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On Urban National Wildlife Refuge Day, it's important to consider our green spaces and safe spaces as an etymology of progress on the journey to a better world. Safe spaces for all life is important, and we celebrate this refuge and sanctuary today. As I've read through Dictionary for a Better World, I have had the most insightful conversations with my father, who read the book and joined me on my journey. We discussed words that we might add if we were adding to this lexicon. While we wish that we lived in a world without the need for refuge, we both understand what it's like to feel that need, and how deeply we appreciate a refuge when we need one and find it.

Equally as satisfying is the ability to provide refuge for others in times of need. And that includes our pets. Among my mother's last coherent words before she died were, "You take care of these dogs." Though the dogs about which she spoke have since crossed the Rainbow Bridge after living long, happy lives, there are new ones who have come to us as rescues, and we carry on Mom's legacy and her love of animals by loving our pets as family members. We provide refuge.

And we, too, often ask ourselves who needed the refuge - - just who saved whom?

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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On Urban National Wildlife Refuge Day, it's important to consider our green spaces and safe spaces as an etymology of progress on the journey to a better world. Safe spaces for all life is important, and we celebrate this refuge and sanctuary today. As I've read through Dictionary for a Better World, I have had...

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On National Love People Day, it's a day to treat others withness. I can't think of a better word to end a two-month study of words for a better world than with the word kind, because in a world where we may not always love others or agree with them, we can still be kind. In fact, as I look back over each word in Dictionary for a Better World this morning, if I had to choose a word to begin making the world better, I would choose kind. It's a starting point, and even if someone found it difficult to get to the point of love or respect or acceptance, being kind is one of those investments that costs nothing but yields big returns. I also believe it may cultivate the other words and allow them to take root in our lives as we grow. We can all be kind.

Today's poem introduced on page 54 is a cherita, a three-stanza poem that has one line in the first story, two in the second, and three in the third. This poem tells a story. Here is one cherita that I wrote during Verse Love earlier this year. And today's.......

I missed the last step.

She propped my ankle,
grabbed an ice pack.

Her kindness
was what I needed,
what the world needs.....

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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On National Love People Day, it's a day to treat others with kindness. I can't think of a better word to end a two-month study of words for a better world than with the word kind, because in a world where we may not always love others or agree with them, we can still be...

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Here in Pike County, Talk Like a Pirate Day stays on our radar since my school system's mascot is a pirate! Even if we don't all observe the other days on the national day calendar, Talk Like a Pirate Day is one that is celebrated here in my small rural Georgia county. Students have a creative time using pirate lingo, and some hilarious conversations take place.

The Try It! section of Dictionary for a Better World today encourages us to use our voice to share thoughts and ideas with the world - through podcasts, letters, speeches, poems, and other ways of getting messages to others. I like the new podcast Dear Poetry, which is a creative spin on Dear Abby, an advice column in newspapers years ago. If you haven't listened, give it a try. Readers write with problems, and answers are offered through poems and lines that provide insight.

How will you use your voice to make a difference?

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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Talk Like a Pirate! Use your Best Voice!

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Here in Pike County, Talk Like a Pirate Day stays on our radar since my school system's mascot is a pirate! Even if we don't all observe the other days on the national day calendar, Talk Like a Pirate Day is one that is celebrated here in my small rural Georgia county.

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A Word I Would Add to The Dictionary: Good Neighbor

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Having a good neighbor is a blessing, but being a good neighbor can set the tone for changing the world. On National Good Neighbor Day, we can add to the etymology of progress in Dictionary for a B…

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On this National Day of Forgiveness, it's time to release grudges and free our spirits - to grant forgiveness and move forward without harboring ill will or resentment. The poetry form introduced today on pages 36 and 37 of Dictionary for a Better World is a quatrain, or a stanza of four lines that may have a rhyme scheme such as aabb, abab, or abcb - or no rhyme scheme at all.

Forgiveness

Forgiveness allows us to move on
To live more fully before we're gone
To release bitterness and hate
To let go of hurt before it's too late

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Let Go! Release! It's the National Day of Forgiveness!

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On this National Day of Forgiveness, it's time to release grudges and free our spirits - to grant forgiveness and move forward without harboring ill will or resentment. The poetry form introduced today on pages 36 and 37 of Dictionary for a Better World is a quatrain, or a stanza of four lines that may...

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Our host at http://www.ethicalela.com today for the Open Write is Susan Ahlbrand, who inspires us today, September 21st, to use the lyrics of September by Earth, Wind, and Fire to inspire a poem about a significant date in our lives.

February 16, 2008

smashed Cracker Jack ring
(we knew love was here to stay)
you knelt and proposed

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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September Open Write Day 5 of 5 with Susan Ahlbrand

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Our host at www.ethicalela.com today for the Open Write is Susan Ahlbrand, who inspires us today, September 21st, to use the lyrics of September by Earth, Wind, and Fire to inspire a poem about a significant date in our lives. February 16, 2008 smashed Cracker Jack ring(we knew love was here to stay)you knelt and...

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Dear Diary Day – the Etymology of Progress

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Whether you keep a diary, an art journal, or write blog posts, today is your day! Dear Diary Day celebrates our efforts to document our journeys and share our perspectives. Today’s form of wr…

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On Teal Talk Day, conversations open the door to greater awareness and understanding of health conditions - and life experiences - through dialogue. In Dictionary for a Better World, today's quote by Bell Hooks on page 21 is, "Honesty and openness is always the foundation of insightful dialogue." All too often, conversations hinge on each person thinking of the next point to make rather than authentically listening to what the other is saying. The Try it! c hallenge today urges readers to resist the urge to offer opinions but instead to listen to others and see where the conversation leads.

I'm connecting deeply with Charles about when it is time to stand our ground and when it is time to walk away. Currently, in my county in rural Georgia, books are being challenged at every turn - as they are all over this country. One recent comment in a county meeting by an elected official was that our public library needs to make sure that they are not putting "inappropriate" books on our shelves. A citizen complained that a book had a picture of a child with same-sex parents.

This "leader" brings an agenda of personal value matching to the table and would like to make the same choices for all of the children of the county that he would make for his own household - in a Public Library that uses government funds. It saddens me greatly that anyone in a seat of power to make decisions would abuse that position to pass judgment of what is or is not appropriate and remove a book that allows a child who may also have two mothers or two fathers the opportunity to see herself on the pages of a book in our county library. It angers me that someone in a position of leadership would call a family unit "inappropriate" and send a message to any child that his family does not meet an acceptable standard and does not count - and that other children "should not be seeing that." That's an abuse of power, along with a myopic and selfish attitude - which does nothing to better the world - in fact, harms it. I want to continue in the dialogue, but I'm making the choice to wait until my anger subsides.

Because I realize that I can't better the world with a tongue that (once unleashed) may not heed my brain's stop signs.

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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Teal Talk Day - Dialogue for Deeper Understanding

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On Teal Talk Day, conversations open the door to greater awareness and understanding of health conditions - and life experiences - through dialogue. In Dictionary for a Better World, today's quote by Bell Hooks on page 21 is, "Honesty and openness is always the foundation of insightful dialogue."

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Today in Dictionary for a Better World, Abecedarian poetry is on the menu on pages 6 and 7. In this form, each line or stanza begins its first letter with an ordered letter of the alphabet, running…

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On National Daughter's Day, I love all my children but celebrate my daughters today with a skinny, found on pages 60-61 of Dictionary for a Better World. I'll celebrate National Son's Day with my boys when their day rolls around.

A skinny is a poem that has eleven lines; the first and eleventh lines use the same or close phrasing of few words, and the same one-word lines are used in lines 2, 6, and 10.

For My Children my love for you is unconditional patient forgiving protective unconditional trusting abiding never-ending unconditional is my love for you

Happy National Daughter's Day to Ansley and Mallory!

How are you celebrating daughters today - - your own, or any daughters you know?

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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On National Daughter's Day, I love all my children but celebrate my daughters today with a skinny, found on pages 60-61 of Dictionary for a Better World. I'll celebrate National Son's Day with my boys when their day rolls around. A skinny is a poem that has eleven lines; the first and eleventh lines use...

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A Word I Would Add to the Dictionary: Situational Awareness

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Along the journey to a better world, we could all improve in our practices of situational awareness to promote personal safety. On Situational Awareness Day, the concept of withitness to know what …

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https://mrsdkrebs.edublogs.org/2022/09/17/16-dfabw-peace/

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Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Perk up and look up, in every situation

Requests presented neatly to God, just presented,

And not micromanaged. Just described, then

Yield, and you will know peace.

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Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Perk up and look up, in every situation Requests presented neatly to God, just presented, And not micromanaged.

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https://mrsdkrebs.edublogs.org/2022/09/20/a-slice-of-hope/

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This week it is time for Ethical ELA's Open Write. It's a five-day poetry writing bonanza. There are always great prompts, classroom-ready for you to glean from. Please join us today and tomorrow, if you are so inclined. Visit here, all are welcome.

Today's prompt was "This But Not That" by Susan Ahlbrand. I wrote about Hope, as I often do, like here and here.

Hope
(After some literary friends)

Hope is a thing with feathers
But not a broken-winged bird that cannot fly
Hope is not a feathered frenzy
Dropped in a pot of boiling water

Hope is a tree of life
Taller and fuller; yes, taller than we ever dreamed possible
Not a stunted, stingy, small-minded shrub

Hope is a smile from the depths of cold December
Not filled with regrets-
Not a sea of stories, excuses to drown in

Hope is good and honest and worth the wait
Hope is not a white-washed façade called good

Hope is a shelter of rest and safety
Not a storm without a Captain

Hope is dark night with a sky full of stars
Hope is not bright daylight (when the same stars
are there but unknowable)

Hope is improbable beautiful,
Afraid of nothing
Like a bird that sings and never stops at all

They called to Hope, "This could
have been about anything,
but it's about hope"

Now there's a glimmer
A hint of hope
In order of appearance above...
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all.
― Emily Dickinson

Hold fast to dreams,
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird,
That cannot fly.
-Langston Hughes

(...of a tree called life; which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
e.e.cummings

Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering 'it will be happier'
-Alfred Lord Tennyson

All human wisdom is contained in these words, 'Wait and Hope.'
-Alexandre Dumas

You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety.
-Job 11:18

Only in the darkness can you see the stars.
-Martin Luther King

I want to think again of dangerous and noble things. I want to be light and frolicsome. I want to be improbable beautiful and afraid of nothing, as though I had wings."
-Mary Oliver

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all.
― Emily Dickinson

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This week it is time for Ethical ELA's Open Write. It's a five-day poetry writing bonanza. There are always great prompts, classroom-ready for you to glean from. Please join us today and tomorrow, if you are so inclined. Visit here, all are welcome. Today's prompt was "This But Not That" by Susan Ahlbrand.

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https://mrsdkrebs.edublogs.org/2022/09/19/september-18-open-write-writing-poems-in-multiple-languages/

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September 18-19 Open Write – Writing Poems in Multiple Languages and a Sestina – Dare to Care

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On Sunday, I hosted the Ethical ELA poetry prompt again. The prompt was using multiple languages in poetry. You can read more here: Multiple Languaged Poem. My sample poems have already been published here: Mi Cuchara Favorita and Into the Door.

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Our host at ethicalela has challenged us today to write Sestinas. Here is my Sestina for today, thinking back on our memories of the weekend camping at F. D. Roosevelt State Park in Pine Mountain, Georgia:

Autumn Sestina

What's thumping on the camper roof?  Acorns!
A sure sign of autumn~
Cozying around the campfire
The smell of smoke
Us, kicked back in our chairs
Warming our hearts, holding hands

Joining our spirits, clasping hands
As squirrels gather acorns
We watch one scamper from our chairs
In the chill air of autumn
Through the wisps of smoke
Curling up from our campfire

This marshmallow-roasting campfire
We try not to burn our hands
Our hair, clothes saturated in smoke
Burning leaves, logs, twigs, acorns
In the evening air of autumn
In our folding camp chairs

A Christmas gift from our kids, these chairs
Perfect for the campfire~
Anytime, but especially autumn
(Careful! They will pinch hands!)
Are there patterns in these acorns?
Signals in this smoke?

Early morning embers revive a flame from smoke
We reposition our chairs
Shield our heads from falling acorns
Drink our coffee by the campfire
Hot mugs warming our hands
Ahhh.....the crisp air of autumn

There is no season like autumn!
Rich with leaves and smoke
Jump in the leaves! Run, holding hands!
Nestle under blankets, side by side, in chairs!
Gather at the campfire
Under the head-pelting acorns

Plant a tiny acorn
There by the campfire
will it be an oak? You wonder, from your chair

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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September Open Write Day 3 of 5 - Sestinas with Wendy Everand

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Our host at ethicalela has challenged us today to write Sestinas. Here is my Sestina for today, thinking back on our memories of the weekend camping at F. D. Roosevelt State Park in Pine Mountain, Georgia: Autumn Sestina What's thumping on the camper roof? Acorns! A sure sign of autumn~ Cozying around the campfire The...

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Susan Ahlbrand challenges us today at http://www.ethicalela.com to write This But Not That poems by defining what something is AND what it is not. I chose the haiku form for awe.

