Someone asked in my recent survey if I plan to finish college. Good question.
Yes I do. I am currently enrolled in Lancaster Bible College’s online program, working for a bachelor’s degree in Communications. If all goes well and I don’t take too many breaks, I should be able to graduate in 2022, the same year as my dear old classmates at Sattler College.
I always thought I would be well satisfied with a bachelor’s, but lately I’ve been dreaming about a master’s in literature or creative writing.
“Dreams are free,” my dad used to say. He used to periodically suggest moving the whole family to Australia or some other far off place, just for fun. In the same spirit, maybe I’ll go for my master’s and maybe I won’t. We take this life one step at a time.
I’ve felt a few flutters from the little one in my stomach the last day or two. It’s hard to tell sometimes if those tiny butterfly movements are actually a baby kicking around or just a stomach gurgle, but I’m growing more and more confident that yes, this is the baby.
I’ve been spending more time at my in-laws’ place recently. I call them “Grandpa and Grandma.” They married–a second marriage for both of them–when they were in their sixties, and their children and grandchildren found it easiest and most natural to just call them Grandpa and Grandma a lot of the time. So now I call them that, too. Because I am ten years younger than Ivan, and he is the tail-ender of his family, born ten years after his sister, his parents are only a few years younger than my own grandparents. Calling them “Grandpa and Grandma” feels natural.
Ivan’s dad needs more help with daily living tasks than he used to, and his stepmom isn’t able to do everything. So Ivan and I, as well as his siblings, have been helping out more. The view in the feature photo at the top was taken from Grandma’s kitchen window, looking down toward our little farmhouse.
Love that snow, though. We’ve gotten a pile of it.
“This is what winter is supposed to be,” I tell Ivan. None of this mild brown ground stuff for me. I want snow when there’s supposed to be snow, spring when there’s supposed to be spring.
Another thing I’ve invested a lot of time in lately is working on creative writing curriculum for Christian Light Publications. I am working with two other women to revise a curriculum already drafted by an earlier team. I LOVE this job, I really do. I get to use all my creative powers to tell 8th-10th graders how to do the thing I like to do best: write creatively. I connected immediately with the two women I work with and found that we think alike in many ways. So this job has been a dream job for me. We hope to have the first half of the curriculum available for field testing this fall. That simply means whoever is interested may test out the curriculum in their classroom for free, before the book design and content have been finalized. It’s a way of helping CLP catch errors and smooth out rough spots before the curriculum goes to print.
So! If you know any young people who like creative writing, or if you ARE a young person who likes creative writing, consider field testing this fall.
Speaking of young people, I took these young ladies–the girls I teach in Sunday school–to paint pottery.
Masks were required, but the proprietress very kindly let us remove them for a picture. Masks or no, we got in a creative zone and painted for two hours straight. The pottery is currently at the shop, where they’ve glazed and fired it for us, and we are all excited to see the final result.
I leave you with this quote I like from James Clear, who puts out “The most wisdom per word of any newsletter on the web.”
Instead of working toward retirement, work toward your ideal lifestyle. There is usually a path to get there in a few years instead of a few decades.
James Clear
I’m so glad that you are working on a Creative Writing curriculum. Is it intended for independent learning? I teach a couple Creative Writing classes and have been simply making it up as I go along. Could I as a teacher test the curriculum?
I believe so, Yolanda. I will double check on this and get back with you.
Yes, Yolanda. I will send you the email address of Norwood Shank, the curriculum director, and you can send your contact info to him. In answer to the independent learning question…like much of CLP curriculum, the material is set up in a student-directed way so that students can work independently, but there is a teacher’s guidebook for teacher involvement and the curriculum could also be taught in a classroom setting.
I have typical Feb. homeschooling mom’s brain fog, but I’m trying to understand how Ivan’s parents got married when they were in their sixties, and he’s forty, and they are still going strong?!
There must be a clue I’m missing! :-)
Hi Wendy, I should have mentioned in the blog that Ivan’s mom passed away and his dad remarried. So “Grandma” is Ivan’s stepmom.
I feel so smart to have come to that conclusion with the clues in your blog, LOL. I was scratching my head for a bit too, though! Actually came back to check the comments to see if I had guessed correctly 😅
Going to add a clarifying phrase above. :)
My daughter, who is in the sixth grade, was excited to hear about the project you’re working on. We’re not Mennonite, but we homeschool using CLP. She loves creative writing, and she thinks it would be very exciting to test it. lol
I checked with the curriculum director, and you and your daughter would be eligible to field test. I’ll send you his email address so you can get in touch.
I really like your James Clear quote: “Instead of working toward retirement, work toward your ideal lifestyle.” I’ve always felt like saving for retirement is for people with more money than me… so I don’t connect with the concept of retirement. But this quote! To me this means learning to bake and cook things I love so that I can make them in my kitchen instead of buying them from a store. And finding out what brings joy to my husband and daughter and doing my best to support them in these things. Painting with watercolours a few times a week – just for the fun of it…
To me this means stopping work in time in the evenings to read. :) And taking time to enjoy the moments.
Hi!
I’ve never left a comment in your blog yet, but I have been anonymously enjoying your blog posts😊 I’m so exited about the Creative Writing curriculum that you are helping with! I have been a teacher at our school where all CLE curriculum has been used, and I’m curious if the creative writing could be used for grades 3 & 4 or if it’s more geared for upper grades?
Jennalie, I think I forgot to reply to this. Sorry! Yes the creative writing curriculum I am working on is geared more towards the upper grades. I recently heard about a creative writing curriculum geared more toward younger grades and may review it in a future post. CLP doesn’t publish it, but they have it available in their catalog.
High school English teacher here. I would be interested in potentially using CLP Creative Writing curriculum.
Hi Todd, I will send you the curriculum developer’s email address, so you can contact him about field testing if you like.