Retreated: A Day A Way From the Norm To Tackle a Few Writing Projects & Thankful for the Space

The day was planned for a while. A friend loaned her barn to me, an art-spaced used for creating, gaming, stretching and simply allowing the muses to do their thing. Although it started sunny, it quickly grew windy and wet, which was okay for Julie and me, as we both promised one another we'd get together to tackle our own writing projects. I came with a list of items, but had to begin by grading because I didn't meet my Sunday night deadline. Then, I got distracted my another writing project, channeling my friend Sonya who says that when you set out with a big project, sometimes the side projects get more exciting to work on. I accomplished those.

Julie, too, met her goal and submitted work for her dissertation she's working on and we were good about not being distractions to one another. We stayed apart from one another and only occasionally interrupted the flow with humor or the need to move.

Seriously, I was very thankful to be offered such a beautiful space in which to create. Three floors of comfort, one for art, one for writing, and the other to game, although we didn't play pinball or Skee-Doo (and I din't use the urinal).

The light simply came through the windows and we felt blessed to be able to have a day away from our grind so that we could do what we set out to do. The two of us love the writing life, but understand that it takes selfishness and loneliness, that is not the usual routine of classroom teachers (or those of us who work in K-12 schools). Traditionally, we're in the occupation of giving and doing for others, so the distractions (monkey brain as Natalie Goldberg calls it) usually impedes the good intentions. We were both amazed by how much we could accomplish when we simply shut out the rest of the world and pay attention to ourselves, our own work, and the thoughts we wish to express to others. The day simply felt great (one for her spring break and the day off I gave in-practice teachers in my graduate course).

I had to laugh, though, because as soon as I dropped off Julie in the Target parking lot in Trumbull, I got behind a yellow machine that traveled two miles per hour. There were other machines in the area and construction workers that wouldn't allow me or the cars behind me to pass. It was frustrating, but I took it as a symbolic sign that this the life I'm more accustomed to living.

And here comes Tuesday: a day of meetings, and then meetings, followed by meetings. I spent the rest of my evening working on the turbo class for Wednesday as it is the last instructional day for the course and I knew it would get zero attention today.

Newsflash: Easter fluctuates and this year's celebration is really, really late. The result? There is little time for courses when the students return from the break. With award ceremonies and end-of-the-semester gatherings, there is little no space on the calendar upon the short break. In fact, it's chaos.

But I have a day of respite to fuel me for it and I am thankful.