Thank you for visiting this page! Here is where I will publish links to my writing out in the world.
Durango Neighbor Magazine
The Durango Neighbor is a community magazine, which does not have a digital presence online. There is no way to link to their website, so I will post the content I write for them here.
June 2020-Trust Builds Healthy Communities
“I trust you.”
These are some of the most powerful words I ever said in my classroom.
Our classrooms are microcosms of the greater Durango community. In the classroom, teachers always begin the school year with weeks filled with community building activities and lessons. The goal is to create an inclusive environment, where people are able to take risks, innovate, and above all, practice kindness.
Teaching kindness, and why it matters, does not only happen at the beginning of the school year. Most of our local elementary schools participate in The Great Kindness Challenge every February, where they can become ‘certified’ in kindness by practicing good-natured deeds and fostering an altruistic culture. Durango High School’s Demon Way begins with “We take care of eachother,” and is reiterated over the intercom daily at morning announcements. Durango itself is known as one of the best places to live due to its great restaurants, active and fun-loving culture, and friendly laid back people.
Kindness cannot exist without trust. A supportive, inclusive, solution based community cannot be built or maintained without trust. To be kind means to begin with trust, not wait for it to be earned. We don’t start with a deficit. While we are imperfect beings, we still hold value simply by who we are. We can and should have high expectations for ourselves and others, while inviting varied opinions and perspectives. We know that others will let us down, but how often do we think of the many ways we unwittingly, or wittingly, let others down. Upon reflection and honesty, we can have a little more compassion, and patience, for ourselves and others.
“ I trust you,” can be communicated with words, but even more meaningful with action. To trust is to give away some control, to allow for another way. It may even mean recognizing that your way isn’t the only way, or the right way. Trust can also be communicated more subtly with body language. With so many faces hidden behind masks, we realize how much smiles mean to us. The handshake has transformed from a symbol of respect and agreement, to a dangerous weapon. These small acts are powerful, and have been taken for granted. How will we communicate our trust to our neighbors and sustain a healthy community?
Our local schools and classrooms do it every year. They put kindness first and they trust one another to do their best. It looks different for everyone, and it may not be perfect. It is through our differences that we create beauty and find solutions. This is an opportunity to remember that we stand on common ground, and have similar interests. It is an opportunity to start fresh, get to know one another in new ways, and be excited about what we will become. It is an opportunity to look for creative ways to communicate trust and kindness.
May 2020-Writing Tips for the Average Gardner
I would never call myself a gardener. Living in Southwestern Colorado, I have learned my lesson, thank you very much. When I see those seed packets pop up at the grocery store, I actually roll my eyes at them. No matter how high the fence, the deer always get in. No matter how late the planting, the freeze always comes later.
Yet, every spring, that hopeful little sprout that lives in my heart whispers, “Maybe just some little lettuce pots in the house?” There is a part of me that still wants to dig my hands into that deep, dark, soil and breath in the earth.
As a writer, I know a good metaphor when I see one, and gardening must be the queen of all metaphors for art and living. Even Audrey Hepburn said “To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” I may be terrible at gardening, but I do write, so the lessons are the same: clear the land, let things grow, and pay attention.
Clearing the Land
Gardener or not, we all know you’ve got to clear the land in order to plant anything. Shrubs, rocks, roots, it’s all got to go. Some of you good gardeners out there probably have a foundation of soil that you protect throughout the winter to avoid extra work in the spring. My poor, abandoned little garden plot seems to produce more rocks and harder ground every winter
Almost all of my writing could be called clearing the land. Every morning, pen in hand, I’m pulling the weeds, roots, and rocks out of my mind. I never plan what to write, nor would I call this journaling. I simply let whatever words fall out of my head pile up on the page. I know that if I don’t get rid of them, they will get together and form an awful jungle vine that could choke out most of my rational, smart, and productive thoughts.
Letting Things Grow
Years ago, before I knew better, I planted some daffodil bulbs. They remind me of my quirky, fun side, and yellow is my favorite color. I had visions of a charming herb and flower garden right next to my kitchen window. Year after year, those little bulbs produce the cutest little blooms. They lived a couple of days before the deer found and devoured them. I thought about fencing them, but what’s the point of that? Finally, a neighbor offered some mint transplants, which seems to be slightly protecting them. I have decided to let it be, and enjoy what does grow, for however long it’s there.
My daffodils and mint are rough drafts that somehow worked. Despite my lack of tedious care and concern, they are true perennials. They persevere and remind me not to give up. When I write anything, I always hope the words will be like my daffodils and mint. That they will be useful or beautiful, or even consumed.
Pay Attention
Gardening is so predictable. Wouldn’t it be so much more fun to buy a packet of random seeds and see what happens? I know what you are thinking, it could never work. There are so many rules in planting these days.
Do a quick google search for “writing rules” and you will see endless results, with words like “never” and “always.” The thing is, good writing isn’t predictable. Although you have seeds of ideas, they almost never turn into what you thought they were going to be. Writing rough drafts is a little like throwing some random seeds in the ground and seeing what grows. The fun part is reading over your writing and noticing a bud of wisdom, a sprout of humor, or the stem of imagination. Almost like it came from someone else!
I read somewhere that we are all gardeners of some sort. I also believe we are all writers of some sort. I wonder in what ways we are clearing things out, letting new things grow, and paying attention, especially now that we have been through so many changes. Maybe we have got some land to clear, or we are letting things grow, but most of all, I hope we are paying attention.
April 2020- Stories Needed
Every great story begins with a character who knows something.
If you were a character in a story, what would it be about? What do you know?
Maybe you are writing your stories. I am constantly surprised by how many people I meet who claim to be writers. When I was a teacher, the only writers I knew were on the shelves of my classroom library.
Author studies are common in classrooms where teachers are helping students discover that writers are people just like them. When a writer is successful, and has several published books, it can seem like their lives are so different. It may even seem like they were born to write. Like they were given a gift.
Patricia Polacco, Chris Van Allsburg and Cynthia Rylant, all award winning children’s book authors, are examples of regular people who decided to put their ideas on paper, and show them to the world.
Patricia Polacco has authored and illustrated over one hundred children’s books and didn’t start writing until she was 41 years old. She didn’t even learn to read until she was 14. This alone discounts the notion that you must be born with a unique talent for writing. Her books about growing up with dyslexia are critical for people struggling with similar problems.
Chris Van Allsburg’s books have been made, and made again, into box office hits. The Polar Express has become a permanent fixture here in Durango, and in our hearts at Christmas time. What started out as a love for drawing and sculpting, turned into creative and imaginative stories that we love. Van Allsburg didn’t really think of himself as a writer growing up. He just liked to ask himself a lot of what if questions, and then answered those questions with fun ideas.
Although Cynthia Rylant loved to read growing up, she never dreamed she would become a writer. And yet, she has written hundreds of children’s books, featuring characters who tend to get less attention in the world. Through her stories, readers feel they are no longer invisible.
The point is, what we have to offer, what we know to be true, is valuable. People need to see their lives reflected in the lives of others. We need to feel that we are not alone in our struggles, our joy, and the way that we find meaning. Writing isn’t the only way to tell a story. However you tell it, I hope that you will. We need to hear it, see it, and feel it.