Chance Encounters (SOLSC 7/31)

 

"I think I know her." I say, watching as the waitress hurries past us and out the door.  I didn't get a good look at her face, and I can't help but try and catch her eye as she leaves.  I know it will bug me if I don't say something.  I am shy, but I will break my habit of talking to strangers if it is a stranger I think I recognize.  I make a mental note to find her later.

Fortunately, I don't have to as when we are seated for lunch, the familiar face is the one to slide up to our table.  Here is my chance! I'm now 99% positive I recognize this young woman about to take our order. However, before I can say anything, my dad chimes in: "My daughter thinks she knows you."

The waitress's eyes light up as she finally sees me for the first time.  I smile and we both make the connection at the same time.  I recognize her as a former student at the same time she remembers me as her former teacher.

She squeals as she says my name, clearly delighted: "Ms. Johnson, right?"  

"Yes, and you're Amaya."  I'm usually terrible at student names, but despite not having taught her since 2016 I still remember her vividly.  I didn't quite match her enthusiasm, but only because I was still in a bit of shock.  I wonder if this is how celebrities feel when they are recognized in public?

It was surreal moment, especially in the middle of lunch on a random Sunday afternoon in an area far from my usual stomping grounds.  Then again, we were in the area of where I first started teaching, so it wasn't completely random.  

"What are you doing these days," she asks.

"Oh, still teaching.  I'm at Vilonia now though.  How are you?"

"I'm good!  I just started here.  I drive by the high school sometimes, just to see how it's grown.  It's so much better now."

I nod, I hadn't seen it for myself, but I could remember the years I worked there.  It wasn't a building so much as a collection of trailers in those days.  Although at least then I had windows.  "It's good to see you too."

I try not to dwell on the fact that I don't have nearly the enthusiasm to see her.  I wouldn't say I have bad memories of her, but I didn't think we were so close as to elicit that squeal of excitement. My real mistake comes when I share that with my parents after they ask me if she was a good student. 

"Not really," I say without thinking.  But, I amend later, "She was just a teenager with some attitude."  

I don't remember how it comes up, but as we are getting ready to leave she brings my parents the check and mentions that I was actually her favorite teacher!  

"Really?"  I'm flattered, touched, and a little embarrassed, because of what I had said earlier.

"Yes!  I loved how bubbly and positive you were.  You were the best teacher at charter."

I don't know if I'll be back at that restaurant, but it was a humbling experience to have a student be so thrilled to see me.  It just goes to show how wildly different experiences can occur despite being in the same room.

Green Thumb (SOLSC 6/31)

This was a piece I originally wrote in June of 2022 for a Garden Party themed writing challenge (though Teach Write as usual).  I have not posted it to my blog before and wanted to do so now.  Especially since today is my dad's birthday and this seemed like a great way to honor and celebrate him!  The style of writing is called a "haibun" which is a form of poetry that combines prose and haiku.

Happy 62nd Birthday Dad!

A Hoard of Hats (SOLSC 5/31)

 

While I may not have actively used this blog until this very Slice of Life challenge, I have still been actively blogging and writing.  My blogging has mainly been through a more professional capacity as I have taken ownership of the Teach Write, LLC.  As for my writing I would say the majority of it is dedicated to writing lesson plans or content for Teach Write.  So, again, professional.

I do find the time to pen the occasional poem and share it on platforms like Ethical ELA or Teach Write's monthly challenge padlet.  Not to mention the time I spend in my notebook and my sentence a day journal. But, even with that, more of my writing is professional, not personal, and I am hoping between this challenge and the coming poetry month to change that.

I write all of that to say: here is a poem. I wrote this poem last month for the Teach Write monthly challenge, but I am sharing it now on my public blog.  

It is also a slice since it tackles a moment last month when I was thinking of all of the hats I own -- though I couldn't tell you why.  It's not a huge collection or even all that special, not like my Pawpaw's hat collection.  He had a whole room full of just hats.  

I hadn't thought of that collection in over a decade.  It was one of those collections where he probably started with a small amount and then, over time, people just started buying him hats as souvenirs on their trips or as gifts for his birthday.  I remember that most of them either had funny sayings or destinations printed on the front.  I know at one point when we went to Disney World we brought him back a Goofy hat.  

By the time of his passing there were rows upon rows of hats hanging from the walls of that room.  I am not sure where most of them went -- to various family members I imagine.  This was the poem I wrote as I recalled those hats:

Falling Short (SOLSC 4/31)

 

The last day of the CrossFit Open was not the triumphant high I had hoped to end on.  I got stuck on the first section (wall walks) and that meant I could not move on to the other sections of the workout that I might have been better suited for.  

I struggled.  I got frustrated.  I cursed and cried.  I walked away.  I couldn't make it past the first round.

I can't decide if I am upset because I tried my best and still fell short or because in walking away a part of me feels like I gave up.

There are two things I am taking away from this experience:

1. I am grateful for my CrossFit friends, community, and coaches.  They were quick to congratulate me on my efforts and work that I have put in up until now.  They cheered me on, even when I wasn't feeling like I deserved those cheers.  I am so glad I have the gym that I do, because I think it would be so easy to give up if I didn't have that support system in place.

