Slice of Life Story - Indulging In Simple Pleasures




Today was an office day. A day to prepare for tomorrow’s school based work day. Four demonstrations lessons for Years 7-9 teachers in both reading and writing workshop needed organizing. My mind was abuzz with possibility. I began the essential planning. I am ever mindful that my lessons need to set students up to be successful. The quality of my modelling is therefore critical.

It is easy to get stuck at the computer. The office becomes a bit like a cave from which you rarely emerge if you’re not mindful. There is so much here in this room to hold my attention. Surrounded by books and artefacts I am content in this place. The clock claws away at your time each day, so it is important to reserve some part of each day for simple pleasures -a change of activity.

Around mid day I took a break. Boo needed a walk and I needed to get some fresh air. We stepped out into a crisp Autumn day –plenty of blue sky and tepid sunlight. With the little black dog as my close companion we walked into town. The smell of lavender rose up as I brushed past a hedge jutting onto the footpath. I listened to the fresh sounds of Bon Iver on my Ipod as man and dog ventured into the local neighbourhood.


Upon reaching the shopping strip coffee aromas emerged to greet us as we passed. We passed a young girl feeding potato chips straight from the pack to a lone seagull. The gull is keen for this feeding frenzy to continue and squawks loudly. The little girl obliged.

We interrupted our walk and took a seat outside Via Boffe. I lingered over a welcome cappuccino. Boo drew admiring comments from passers by. She is terminally cute it must be said, and people frequently enquire if they can pat her. I was tempted to tell them that she used to be a crocodile until we had her tail removed, but eventually decided to play it straight. Boo did her best tail wagging, but pulled up short of signing autographs.

We moved on past the theatre and police station before ambling along the esplanade that skirts Mornington Harbour. The sea was flat today. The surface glistened with dazzling intensity in the sunlight and the unmistakable smell of seaweed wafted up from the beach.

We turned back towards home and completed our walk in the ‘hood. I made some lunch while Boo slurped loudly at her water bowl. The simple pleasure of taking time out for a walk provided us both with improved health prospects, improved spirits and strengthened that critical connection to the world beyond the ‘cave.’ Ultimately it has led to this piece of writing. Ah, simple pleasures!

Comments

  1. Anonymous27 May 2009 at 09:06

    Out of the cave and into the world! Levendar and sea-air on one walk! Worth every step. Thanks for sharing this.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Stacey27 May 2009 at 10:54

    Autumn Day... Those two words just brought me back to the reality that you're halfway around the world. Wow! HAPPY FALL!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous28 May 2009 at 04:27

    I'm with Stacey on that sudden realization!

    You're so right about getting trapped in our offices sometimes. I have such trouble reminding myself to get out and breathe different air. I need to keep this story in mind. I won't get lavender and the sea, but I'll give my brain the chance to run in a different direction and refresh itself!

    ReplyDelete
  4. bonnie K28 May 2009 at 20:57

    Just a walk in the afternoon. JUST, hard to capture this and you DID it...we walked right along with you
    Alan. Loved it...Good that you escaped to the outside.
    BOnnie

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular With Other Visitors

Writing Opposite Poems

Image
 O pp o s ite  P oem s In his book, ' How To Write Poetry,'  Paul Janeczko presents the idea of opposite poems. Paul suggests they could also be referred to as antonym poems. This is wordplay and it's fun to try. Here are some examples Paul provides to help us see very clearly how these short little poems work. I think the opposite of chair Is sitting down with nothing there What is the opposite of kind? A goat that butts you from behind Paul Janeczko You will  notice the poems are written in rhyming couplets. They can be extended so long as you remember to write in couplets. Paul shows us how this is done. What is the opposite of new? Stale gum that's hard to chew A hot-dog roll as hard as rock Or a soiled and smelly forgotten sock You might notice that some of Paul's opposite Poems begin with a question. The remainder of the poem answer the question posed. Opposite poems are a challenge, but it is a challenge worth trying. Not eve...
Read more

Writing About Reading - Reading Reflection Journals:

Image
UPDATED February 2022 Writing in response to literature can be a great way for students to organize their thoughts, explore what they think, and generate ideas. One of the strengths of writing in journals is that it allows students to capture all of those great ideas that generally float off into the air during the discussion.  Journal writing can also become drudgery if students are asked to write too often, given little choice or inspiration in what to write, or if they simply don't have anything to say. While some students eagerly share their impressions about selections they have read in class discussions, others are less comfortable and keep their thoughts to themselves. In an effort to encourage all students to think more about what they read and confidently share their observations and opinions, some teachers are turning to the reading reflection journal and are gaining insights they never anticipated.  The Value of Reflection Journals   Journals assist teachers...
Read more

Learning How to 'Zoom In' When Writing

Image
It is important for young writers to understand that not all parts of a story are equal. There are parts through which a writer moves quickly, and important parts where the writer slows down and lingers a while. This is where the writer might intensify the action or reveal the character’s reactions in greater detail. Young writers need to know that this is a deliberate strategy on the part of the author. The author consciously zooms in. The writer uses a magnifying glass to view a part of the story more closely; to focus on a moment and to slow down time. When an important part of the story is enlarged upon, it   is a signal to the reader, that this part of the story is important. The strategy of ‘zooming in’ goes by many names: ‘exploding a moment’ ‘magnifying a moment’, ‘hotspot’ ‘snapshot’, ‘adding detail’ or ‘slowing the action.’  What ever the name, the idea is the same. The author writes in a way that expands a significant part of the story with the intentio...
Read more

Slice Of Life Story-The Trials Of A Left Handed Writer

Image
Amazingly I learnt to write using my left hand. An achievement against the prevailing beliefs of the day. My very first teacher saw it as her mission in life to ‘fix’ the poor, wretched little boy suffering from what she clearly diagnosed as left handed disease. She must have thought, 'This child must be re formatted! If he remains left handed he will be forever condemned to writing in a scrawl that no one will be able to read. Ugly hand, ugly hand.' ...They tried to say it couldn't be done, it mustn't be done. They took the pencil out of my left hand and placed it in my right hand. It felt unnatural. It felt weird. It was not right. More to the point it was not left. I was not about to conform. At least they didn't try tying my hand behind my back. Watch me I said. I may be an oddball, left handed scribbler but I am a determined oddball. I mean how boring would the world be if everyone wrote with their right hand? So I dug my toes in –and my hands to...
Read more

Exploring Themes in Poetry With Emerging Writers

Image
There is so much more to poetry than haiku and acrostics. Yet, so many young poets never get to experience the rich breadth of poetry beyond these highly structured forms. Why? Primarily, it’s about their teachers comfort levels with poetry. We often teach to what we know, meaning that being adventurous and taking young poets into new realms is not part of the poetic landscape for many. This sells young poets and poetry itself short. Last week I had the pleasure to again work with a group of young poets from Derrimut Primary School grade 5/6 in Melbourne’s west. We have been exploring patterns and repetition in poetry. We have explored personification as a literary device to develop the writing of poetry. We delved into the idea of writing through a mask to provide inanimate and animate entities with a voice. They told stories in words from their own perspective. On this occasion we again went to the edges and began to explore poetry through themes. We discussed a range ...
Read more