Awe is autumn air
wondrous leaves, refreshing breeze
deep-down soul praises

Awe is not, with -some,
a catch-phrase for each moment
anticipated

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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September Open Write Day 4 of 5 with Susan Ahlbrand - This But Not That Poems

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Susan Ahlbrand challenges us today at www.ethicalela.com to write This But Not That poems by defining what something is AND what it is not. I chose the haiku form for awe. Awe is autumn airwondrous leaves, refreshing breezedeep-down soul praises Awe is not, with -some,a catch-phrase for each momentanticipated https://padlet.com/kimjohnson66/76ku71hsz8k28jqm *During the months of August...

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September Open Write Day 1 of 5 with Denise Krebs

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Denise Krebs, a writing group friend who lives in California after returning from several years in Bahrain as a missionary and teacher, inspires us to write Odes to Childhood Loves today. You can s…

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Our host at www.ethicalela.com today, Denise Krebs of California, inspired us to write poetry using multiple languages. I got lost in a corn maze yesterday with my husband and stepson, so multiple languages seemed to fit here as nothing - no language, no direction, no space - made sense to us.

A-Maze-ing

into the maize
we disappeared
with the map key
tucked in his pocket
in case of emerxencia

we got lost
in the मकई

we backtracked
followed folks down one row
met them on the next
reached dead ends

we were lost
in the मकई

shucking our noggins
wondering, wandering
among these
ears, husks, kernels
random scarecrows
nothing but
blue skies overhead
from this sea of korn

we were lost
in the मकई

he reached into his pocket
in case of emerxencia
led us
schritt für schritt
out of this maize maze

.....amazed

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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September Open Write Day 2 of 5 - Multiple Language poetry with Denise Krebs

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Our host at www.ethicalela.com today, Denise Krebs of California, inspired us to write poetry using multiple languages. I got lost in a corn maze yesterday with my husband and stepson, so multiple languages seemed to fit here as nothing - no language, no direction, no space - made sense to us.

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Finding ways to minimize stress and alleviate anxiety to be able to fully relax can be challenging, but on National Play-Doh Day, we can appreciate a natural remedy through creativity and colorful design! Last May, to celebrate National Mental Health day, our local coffee shop sent part of the day's proceeds to a mental health organization and offered those fancy coloring pages, a peace ful steeped tea, breathing classes, and different types of soothing music. I felt the stress dissipate as I entered the room.

Today, to bring peace, I'm lighting a fall candle I chose especially for the season - - to bring peace. There is nothing like coming home from work, kicking off my shoes, changing into comfy clothes, and lighting a candle and having a cup of tea. I read, write, and say no to television. I walk dogs and cuddle with them. And if I'm writing letters to mail to friends or family (yes, I still do that), I sometimes play relaxing piano or harpsichord music on Google Home.

How do you practice peace? Consider joining us at http://www.ethicalela.com for the Open Write over the next 5 days. We'd love to have you write with us!

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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Finding ways to minimize stress and alleviate anxiety to be able to fully relax can be challenging, but on National Play-Doh Day, we can appreciate a natural remedy through creativity and colorful design! Last May, to celebrate National Mental Health day, our local coffee shop sent part of the day's proceeds to a mental health...

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https://mrsdkrebs.edublogs.org/2022/09/13/this-week-in-dfabw-slice-of-life/

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13 September 2022 TwoWritingTeachers.org
Life
After Irene Latham and Charles Waters

Life is an open question,
the way to learn anything new
unbreakable, unshakable support
from allies who help us belong
our hearts stay open
that's the key
I got this
we got this
now we hope
all travelers are welcome
on this courageous quest

I neglected to read Dictionary for a Better World this week, but I spent some time this morning reading the six pages I missed last week. The poem above was put together by quotes (in italics) from Irene Latham and Charles Waters on the pages about Ally, Courage, Open, Hope, Belonging, and Question.

Here's the latest on my kitchen. This side is almost finished. We worked on the pantry doors today, on the near left of the photo. (We have to wait for the new counter on the sink side.)

During each day in the months of August and September, I am responding to a different word from Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Zby Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. This week's words were Ally, Courage, Open, Hope, Belonging, and Question. A small group of people wanting to make the world a better place are reading and responding together. Join us! Visit Common Threads: Patchwork Prose and Verse by Kim Haynes Johnson for more information. Here is the word list I'll be following for August and September.

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13 September 2022 TwoWritingTeachers.org Life After Irene Latham and Charles Waters Life is an open question, the way to learn anything new unbreakable, unshakable support from allies who help us belong our hearts stay open that's the key I got this we got this now we hope all travelers are welcome on this courageous quest I neglected to read Dictionary for a Better World this week, but I spent some time this morning reading the six pages I missed last week.

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https://mrsdkrebs.edublogs.org/2022/09/15/14-15-dfabw-create-justice/

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You send forth your Spirit, they are created;
And you renew the face of the earth.

Psalm 104:30
When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers.
Proverbs 21:15
Create Justice
I want to work to create justice.
What will my descendants
see in my history of
fighting, crying out, paining
for justice?

Lord, bring justice,
renew this earth,
send your Spirit,
create love among
resisters of injustice,
and bring terror to
the evildoers.

During each day in the months of August and September, I am responding to a different word from Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Zby Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. Yesterday's word was Create. Today's word is Justice. A small group of people wanting to make the world a better place are reading and responding together. Join us! Visit Common Threads: Patchwork Prose and Verse by Kim Haynes Johnson for more information. Here is the word list I'll be following for August and September.

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You send forth your Spirit, they are created; And you renew the face of the earth. Psalm 104:30 When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers. Proverbs 21:15 Create Justice I want to work to create justice.

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For National Live Creative Day, I celebrated last weekend with a concert, an audiobook, and a play! On Saturday night, we saw my husband's all-time favorite band - Atlanta Rhythm Section - and a bonus band, Mother's Finest, in concert in Peachtree City, Georgia. We'd heard that the play Everybody was getting rave reviews, so we picked up tickets and attended a Sunday matinee. And I finished listening to The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah on Audible. I celebrated by living creatively, immersing myself in literature, music, and performing arts. With so many upcoming fall festivals and cultural events, grabbing hold of life and getting out to experience moments is a way to make each day fuller and more robust. Every single weekend can't hold this much sensory excitement and be as enjoyable, but seeing creativity from so many perspectives enriches each moment. Even an anthill, free to casual onlookers to observe on a nature walk, is a work of creativity and extends an opportunity to take time to wonder.

Today's word, Create, in Dictionary for a Better World, inspires us to exercise eyes to see the world in vivid technicolor. The poetry form introduced on page 18 is a Roundel, a poem with eleven lines and three stanzas, having an abab bab abab rhyme scheme. Line four is repeated as line 11. I tried my hand at creating a roundel today, celebrating living creatively.

The Ticket

Museum, movie, puppet show
Play, concert, art exhibit
No matter where we plan to go
Creative culture is the ticket

Life is here for us to live it
To seize each moment as we learn and grow
Emotions freed, arts uninhibit

Inner voices ebb to and fro
Perspectives in a creative thicket
In oceans deep or tidepools shallow
Creative culture is the ticket

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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It's National Live Creative Day! Let's Create!

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For National Live Creative Day, I celebrated last weekend with a concert, an audiobook, and a play! On Saturday night, we saw my husband's all-time favorite band - Atlanta Rhythm Section - and a bonus band, Mother's Finest, in concert in Peachtree City, Georgia. We'd heard that the play Everybody was getting rave reviews, so...

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National Celiac Disease Awareness Day is one example of a time to ask questions to fully understand another person's experiences and needs. In Dictionary for a Better World, the Try it! encouragement today is to ask questions to start a conversation the next time we are curious about a person's experience, and allow their comfort level to drive the conversation. I couldn't agree more - it's okay to ask questions to increase awareness.

The poetry form introduced on pages 74 and 75 for the word question is a villanelle, which is a 19-line poem with two rhymes throughout, made up of five tercets and a quatrain. The first and third lines of the opening tercet recur alternately at the end of the other tercets and both repeat at the conclusion of the final quatrain. As I was writing this post, a redbird broke the silence with a tweet - and inspired this poem.

Heavenly Tweet

A red cardinal feeds at my window
Singing a song of praise
That's my mother tweeting a heavenly hello
Fluffing crimson feathers, putting on a show
Reminding me to be kind in my ways,
This red cardinal feeding at my window

Everything I do, and everywhere I go
Honoring her legacy in all my days
That's my mother tweeting a heavenly hello

She checks in from above on her daughter below
As I make way through the maze
This red cardinal feeding at my window

She shows up to say I'm still with you, you know Yes, I'm right here beside you always That's my mother tweeting a heavenly hello She brings me such joy, her halo aglow I smile through my tear-blurry gaze A red cardinal feeds at my window That's my mother tweeting a heavenly hello

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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National Celiac Disease Awareness Day is one example of a time to ask questions to fully understand another person's experiences and needs. In Dictionary for a Better World, the Try it! encouragement today is to ask questions to start a conversation the next time we are curious about a person's experience, and allow their comfort...

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On National Patriot Day and the National Day of Service and Remembrance, hope is seen through the actions of others. In a world so full of uncertainty and disappointment, those who serve and sacrifice are the bright lights. I remember Mr. Rogers in his neighborhood saying that when it's scary, we should look for the helpers. He was right.

Today's poetry form is a nonet, a poem that has nine lines and begins with one or nine syllables and works its way down or up, each line having that many syllables. Here is a nonet I wrote back in January - from nine syllables to one.
Schnoodle Winner
smart schnoodle finds all the puzzle treats

he doesn't share with his brothers

slides the knob, twists the cover

in just the right sequence

unlocking prizes

as Abba sings,

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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On National Patriot Day and the National Day of Service and Remembrance, hope is seen through the actions of others. In a world so full of uncertainty and disappointment, those who serve and sacrifice are the bright lights. I remember Mr. Rogers in his neighborhood saying that when it's scary, we should look for the...

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Today we celebrate National Just One Human Family Day, a day of belonging. I'm thankful for my earthly family, but also grateful for my heavenly family awaiting my arrival someday. I'm glad to know that In the kingdom. I think of my mother's entry into Heaven today as I think of belonging.

The form of poetry introduced in Dictionary for a Better World on page 12 is a pantoum, a poem that is a series of quatrains where the second and fourth line of each stanza repeating in the next. I remember being introduced to this form by Anna J. Roseboro years ago when she encouraged us to write a pantoum about a memorable event in our lives. I decided to cut my lines, shortening each to the end, as breaths running out, to parallel the dying breaths of my mother as my brother and I chose her final resting place at Christ Church Cemetery on St. Simons Island, Georgia.

Appointment

Racing home for your last breath
Choosing your burial plot at Christ Church Cemetery
Dodging traffic on Frederica Road
Sprinting to your bedside, car still running

Choosing your burial plot
Deciding - historic section or new?
Sprinting to your bedside
Expecting an angel to fly

Deciding - which section?
Asking for a sign the choice was right
Expecting an angel
Rejoicing your suffering was over

Asking for a sign
Dodging traffic
Rejoicing
Racing home

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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It's National Just One Human Family Day - a Day of Belonging!

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Today we celebrate National Just One Human Family Day, a day of belonging. I'm thankful for my earthly family, but also grateful for my heavenly family awaiting my arrival someday. I'm glad to know that I belong in the kingdom. I think of my mother's entry into Heaven today as I think of belonging.

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On National Read a Book Day, we step into characters' shoes and feel their emotions - joy, pain, loss, embarrassment, betrayal, grief, wonder, success, defeat, and so much more. What better way to develop empathy (page 28, Dictionary for a Better World) than by reading a book, learning lessons we don't have to learn the hard way - or couldn't learn as easily because we didn't live that part of history?

I'm reading The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah, and the empathy I feel for Elsa Wolcott runs deep - I sense that she is much like a Cinderella character with two very attractive sisters, a young woman who feels like the Ugly Duckling because even her own parents have written her off. It's a page-turner for me - - I can't wait to see what happens next!

As those around us continue relentlessly to challenge books and ban the precious words and valuable experiences of others, I pray we have an awakening across our great nation of the roles that characters play for our children through books, in showing and shaping and shielding and sharing life's lessons. The truth is that stories and books do have the power to change us - for the better. I regret that so many are on a book witch-hunt, raising issues about lines taken out of context before reading the book for its overall message. I hope that in the coming days, all of this turmoil leads us to a new place of embracing the books that may be the only friends that some children have.

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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On National Read a Book Day, we step into characters' shoes and feel their emotions - joy, pain, loss, embarrassment, betrayal, grief, wonder, success, defeat, and so much more. What better way to develop empathy (page 28, Dictionary for a Better World) than by reading a book, learning lessons we don't have to learn the...

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On National School Picture Day, we preserve the images of ourselves and allies that we continue to look back on throughout the coming years - especially those iconic senior class pictures that live on our bookshelves for decades. As I read through each section on pages 10-11 in Dictionary for a Better World, I'm not surprised to see that my One Little Word for the year appears in the poem, the quote, and the life connection shared by Charles. An ally listens and invests care and concern in others.

The quote by Sarah McBride on page 11 deeply resonates with me: The first thing we need allies to do is listen. Come to us with a willingness to grow and evolve. You're going to make mistakes, and that's fine, but be willing to listen and grow from those mistakes. I think that's the most important trait an ally can have. - Sarah McBride

I look at pictures in my own yearbook and wonder - - if not for Facebook's loose definition of "friend," how many of my own high school friends would I have stayed in touch with for this many years? I particularly like the way that the authors use the word ally in place of friend - because social media has displaced the true meaning, and ally suggests a stronger investment in another person than today's newfangled concept of friend does.

