’s great!
As a teacher whose students are back tomorrow, I have a slightly different perspective on this “back to school” thing.
But I did want to say: do NaNoWriMo! We do it in my middle school here – this year my 8th graders will be writing their third novels during November! The Literature forums on the website aside, I think if you’re doing NaNoWriMo correctly you’re not taking yourself too seriously, it’s just a way to make yourself write. Of course, I don’t actually do it myself. I sort of do it, but because I’m a teacher I have lots of excuses for why my students’ word counts far surpass mine…Even so, I have a lot of fun with it, and so do the girls.
Every Wednesday for two hours I meet with a group of ladies aged 63-86 (I am 36) for JOURNAL Group. We are given a cue, usually a word or phrase and then we write and share our writing. It’s a great exercise = you never know where a cue can take you. Enjoy your assignment whatever form you take!
You are passing along a tradition and that is something that stays with you for a lifetime.
Mother Ship–I would love to do something like that in my area.
Staci–your blog name always makes me smile. :)
Happy 1st day of school Mikey! AND Haiku’s sound fun…I jest…
In spite of my children’s time in school I never seem to actually gain much extra time… It just shifts to other needs. Good luck with your writing!
Happy first day of school to Mikey and to you! Ross starts Friday, he’s in am kindergarten. And I started yesterday – back to school to switch careers and earn my Master of Arts in education and my Teaching Certificate (MATC). Because, you know, having another little one at home isn’t nearly work enough. ( I AM SO KIDDING!) No honestly, it will be tough but I am so excited to be back to school and on a new path!