“With words at your disposal, you can see more clearly.”
Robin Wall Kimmerer 

Last week, We Are Teachers shared this on Twitter:

I printed it out to share with teachers right away. I love the visual message that learning is so much more than memorizing facts or formulas. As I considered how to write my final post for this month-long challenge, it occurred to me that these words were a perfect way to organize my thoughts about the experience of blogging every day.

Reflecting has the double benefit of giving me insights into my writing, but also processing and learning from whatever event I’m writing about. The frustrating part about reflecting is that you think of a better way to handle a situation after the event. Of course, this learning can be tucked away for the next time a similar situation arises. Similarly, with writing, a better word or sentence construction occurs to me after I hit “publish.” Still, I’ve become more aware of words and sentence structures I overuse. In my never-ending effort to improve my writing, I’ve tried to use them less often.

Writing daily has made me more attentive to the world in general. This has helped me solve some problems I’ve been struggling with in a story I’ve been working on for the past year.

Creating is the whole purpose of this challenge. Each day has brought forth a new piece of writing. Some posts have been more successful than others, but the very act of creating them has helped me become a more confident writer.

Which brings me to the word grow. Over the past month, I’ve tried writing in new ways, ways that haven’t always been comfortable. In the words of Elizabeth Gilbert, I’m pushing myself out of “the suffocating insulation of personal safety and into the frontiers of the beautiful and the unexpected.”

Finally, this has been a month filled with thinking. Thinking of a topic to write about. Thinking about just the right word or phrase for a poem. Thinking about all the beautiful, heart-felt writing I’ve read on other blogs.  Thinking about how lucky I am to be part of this inspiring, nurturing community.  Thank you for helping me see things more clearly.

And a very special thank you to Stacey, Tara, Dana, Betsy, Anna, Beth, Kathleen, and Deb for their Herculean effort to provide this space for teachers and others to share their every day during this month. Your hard work is truly appreciated! Be sure to visit Two Writing Teachers to read more Slice of Life posts.

“To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.”
~ Mary Oliver ~

Yesterday while I was out walking, I came across a fallen bird nest. It’s been pretty windy lately, so it must have been blown out of the tree. It looked forlorn and out of place on the ground. There were no signs of any eggs, but I wondered if there were any in it when it fell. Maybe a hungry fox or raccoon stumbled upon it at just the right moment and gobbled up the feast waiting at their feet.

I wanted to take the nest. My students would love looking at the odd collection of material the mother used to build a home for her babies. The nest was made mostly of dried grass, with a few dead leaves and twigs. She’d also tucked in a fair amount of what at first I thought were feathers, but after looking more closely, I saw was fiberfill from a coat or a sleeping bag. A strip of blue plastic, maybe from a shopping bag, was also woven in.

Then I began to wonder about this mama bird. What went through her mind when she discovered her nest was missing? Did she look for it? Did she grieve for her hard work and her missing eggs?

I left the nest undisturbed. While I realize the bird can’t pick the nest up and put it back, she might be able to reassemble it bit by bit. I hope she will and that it will soon be filled with new eggs.

I’ve spent a fair amount of time writing and thinking about this nest in the past twenty-four hours. Many people would say that surely I have better things to do with my time. But I don’t think so. I’m working on two projects where these thoughts and observations might be useful. So I’ll tuck these thoughts away. I’ll know when the time is right to take them out again and weave them into a story or poem.

 Thank you to Stacey, Tara, Dana, Betsy, Anna, Beth, Kathleen, and Deb for this space for teachers and others to share their stories each Tuesday throughout the year and every day during the month of March. Be sure to visit Two Writing Teachers to read more Slice of Life posts.