SOL#20 SHow up

It's the National Day On Writing and I am showing up. Thanks to Lester Laminack who shared Lucy Calkins Closing Remarks from last weekend's Saturday Reunion. I share it here, in case you missed it live as I did. It is worth the watch.

Lucy talks about the need to show up- not to be perfect or great but just to show up. She talks of teachers so often not seeing the fruits of their labor....planting seeds and not getting to see the harvest. But we plant anyway. 

I know not everyone is a Lucy fan, but the lady can write. Her words were thoughtful, passionate, personal, inspiring. Her husband's last words uttered to his children who traveled to see him: "You came."  

On the National Day on Writing, I stop here to say how writing is a gift. How it allows us to hold moments and share stories, to discover our thinking, to share our ideas. I'm grateful for writing. I'm grateful for books with unforgettable characters and speeches that stir my soul. I am grateful for notes from students and cards from friends. I am grateful for texts and emails and messages. I am grateful for words. 

Also, I am grateful to be in a community such as this one, with other educators who value writing and humanity and showing up.