List all the words you can think of that go with getting wet. You’ll want watery, splashy words.
Think about all the ways your body feels when it gets wet. Write about the times you got wet unexpectedly. Don’t forget rain and snow and how these make you wet too.
Lists, fragments or sentences. You decide.
I spent an afternoon reordering the basement. We threw away huge black bags of accumulated junk, stored loose toys in large bins, hauled white bags of give aways to the back of my van, and moved furniture around to make more space.
My daughter is moving into our old office (the one Jon and I have shared since we moved here) because there is just not enough space for two females in the same bedroom. Her younger sister is rejoicing since she is the neat freak of the two. Jon will install his computer upstairs for now, and I will work at a table in what we call our “art room” (former dining room hung with all my favorite art prints).
As we threw things away, I noticed that I created more than physical space for things. Even my mind became clearer, freer. I could imagine possibilities for the spaces as they became empty of miscellaneous papers, books, chipped plates, old paint cans, dress up clothes, and puzzle pieces.
Sometimes in our rush to plan for the school year, we work in a cluttered mental space. We have lots of voices telling us what to do that will be more, better, and different with our kids. Those ideas pile up like so many old books. Bits and pieces of good ideas are scattered across the floors of our imaginations. We stand in the middle and feel helpless to pick between them.
Go back to a few principles and then discard the clutter of what other people are doing.
Keep reading for more encouragement for simplifying and the One Thing Principle.
But let me say again there must be no attempt to teach composition. Our failure as teachers is that we place too little dependence on the intellectual power of our scholars, and as they are modest little souls what the teacher kindly volunteers to do for them, they feel they cannot do for themselves. But give them a fair field and no favour and they will describe their favorite scene from the play they have read, and much besides.
(A Philosophy of Education, 192)
What is implied in this quote as well is trust. We must trust the process in order to let our kids grow as narrators and writers.
Potter
Hilltop
Aquamarine
Puzzle
Tempt
Set the timer for ten minutes and… Go!
We’re back, in one piece, minus one piece of luggage (which we are assured will be returned to us this evening…).
Italy is a memory, but a bright, life-sized one that I’ll hold in my heart until I’m gone. And while Italy itself is a gorgeous country filled with color, music, light and flavor, it was the joy of being a family that will stay with me even longer.
I am in love.
In love with our kids.
In love with my husband.
The two and a half weeks were spent all together with very few times where we split up. We played games, shared books, rode public transport all smooshed into too tiny spaces, hiked, made jokes, looked at world class art, were bored by too many churches from the 10th century, ate gelatto like there was only one scoop left, compared American pizza to Italian and voted for American, we snuggled and hugged, took photographs, danced in endless combinations of relatives, walked and talked, and played chess and cards.
The vacation was one long family love fest.
I am humbled. I wanted to bring my children to the world. Instead, the world brought them closer to me. Jon and I were in awe of how well they get along, how much fun we all can have together. It is the unexpected end result and it is why I’m in tears at this early jet-lagged hour.
I will miss my family, even as we live in the same house. That intensity of being that comes from shared travel, the togetherness of tiny apartment dwelling and the absence of TV, X box, five computers and the daily grind of work and school schedules cooperated to make our family time the high note of this trip.
Certainly, gelatto, ancient archways, Medieval towns, olive groves, the David, and Italian blue skies helped.
Oh and we spent a lot of money. That helped too.
But like the Mastercard commercials say: family time on vacation in Italy–priceless.
I’ll share more soon with photos and reflections on specific parts of the trip. For now, I’m savoring the memory of being especially close to the six people I love more than anyone on earth.
Ciao Bella,
Julie
