I am a creature of habit that embraces change… and a person who is clearly full of contradictions. Writing this blog has become a habit, but I embraced some change to make the commitment to writing the blog happen. I missed my self-imposed deadline: I have made a commitment to posting a blog every Sunday by 1:00 p.m. It’s Monday morning (as I start this post), and am hoping that I post it by this evening. The reason for the delay? I got nothin. Inspiration for each weekly post comes at different times throughout the week. This past week, I thought about a blog post each day, as is the norm, but nothing floated to the surface. This morning has been a letdown, as one of my favorite things about waking up on Monday morning is relishing in the accomplishment of the Sunday post.
As I sit in an uneasy state this morning – a result of no Sunday blog – I’ve enjoyed reading other’s writing, and have decided that I can simply explain my lack of a post yesterday. As I mentioned, my writing is usually sparked by an event or an experience from the week: it might be someone else’s blogpost I’ve read, a podcast, a meeting with a team of teachers, an experience in a classroom, or just some general musing about anything related to reading instruction. The process of writing that weekly blogpost goes something like this:
- the “experience” occurs (usually something from one of the items listed above), at some point during the week
- I open a new post, quickly type in a few thoughts – usually quick phrases to capture the key points that have hit my mind at the time
- I throw a title in… and am often surprised by how often the original title sticks
- I return to the draft throughout the week if time allows or as additional inspiration hits
- I finalize the post on Sunday morning, which takes muuuuuuuch longer than I care to admit
- I post it to Twitter, which also takes a significant amount of time – I want that short tweet to have the “just right” wording
- I’m rarely, if ever, content with the final draft
As I creature of habit, I like my routines. I run four days a week (the same four days: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday); I walk the remaining three days. I eat the same breakfast each morning, I make sure my coffee maker is set each night for the following morning’s brew, and I don’t go to bed until my lunch is packed. I go to bed at about the same early time each night, with a book in hand. My morning routine is the same: up at 4:00 and exercising by 4:30, shower, breakfast, prep for the day, listen to a book on the drive to work. Routine, routine, routine. At the same time, I take great pleasure in the variation that comes with each new school day: I am frequently with different grade levels in different buildings with different instructional focuses on different days. My contradictions abound.
This past week I was invited to contribute to a blogpost with a group of people that I’ve never met in person, but that I have come to know very well as we’ve shared many virtual spaces. I feel ill-equipped to produce such a post, but am absolutely thrilled that I was included on the invitation list to be a contributor. These folks have become an important part of my professional learning community, and I’m feeling both proud and lucky to be included on the project. This will be a completely different approach to my normal blog writing routine, but this “Creature of Habit” is looking forward to the challenge, and is so appreciative of the connection with this group of professionals! Human connection matters.
Speaking of human connection… I was able to spend part of the weekend celebrating the 50th birthday of a dear friend. A group of gals came together to celebrate this momentous occasion in the form of a day-and-a-half getaway filled with shopping, eating, (and drinking!). I detest shopping, which took up a large part of our day, and I really detest closing a bar down (something I haven’t done since I was in college), but both were done with a terrific group of people, which made both activities not only tolerable but truly enjoyable. Spending a weekend away is definitely a break in routine, but it was just what this Creature of Habit needed! Human connection matters.
Upon returning from the birthday trip, I came home to a clean house – Bill and those boys tend to make that happen when I leave. Bill was genuinely happy for me and my chance to get away for a night, and was genuinely happy to have me back home. I enjoyed separate conversations with each of my boys, a rarity these days. I enjoyed making a couple of homemade soups on a cold and rainy day. I enjoyed catching up on laundry (I’m not kidding!). In other words, I enjoy the mundane. I take great pleasure in ordinary days, that actually aren’t very ordinary in my book: they are the BEST kind of days. I take great pleasure in routine and consistency.
Since January of this year, I have added a routine of writing weekly. I’m proud to see that it is so ingrained already that I am uncomfortable when that routine is disrupted. Thus the Monday post – I can’t not write a weekly blog post. Even if it’s all about how I Got Nothin’. I Got Somethin’.