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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On National School Picture Day, we preserve the images of ourselves and allies that we continue to look back on throughout the coming years - especially those iconic senior class pictures that live on our bookshelves for decades. As I read through each section on pages 10-11 in Dictionary for a Better World, I'm not...

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The Legend of the Teddy Bear is one of my favorite picture books to read to children. In the book, the history of how the Teddy Bear was named and the courage it took for President Theodore Roosevelt (Teddy) to face the ridicule of his hunting friends by not shooting a helpless bear is depicted through compelling words and illustrations. On National Teddy Bear Day, we celebrate Teddy Bears and the way one act of courage catapulted these classic stuffed animals to fame.

The poetry form featured in Dictionary for a Better World on pages 16 and 17 is a cinquain, which has two syllables in the first and fifth lines, four in the second, six in the third, and eight in the fourth. These are delightfully simple, yet powerful poems, as readers can see from the poem on page 16. I'm thinking back to the days when my grandson was in elementary school. Each month when he was in first, second, and third grade, I'd go in and read a story and take some kind of treat. The class called me The Reading Nana. Today's poem is about a visit to his class to read The Legend of the Teddy Bear.

reading
to Aidan's class
a treasured gift of time
The Legend of the Teddy Bear
steals hearts

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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The Courage of Theodore Roosevelt on National Teddy Bear Day

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The Legend of the Teddy Bear is one of my favorite picture books to read to children. In the book, the history of how the Teddy Bear was named and the courage it took for President Theodore Roosevelt (Teddy) to face the ridicule of his hunting friends by not shooting a helpless bear is depicted...

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National Swap Ideas Day is a day to be open to new ideas. It's important to remember that openness is a step toward discovery - that we may embrace or accept some ideas, but reject those that may be harmful or dangerous. I remember coming back to school after a long summer when our Deputy Superintendent stepped onto the stage with a picture book. It was Kobi Yamada's What Do You Do With An Idea? What a fabulous book for this day! May we all swap ideas and settle on some new ones that lead down new paths!

I'm reading The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah right now, so my shadorma (page 68 of Dictionary for a Better World, today's poetry form) is about this book. A shadorma is a poem written in six lines, with a 3-5-3-3-7-5 syllable line pattern.

westerners
during the Dust Bowl:
unopen
to migrants~
Kristin Hannah'sThe Four Winds takes me down those roads

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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Being Open to New Ideas on National Swap Ideas Day

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National Swap Ideas Day is a day to be open to new ideas. It's important to remember that openness is a step toward discovery - that we may embrace or accept some ideas, but reject those that may be harmful or dangerous. I remember coming back to school after a long summer when our Deputy...

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Gratitude on National Grateful Patient Day

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A heart full of gratitude is a soul full of hope. On National Grateful Patient Day, we can all think of moments and people for whom we are grateful. Irene Latham’s connection to gratitude is …

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National Cheese Pizza Day is a great day to remember that quite often, a thing in its simplest, most humble form is at its pinnacle - because it's as real as it gets. In Dictionary for a Better World, the word I'm meditating on throughout the day is humility.

One of the things I love most about the book journey is the way the illustrator sends me on a discovery of thought on each page. I hadn't noticed at first, but the word humility on pages 48 & 49 is in all-caps, each letter dressed a lot like Joseph in a coat of many colors - except one lower-case i, wearing a modest white robe, standing in the middle of its letter friends. The letter i is modeling what it means to show humility - right along with the lines of the triolet, it is not seeking praise or trying to be noticed or shouting look at me!

Cheers to the illustrator, Mehrdokht Amini, for her always-amazing illustrations throughout the book!

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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National Cheese Pizza Day is a great day to remember that quite often, a thing in its simplest, most humble form is at its pinnacle - because it's as real as it gets. In Dictionary for a Better World, the word I'm meditating on throughout the day is humility.

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https://mrsdkrebs.edublogs.org/2022/09/04/30-33-dfabw-zest-shero-team-wonder/

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Zest in living and creating can make one a
Shero, willing to use her heart and strength to
Team up with the less zesty and creative, adding
Wonder to the world

I wrote those words about my sister, who is my shero in this home improvement journey I am on. She is amazing. I just watch her handiwork in awe and help wherever I can. Here's what we've been doing the last four days, which kept me from my Dictionary for a Better World.

During each day in the months of August and September, I am responding to a different word from Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Zby Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The last four days' words were Zest, Shero, Team, and Wonder. A small group of people wanting to make the world a better place are reading and responding together. Join us! Visit Common Threads: Patchwork Prose and Verse by Kim Haynes Johnson for more information. Here is the word list I'll be following for August and September.

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Zest in living and creating can make one a Shero, willing to use her heart and strength to Team up with the less zesty and creative, adding Wonder to the world I wrote those words about my sister, who is my shero in this home improvement journey I am on.

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What better way to join in the celebration of team spirit than by celebrating National Bowling League Day? I was once a member of a league - The Early Risers, we called ourselves, since the bowling started at 8 a.m. with coffee and donuts on Tuesdays. We took turns bowling and handed off the babies to each other as we did. It took teamwork on many levels to make it all happen when our children were little, but we knew that spirit!

Today's poem is an etheree, a poem of ten lines with that many syllables in each line, in descending or ascending order with number of syllables (10-1 or 1-10). Anna Roseboro challenged us to write etherees during an Open Write in April 2021. You can read mine here; it's based on Paul Laurence Dunbar's We Wear the Mask.

Glenda Funk, too, challenged us in that same group. Here is another etheree I wrote about morning playtime with my dog, Boo Radley - whose concept of team is a little different:

Challenge from Glenda Funk: Write an Etheree poem. 10 lines, with each numbered line having that many syllables in it.

Morning Standoff

tail
wagging
beckoning
raising bottom
guarding his knot toy
chinning floor, front legs flat
cutting vicious eyes at me
daring me to move a muscle
growling an invitation to die
angels fear to tread in morning standoffs
In what ways do you work as a team?

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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What better way to join in the celebration of team spirit than by celebrating National Bowling League Day? I was once a member of a league - The Early Risers, we called ourselves, since the bowling started at 8 a.m. with coffee and donuts on Tuesdays.

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It’s National Wildlife Day – a day full of wonder about the creatures around us! As I continue along the journey of visiting each of the words in Dictionary for a Better World, I am ble…

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On National Lazy Mom's Day, celebrate the Sheroes and Heroes in your life! Today's word in Dictionary for a Better World is Shero, a she hero! While a lazy mom is an oxymoron, moms deserve more rest ~ they need us to pitch in! I'm remembering my Shero today. Dad was remembering her yesterday as he dug through more boxes of memorabilia. He texted me some memories of her.

Her sewing started early. The rocker pin and thread chair was a Vacation Bible School craft project as a girl. She was a pro dress maker.
She made her own prom dress. Can you imagine how special the time and effort she put into this for her date? -me!
She saved patterns, buttons, etc.
I sort through all this and....you know? It is loving catharsis that deepens gratitude.
She was special. She made at least a dozen dresses during our courtship. This day is different I know! I sit and relive her love and weep.

On this day, thank the sheroes in your life - and remember those whose legacies you celebrate. Do something special in their honor and memory to make the world a better place!

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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On National Lazy Mom's Day, celebrate the Sheroes and Heroes in your life! Today's word in Dictionary for a Better World is Shero, a she hero! While a lazy mom is an oxymoron, moms deserve more rest ~ they need us to pitch in! I'm remembering my Shero today.

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There's no rhyme nor rhythm to today's title - - that's intentional. It's National No Rhyme nor Reason Day. My word of the day in Dictionary for a Better World is zest. The featured poem on these pages is a ghazal, written in couplets using repetition. I wrote a ghazal on July 20, 2020 that you can read here. It's a little uncomfortable, honestly, to look back on poems written over time to see where we were emotionally in the world of 2020, but in that particular poem I was getting ready to start a new job with the L4GA Literacy Grant, which seeks to build readers and writers from birth through high school in the state of Georgia, and it improved my outlook on the future - as a career and in the world in general

What I love most about the pages today is the art. When I think of zest, I often think "spicy," like a bottle of Zesty Italian Vinaigrette dressing. Looking at today's art on the page, it is a picture made of seeds and spices - and coffee beans. I could stare at this for hours, taking in the design of the dress and the little clove feet of the girl in the picture. The zest and enthusiasm for such creativity is exactly the nod the authors are giving today - an enthusiasm and zeal for life that flavors our world. As I set out for the L4GA Summit in Lake Blackshear Resort in Cordele, Georgia, I'll challenge myself to keep a zestful outlook today!

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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There's no rhyme nor rhythm to today's title - - that's intentional. It's National No Rhyme nor Reason Day. My word of the day in Dictionary for a Better World is zest. The featured poem on these pages is a ghazal, written in couplets using repetition.

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https://mrsdkrebs.edublogs.org/2022/08/31/31-dfabw-exercise/

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Today I exercised-not "a new form of exercise" as Irene asks us to try. Instead, I went bike riding, which is my go-to form of exercise for the last three months. Here is a Blitz poem.

Ride a bike
Ride the wind
Wind pushes
Wind rushes
Rushes me along
Rushes to challenge
Challenge of lungs
Challenge of muscles
Muscles growing
Muscles showing
Showing up now
Showing hope
Hope in strength
Hope to ride far
Far up the mountain
Far through the washes
Washes full of sand
Washes over my body
Body of strength
Body of courage
Courage to go fast
Courage to improve
Improve the gearing
Improve the handling
Handling the hills
Handling the rocks
Rocks hidden on the road
Rocks loose and unstable
Unstable but achievable
Unstable but I am
Am a wanderer
Am a mountain biker
Biker of freedom
Biker of exercise
Exercise of stamina
Exercise of heart
Heart of the scene
Heart of nature
Nature of color
Nature of wonder
Wonder of flora
Wonder of fauna
Fauna of beauty
Fauna of creation
Creation to savor
Creation to enjoy
Enjoy this life
Enjoy this living
Living
Life

On another note, this November we can all exercise our right to vote.

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Today I exercised-not "a new form of exercise" as Irene asks us to try. Instead, I went bike riding, which is my go-to form of exercise for the last three months. Here is a Blitz poem.

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https://mrsdkrebs.edublogs.org/2022/08/30/30-dfabw-compassion-and-a-slice-of-remodeling-life/

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Each day I enjoy reading just a page or two in Dictionary for a Better World. Today's word was Compassion. When I read the page and saw Irene's tender poem about two young girls' compassion for their sick mother, I was touched. Here is a picture of the beautiful poem and artwork.

Today's word reminded me of a text message I got yesterday that I had ignored last night. It was from Sandy Hook Promise. They were asking me to donate again to help them reach their back-to-school fundraising goal. This morning, after reading Irene's poem, I thought about parents who have lost children to gun violence, and I had a renewed commitment to at least donate to this fundraising drive.

On the remodeling front:

During each day in the months of August and September, I am responding to a different word from Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Zby Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. Today's word is Compassion. A small group of people wanting to make the world a better place are reading and responding together. Join us! Visit Common Threads: Patchwork Prose and Verse by Kim Haynes Johnson for more information. Here is the word list I'll be following for August and September.

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30 DFABW - Compassion and a Slice of Remodeling Life

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Each day I enjoy reading just a page or two in Dictionary for a Better World. Today's word was Compassion. When I read the page and saw Irene's tender poem about two young girls' compassion for their sick mother, I was touched. Here is a picture of the beautiful poem and artwork.

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https://mrsdkrebs.edublogs.org/2022/08/29/26-29-dfabw-equality-freedom-mindfulness-netiquette/

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Sometimes we all need freedom to do something just because....so on National Just Because Day, today's a day to celebrate! To take a drive through the rural countryside on the way to visit family in another state, to eat a creme-filled donut, to nap in a hammock with a book. Today's poetry form shared in Dictionary for a Better World is a Cento, a poem created from lines borrowed from other poems. I often call these mashed potato poems, since they're like a mix-tape of eclectic songs that all come together to make great sense to the listener....or not. I keep a bank of Cento lines written on large craft sticks in a decorative box on my bookshelf, just waiting to find their way into new poems! Try your hand at a Cento today, and share in the comments below!

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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Sometimes We Need Freedom To Do Something Just Because

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Sometimes we all need freedom to do something just because....so on National Just Because Day, today's a day to celebrate! To take a drive through the rural countryside on the way to visit family in another state, to eat a creme-filled donut, to nap in a hammock with a book.

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In savoring the moments of National Thoughtful Day, I dwell on the idea that the mindfulness of spirit is necessary for connecting deliberate thoughts and actions. Merriam-Webster defines mindfulness as a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations.

I think mindfulness happens most intensely for me as I travel. My husband and I were listening to Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck yesterday as we drove along the interstates of three southeastern states. Somewhere along Chapter 3 or 4, he writes, "For a man has to have feelings and words before he can come close to thought." I hit the 30-second rewind on that one, listened again, and pondered it awhile. Most thoughts require words, I believe, since we think in language, but I'm not entirely in agreement just yet that feelings are a necessary part of the lineup. Could logic - as a judge weighing evidence and rendering a decision, for example - be substituted for feelings?

