Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Home again, home again, jiggedy jig

Due to the benevolence of the weather gods, I escaped Cincinnati's "worst winter blizzard" in thirty years by traveling north. That just shows how incredibly popular I am with the sun. Grand Rapids was all melting snow just because I happened to drop in.

The weekend workshop I conducted, titled "Nurturing Brave Writers," gave me goose pimples and warm fuzzies, gratification and a sense of pride that the disparate bits of who I am have indeed coalesced into a more certain whole. I didn't expect it. I've given these talks for years - about writing, revising and editing, language arts, homeschooling. What emerged, though, in ten hours of talking was something else. Brave Writer is more than a system of tackling objectives for education. It has to do with a lifestyle that values ideas, talking, interaction, evaluation and reevaluation of what constitutes a rich educational life. We focus on writers, not writing.

As I presented the material, I noticed how comfortable I've become in my own skin. For a long time I've had to walk a tightrope between my business world and my personal evolving religious and political convictions. Yet this weekend, I didn't. Without divulging personal details, I found that my private conversations with these mothers surprised and gratified me. There were several who were shedding the voices of old English teachers, legalistic, fundamentalist parents, their own internal editors. Having been through so many deconstructions myself, I felt uniquely able to listen, to offer support, to validate the tentative steps toward clarity and confidence. Really cool.

I have more to share, more to talk about on this blog than me. I hope to get back to it asap. Until then, thanks for reading along. My readership has really grown this year and I enjoy hearing from you a lot. So thanks. (Btw, I would love to add you to my blogroll if you aren't already there. Send an email or post a link in the comments.)

I have also promised to share how Dave and I solved the democratic race for the nomination. And we did. If everyone would just listen to us! Stay tuned. :)

3 comments:

Ampersand said...

"...the disparate bits of who I am have indeed coalesced into a more certain whole."

I am head over heals in love with this phrase -- both the
language and the meaning.

SUSAN said...

What Amp said. :-) Glad your time was fulfilling and I am tuning in to hear the answer.

Susan

kc bob said...

I am enjoying the Democratic primary.. doesn't look like a winner will emerge from the primary process.. wondering who the super delegates will select and what criteria they will use in their selection.. I think that we will eventually see how much "change" the party has embraced.

All of this is probably good for the old guy McCain ... at least Hillary is endorsing him :)