#DWHabit - Word of the Day - Return

To Come Back Again.  This is my first writing post since July 11. A lot has happened since then. School ended at the end of May last year. My plan was simple, read and write a lot. Plans have a way of falling apart. My mom's health went down hill quickly. I spent the entire summer either at a hospital or rehab facility. I would come home too tired to look at material for teaching a new subject the coming school year. Reading and writing were out of the question. I talked books. I talked ideas, but when I picked up that pencil to write I could not. I felt like a well that had run dry. I wrote examples with my students at school but it never went any farther. I tried to write during NaNoWriMo but just couldn't. I chided myself because writing had always been my outlet. I found that I was just going through the motions day in and day out. I couldn't sleep. I felt the harder I tried to read a book or write the more repulsed I felt.  That drove me nuts because reading and writing are my passions. This last month my assistant principal asked me to facilitate a writing initiative at my school. I went to the training and even though I was sick the day of the training, I was excited to be asked to do this. Inspiring others to write it what it is all about. Trying to inspire teachers who don't usually teach writing, to write with their students was a challenge I looked forward to.  For some reason, talking to and encouraging my students to encourage those teachers by being attentive to this writing initiative opened that stopper for me.

Return

Return to the familiar
What is that you ask?
You know the familiar,
that takes away your mask.

Those things like reading
That send you far away.
Yet  have a hint of familiar
to connect you to today.

Then there is the writing
that allows you to create.
Worlds and characters
for people to love or hate.

Return to the scary
the part that you must share
It shows students you have
courage to let them know you care.

Let this be my mantra
that I will write each day.
Let it be the candle
that brightly shows the way.

Return to the unfamiliar
to those things you dare to do.
Those things will one day blossom
into something beautiful and new.

#DWHabit - Word of the Day - Candle

Candles have many purposes and symbolize so much in our lives.   They are something so simple yet can be so powerful. A watched candle can provide light in a dark room. They provide a feeling of relaxation and security. If not watched a candle can ignite an inferno. They can create a devastation so powerful to destroy everything. Candles come in many shapes and sizes. We have those creative molded versions of flowers, animals and other shapes. They come in jars and cans with lids. They come in small sizes perfect for cakes. They can be fat or skinny short or tall. When we look at candles and their purpose in our lives we have to ask what would life be without candles. Lincoln read by candle light. Churches use them for services, wedding or for prayers. We use them in our homes. Their flames chase away the darkness while their fragrance fills our homes with sweetness.
Something so simple and useful.

Let Me Be A Candle

Let me be a candle
standing straight and tall.
Let me be a candle
of use to one and all.

Let me be a candle
to brighten someone's day.
Let me be a candle
a light along the way.

Let me be a candle
that bends in times of strife.
Let me be a candle
that shows a well lived life.

Let me be a candle
who warms the coldest heart.
Let me be a candle
with wisdom to impart.

Let me be a candle
full of faith and hope and love.
Let me be a candle
for my Heavenly Father above.