But the type of mindfulness that I think we most often seek requires both intention and surrender to experience moments in their pure organic essence.

That is why today, I'm giving deep thought to my Kentucky roots. As a child, I lived in a rural town in this Kentucky while my father completed seminary at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville. I spoke with Dad on the phone yesterday, and he encouraged me to take some back roads to see some of the most breathtaking countryside views this nation has to offer. And so today, as I seek a heightened state of mindfulness, I'll drive along the rural byways and bask in the beauty of God's paintbrush with its unending spectrum of color and wonder - and I'll give thanks for the spiritual experience of tarrying along these scenic routes!

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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In savoring the moments of National Thoughtful Day, I dwell on the idea that the mindfulness of spirit is necessary for connecting deliberate thoughts and actions. Merriam-Webster defines mindfulness as a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations.

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August 26 is National Women’s Equality Day. Today’s poetic form is a Renga – – the first poet writes the first three lines in seventeen syllables, followed by two lines with…

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https://mrsdkrebs.edublogs.org/2022/08/25/25-dfabw-forgiveness/

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I went to a state university
in the 1970s
It cost $100 a semester
student fees are all I paid,
which included access to
a health center

Now we are talking about
forgiveness today
student loan forgiveness

but also
game-changing
opening opportunities
families and future
to give families
breathing room

now let's work
to fix the system
more affordable options
stop predatory lending
outrageous tuition costs

Forgiveness
Yes, please

Found poem from " Biden student loan action ignites instant political battles " August 25, 20222 (The Washington Post)

During each day in the months of August and September, I am responding to a different word from Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Zby Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. Today's word is Forgiveness. A small group of people wanting to make the world a better place are reading and responding together. Join us! Visit Common Threads: Patchwork Prose and Verse by Kim Haynes Johnson for more information. Here is the word list I'll be following for August and September.

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I went to a state university in the 1970s It cost $100 a semester student fees are all I paid, which included access to a health center Now we are talking about forgiveness today student loan forgiveness but also game-changing opening opportunities families and future to give families breathing room

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To give a nod to National Kiss and Make Up Day, I'm reflecting on the word Forgiveness in Dictionary for a Better World. The poetic form today is a Quatrain, which is a poem or stanza of four lines with a rhyme scheme such as aabb or abab or abcb, or not rhymed at all.
Forgiveness
Forgiveness: the keys to freeing the soul

Forgiveness: a weight-lifted mental toll

Forgiveness: a stain-erased stone-throwing judge

Forgiveness: a love-choosing heart to budge

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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To give a nod to National Kiss and Make Up Day, I'm reflecting on the word Forgiveness in Dictionary for a Better World. The poetic form today is a Quatrain, which is a poem or stanza of four lines with a rhyme scheme such as aabb or abab or abcb, or not rhymed at all....

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Our host today at www.ethicalela.com is Scott McCloskey, whose bio alone is worth the visit. He inspires us today to write I Was Today Years Old poems, astounding revelations we have learned only recently.

Duds

I was three months ago years old

invited to a retirement party
where everyone was bringing
scratch-off lottery tickets

I phoned my colleague:
I'm buying a five-dollar gift ticket~
want one?

she did

but wait, she said, when I got back
to the office with two tickets,
what if they're actual winners
and we give them away?!?

we thought of her six kids' tuition
and the cars they all need
and her burned garage roof
where the lightning struck it
and mourned a little
for the untold fortune
under the silver gunk

another colleague overheard us
all you have to do is scan them
to see if they're winners
and so she did

satisfied they were duds,
we dropped them in the
congratulatory gift bin
then
cheered with great hope
as she scratched away

Tomorrow I return to the journey through Dictionary for a Better World

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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August's Open Write with Scott McCloskey

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Our host today at www.ethicalela.com is Scott McCloskey, whose bio alone is worth the visit. He inspires us today to write I Was Today Years Old poems, astounding revelations we have learned only recently. Duds I was three months ago years old invited to a retirement partywhere everyone was bringing scratch-off lottery tickets I phoned my...

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Today our host at http://www.ethicalela.com for the August Open Write is Margaret Simon of Louisiana, who inspires us to bring a piece of art or a creative form to life with words as a kind of talk-through process. In my kitchen hangs a white framed picture of a rolling pin drawn on notebook paper with colored pencil, a gift from my parents, numbered by the artist. It's there alongside the framed handwritten recipes by generations of ancestors in my family. Cooking together was far more important back in those days, and one thing I wish is that I had learned to make biscuits as well as they did!

In This Kitchen

loop an apron over shoulders tie it in back
lift down their old bowl pour buttermilk
sift and grind pour and squeeze
hand mix knead pour
feel knead pour feel knead
sprinkle flour plop roll push
roll smooth cut cut cut bake
smell the spirits of loved ones once gone now here
in this kitchen

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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Today our host at www.ethicalela.com for the August Open Write is Margaret Simon of Louisiana, who inspires us to bring a piece of art or a creative form to life with words as a kind of talk-through process. In my kitchen hangs a white framed picture of a rolling pin drawn on notebook paper with...

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Today’s host at www.ethicalela.com for the August Open Write is Ann Burg, who inspires us to write perspective poems. Trees always fascinate me, and her last line of her mentor poem was my in…

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Welcome to Day 1 of the August Open Write. If you have written with us before, welcome back. If you are joining us for the first time, you are in the kind, capable hands of today's host, so just read the prompt below and then, when you are ready, write in the comment section below. We do ask that if you write, in the spirit of reciprocity, you respond to three or more writers. To learn more about the Open Write, click here.
Gayle Sands lives in Taneytown Maryland, just over the state line from Gettysburg, PA. She taught middle school ELA/Reading Resource for 27 years, regretfully retired two years ago and has supervised student teachers for McDaniel College since that time. In July, she un-retired and began a second (third?) career as McDaniel's liaison/coordinator for secondary practicum teachers in Carroll County Public Schools. In her free time (which is NOT as plentiful as it used to be), she deals with two small, spoiled, inelegant rescue dogs, three cats (two obese, one not), and an antisocial husband whom she loves anyway. She is besotted with her new six-month old granddaughter, Maya, who lives a couple of hours away in Fairfax, VA. Gayle's GPS is well trained in the route south. (Maya's parents live there, too, but they barely count now).

Inspiration

Welcome back! The return to the classroom after summer break brings a sense of ending, of the loss of freedom. If we are lucky, it also brings anticipation and hope. Maybe there is an obscure word that will explain the feeling.... As a word junkie, I have always loved finding new words to add to my vocabulary. Merriam-Webster has a wonderful selection of unusual words. Let's play around with them.

Process

1. Go to https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/surprising-uncommon-words and wander down the rabbit-hole this site provides.

2. Choose an interesting word from the many lists in the website (scroll down and select "all") or select a favorite word from elsewhere.

3. Working from that word/concept, develop a list of synonyms and antonyms. , (https://www.wordhippo.com) is a powerful resource that I recommend to anyone who writes. offers an abundance of synonyms, antonyms, rhymes, definitions and more.

4. Enjoy the play of sounds and meanings. Have fun with this. Write with abandon...

Gayle's Poem

An August-Thesaurus-Poem for Teachers (with a nod to Helen Reddy)
"Forplaint: Definition:"wearied with complaining" (Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed.)

It is August.
I am wholeheartedly, unambiguously,
unreservedly and unequivocally,
beyond the shadow of a doubt,
forplaint.
I fret. I brood, I stew. I pout..
I glower and glout, snivel and sulk.
I wallow in a mud pit of pessimism.
I am downtrodden and browbeaten,
hag-ridden, hangdog, heartsick,
down in the mouth,
at the end of my tether.

The handwriting is
on the classroom wall.
It is August.

The jig is up
Soon, the bell will ring,
and I must transform,
a butterfly emerging
from my chrysalis of foreboding
to benefit the bairns before me.
I shall become
audacious, unflinching,
fire-eating, unflagging,
stouthearted.
I will swashbuckle, swagger,
strut, show my stuff.
I will galvanize my group.
I may even showboat a bit
as I edify and enlighten.
I will don rose-colored glasses,
I am undaunted, invincible.
unflinching.

I am teacher...
Hear me roar
GJSands
August 2022

Your Turn

Now, scroll to the comment section below to write your own poem. (This is a public space, so you may choose to use only your first name or initials depending on your privacy preferences.) Not ready? That's okay. Read the poems already posted for more inspiration. Ponder your own throughout the day. Return later. And, if the prompt does not work for you, that is fine. All writing is welcome. Just write something. Also, please be sure to respond to at least three writers. Oh, and a note about drafting: Since we are writing in short bursts, we all understand (and even welcome) the typos and partial poems that remind us we are human and that writing is always becoming. If you'd like to invite other teachers to write with us, tell them to subscribe.

Commenting with Care

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Welcome to Day 1 of the August Open Write. If you have written with us before, welcome back. If you are joining us for the first time, you are in the kind, capable hands of today's host, so just read the prompt below and then, when you are ready, write in the comment section below....

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Welcome to Day 2 of the August Open Write. If you have written with us before, welcome back. If you are joining us for the first time, you are in the kind, capable hands of today's host, so just read prompt below and then, when you are ready, write in the comment section below. We do ask that if you write, in the spirit of reciprocity, you respond to three or more writers. To learn more about the Open Write, click here.
Margaret Simon lives on the Bayou Teche in New Iberia, Louisiana. Margaret has been an elementary school teacher for 35 years, most recently teaching gifted students in Iberia Parish. Her first book of children's poetry was published in 2018 by UL Press, Bayou Song: Creative Explorations of the South Louisiana Landscape. Margaret's poems have appeared in anthologies including The Poetry of US by National Geographic and Rhyme & Rhythm: Poems for Student Athletes. Margaret writes a blog regularly at http://reflectionsontheteche.com.

Inspiration

I have followed children's author Laura Purdie Salas for years. On her blog, she would post a weekly photo prompt called "15 Words or Less". A few years ago she decided to stop doing this weekly prompt, so I asked her permission to start one on my blog. She was gracious about it, and I started posting "This Photo Wants to be a Poem." Similar to this Open Write prompt, I invite readers to leave a poem in the comments and support each other with encouraging comments. The photos are from my own phone photos, or I ask permission from someone I follow on social media.

I often post the same photo for my students to write about on our Fanschool site, but I only share my small poem without much, if any, commentary. Sample post here.

Process

Musing on a photograph can take many different directions. You could write a fairy tale poem, an aphorism, a haiku or other small poem form. Recently, Heidi Mordhorst wrote a found poem using the words I wrote in my commentary about this photograph.

Margaret's Poem

Nature makes no demands.
Listen to the wind through the grass.
Earth's song in harmony.
Modern haiku, Margaret Simon, draft

Heidi's Poem

grass loves

a string of rainy days
happens helps the rising

some days
air is wet ground is wet body is wet

grass loves all this
grows and grows
as tall as walk
as tall as look
as tall as beautiful

ongoing reliably
replenishing lushness

draft ©HM 2022

Your Turn

Now, scroll to the comment section below to write your own poem. (This is a public space, so you may choose to use only your first name or initials depending on your privacy preferences.) Not ready? That's okay. Read the poems already posted for more inspiration. Ponder your own throughout the day. Return later. And, if the prompt does not work for you, that is fine. All writing is welcome. Just write something. Also, please be sure to respond to at least three writers. Oh, and a note about drafting: Since we are writing in short bursts, we all understand (and even welcome) the typos and partial poems that remind us we are human and that writing is always becoming. If you'd like to invite other teachers to write with us, tell them to subscribe.

Commenting with Care

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Welcome to Day 2 of the August Open Write. If you have written with us before, welcome back. If you are joining us for the first time, you are in the kind, capable hands of today's host, so just read prompt below and then, when you are ready, write in the comment section below.

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Gayle Sands is our host today at www.ethicalela.com for the August Open Write. She inspires us to find obscure words from a site like Words at Play on the Merriam-Webster site. My word choice today…

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Open Write: This Photo Wants to Be a Poem

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Open Write: This Photo Wants to Be a Poem

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Today's host at August's Open write at www.ethicalela.com is Margaret Simon, host of the weekly This Photo Wants to Be a Poem. She gave us a photo of grass and asked us to write a poem about it. It will be fun at the end of the day to see all the different types of poetry that one same photograph inspires. Please come join us at the link above and write! We'd love to have you! For those following the Dictionary for a Better World word journey, we will resume our trek through the book on Thursday, following the conclusion of this month's Open Write on Wednesday.

photo of grass by Margaret Simon

Grass

one GPS point
home to each green blade, anchored
in rooted scalp hugs

earth's trendy hairstyle
no St. Patrick's dye needed
nature's adornment

wildlife welcome mat
carpet for little critters
sustenance for some

picnic piazza
frisbee freeway for Fido
Rip Van Winkle's bed

recess football field
Emerald City pathway
the road less taken

stargazing blanket
lush mattress for lovers in
hand-holding heaven

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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Today's host at August's Open write at www.ethicalela.com is Margaret Simon, host of the weekly This Photo Wants to Be a Poem. She gave us a photo of grass and asked us to write a poem about it. It will be fun at the end of the day to see all the different types of...

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https://mrsdkrebs.edublogs.org/2022/08/19/19-dfabw-acceptance/

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Today's word is acceptance, and the poetry form that Irene Latham used is the persona. I am have a good week accepting the mess that our remodeling project is making in our home. The dust is everywhere, as are the piles, but glimpses in my imagination of a window coming through this wall are giving me hope!

