Gotta Be

This slice needs a little pre-slice background to be fully appreciated.

1.  I do this weekly close read sheet with the kids.  We almost always use poems because they are 6th graders and have minimal stamina.

2.  A section of this close read asks them to pull the most meaningful line from the piece we study.

3.  This week, we started Hatchet, so I'm using articles, poems, etc. that all deal with the theme of overcoming and survival.

4.  I thought I'd choose a song this week for close read instead of a poem.

5.  The song is ridiculous, cheesy, and uncomplicated.  I was looking for something simple for the students to imitate in writing.

Now, to today's slice.

I was 'close reading' the song Gotta Be by Des'ree.  Remember the lyrics?

You gotta be bad, you gotta be bold
You gotta be wiser, you gotta be hard
You gotta be tough, you gotta be stronger
You gotta be cool, you gotta be calm
You gotta stay together
All I know, all I know, love will save the day

Want to know what nearly every 6th grade boy listed as the most meaningful line from the poem?

You gotta be hard.

My husband says it's an official sign of old age that I didn't see this one coming when I planned the lesson, but I kind of enjoyed the giggles and amount of eye rolling I did as I graded these sheets today (at my boys and myself). 

This is Just to Say

I have neglected
the writing
that was meant
for my blog

and which
you were probably
hoping
for more detail

Forgive me
biking was divine
so warm
and so tiring

Define Contraindications

Maybe you know this word.  Me, I did not.  So, I looked it up.  Contraindications means something (such as a symptom or condition) that makes a particular treatment or procedure inadvisable... still not getting it, so I search further and find:  For doctors, an indication is a symptom or circumstance that makes a particular medical treatment desirable. Serious anxiety, for example, is often an indication for prescribing a tranquilizer. A contraindication, then, is a symptom or condition that makes a treatment risky, such as taking certain other medications at the same time. Drugs and conditions that are contraindicated for a medication are listed on its label, and reeled off at high speed in TV ads.

How did I come across this word, you ask?  It's in my new Medtronic Pacemaker Patient Monitor manual, of course!  Last week, I had a pacemaker check scheduled, and my machine crapped out on me... wait, not the pacemaker!  Just the monitor... lol.  I went through the customer service calls, and yes, I had tried turning it off and turning it back on again.  Anyways, I needed a new monitor.  Today it arrived in the mail!

Who doesn't love mail? 

I have to say, there have been plenty of times in my life where I've felt a bit down about my heart block.  The 'why me's' can pile up.  Tonight though, as I sat in the corner of my bedroom trying to manage and hide the new set of cords for my monitor, read through the manual, grasp how my machine and 4G even work, plus get my submission uploaded before dinner,  I just chuckled through the ridiculousness of it all.  Seriously, who knows what the fuck contraindications are and why there are no known ones for my pacemaker monitor?

I'm often in awe of the modern world and how little I know.

To Done List

Today is my first day outside of the glorious halo of what is spring break.  To Do Lists were so loose for 10 days, and today's to-do-list is seriously just off the chain!  To keep me calm, I've decided to create a list of what I did over break to remind me of just how much I accomplished even if I wasn't checking it off a list... my hopes are that it will embrace some kind of balance and know that the hard work of today was needed to balance out the ungodly amount of 'me time' I'm coming off of.  Here you go:

- 1 full day of PD to work with my colleagues, accomplishing so many 'pick-me-uppers' to get me pumped for what's to come
- a one hour professional massage
- a dinner date with my husband to the world famous Mexican fish fry at St. Cecelia's (including a very large margarita and live dancing!)
- a double date with my best friend from elementary school and spicy basil from my favorite Thai restaurant
- a double date with my best friend from high school where we BBQ'd and played Scattergories (and drank... a lot - it was St. Patrick's day!)
- a family dinner at my in law's where I got to snuggle my 1 month old nephew Teddy
- a handful of days with ZERO plans (bliss for me)
- finished an entire book - The Girl in Cabin 10
- watched documentaries! - The Notorious RGB (Hubby bought me a rad sticker for my laptop), Identical Strangers, and Surviving R. Kelly
- Cleaned lily bed
- Cleaned blackberry bed
- Cleaned raised beds
- Cleaned succulent bed
- Bagged so many leaves and sticks
- Burned even more leaves and sticks
- Transferred our fish pond back outside
- Harvested and ate kale from indoor aquaponics set up
- Painted bird house
- Cleaned front porch
- Played a lot of Tetris
- Ran at park
- Walked dogs around neighborhood (so many times!)
- Biked Forest Park
- Biked Grants Trail
- Overate and Overdrank - in such a good way!
- Went to movies to see Greta
- Cooked for friends, laughed, and did good things for others
- SAW LAURIE HALSE ANDERSON speak about her new book right in my home town!
- Ate BBQ and laughed with my husband
- Slept in
- Napped
- Wrote postcards
- Went to the book store
- plenty of to-do's that are boring, but I am so grateful I had time for

Yes, I feel better now.  What a great list.

Surprise Pig

On Sundays, we sleep in.  Like, extra late.  Sunday is also the only day we don't hop out of bed with a long list of responsibilities.  Sunday mornings are slow and glorious.  All three of our dogs pile in bed with us and when one of our eyelids start to flitter, the belly rubbing begins.

This morning, the drowsy wake up came from my husband exclaiming, "What's this?  A surprise pig!"  The rubber, pink, polka dotted pig is our dogs' favorite toy, and this morning they wanted more than belly rubs--they wanted wrestle time. 

And that's how the day began.  I'm pretty happy about it and thought it was worth remembering. 

Bonus Post for Friends

Writing together has been fun.  Want to do this together in April?

http://www.ethicalela.com/verselove2019/

I already signed up :)

My Best Extreme

Doing a little reading this morning and came across this article on giving and receiving feedback.  It's long, so I'll just share my fav paragraph:

Excellence seems to be inextricably and wonderfully intertwined with whoever demonstrates it. Each person’s version of it is uniquely shaped and is an expression of that person’s individuality. Which means that, for each of us, excellence is easy, in that it is a natural, fluid, and intelligent expression of our best extremes. It can be cultivated, but it’s unforced.

I love this!  The wording is kind of fabulous.  I like thinking about best extremes - in a different light, that phrase could feel like a negative thing.  Instead, this article shed light on the uniqueness that is excellence.  I like imagining a world where we strive less to meet others' expectations.

Feeling a little saucy this morning after reading this.  I'm going to go be excellent today by inextricably and wonderfully letting myself do my own thing.  Be an individual.  Be natural,--fluid even.  Today, I will be my best extreme.

*side note, I'm totally struggling with this bird house I'm painting because I can't get it just right.  This is my attempt to let that go and finish it up in some creative way.  The house was originally my childhood doll house built by my grandfather.  My father made some modifications to turn it into a birdhouse for me.  Painting it to perfections seems like some great responsibility and homage to these important men in my life.  I literally put on the 7th coat of paint this morning before sitting down at the computer.  It's time to chill and just demonstrate my uniqueness.  lol