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March 17th So things change by the day, sometimes by the hour.  Our time off from school is now three weeks, a state mandate.  I went in to school yesterday as teachers were asked to gather one more day to plan for at home activities for students.  We were offered the choice of working remotely, so the only reason I went in was to get my computer and some books to read and study during this break.  People are beginning to say they don't think we'll have school for the rest of the year.  Watch this space.  I'm inclined to agree with them, but there is so little we know at this point.  The experts seem to be strongly communicating the best approach is social distancing, no more crowds, stay home, close down what you can.  Some communities are beginning to shelter in place basically.  My gut is telling me the country should do this, now.  What are we waiting for.  We are watching Italy as they now have to choose what patients will live and so have to let the unchosen die.  T

March 27, 2020 Corona Virus Days are passing one into another.  Today is Friday.  A typical day for me has been getting up as late as possible to avoid thinking about things since I know all I'm going to do is to think about things.  I turn on the tv and work on a puzzle, watching MSNBC as look for pieces to fit.  Wren comes down and uses the treadmill.  Willow comes down much later, still with a full brace on her leg.  She settles on the couch next to me, looking at Tik Toks all day while I watch the news.  I don't sit there the whole day, but I keep the TV on. All day long.  It's often muted, but on in case I catch a glimpse of something I might want to see.  Andrew Cuomo, Governor of New York, has a daily press conference.  I never used to like him although I knew little about him.  He just seemed like an entitled tough know it all white guy who happened to be governor because his father was Mario Cuomo.  I have come to have a different opinion in these last few weeks.

March 14th, 2020 So the Corona virus is a thing, officially now.  We have been hearing about it for some weeks, and a few weeks ago it became more real when cases started popping up here in our country.  We just literally went from yes we are going to keep having school to we are not having school Friday, to we are not having school for two weeks.  Major sports leagues have stopped or postponed their activities.  The St. Patrick's Day Parade has been cancelled.  The Marathon has been postponed.  People are social distancing, so they are being encouraged to not go to church, and work from home if possible.  And the president continues to be a useless place to look for information or reassurance or honest answers.  I have stopped going to the gym.  This virus is one that affects older people more than anyone, at least that's what they saying right now.  It also affects people with underlying health conditions.  So it can and does kill old people, but other people, mostly child

March 3 A story my mother told me once.  She grew up in a small town in north central Massachusetts, where everyone knew everyone else.  She was an avid reader and would visit the town library regularly.  One day she came home to tell her mother that the librarian had told her she could not take a book out that she had hoped to read because it wasn't appropriate.  My grandmother, annoyed, sat right down and wrote a note for my mother to take back to the library that let the librarian know my mother was to have access to any book she wished to read at any time.  I have always loved that story- it was hard to imagine my grandmother writing such a note.  She was a small, quiet woman who just didn't seem like someone who would have made such a strong point to another person living in her small town.  She and the librarian must have crossed paths often.  And it's the kind of story that has this kind of life line.  My grandmother wrote that note for my mother.  My mother told

The snow is mostly gone from this part of Massachusetts where I live.  The mornings have grown lighter earlier these days, and as I leave my driveway I can see the bare grass that used to be covered with snow.  There's a patch here or there, but for the most part it's gone.  It's that time where you either mourn the passing of winter, or look forward to the beginning of spring.  I choose spring.  I choose spring knowing that it will likely snow at least one more time.  We may even have one more snow day, we often do.  But the days are growing longer, and I can see the bare grass as I leave my driveway.

My first post here. Why am I trying this?  Part of what I do is to help kids to write. It’s the smaller part of my day and even after all of these years I am often at a loss as to how to help. Too many times I feel if I give suggestions I will take their voice away. I will often start with a conversation. A child tells me about her dog. She is supposed to write about how she takes care of it. She doesn’t know where to begin or what to write. I ask her to tell me something her dog does. "When I get home she jumps on me as soon as I walk in the door." "Write that!", I say, "Just like you said." She looks at me for a moment, then says, "I don't want to write that."  So we begin again. This often happens after long conversations when a child is trying to figure out what to write.  When she finally comes out with something that encapsulates just what she is trying to say, I will again say,  "Write that,  just like you said it!" And s