Here is my persona poem today.

Remodeling

I am a word with dust-
a tortoise inching slowly through the desert

Some have never heard of me,
Others avoid me.

Yet, I am always available,
slow and steady,
saving resources,
creating new space,
bit by bit championing the chaos.

Come on in and see what I've done.

During each day in the months of August and September, I am responding to a different word from Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Zby Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. Today's word is Acceptance. A small group of people wanting to make the world a better place are reading and responding together. Join us! Visit Common Threads: Patchwork Prose and Verse by Kim Haynes Johnson for more information. Here is the word list I'll be following for August and September.

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Today's word is acceptance, and the poetry form that Irene Latham used is the persona. I am have a good week accepting the mess that our remodeling project is making in our home. The dust is everywhere, as are the piles, but glimpses in my imagination of a window coming through this wall are giving me hope!

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I have nothing to add. I'm sitting here wondering what funny things I like to read, and I'm baffled. What's with that? I'm going to go back and read some of the other recommendations because I have not been laughing enough!

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When Carvel’s Ice Cream Softened, He Found a New Acceptance

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On National Soft Ice Cream Day, there’s a truth we can’t dispute: soft-serve ice cream hits the spot on a sweltering-hot day! When I think of ice cream, I think of my grandmother, who a…

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https://mrsdkrebs.edublogs.org/2022/08/18/16-17-dfabw-upstanders-and-yes/

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To Tammy

You were an upstander for Doris
I was the one you stood up to
I was embarrassed, but my proud
and ragged heart became better that day,
thanks to you

To Dr. C

You were the epitome of a commanding school leader
Physically strong and tall, with
wisdom to match. In our largely white population,
I loved what my children learned about
a powerful black man who led their school.

I was a stay at home mom and substitute teacher
at your school.

One day something happened and you were my greatest
upstander. I needed your support, and you were there
with all your power standing up for me. Thank you.

YES to upstanding! During each day in the months of August and September, I am responding to a different word from Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Zby Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. Yesterday's word was Upstander. Today's word is YES. A small group of people wanting to make the world a better place are reading and responding together. Join us! Visit Common Threads: Patchwork Prose and Verse by Kim Haynes Johnson for more information. Here is the word list I'll be following for August and September.

Posted in 2022, DFABW Book Study, Other Miscellaneous Posts by Denise

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To Tammy You were an upstander for Doris I was the one you stood up to I was embarrassed, but my proud and ragged heart became better that day, thanks to you To Dr. C You were the epitome of a commanding school leader Physically strong and tall, with wisdom to match.

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It's National Ice Cream Pie Day - a day to say yes to the sweetness of life. In Dictionary for a Better World, the persona poem is introduced as a form that is written in the voice of the poem's subject on pages 104-105. This poem for YES is JAM UP! I hear a spoken language poem on an Open Mic night in a downtown coffee shop as I read this. Oh, and with a mic drop at the end.

I'm saying YES to a persona today in an acrostic form ~ the first letter of each line vertically spelling YES.

E ven when all you feel is doubt,

S hake loose the fear ~ a resounding YES! shout.

Watch Charles Waters recite the poem from DFABW here.

Today's call to action may be the most life-expanding Try It! in the entire book. The authors encourage us to take new opportunities that come our way. We become well-rounded and know who we are (and who we aren't) through our experiences.

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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Say YES to Life's Dreamy Sighs and YES to Ice Cream Pies!

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It's National Ice Cream Pie Day - a day to say yes to the sweetness of life. In Dictionary for a Better World, the persona poem is introduced as a form that is written in the voice of the poem's subject on pages 104-105. This poem for YES is JAM UP!

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I love all of her writing. With kids I share this poem, If I Were in Charge of the World. For adults, I give as gifts her poem collections at 50, 60, etc. Her dry sense of humor is the best. And if you haven't met her character, Lulu, do! She gives me a big laught every time. -Sally Donnelly
PS - I love your 2-month study! Thanks for inviting me to participate.

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If I were in charge of the world
I'd cancel oatmeal,
Monday mornings,
Allergy shots, and also Sara Steinberg.

If I were in charge of the world
There'd be brighter nights lights,
Healthier hamsters, and
Basketball baskets forty eight inches lower.

If I were in charge of the world
You wouldn't have lonely.
You wouldn't have clean.
You wouldn't have bedtimes.
Or "Don't punch your sister."
You wouldn't even have sisters.

If I were in charge of the world
A chocolate sundae with whipped cream and nuts would be a vegetable
All 007 movies would be G,
And a person who sometimes forgot to brush,
And sometimes forgot to flush,
Would still be allowed to be
In charge of the world.

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If I Were In Charge Of The World Poem by Judith Viorst - Poem Hunter

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If I were in charge of the worldI'd cancel oatmeal,Monday mornings,Allergy shots, and also Sara Steinberg. If I were in charge of the worldThere'd be brighter nights lights,Healthier hamsters, andBasketball baskets forty eight inches lower. If I were in charge of the worldYou wouldn't have lonely.You wouldn't have clean.You wouldn't have bedtimes.Or "Don't punch your sister."You wouldn't even have sisters.

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National I Love My Feet Day is a time to use an ottoman and ponder the importance of caring for our feet – and how they support us in standing up for others. Upstanders are like mother birds …

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https://mrsdkrebs.edublogs.org/2022/08/16/16-dfabw-laughter-and-a-slice-of-life/

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16 DFABW – Laughter and a Slice of Life – Dare to Care

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It’s National Tell a Joke Day, and laughter is on the menu! Nonsense poetry is fun and light, whimsical in tone, and sometimes has made-up words. I wrote a nonsense poem as an introduction to…

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https://mrsdkrebs.edublogs.org/2022/08/15/15-dfabw-tenacity/

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We were young and immature
I was inexperienced in love and dating
and you were my first boyfriend
Many decades ago:
You brought me flowers
You took me to 94th Aero Squadron,
the tide pools, your childhood home,
I met your parents, you fixed my VW,
we hiked and rode bikes and went to the beach,
we came to this desert to visit my grandma,
this same desert where we now live and grandparent
You thought you were so in love, but I was hesitant
We eventually broke up and dated others,
but our hearts were linked,
And you persisted.
You worked seven years to capture my heart-your Rachel you say.
At least I didn't have to work for fourteen years, you also say,
as well as:
I can't believe you are whatever years old.
I can't believe I'm holding Denise Reed in the desert.
I can't believe how blessed I am.

Thank you for holding me as I fall asleep
Thank you for caring for yourself so I can hold onto you longer
Thank you for bringing me healthy snacks when I don't expect them
Thank you for praying with and for me
Thank you for holding my hand when we pray
Thank you for asking me interesting questions
Thank you for wanting to be with me
Thank you for waiting for me all those years ago to get ready to say yes
Thank you for your faithfulness these many years
Thank you for taking risks and being bold
Thank you for being a role model in friendliness and service
Thank you for being vulnerable and inviting me to be too
Thank you for your resolute responsibility and love for our little family
Thank you for understanding when I don't speak of my love as easily as you
Thank you for your tenacious love

During each day in the months of August and September, I am responding to a different word from Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Zby Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. Today's word is Tenacity. A small group of people wanting to make the world a better place are reading and responding together. Join us! Visit Common Threads: Patchwork Prose and Verse by Kim Haynes Johnson for more information. Here is the word list I'll be following for August and September.

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We were young and immature I was inexperienced in love and dating and you were my first boyfriend Many decades ago: You brought me flowers You took me to 94th Aero Squadron, the tide pools, your childhood home, I met your parents, you fixed my VW, we hiked and rode bikes and went to the beach, we came to this desert to visit my grandma, this same desert where we now live and grandparent You thought you were so in love, but I was hesitant We eventually broke up and dated others, but our hearts were linked, And you persisted.

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National Lemon Meringue Pie Day is a delicious attitude toward life's tough times. Tenacity is not for the soft-meringue of spirit. It's holding on, despite all challenges. It's our level of stick-to-it-ness - - our grip - - our ability to stay the course when the course seems dang near impossible.

In December 2021 when my father and brother came for a Christmas visit, Dad and I drove the short distance from my home to Warm Springs, Georgia to visit The Little White House and the pool where F. D. Roosevelt came to soak in the springs believed to hold healing properties for those with polio. I wrote a decima inspired by that visit that you can read here.

After our tour of his home in Warm Springs, we stopped for lunch at The Bulloch House, a home-cooking restaurant in a historic building filled with pictures of the days that F D R visited the town. Southern cooking that comforts the soul is never as good as fried chicken, black-eyed peas, squash casserole, fried okra, and cornbread from The Bulloch House.

And then came dessert. The menu descriptions themselves are a certainty that diners will have dessert. I asked Dad what he wanted, and he didn't hesitate.

"We'll share a slice of Lemon Meringue Pie," he told our server.

As our forks cut into this perfect-blend-of-tangy-sweetness on a plate, meringue curls perfectly browned, I wondered why I'd never taken the time to learn from my grandmothers how to create such a work of food art that requires a brown paper bag in an oven. Our coffee steamed in swirls hovering above our cups, dissipating heavenward, and as the festive sounds of forks on plates, clinking of ice cubes in tea glasses, and table conversations filled the space, I thought about this man, my father, whose hardheaded stubbornness I'd inherited honestly, and regretted the times I'd been such a pill for my parents. My parents pushed strongly encouraged me to get my doctorate, just as Dad had done. Without his strong will of tenacity, grit, perseverance, dedication, and hardheaded stubbornness, I would never have made it through my degree program. My mother died of Parkinson's Disease in December 2015, ten months before I finished. I pushed ahead with a powerful pair of wings guiding my efforts, feeling her arms around my shoulders.

While others may disagree, I'm here to vow that all the lemons and learning of a doctoral program - and life itself - have far less to do with intelligence and far more to do with tenacity - holding on when every day brings tears, having all faith that there is a rainbow just up ahead, around the next bend.

So there we sat, eating lemon meringue pie in The Bulloch House, reflecting on life. It brings me to the Try It! section of today's word, at the bottom of page 89. A vision board of goals is a great idea for moving from Aha! to Action! in taking the steps to realize dreams. All it takes is the vision, the tenacity, and the plan.

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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When Life Throws You Lemons, Be Tenacious!

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National Lemon Meringue Pie Day is a delicious attitude toward life's tough times. Tenacity is not for the soft-meringue of spirit. It's holding on, despite all challenges. It's our level of stick-to-it-ness - - our grip - - our ability to stay the course when the course seems dang near impossible.

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https://mrsdkrebs.edublogs.org/2022/08/14/13-14-xenial-and-dream/

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Instead of looking back with regret
wishing I would have done this or that
differently, maybe been more productive
Instead of me pilfering moments from yesterday,
I choose to grasp each remaining hour ahead,
like a forger of dreams
embracing the steel sighs of this life
holding to the hardware hope of love

Well, I want to keep thinking and responding to the words in our Dictionary for a Better World, but I have been neglecting to spend much time on it. Here is my quick write offering today using the prompt on Xenial to write this poem. And with tenacity, I will be back tomorrow!

During each day in the months of August and September, I am responding to a different word from Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Zby Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. Yesterday's word was Xenial. Today's word is Dream. A small group of people wanting to make the world a better place are reading and responding together. Join us! Visit Common Threads: Patchwork Prose and Verse by Kim Haynes Johnson for more information. Here is the word list I'll be following for August and September.

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Instead of looking back with regret wishing I would have done this or that differently, maybe been more productive Instead of me pilfering moments from yesterday, I choose to grasp each remaining hour ahead, like a forger of dreams embracing the steel sighs of this life holding to the hardware hope of love Well, I want to keep thinking and responding to the words in our Dictionary for a Better World, but I have been neglecting to spend much time on it.

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National Creamsicle Day is the perfect day to let the dreamsicles melt and capture the stickiness of dreams. And is it creamsicle or dreamsicle? I've heard them called both.

On pages 24-27 of Dictionary for a Better World, the found poem featured is from chapter 1 of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. Found poems are created by selecting words from existing text - - much like those sticky splotches of melting creamsicles as the dreamy words drip onto the page - and they have so many different variations, from pulling words on a page of text to taking lines from different pages or poems. I love found poems so much that I started a bank of creamsicle stick lines of poetry using craft sticks in 2020 - and my bank has grown. On one side, I write a line of poetry; on the other, I write the title of the poem and the author's name. Then I mash them up and call them mashed potato poems (the name dreamsicle poems sounds so much better, though). Once they are complete, I photograph both sides to give poets full credit for their lines - and I make a big deal about this with students, because it's an opportunity to help them understand that words are to be shared, but ownership of expression matters.

I often search for lines on a theme, but other times I simply write lines that reach out to me. I plan to present this idea at a roundtable discussion at NCTE in Anaheim, California in November, so if you're there, please come to my session table from 9:30-10:45 in Room 213-CD. I'm looking forward to being there with members of Dr. Sarah J. Donovan's writing group at http://www.ethicalela.com, and they will also be sharing some amazing ways to write poetry with students (even reluctant writers). Students enjoy the creativity of writing found poems, so I use them in my writing groups frequently when I visit schools to write in small groups. Here is one I wrote for today:
The Dark Buds of Dreams

Please share your found poems in the Padlet below, or share the variations of found poetry that you use with students!

