Little Writer

Emma, my 9-year-old, has had rough year. Third grade is tough and she is bright, but a bit dreamy and creative, and would rather be outside playing than studying for exams. (Wouldn't we all?) Luckily, she has a very involved teacher, who has been careful to encourage Emma's natural abilities, along with trying to get her to work harder on the things that don't come as easy to her. This year, she chose Emma to attend the Young Author's Night—which is a program they send talented and gifted writers to in the Spring. Kids from Staunton, Waynesboro, and Augusta County are selected to go. It makes them feel so special. One author talks to them about her life and what it's like to be a writer. Emma came home so inspired that she started to work on a mystery novel.;-) AS to how I feel about my daughter perhaps following in my foot steps...well, let's just say that a mixed of of emotion that might be better left for another post.

Here is the story Emma wrote that got her into this event and the one she shared while she was there. (Okay I am bragging and I am using my blog to publish my own daughter's story, wouldn't you?)

Don't you want to know about when I got lost at the children's museum in Lynchburg? It was July 27, 2006. I finally got to the children's museum after one hour of waiting in the car. We finally got to the the children's museum in Lynchburg. I jumped out of the car and raced to the door. I pushed open the door and glanced at the inside playground.
Soon after we got to the museum, my Dad asked me to climb all the way to the top floor, I said yes. So, I climbed to the last floor. I saw a tunnel through the playground. It was the only way to get to the next floor. So I went through and I got scared. Suddenly, my dress was caught on something so I turned around and saw a family. I screamed so loud that a lady who worked there heard me. She crawled in and found me. She grabbed me. She finally got me out of the terrible place. I looked behind me and saw a sign that said "tunnel of horror." I started to cry and asked the kind lady will I ever see my mommy and daddy again? Yes, she said. But it didn't sound like the lady. I looked up and saw my mommy.

Rainy Spring Day

It's been raining off and on all day. Now the rain is falling steady and I can hear it pounding on the roof. Spring rain is a joy—you can feel and see all the buds and shoots just soaking up the moisture.
Sometimes I wonder what I am doing here in this Valley that is in some ways so behind the times. I wonder what I am doing at my keyboard. Am I writing? What will become of the bits and pieces of poems and stories I have scattered? Do they have any meaning? Will they sprout into more?
I can hear the birds chirping, along with the rain, outside my windows. My office is a sun room that we made into a space that was supposed to be just for me. But like so much at this time in my life, it has turned out not to be that way. Finding the time to write is not any harder than finding the time to actually think a complete thought, which sometimes is almost impossible. That tell you something about me and my life. Scattered is the best way to describe it.
Sometimes I have moments where I can see with clarity and have the space to explore it. Few and far between.
Still there is the rain. something to bring joy and flowers and green. Everywhere, the green.

New Column in Gannett's News Leader

Check out my latest column.
http://www.newsleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080413/LIFESTYLE/804130301/-1/&source=nletter-news

L'Italia in Staunton Rocks My World

A few weeks ago (okay I know, I am really behind...) we went to L'Italia in Staunton, Va. We rarely go there because it's a little pricey and because it's in downtown Staunton and can be a tricky parking situation. In any case, I'm so glad we went and I plan to go back. Let me put it to you this way: I'd walk blocks and blocks and up and down several mountains to go back and eat their eggplant parmesan. Not only was it the best eggplant I have ever had in my life, it was quite possibly the BEST THING I HAVE EVER EATEN--EVER!
Okay, so what do they do with the eggplant? How do they make it so perfectly--soft, but not too soft, not stringy or seedy in any way? I wonder if they would tell me. I sort of asked the Zac Efron-look alike waiter, who politely shrugged and said he did not know. But he added that they use fresh and locally-grown ingredients. Could that be it? Hmmm. I wonder.

NPR Story Affirms Creative Play

There's a great story on NPR today. My husband heard it first thing this morning and made sure I heard it on the next repeat. It's about the way most children don't play the way they used to and it's preventing them from learning how to self-egulate, an important skill. We found this affirming for our lack-of-structured-play method of parenting. We do play with our kids—I am not saying we set them off on their own with no interaction with us. But we refuse to buy the latest electronic gadgets and doo-dads, try to limit their tv time, limit outside activities (like camps and lessons), and offer them imaginative play toys. Like dolls. Our girls come up with elaborate plots and themes with (or without) their dolls. Some people might think it odd that my older daughter, Emma, at the ripe old age of nine still even plays with her dolls. I encourage it because it feeds her imagination. Even though her wild imagination has gotten her into trouble at times, I'd much rather go through those growing pains with her than not have helped her to have this wonderful inner life that will get her through life in a more enriching way. Our summers, for example, are not spent rushing from camp to camp. Even if I had the money for it, I would not go for all the summer running I see some of my friends endure. I also am not one to set up play dates a lot because I really enjoy my kids and especially in the summer when there's no school work, we enjoy kicking back together. Play dates are wonderful-I am not saying we never do them. It's good for kids to play with other kids, visit other families, and so on. This year, we've met a family whose imaginative play ranks with our own and even though there some age differences, they all enjoy one another's company. In fact, we know several families like this. And recently we had a a birthday party during which I tired to impose some structure on these children and guess what...the day was just too beautiful to stay inside and watch a movie. They ended up in our backyard, tossing balls, chasing one another, and digging in the dirt. Nobody could deny that was much better for all.
Check out the NPR story.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19212514

Feel-Good Vegetarian

I am feeling really good about being a vegetarian today. This last beef recall seems particularly menacing. A meat-eating friend of mine called last night with a pledge that she was not going to eat beef again. I have not seen the footage she talked about, but evidently, it was all over the news—the way the sick cows were being treated has been documented by mainstream media. The thing is those "crazy" animal rights people have been trying to tell people for years that animals are being mistreated in the huge factory farming institutions that most of U.S. beef comes from. We don't want to see it, or hear it. We can't imagine a life without meat. I haven't had meat in over 20 years and I really don't miss it. I am pretty healthy. At times, I get really sick of apologizing for my personal dietary choices. Living in the Shenandoah Valley, sometimes I am treated like a bit of a freak because I don't eat meat. The mention of my vegetarianism once stopped a room full of people, who stared at me, until I explained that, yes, I was the one who asked for a veggie burger and no I am not the freak they thought I was. I have also been snubbed by "open-minded" foodies, as well. I am tired of it. You can live however you choose. As for me, I am walking and eating my truth—and I feel good about it, especially today.

Ice Images by Waynesboro Photographer Christy Majors