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Last November I said goodbye to my high school English students and drove the 2000 miles from New Hampshire to Colorado to be a grandma. My daughter asked me to come; she's beginning her medical practice and wants her newborn daughter to be with family when she goes back to work..and even though I am a long ways from the stone walls, deep hemlock forests and rocky coastline of New England, there is nowhere right now that I would rather be.
I miss my 17 year olds . But cradling this 17 day old as she opens her eyes wide and wakes up to this new world fills me with wonder. Everything is new for little Kirsten. Every rustle of paper, every ray of afternoon light.
When does awareness begin? I wonder this as I look at the child. And when...this is a question for all of us older folks.. does it end?
At age 62, I have witnessed about 20,000 mornings. I've been here for all of them.. Yet how much have I lived those mornings? How much have I paid attention to the slant of light on the floor, the fog covering the field? My now grown children's conversations? How much have I rushed to work, fretted about the well being of my loved ones, thought ahead to all the undone chores and obligations?
Holding this child reawakens me to wonder. How do I live so that I encourage wonder in my students and really, in everyone I encounter?
Earlier in the fall my 11th grade American literature students learned about 19th century Maine writer Sarah Orne Jewett. As a child, Sarah pined away at school and instead, went with her father, a country doctor, on his rounds. She listened to his conversations with the folks of rural Maine. She studied the plants and flowers along the path. "Nothing is uninteresting if you look at it long enough," her father told her. "In this way," Jewett said," he taught me how to write."
I want to follow old Dr. Jewett’s advice too. It is our work, says poet Mary Oliver, to pay attention. Paying attention is maybe the greatest gift we can give to our children whether they are infants or teenagers. We encourage them to explore. We pay attention to what they are looking at. And maybe we encourage them to write what they have seen.
I will be saying more on this blog about the connection between wonder and writing. I’m looking forward to becoming acquainted with you, the readers, and I’m looking forward to the ideas we might create together!
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I love that you are doing this. Glad that you are paying attention and noticing little things in life. I recall how when you lived two weeks up in the mountains of Puerto Rico, you took extensive notes on how the lady—can’t recall her name at 2 am- cooked her dishes of food.
You have always been a fantastic writer in my book! I love that you are doing this.
Joyce Virgil thank you for writing!! And thank you for being such a wonderful listener all those years ago... I remember those conversations in your purple room.. and McGeesey the Cat who ate at the table.. and how you loved camels and country music and how we used to throw a match in that dangerous old gas range and run before it lit up tosle our cafe con leche. 💕
You have such a gift for observing and writing about the little things. I love that you have this chance to see your new surroundings through the eyes of your grandchild. Can't wait to read more!
Seven years ago my daughter gave me a journal called A Line a Day. It was a five year diary where you wrote the daily entries for each date on the same page so you could read your entries for each date over time. I loved it so much that when I filled the first five years I bought another one to continue the practice. I love my daily writing habit!
Hi Vicky. Thank you for writing! I remember you told me that you have been keeping a daily journal for years.. you were talking not too long ago about going back to check the weather for s certain date ... Which is the coolest thing because I'm the 18th century there was a publisher out of Boston who produced "almanac diaries" which were doing exactly that.. recording weather and plantings so there would be a place for future reference.. and then people began writing other things too.. birthday, deaths, family news, and sometimes emotions..
This is terrific! As the world gets faster we all need to slow down and ponder the little things. Looking forward to reading more!
Hi Kitty. Thank you for writing. I agree! And I would so much love to hear more about your life since you moved west. I love what you post on facebook.
Love this---and wishing you every happiness--both while you are cuddling your granddaughter, and in you writing business project!
Hi Leslie. Thank you so much for reading! And thank you again for your inspiring and beautiful writing. It is privilege to read, and I hope you keep telling your stories.
I am looking forward to all your blog posts and am very happy for you, Cheryl
Hi Cheryl. Thank you so much for reading!!