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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National Creamsicle Day is the perfect day to let the dreamsicles melt and capture the stickiness of dreams. And is it creamsicle or dreamsicle? I've heard them called both. On pages 24-27 of Dictionary for a Better World, the found poem featured is from chapter 1 of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an...

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International Left-Hander's Day is the perfect opportunity to consider the ways that we practice being xenial.

According to http://www.merriam-webster.com, xe·​nial | \ -nēəl, -nyəl \ means : of, relating to, or constituting hospitality or relations between host and guest and especially among the ancient Greeks between persons of different cities. The illustrations on pages 102-103 of Dictionary for a Better World show a world of shoes - (including my favorite Birkenstocks in a color the warmth of sunshine). Desmond Tutu's message that there are no outsiders in our world is fitting for the day! We all belong.

Today's poetry prompt is other side poetry - a form that deals with anything on the other side - perspectives, viewpoints, afterlife, global places. Here is my other side poem:
Criss-Cross Jumprope
right hand washes left

left hand washes right

right brain talks to left

left brain talks to right

like a criss-cross jumprope

hands and brains hold world hope

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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International Left-Hander's Day is the perfect opportunity to consider the ways that we practice being xenial. According to www.merriam-webster.com, xe·​nial | \ -nēəl, -nyəl \ means : of, relating to, or constituting hospitality or relations between host and guest and especially among the ancient Greeks between persons of different cities.

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https://mrsdkrebs.edublogs.org/2022/08/12/11-12-dfabw-vulnerable-and-listen/

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Vulnerable is not an easy word for me. Perhaps that's why I skipped writing yesterday. I love the quote on our dictionary page 97, "...to grow up is to accept vulnerability. To be alive is to be vulnerable." (Madeleine L'Engle) I have grown in this area from childhood when I tried to be "cute at all costs." My husband is a good role model of vulnerability, and I have had the privilege of living with him for 39 years. So, today I'm trying to listen and learn and take down my guard.

The quote on the Listen page, "Even the silence has a story to tell you. Just listen. Listen" from Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson. It reminded me of how I am paying close attention to my sweet baby grandson. This is a tricube poem.
Milo
I'll listen
to you tell
your stories.

Right now they
come in smiles
goos and gahs

A treasure
you are, gift
to the world

During each day in the months of August and September, I am responding to a different word from Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Zby Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. Yesterday's word was Vulnerable. Today's word is Listen. A small group of people wanting to make the world a better place are reading and responding together. Join us! Visit Common Threads: Patchwork Prose and Verse by Kim Haynes Johnson for more information. Here is the word list I'll be following for August and September.

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Vulnerable is not an easy word for me. Perhaps that's why I skipped writing yesterday. I love the quote on our dictionary page 97, "...to grow up is to accept vulnerability. To be alive is to be vulnerable." (Madeleine L'Engle) I have grown in this area from childhood when I tried to be "cute at all costs."

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No, it's not Julianne's Friday. Listen: It's National Julienne Fries Day!

At the beginning of the year, I chose the word listen as my one little word of the year - not to be sure I was hearing words correctly, but that I was taking time to consider the ideas and thoughts of others - to let them resonate with me as I reflected and allowed myself to feel the impact of the weight of words.

In Dictionary for a Better World today, the tricube form of poetry is featured - three stanzas, three lines, and three syllables in each line. Back in November, Linda Mitchell from our writing group at http://www.ethicalela.com challenged us to write tricubes. Here is one I wrote about listening for words during a writers' word drought.

River Tricube

when writing,
ride river
word rapids!

droughts will come
so will rains ~
levels change

when words flow
grab your pen:
listen in!

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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Listen! It's National Julienne Fries Day!

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No, it's not Julianne's Friday. Listen: It's National Julienne Fries Day! At the beginning of the year, I chose the word listen as my one little word of the year - not to be sure I was hearing words correctly, but that I was taking time to consider the ideas and thoughts of others -...

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What's more pliable or vulnerable than Kinetic Sand in the hands of a curious child? On Global Kinetic Sand Day, we're challenged to let our guard down and be open to the wonder of experiences that are new to us, as we were when we were children.

The gogyoshi form in Dictionary for a Better World on page 96 is a 5-line poem without other rules. On July 21, I wrote a gogyoshi when Mo Daley, our host at http://www.ethicalela, introduced us to the form from this book. At the time, I had just helped rescue a dog who had been shot in the left foreleg (probably when chasing someone's chickens) - a stray on the run who was vulnerable to the elements, the predators, and the people. My brother's 14-year old dog had recently died, and he was ready for a new canine companion. He needed her as much as she needed him - the perfect match! Here is my gogyoshi from July:

She throws a little weight

on her smoking-gunshot paw,

stops to smell the flowers

of a better-fragranced world!

Kasa ~ she's home.

Update: Kasa is happy in her new home. She has received a clean bill of health from her vet - no intestinal worms or heartworms, and she has been spayed, gotten all her shots, had a dental cleaning, and has healed from her wound. She can run on the beach. She goes to work with her master and has made friends in the local dog park - and when they get home after a fun outing, she protests getting out of the car. Sometimes vulnerability brings miracles - it sure brought this miracle pairing of two hearts who found happiness together!

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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Be Vulnerable on Global Kinetic Sand Day

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What's more pliable or vulnerable than Kinetic Sand in the hands of a curious child? On Global Kinetic Sand Day, we're challenged to let our guard down and be open to the wonder of experiences that are new to us, as we were when we were children.

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https://mrsdkrebs.edublogs.org/2022/08/10/10-dfabw-fuel/

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Thinking of my rocky ride on dirt roads, so challenging, yet so fun,
It is a joy to be healthy enough to work and ride my bicycle so hard.

After a long, fatiguing trek today, chai and breakfast are satisfying,
Now I'm refreshed and invigorated, ready for the rest of my day.
It looks like my e-bike battery finished charging too.

I had fun with my cherita today. I hope when you read it, you had something of my former attitude about e-bikes. I used to think electric-motored, pedal-assisted transportation was cheating. The first time (and only time before this year) I rode one was on a Lime bike in Seattle a few years ago. I thought it was magical and like I didn't have to work at all.

Then I moved to the desert, where loose sand, rocky paths, steep hills, dirt roads and more greeted me on my bicycle rides. At first, it was a major workout for me to ride three miles on my regular bicycle. Then we got e-bikes, and I've learned that they really can be a great workout! Now, I encounter all of the road difficulties, but I have help. I can ride 15 or 20 miles, for an hour or two at a time. I often push myself to use less power than last time. I am getting stronger. An added bonus are the occasional "fuel" stops we make while out on our rides-donuts, Starbucks, or breakfast out.

During each day in the months of August and September, I am responding to a different word from Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Zby Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. Today's word is Fuel. I had fun taking the word "fuel" literally, rather than metaphorically, as Charles Waters did on page 40 in Dictionary for a Better World. A small group of people wanting to make the world a better place are reading and responding together. Join us! Visit Common Threads: Patchwork Prose and Verse by Kim Haynes Johnson for more information. Here is the word list I'll be following for August and September.

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Thinking of my rocky ride on dirt roads, so challenging, yet so fun, It is a joy to be healthy enough to work and ride my bicycle so hard. After a long, fatiguing trek today, chai and breakfast are satisfying, Now I'm refreshed and invigorated, ready for the rest of my day.

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National S’mores Day brings to mind times around the campfire – – times we share with others, fellowshipping with good food and stories to refuel our spirits as we toast marshmall…

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https://mrsdkrebs.edublogs.org/2022/08/09/9-dfabw-pause/

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Today's word is pause, and Charles wrote a pausing limerick. I decided to write a limerick too, which comes from my memories of decades of Augusts past, getting ready for another school year:

There once was a teacher so mired
in work that she always was tired
With no time to pause
She dug in her claws
and waited until she retired

I'm thinking of all you teachers, praying for you as you start a new year! I'm a little sad that school is going on without me, but mostly I'm excited that I am retired and able to take time to pause today...

We went to Palm Springs to run some errands and to go out for lunch. Like Charles did in his poem, we took time to thank God for the food, but then we shoveled it right in. I forgot to take a picture!

During each day in the months of August and September, I am responding to a different word from Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Zby Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. Today's word is Pause. A small group of people wanting to make the world a better place are reading and responding together. Join us! Visit Common Threads: Patchwork Prose and Verse by Kim Haynes Johnson for more information. Here is the word list I'll be following for August and September.

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Today's word is pause, and Charles wrote a pausing limerick. I decided to write a limerick too, which comes from my memories of decades of Augusts past, getting ready for another school year: There once was a teacher so mired in work that she always was tired With no time to pause She dug in her claws and waited until she retired I'm thinking of all you teachers, praying for you as you start a new year!

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On National Book Lover's Day, pause. Read. Reflect. Let the words and meaning seep into your life and change your world. Today's word in Dictionary for a Better World, pause, does not come naturally to me. I make daily lists of what all I need to accomplish, and I hyper focus on the next checklist item rather than enjoying each moment along the way. I need to be more intentional about taking the time to pause, to breathe, and to laugh.

The poetic form featured on page 70 is a limerick, a humorous poem which has five lines with an aabba rhyme scheme.
Pauseth
to pauseth and readeth a book

is to calmeth a world that once shook

when we crawleth in bed

stories filleth our head -

we dreameth, awaketh: look! look!

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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Pause (and Read). It's National Book Lover's Day!

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On National Book Lover's Day, pause. Read. Reflect. Let the words and meaning seep into your life and change your world. Today's word in Dictionary for a Better World, pause, does not come naturally to me. I make daily lists of what all I need to accomplish, and I hyper focus on the next checklist...

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https://mrsdkrebs.edublogs.org/2022/08/08/8-dfabw-reach/

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It's National Happiness Happens Day.

On this day of practicing the active, intentional verb reach, I recognized the artwork by Michelangelo on pages 70-71 of Dictionary for a Better World, and it took me straight back to a day many years ago when my parents visited the middle school where I was teaching at the time. We were walking through the office, where the hands depicted in The Creation of Adam hung over a desk.

"So," my Dad asked me as he gestured toward the divine image, "Which hand is God's, and which hand is Adam's?"

I'd taken art history in college, but I'd never truly studied this painting, and in the absence of the full image, I wasn't prepared for the trivia question Dad was asking, especially where others were taking notes of our interaction and waiting for my response.

"I don't know," I admitted.

"Look," he said, "Do you see the hand that is more purposefully reaching, there on the right? That's God's hand."

The painting came to life in that moment, and what I hadn't seen before, I saw. In July 2019, I got to see it in person when I visited the Sistine Chapel and stared in awe at the ceiling. There are no words to describe the feeling of being there in that sacred space.

Living and connection begin when we take the initiative to reach out. It's a choice we make. Just like Irene Latham, I am an introvert. Reaching out in a face to face world does not come naturally to me. I'd rather dwell in my quieter world of reading and writing, with a slight buffer zone of physical distance from others way back in the woods of the rural countryside in Georgia. Here in the digital realm, I am more likely to reach out with words and stories. Today, I'll answer the call to action and practice reaching out in my daily interactions - - and I will also observe to see who may be reaching out to me for a response.

On Happiness Happens day, I'll purposefully reach out and smile. I'll make happiness happen.

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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It's National Happiness Happens Day. On this day of practicing the active, intentional verb reach, I recognized the artwork by Michelangelo on pages 70-71 of Dictionary for a Better World, and it took me straight back to a day many years ago when my parents visited the middle school where I was teaching at the...

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https://mrsdkrebs.edublogs.org/2022/08/07/7-dfabw-epitaph-for-hate/

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buried forever, Freeing up feelings, once obscured by this imposter-

sadness, guilt, despair, abandonment

anger, jealously, betrayal, humiliation

disgust, revolt, embarrassment

fear, insecurity, rejection

Feelings often ignored, ruminated on, avoided, acted on to harm self or others Now that it is buried, understand the emotions that hate worked so hard to hide
I loved Irene's wisdom about hate in today's word. Irene's mom "taught (her) that underneath the word hate, there is almost always another emotion" and her wise mama helped her to identify the emotion instead of using the word hate. In her challenge today, Irene asks us to try something: "The next time you hear yourself-or someone else-say the word hate, turn over the metaphorical rock and see what emotion lurks underneath.

Read more here, where I found some ideas for my poem today: How to Deal with Negative Emotions by Elizabeth Scott, PhD

During each day in the months of August and September, I am responding to a different word from Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Zby Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. Today's word is (Epitaph for) Hate. A small group of people wanting to make the world a better place are reading and responding together. Join us! Visit Common Threads: Patchwork Prose and Verse by Kim Haynes Johnson for more information. Here is the word list I'll be following for August and September.

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buried forever, Freeing up feelings, once obscured by this imposter- sadness, guilt, despair, abandonment anger, jealously, betrayal, humiliation disgust, revolt, embarrassment fear, insecurity, rejection Feelings often ignored, ruminated on, avoided, acted on to harm self or others Now that it is buried, understand the emotions that hate worked so hard to hide I loved Irene's wisdom about hate in today's word.

