So, if you write, you know inspiration comes and goes; it ebbs and flows. It runs up and jumps on the bottom of your bed like a little kid, screaming, "I have an idea, I have an idea!" It tap, tap, taps you on the shoulder, incessantly until you turn. Stop. Listen. See, inspiration can be the baby who looked across at you and smiled in the restaurant last weekend. It can be the movie you saw last night that chilled you to the bone. It can be the smell that evoked a brief childhood memory. However, when inspiration strikes, writers pounce! So, I have a new job. In fact, when I went to write today, I realized that my old blog Teacher Tales, was no longer applicable since I'm no longer teaching. I mean, I've still got tons of tales. Those stories are always in my back pockets ready to be plucked out. Those stories warm my heart on a cold day and fill my eyes with slow tears when I think of my cutie pies. But, Teacher Tales was a thing of the past. I'm in sales now. Teacher turned sales rep. Sounds like a great movie title! Still kind of teaching though. I teach teachers and administrators about educational materials. Educational materials that I learn about from the publishers I represent. I work closely with schools, carefully placing pieces of a puzzle of literacy materials together to fit just right. So, in a way I'm still a teacher, but I've also become a student again; learning and studying new trends in education with new visions and goals. All with their own special perks. All with their own toolkit and mission. This learning has inspired me to write today. It's inspired me to say, hey, I'm almost 52 years old, I've been a classroom teacher for over 25 years, I've raised 4 children and I'm still learning really important stuff. Stuff I never knew before. Stuff that's brand new. It's exciting. It's hard. I need lots of reminders and lots of practice. But the learning feels good. And there's nothing more satisfying than meeting with some pretty high up administrators at a school, sharing my learning with them; sharing products that they've never seen before, and seeing appreciative responses. Seeing that my hard work and learning will directly effect the students at their schools and the success in their classrooms. THAT'S writerly inspiration. The kind of inspiration that goes, zip, right to your finger tips and keeps those keys clicking away. You know your choices in life are golden when you're inspired to write about them.
Someone innocently asked me the other day, What are you most thankful for ? Simple question. Simple enough. Simple? Not simple at all. I have to say, I have been mulling and swirling that question over and around in my head; back and forth and upside down for days now. I remember my mother would make us go around the Thanksgiving table announcing this. I remember looking at the faces. Some all squished up; squished up with confusion and embarrassment. Then there were those who straightened up and readied for the challenge. Then it was almost my turn. As the voices trailed around the table. My turn to say. To declare. I remember not being able to find the words to articulate; to articulate and summarize just what I was MOST thankful for. It was humiliating. I mean, who couldn't answer that? I was a semi-intelligent person for most of my life. Yet, answering a simple question like this had me tongue-tied; paralyzed. Of course since then, that question has pretty much haunted me; w...
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