My husband and I own and live on 80 acres atop the Ozark Mountains in Winslow, Arkansas. We have lived there since 2005. Most of the following is from my early experiences living on this farm. There have been ups and downs. Even now looking back, I still feel pretty much the same. Eary Impressions of Life on the Farm: July 6, 2007 We currently have twelve cows, three dogs, two cats, and a variety of wild creatures that like to graze or dig. When I moved out here two years ago, it was a dream come true, or ……so I thought. The fresh air,…
Month: June 2018
On Keeping a Writer’s Notebook
I started keeping a Writer’s Notebook in 1997 after attending an Advanced Placement Summer Institute in Norman, Oklahoma. The presenter, Cindy O’Donnell Allen, had sections and lessons in her presentation about having students keep a Writer’s Notebook. I had “journaled” or kept a diary since I was a child, but this concept was different. It is not a diary, not a journal/diary. I embraced it because I liked the set-up and purpose. Why Keep a Writer’s Notebook From my notes, I gleaned these ideas about keeping a notebook: What we choose to record reflects a lot about who we are. We use Writer’s Notebooks to…
Life After Teaching – A Revelation
I have been reflecting quite a bit of late about the place I am now in my life. I left my teaching career at the end of the school year in 2016. Now, two years later, I live at a much slower pace helping my husband with his businesses and providing the flexibility he needs in time and traveling. I did have a revelation recently. Something I had been trying to deny. While visiting with a friend, we talked about looking for jobs other than teaching. I commented to her that for at least the last five years teaching, I would look at the end…
Remembering Dad After Memorial Day
When leaving Wal-Mart the other day, I was behind an older couple who were moving a little slower than other customers. I patiently followed the couple out of the store and down the same parking isle. They stopped about two cars before mine. As I followed them out of the parking lot, I noticed the license plate for a Korean War Veteran, US Army. I wished I had noticed it before. I would have said hello to him and convey that Dad had been in Korea, too. I would have thanked the gentleman for his service, and hoped that we could have shared a moment…