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The goal of National Friendship Day was originally to mail a card to a friend. Just this week, I received a card from a friend who is traveling through Iceland right now, and it makes me smile when I think of the inspiration and encouragement she brings to my life. I can't help thinking of all the hate at the root of evil that would shrivel up and die off if friendship and kindness replaced all the negative energies that seem to hang heavier than ever before in the thick air of our world today. On National Friendship Day, perhaps a smile or holding the door for a stranger or paying it forward at Starbucks might take the place of all the cards I didn't mail my friends today.

In Dictionary for a Better World, I find today's page the most unique of all the pages in the book. It's the only page that features a negative word (but it does it as if the word is now dead and in its grave, hence the epitaph). If you're participating in the word-a-day journey and take a page-walk through the book, stopping at pages 44 and 45, you will notice that in this entire book that looks like each color from the mega box of Crayola crayons was used so vibrantly, this page is only black and white, like two sides of a fierce argument, with a perfect scribbling capturing the intense rage of hatred that is reminiscent of how I feel every time I read Elie Wiesel's Night.

What I love most about today's message on the page is that readers are encouraged to consider the truth of their feelings instead of using hate as the convenient word that it has become for us. Irene's story encourages us to look deeper into the negative feelings we have about situations and whether it may be disappointment or anger we are feeling rather than hatred.

The quote today by George Washington Carver drives straight to the heart: "Fear of something is at the root of hate for others, and hate within will eventually destroy the hater." It got me thinking: if hate is its own cancer of the soul and I could cure hate starting with one other word in the book, which word would I choose, and why? Love certainly comes to mind, and so does forgiveness. Empathy and listening and dialogue would work wonders on eradicating hate, too. I thought about each word as I considered what would most heal the heart of a hater. I believe if I could create a nationwide emphasis on eradicating hate, it would all begin with kindness, because if each person really focused on doing something kind with others foremost in mind, I believe we would see even the most bitter, hate-soaked hearts begin to feel the stirring emotions of mattering enough to someone who took time to make a difference.

I keep a stack of stamped, blank postcards ready to be mailed, so I'm wondering how friends might react if I send cards next week that say
Hi, friend! I was busy on National Friendship Day last week at Starbucks, paying it forward in your honor, and that's why your postcard is running a little late. Tag. Your turn. Go do something to stop the hate, and light up another heart with kindness. Love, Kim
Which word would you choose to eradicate hate, and why? Please share ideas in the Padlet below by scrolling across to today's date and posting your response.

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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Eradicating Hate on National Friendship Day

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The goal of National Friendship Day was originally to mail a card to a friend. Just this week, I received a card from a friend who is traveling through Iceland right now, and it makes me smile when I think of the inspiration and encouragement she brings to my life.

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https://mrsdkrebs.edublogs.org/2022/08/06/6-dfabw-nature/

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If it's the first Saturday of any month, it's National Play Outside Day! Dictionary for a Better World reminds us to spend time in nature . Today's form of poetry is a Haiku, one of my favorite, which traditionally has seventeen syllables in a 5-7-5 line pattern, but Modern Haiku throws out the rules and urges a short poem in three to four lines and no rules.

Rain

quenching Earth's dry thirst

steady rains saturate plains

trickle, tickle dirt

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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If it's the first Saturday of any month, it's National Play Outside Day! Dictionary for a Better World reminds us to spend time in nature . Today's form of poetry is a Haiku, one of my favorite, which traditionally has seventeen syllables in a 5-7-5 line pattern, but Modern Haiku throws out the rules and...

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https://mrsdkrebs.edublogs.org/2022/08/05/5-dfabw-service/

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It's National Work Like a Dog Day, and I'm considering the similarities and differences between work and service, my word of the day. Dogs seem to have a strong work ethic, naturally - - and they don't clock in and out. They do what they see needs to be done, and they do it all with a servant's heart. How many times have I turned over at night to see our Schnoodle, Boo Radley, wide awake, sitting between my husband and me, guarding over us? He loves his people (and besides - he has all day to sleep). He is the nightwatchman, working hard for those he loves and serving us with what he has to give - his dog strengths. He works like a dog, and it's an act of service, too.

Irene Latham's story about serving food at a convent as a way to feel satisfaction and unity brings to mind a story that Dr. Kyle Reese, interim pastor of St. Simon's Island First Baptist Church in coastal Georgia, shared in his sermon last week. He told about a Florida pastor and his wife who'd had a tremendous impact on those in his community. Dr. Reese shared that in one conversation he'd had with his pastor friend, this man explained that God had placed in his heart a strong calling to help those in poverty. After many years of working together with his wife in their ministry, Dr. Reese's pastor friend died. At the funeral, people spoke about the difference this man had made in their lives.

One young man said, "He gave us a story. He would drive the church van to our neighborhood and pick up all the kids and take us somewhere during the summer. It didn't matter where we went, whether to McDonald's to share a meal, bowling, to a movie, or to a park. The important thing is that we went somewhere and had fun. We all knew that he did this because for those of us who never had a way to go anywhere, we needed a story to write when the teacher asked us the first week of school what we'd done that summer. Because of him, we always had a story to write. He always made sure we had a fun experience like the other kids."

The quote by Lao-tzu today, "The heart that gives, gathers," rings truth. While we bless others with our gifts of service, we are the ones who are blessed tenfold when we seize the opportunity to make a difference and act as good stewards of our gifts!

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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On National Work Like a Dog Day, Don't be Out-serviced!

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It's National Work Like a Dog Day, and I'm considering the similarities and differences between work and service, my word of the day. Dogs seem to have a strong work ethic, naturally - - and they don't clock in and out. They do what they see needs to be done, and they do it all...

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https://mrsdkrebs.edublogs.org/2022/08/04/4-dfabw-experiment/

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Since Tuesday, I've been experimenting making my own healthy ice cream sandwich. It was National Ice Cream Sandwich Day, and I didn't have an ice cream sandwich in celebration.

I modified a recipe for homemade ice cream. It was so interesting to work with aquafaba-a fancy name for garbanzo bean water. I added half the sugar and no oil, so this was really a healthy recipe! I put a scoop on a graham cracker and enjoyed my ice cream sandwich a day late.

Today is National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day. I didn't have one of those today, either. Maybe an ice cream sandwich on chocolate chip cookies will be my next experiment.

During each day in the months of August and September, I am responding to a different word from Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Zby Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. Today's word is Experiment. A small group of people wanting to make the world a better place are reading and responding together. Join us! Visit Common Threads: Patchwork Prose and Verse by Kim Haynes Johnson for more information. Here is the word list I'll be following for August and September.

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Since Tuesday, I've been experimenting making my own healthy ice cream sandwich. It was National Ice Cream Sandwich Day, and I didn't have an ice cream sandwich in celebration. I modified a recipe for homemade ice cream. It was so interesting to work with aquafaba-a fancy name for garbanzo bean water.

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In honor of National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, consider this: Ruth Wakefield was experimenting when she baked this classic cookie for the first time. She was going to make chocolate cookies, but instead experimented by adding some chocolate chunks, which resulted in a delicious accident that led to the formation of the Toll House company and became a timeless treat.

I love Irene Latham's story today in Dictionary for a Better World as I reflect on the word experiment. She tells about her desire to become an acolyte in her church, and because the church was willing to experiment, she became the first female acolyte in the history of her church.

As I reflect on my early days of student teaching, I remember visiting a Pre-K classroom to observe. Ms. Laurie was the teacher in that class, and I remember her well because each evening, she read a picture book on local TV. Storytime with Ms. Laurie. As I observed, I noticed a group of three young boys gathered by a record player on the far wall. They were taking the wooden cars from the block center and putting them atop the turntable as it spun, watching to see how long it would take before the car flew off the edge.

I started to walk over and remind the boys that the cars didn't belong on the record player. But as I moved in that direction, I heard Ms. Laurie whisper to me.

"Wait," she said. "Let's watch. They're experimenting!"

Those words truly changed my perspective on teaching young children. Allowing them to experiment before being bound by rules that they don't yet know exist is a rare golden opportunity for them to explore how the world works.

I left that day with a different outlook on teaching. I wanted to be that teacher who saw around the "rules" being followed and considered the child's point of view that figuring out how motion affects an object at rest is an adventure in discovery - - a course in advanced physics on the preschool level. I was inspired that day to become a teacher who cared about children's discovery learning enough to say, "Wait. Let's watch! They're experimenting."

*During the months of August and September, I am writing poetry forms and responding to quotes and narratives from Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Zby Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. Join me at the start of a new school year by turning over a new leaf - writing more, reading more, reflecting on quotes, connecting to text, and performing a simple daily act of kindness. Together, we can make the world a better place!

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Experiment! You Might Bake a Chocolate Chip Cookie!

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In honor of National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, consider this: Ruth Wakefield was experimenting when she baked this classic cookie for the first time. She was going to make chocolate cookies, but instead experimented by adding some chocolate chunks, which resulted in a delicious accident that led to the formation of the Toll House company...

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https://mrsdkrebs.edublogs.org/2022/08/03/3-dfabw-diversity/

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It's National Georgia Day! On this day, we celebrate all things Georgia! Today's poetry form presented in Dictionary for a Better World by Charles Waters and Irene Latham, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini is a Rondine - a 12-line poem with seven lines in the first stanza, five lines in the second stanza, and all lines having either 8 or 10 syllables except the seventh and twelfth lines, which repeat a single word - such as Diversity or Georgia, which is the first word of the first line of the poem. I love the diversity of my home state, from the mountains to the coast! The authors inspired me to try my hand at a Rondine today.
Georgia's Diversity
Georgia mountains to pristine beaches

Loblolly pines to Freestone peaches

Coastal marsh to Appalachian Trail

Bottlenosed dolphin to northern right whale

Margaret Mitchell to Alice Walker

Livestock auctioneer to slow-drawl talker

Georgia

Urban city to rural countryside

Six Flags Over Georgia: Cheers for the ride!

People of all nations stand unified

Embracing each other from far and wide

Georgia

I had an interesting email exchange with my dad earlier this week about the top ten books in each state. If you had to choose ONE book as the literature to represent your state, what would it be? Most would choose Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell for Georgia.

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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It's National Georgia Day! On this day, we celebrate all things Georgia! Today's poetry form presented in Dictionary for a Better World by Charles Waters and Irene Latham, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini is a Rondine - a 12-line poem with seven lines in the first stanza, five lines in the second stanza, and all lines...

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Living intentionally, even as I melt! :) 

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Living intentionally, even as I melt! :) 

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https://mrsdkrebs.edublogs.org/2022/07/31/2-dfabw-intention/

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Intention is the guts of motivation. If “I” is the letter of the day the poem is Kipling’s IF

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I selected the word Intention for today's focus when I saw that it was National Ice Cream Sandwich Day. I'll explain the connection in a moment, but in looking at pages 50-51, the poem on these pages o f Dictionary for a Better World is a didactic poem, which offers a moral message with an instructional purpose. Oprah Winfrey's featured quote is, "I believe the choice to be excellent begins with aligning your thoughts and words with the intention to require more from yourself." Her quote expresses much of the purpose I felt in taking this book and stretching it over two months, allowing the words to seep in and saturate my thinking as I meditate on engaging in acts of service that make a difference. One of the authors shares his intentions to become a published author, despite the rejection letters and frustrations along the way. The authors issue the call to action in writing down something we've felt compelled to do, and then pursuing it.

National Ice Cream Sandwich Day takes me back to my childhood on a day when I was visiting my grandparents in Blackshear, Georgia. We lived on St. Simon's Island, about an hour and a half away, so we visited them frequently on weekends. Meema Jones, as we lovingly called our mother's mother, always had a box of ice cream sandwiches waiting for my brother and me in the freezer. Like most grandmothers, she knew how to coax hugs and spoil us with sweets. It worked.

Until the day that we pulled into the driveway and I fled the backseat and made a beeline straight for the freezer without a greeting hug. My mother, right on my heels, took the ice cream sandwich away from me and refused to let me have it. She made me go back and greet my grandmother since I had clearly gotten my priorities out of order. I still didn't get an ice cream sandwich on that particular visit, because I had to learn my lesson.

My intention was not to hurt my grandmother's feelings, but by losing sight of the giver and going straight for the gift, that's exactly what I had done. I had to set things straight, and that one life lesson five decades ago has stayed with me, reminding me to give forethought to intentions and unintended consequences of situations before I go bumbling in and making a mess of things.

I love the blurbs of history and evolution of the national days on the calendar as linked above. Today, I'll enjoy an ice cream sandwich, and I might even hashtag a photo with #IceCreamSandwichDay. But what I certainly won't forget to do is to be intentional about smiling and saying thank you to the person who serves me, as I bite into the creamy sweetness, remembering the grandmother who introduced me to these delightful dairy desserts - and a mother who showed me what was most important.

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Dictionary for a Better World: Intention in an Ice Cream Sandwich

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I selected the word Intention for today's focus when I saw that it was National Ice Cream Sandwich Day. I'll explain the connection in a moment, but in looking at pages 50-51, the poem on these pages of Dictionary for a Better World is a didactic poem, which offers a moral message with an instructional...

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https://mrsdkrebs.edublogs.org/2022/08/01/1-dfabw-respect/
I've shared this "epistle" with Rick's children today.

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Dear Rick,

I miss you so often. If you were still here, we would see a lot more of each other because I've moved home now.

Almost every time we swim at K&M's, I remember when you taught us to swim by throwing us in-"sink or swim" were your initial instructions. You were just the big brother helping out our single mom. She didn't want any of us to drown. You accomplished your mission; we never did. I am also regularly reminded of your smile and your attentive listening because I see them copy-pasted in our younger brother.

