To the Woman Struggling with Infertility

I have been in your place

              in those cold mental stirrups

  and pink paper gown

              staring at black and white shapes shifting

  on the screen, searching for a follicle –

A small hope of what might be.

I have heard the advice

               Eat this; take that.

               Try this, not that.

               Just relax; just adopt.

               Maybe it’s not meant to be.

From those who mean well but cut deeper.

I will be your shoulder to cry on

               When your body says it’s impossible,

               but your heart says, “It is everything.”

               When your numbers come back too high or too low

               and you feel like a pin cushion.

Because you are tired, just so tired.

              

I will pray for you

               As the bills pile up, and insurance won’t pay.

               When you throw away another test

               that you just knew would be your

blue line, plus sign, or happy face.

And hope that one day you will find your peace.  

I will always remember

               The shots, the maybes, and the disappointments

Even though they are faded by morning sickness,

swollen feet, labor pains, and

               a whole new kind of tired

Because they brought my miracle to me.

7 Habits Wordles

7 Habits Wordle Posters

HABIT 1 -- BE PROACTIVE

http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/8022154/BeProactive.Habit1 

HABIT 2 -- BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND
http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/8022174/Habit2

HABIT 3 -- PUT FIRST THINGS FIRST
http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/8022122/Habit3

HABIT 4 -- THINK WIN-WIN
http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/8022128/Habit4

HABIT 5 -- SEEK FIRST TO UNDERSTAND, THEN TO BE UNDERSTOOD
http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/8022140/Habit5
HABIT 6 -- SYNERGIZE
http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/8022163/Habit6

HABIT 7 -- SHARPEN THE SAW
http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/8022167/Habit7


ALL HABITS ON ONE

http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/8023046/7Habits

My Mimi

Tonight I was hungry

     For a bacon sandwich

But I did not realize

     Until I ate the last strip

     Of thick pork

That what I was really craving

     Was a moment,

     A memory of my Mimi.

And 'tho my stomach filled,

     My heart remains empty

Longing for one more day,

     Another meal together

     One last chance to ask her

About the origin of

     The little wooden rocking chair

     That she gave me.

If only I could send her

     A picture and a note

Then await her handwritten reply --

     A comment on the weather

     Her most recent favorite meal, 

And how cute my kittens are

     Sitting on the embroidered blue seat

     Of her miniature rocker.

But that post will never arrive

     Because her memory

Will linger longer than

     The smell of bacon

     Hanging in the springtime air

And more moments will come

     That remind me of my Mimi

     And her love. 

After sitting in a PD all day on co-teaching, my brain is dead.  My teacher brain and writer brain can't seem to occupy the same space at the same time.  I wonder if that is why I don't incorporate enough creative writing into my lessons?  I usually blame that on Common Core these days, but maybe since I have a difficult time writing creatively during the school year, I don't ask my students to do it enough either.  The last two years on the end-of-year evaluations I gave students to fill out, even some of my reluctant writers made the comment that they wish we had done more creative writing. I need to remember that this year instead of letting myself get bogged down, but it's difficult to squeeze it all in!

Sometimes, some things

Sometimes I am too tired to sleep

Too worried about things I've said

or maybe its the things I didn't say

Thoughts bottled up inside my head
Flitter like fireflies in a mason jar

Too anxious about things I haven't done

errands that must be done tomorrow

items to check off my list, maybe some tasks

that aren't intended for me to complete

Too excited about the possibilities

of what more I could become

if I set my doubts free, of the place 

I could go if I let myself explore

Too overwhelmed by 

all of life's uncertainties

of dreams that could become reality

if only I wasn't too tired to sleep.


This is my second installment of today's prompt, written around 1:00 this morning.  Probably should have just put it in my reader's notebook, but that's still on the bookshelf in the cellophane, and my iPad was right next to the bed.

Sometimes

Sometimes
when I yearn for solitude
What I need most
is the laughter of a friend.

Sometimes
when no one is listening
I realize it is because
I haven't spoken.

Sometimes
when I am bored
I'm actually avoiding
what needs to be done.

Sometimes
when it seems no one understands
I find a thousand others
with similar hopes and fears.

Sometimes
when hope's feather

flutters in the breeze
A new adventure
is about to take flight.



I wrote this in response for today's Teachers Write post.  It didn't really follow the prompt, which was to create sensory details about a place, starting with the words "Sometimes".  Well, I got one part of it right.  As teachers we need to remember that just because a student doesn't follow directions exactly doesn't necessarily mean he/she is being defiant...maybe he/she is being creative.