2. This is not the end of my journey, but a stepping stone.  I can start here, at two wall walks completed, and push myself to grow stronger and get better in time for next year's open or the open after that.  Heck, I may have an opportunity to try again as early as Monday with a better scaling option or at least more guidance on how to get my attempted reps to count!  

It's only quitting if you stop trying.  I have to keep showing up and do the work.

Today's slice was brought to you by another Teach Write Daily Writing prompt.

Open (SOLSC 3/31)

 On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays I roll out of bed at 4:45 AM to attend a 5:00 AM CrossFit class three minutes from my apartment.  When I tell people this they are surprised -- how do you wake up that early?  

It's the only time I can make work for going to the gym.  A 6:00 AM class would not be practical to get me to school/work and attending in the evenings would likely result in me skipping more than attending.  At the end of the day I just want to go home.

Which leaves me with waking up for a 5:00 AM.  I like the 5:00 AM class -- they're energetic and now that I've attended for two years I know most of them pretty well. I also like the boost of energy it gives me most days.  I definitely feel better on the mornings I work out.

I enjoy deadlifts (I can lift 205 lbs) and back squats (195 lbs) the most.  I enjoy the bicycle and wall walks the least.

Today, I will step into the gym in the evening for one last round of our CrossFit Open.  It's a competition of sorts, but for me it's more about seeing my own personal progress in fitness and not necessarily scoring against other competitors.  

We've been having the Open for the past two weeks now and the first day of it the owners of the gym had a professional photographer come and take pictures.  They did this last year as well.  They are often finding little ways to make working out more fun.  The photographer saw me, remembering last year's Open and how he had taken a picture of me "flying" as I did a box step up.

I wonder what he'll say about the picture this year?

World Made of Glass (SOLSC 2/31)

This summer my friend and I visited the Chihuly Garden in Seattle, an exhibit of the work of Dale Chihuly.  I am not sure if my words can truly capture how breath taking each room was -- a prismatic wonderland molded into fantastical shapes.  Entering each room of the exhibit was like entering a new alien world.  Some attempted to mirror the natural world found in forests and oceans; while others were so strange that it was more like the ribbon candy dreams out of the mind of Willy Wonka.

I was in awe of the rainbow of colors swirling, twirling, folding, and unfolding around me.  

However, the true marvel for me was not in the darkened rooms of the museum, but when you stepped out into the garden area.  This was where the alien world of glass stood in stark contrast with the natural world of plants.  I could see shocks of blue and purple sculptures blending into the vibrant green reeds of grass and ferns.

I had been taking pictures all along, but I came to a stop below a blue sky.  I was surrounded by glass blown and molded to look like a fireball -- shades of bright yellow to burning crimson streaking across the blue backdrop of the sky.  I turned to my friend and said: "You have to get my picture!  I want it to look like I'm creating fire from my hands."

She held up her phone and directed my posing.  It was extremely awkward, being shaped myself, but like the artwork around me the result was spectacular.

Today's slice was brought to you by another Teach Write Daily Writing prompt.

Echo (SOLSC 1/31)

Eyes wide with surprise, a grimace of disgust, jaws slack with horror, and shoulders either tense with anxiety or dropped in defeat -- these were just a few of the expressions I witnessed from my students today. Each reaction was unique as they realized the same thing: I had moved the tables and chairs!

It didn't matter which class period it was, the sentiment was echoed*:

"The tables are moved!" "Why did you change the desks?" "Ew! I don't like it." "Can we change it back!" 

Sometimes the displeasure was not verbally expressed, but physically.  I had at least three different students attempt to move a chair where I did not want a chair to be moved.

Of course, the only one happy about the new arrangement was me.  And more than one student accused me of taking pleasure in their pain today.  I was amused, but not at the pain.  Instead, I was smiling at the observation that despite changing the layout, very little had changed in terms of where people sat. Nearly every class migrated to the exact same spot in the room they had previously occupied.  Or at least they got as close to it as they could.  

There were two exceptions to this.

One class finally had the freedom to sit where they chose (earlier in the year I had assigned them seats due to behavior) and immediately snapped back to their previous locations of choice.

The other exception was a pair of boys who decided to lean into the chaos and took up residence at a table away from their normal group.  However I quickly learned that this was not a positive.  One student joked that they had "breeched containment" because even though they were sitting on the opposite side of the room, they still felt the need to communicate with their former group members. (I'll address that tomorrow).

Aside from that, it was an attempted lesson in change, yet so few of them actually changed anything.  Apparently we are creatures of habit and in order to combat changes we will take it upon ourselves to find some form of comfort instead.

*NOTE: Today's slice was inspired by one of the Teach Write Daily Writing Prompts for March.  I will likely be pulling much of my writing from these prompts and if you are stuck for an idea, I encourage you to do the same.  You can find the prompts posted on both our Twitter & Instagram accounts @teachwriteedu.