Each Wednesday (or thereabouts) I’ve been recording a Curiosity Journal to recap the previous week using these tag words: reading, playing, learning, reacting and writing.
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Reading
Hey, I finished grading papers! Maybe soon I’ll read something written by a person over the age of 18?
Playing
Our weekend away with friends was so relaxing, so rejuvenating, so restful.They know how to create a sanctuary.
root beer
Learning
Life is better with abundant sunshine and temperatures in the 80s.Of course, I’m not really learning that. I’m simply experiencing it—joyfully embracing, even wallowing, in this unexpected explosion of warmth and light—confirming what I’ve always known to be true.
Reacting
I jogged the other day down a path shared by scooters and bikes. As I plodded along, I heard a man’s sharp voice behind me, “Snap your helmet on. NOW.” Then he roared even louder, “Do it! NOW!”Two boys about eight or nine years old maneuvered around me, the second boy fumbling to click his bike helmet strap with one hand while steering wobbly with the other. Next in line, the father. Wearing a baseball cap. Behind him, another boy, his helmet straps dangling.Stern and fierce, the dad looked back at the boy behind him, who quickly felt for both ends of his loose straps and scrambled to snap them together.The dad glared at him, grabbed his baseball cap by its bill and lifted it from his head to wipe his balding head; then he stuck it back on and wiggled it back into the comfort spot.I almost said something to the last boy as he passed me—something about adult bike helmets on sale at Dick’s—but I thought better of it and stayed quiet. I watched them cycle ahead of me, those four boys—two of them still fumbling with their helmet clips—and the dad in his bright yellow baseball cap. They biked single file, the dad still barking commands, his voice fading as they rode up the trail.I wondered how many years will pass before the boys leave their helmets in the garage, assuming they’ve outgrown them.
Writing
My work appears in Mother Letters. I’m honored to have taken part…and, wow, I’m in good company.
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All images by Ann Kroeker, except for the one of Ann Kroeker, which was taken by her husband. All rights reserved. You may “pin” in a way that links back to this post.
“Life is better with abundant sunshine and temperatures in the 80s.” Amen, sister.
And, congratulations! You are in great company!
Congratulations on your inclusion in “Mother Letters”!
And that story with the father and sons–do as I say, not as I do, huh? Yet it is these tiny moments that our children seize on as teens. We are learning this the hard way.