Did I ever tell you when you sent me the number 7 for my seventh birthday, that I used to think it was an F. Why did you send me an F from Germany, I wondered? Maybe you were in the army in France instead, I figured. (Did I also tell you that when I finally figured it out, I started crossing my 7's? And I don't think I told you I have saved that little 7 for almost 60 years.)

When I pulled up stakes and moved across the country, I remember the offer of a plane ticket back if ever I needed it. I never needed it because I married that guy, and I have the sweet memory of you walking me down the aisle on my wedding day-being the dad I hadn't had for decades.

I enjoy every day of my life these days because you were a role model of a life well-lived. When you were diagnosed with heart disease as a young man, and having had a father who died of a heart attack at 43, you knew every year after 43 was a bonus. Your last 26 years were full of health, family, fun, and living in gratitude. Thank you for the legacy.

I love you so much,

Denny

During each day in the months of August and September, I am responding to a different word from Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Zby Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. A small group of people wanting to make the world a better place are reading and responding together. Join us! Visit Common Threads: Patchwork Prose and Verse by Kim Haynes Johnson for more information.

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Dear Rick, I miss you so often. If you were still here, we would see a lot more of each other because I've moved home now. Almost every time we swim at K&M's, I remember when you taught us to swim by throwing us in-"sink or swim" were your initial instructions.

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Today's word in Dictionary for a Better World is Respect, and the poetry form introduced is an epistle, a letter poem addressed to someone, using poetic devices. There is a quote from Joseph M. Marshall III: "Respect is a close relative of tolerance, and both go a long way to prevent and alleviate the negative interactions between and among people." One of the authors shares a connection about his love of Aretha Franklin's music (R-E-S-P-E-C-T), and in the call to action, the authors encourage readers to try an act of respect by making a list of people we respect, explaining why, and then to reach out to them or their families to share our thoughts.

As I consider the opportunities to respond to this text as we celebrate National Respect for Parents Day, I'm choosing to write an epistle to my mother, who died in December 2015, using a short Haiku chain as poetic device. Later today, when I talk with my brother, I'll share with him how proud I am that he and I get along and make decisions that honor both our father and the legacy of our mother. Because even though Mom's not physically here with us, there is no doubt that she is still here. She lives on in us, and the way we live reflects her. We always want to make her proud when others look at us and see her spirit.
Bringing Heaven to Earth
you slipped away, Mom

leaving a rich legacy

and yet you're still here

that hawk on the wire?

checking to see if we have

our seatbelts fastened

that redbird feeding?

reminding us to behave,

keeping us in line

those black swallowtails?

urging us to plant fennel ~

long live butterflies!

the eyes of our dogs?

"You take care of these dogs, now."

you're there in that love.

you're not ever gone

you're everywhere we look, you

bring heaven to earth

What comes to mind when you meditate on the word respect? Please share the places that the word respect takes you in the Padlet or in the comments below!

*During the months of August and September, I am writing poetry forms and responding to quotes and narratives from Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Zby Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. Join me at the start of a new school year by turning over a new leaf - writing more, reading more, reflecting on quotes, connecting to text, and performing a simple daily act of kindness. Together, we can make the world a better place!

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Today's word in Dictionary for a Better World is Respect, and the poetry form introduced is an epistle, a letter poem addressed to someone, using poetic devices. There is a quote from Joseph M. Marshall III: "Respect is a close relative of tolerance, and both go a long way to prevent and alleviate the negative...

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Dictionary for a Better World: My Gratitude List

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As I prepare to begin a word journey through Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini tomorrow, I&#…

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singing potatoes

jazz and blues, loaded with cheese

eyes peeled for troubles

*Nonsense Poetry, a Haiku inspired by the word Laughter from Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini (2020, Carolrhoda Books).

During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine the world needs. I'll be offering insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join in and make August and September a time of deep personal book friendship by responding to the book. A few teachers, upon hearing my plan for the book study, will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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singing potatoes jazz and blues, loaded with cheese eyes peeled for troubles Singing Potatoes *Nonsense Poetry, a Haiku inspired by the word Laughter from Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini (2020, Carolrhoda Books).

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If you and I were to meet for lunch or coffee and go venturing out into a city to explore its history, cultural events, music, art, food, landscape, landmarks, architecture, and all the rest of the flavors that make a place worth tasting, like fresh-squeezed lemonade from a sugar-rimmed glass, we would probably agree that one of the first shops we'd want to visit along the way would be a book store. I can guess, my friend, that you're a reader - with an insatiable appetite for taking in the world through your heightened senses when you're in a new, exciting place.

Like me, you probably find your sensory awareness is at its peak when you travel. At home, you get around on autopilot, knowing your way but barely able to recall the finer details of the familiar paths you drive to work or to school. But when you travel, you probably find, as I do, that you notice everything, right down to the sizes and shapes of the sugar packets on the restaurant tables. You smell the diesel fumes of city buses when you're from the rural countryside, and you hear sirens and horns when you're used to hearing only windchimes and birds and crickets and the rustling of the tree leaves in the wind. You smell the food trucks wafting their mouth-watering aromas to tantalize the taste buds - and you study the landscapes like paintings, appreciating every horizon, every shade of blue sky, every mountain, every valley, every harbor or lake, taking it all in. You photograph what must seem like the most mundane things to the locals, but to you are your cherished timestamped travels, memory fingerprints that you don't want to forget. Sights that made you pause and appreciate the world.

And perhaps most of all, you watch and wonder about the lives of the people who live in this place that is not where you live. You imagine their schedules, their jobs, their favorite places to eat, and whether they even need to own a car to get to work. Do they buy their groceries in a once-a-week trip to the store, or do they shop the fresh markets on the way home and purchase each day what they will cook that evening, carrying it all home in one single paper sack, hugging it like a teddy bear the last block home? And do they buy fresh flowers for their tables? What music plays in their living rooms? What books line their shelves?

In that bookstore we decided to visit, you already know, even without thinking about it, which sections you'll visit in 1-2-3-4 order. We may separate to browse the store and meet back in 30 minutes, or you might go to the same spots in the same order I go: travel, pets and nature, science, and poetry. If we were really shopping together, I'd tell you about the book I just purchased for my grandchildren: The Atlas Obscura Explorer's Guide for the World's Most Adventurous Kid by Dylan Thuras and Rosemary Mosco (You can download a free teacher's guide here). I'd grab my phone and show you how I subscribe to their website because I find the world so fascinating that I want to see every corner of it, and the daily emails help satisfy my constant craving for travel. So I bought the children's version of the book for my grandchildren, hoping to stir in them a rich curiosity about the world, to develop a love for it and to appreciate the need we all have to get outside of our own bubbles and experience moments and slivers of living for brief times in different places. To inspire wonder. To see the world. To want to embrace the favorites of everywhere.

And then I would show you a few pictures of my grandchildren that bring joy to my heart.

My husband and I often see a beautiful sunset or some other lovely thing and text a random picture of our view to the other. The response is, most often, "thank you for not being selfish with the sunset," or "thank you for sharing the Batman Building (in Nashville)." I think it's a lot like the reasons we send our grandchildren postcards every time we go anywhere and sometimes even from right here at home~ to say I wish you were right here with me seeing this place, sharing this moment.

I want to give my grandchildren my same loves of reading and traveling, and writing it all down to remember all the whens. But how do you give someone the world? How do you create the awe-inspiring concept of a world that is enormously, majestically huge when you're little and your world is mostly your house and your yard with those black swallowtail caterpillars eating all the fennel along the fence, but then suddenly becomes a small world, after all, right about the time your feet stop growing?

I think you give someone the world the same way I'm told you eat an elephant.

One bite at a time.

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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Dictionary for a Better World: Sharing The Sunsets and The World

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If you and I were to meet for lunch or coffee and go venturing out into a city to explore its history, cultural events, music, art, food, landscape, landmarks, architecture, and all the rest of the flavors that make a place worth tasting, like fresh-squeezed lemonade from a sugar-rimmed glass, we would probably agree that...

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As I hoist the sails on a book and word study that will take me through personal meditations through the end of September, I can't help thinking about all the walks of faith that make our hearts, lives, and world a better place. As a P.K. (preacher's kid), I was raised to respect and value people of all walks of life, including those whose choices and beliefs are different from my own. My father still models what it looks like to embrace diversity as he stands at altars, sharing moments beside ministers of other denominations and religions in joining couples of different faiths in matrimony. Most pastors don't do this, making me extra-proud of my dad.

It would be impossible for me to ponder a better world without first acknowledging that I am firmly rooted in the belief of a higher power. As I write about what the words in Dictionary for a Better World mean to me and how they inspire me to want to engage in acts of kindness and compassion, I also want to celebrate my brothers and sisters of other faiths in their beliefs and efforts to do the same. I join hands with friends of all faiths as we all work together to create a better world and to leave a legacy of hope for future generations.

If it all truly boils down to faith, hope, and love being the Big 3, and the greatest being love, then I'm choosing love as my guiding lens. As I set my focus on each word in this book and share how I (as one single person) can use the words to make a difference in the world around me, a diopter lens, like the ones on those high-powered binoculars that bring an object into focus at various distances, will help me add another dimension to my own reading of the book. I'll be thinking about respect and acceptance and zest and compassion and all the words for a better world through the lens of love - a love of all people, a love of our earth, a love of our world. And when my heart is a fallow field sodden and softened with love, the seeds of these words and their ideas have room to take root, to bloom and grow. To make a difference.

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world - or the whole world - needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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Dictionary for a Better World - Focusing the Diopter Lens

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As I hoist the sails on a book and word study that will take me through personal meditations through the end of September, I can't help thinking about all the walks of faith that make our hearts, lives, and world a better place. As a P.K.

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Dictionary for a Better World – A Quick Write

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As I prepare to dive into the poetic forms of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z* by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini, I think ba…

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Back before Covid when I was many pounds lighter and running 5 and 10 K races a couple of times a month, a friend and I crossed the finish line of the Atlanta Women's 5K on a sunny April morning and drove directly to Krispy Kreme on Ponce de Leon Avenue to find the hot light on and the donuts ready to replenish all those calories we'd just burned.

As we chatted over swirl-steaming hot coffee and fresh, warm donuts, we discussed the book we'd both been reading - The Boys in the Boat, by Daniel James Brown. We talked about the urge we'd felt to get in a boat and row, to feel what the character felt and understand a thing or two from the perspective of that seat in the boat, and how thrilling it would be to contact a local university with a rowing team and ask if there was a chance we could have an opportunity to take a quick lesson. We talked about how fortunate we were as readers to feel the spark to make an idea come to life - - how we had the power to feel our lives could be enriched by a book.

As high school English teachers in those days, we dreamed of offering Adventure Book Clubs, in which we would read a book and engage in an adventure inspired by the book. Our next dream was to hike part of the Appalachian Trail, which begins on Springer Mountain, a short drive from our town in rural Georgia, after reading A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. Although neither of us has hiked the Appalachian Trail or rowed in a crew boat yet, we have offered an Adventure Book Club based on the book Finding Gobi, about the dog that ran alongside ultra-marathoner author Dion Leonard in the Gobi Desert. After reading the book with a small group of students, we invited an animal control officer and an animal rescue director to speak to our book club, and we took a behind-the-scenes tour of the local veterinarian's office to ask questions about how they care for dogs. We found a text of interest and allowed it to spark new pathways of discovery for us - and we showed students the places that books could take us, modeling that same sense of lifelong learning that we hoped to instill in them as young readers.

That's how I connected to this book and truly embraced their passion when the authors, on page 110 of the book, talked about how their idea for this book was born. They'd been in an airport in Michigan when their event was cancelled and had been talking in the airport about their plans for another book. Dictionary for a Better World came about because of the ideas of Irene Latham and Charles Waters - - and their work to make it happen (along with illustrator Mehrdokht Amini). They also shared how stepping outside their comfort zones with new forms of poetry helped them to appreciate new challenges along the way.

A book* with the power to change. Stepping outside of a comfort zone. An adventure hunt of looking for insights, allowing words and thoughts to spark personal growth. That's all part of the journey that awaits in the next couple of months as I ponder the words and ideas waiting in this book. I am spending this week opening my mind and my heart to be changed. I express my thoughts on my blog and share my experiences, and welcome your sharing as well.

*During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world or the whole world needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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Dictionary for a Better World: The Author's Note

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Back before Covid when I was many pounds lighter and running 5 and 10 K races a couple of times a month, a friend and I crossed the finish line of the Atlanta Women's 5K on a sunny April morn...

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I've been thinking about how to study a book to make a real difference, and for me, I think it's association and application. That's why for the months of August and September I've come up with a plan for celebrating each word in the book. This is my plan for devouring them:

During the months of August and September on days when I'm not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world or the whole world needs. I'll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don't have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let's turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

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I've been thinking about how to study a book to make a real difference, and for me, I think it's association and application. That's why for the months of August and September I've come up with a plan for celebrating each word in the book. This is my plan for devouring them: DateNational EventWordAugust 1National...

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At the beginning of 2022, I made a series of blog posts on my choice of my One Little Word intended to sharpen my focus throughout the year as a challenge for personal growth. My word choice was . You can read my OLW posts here, here, and here, which share the OLWs chosen - and the reasons - by friends and family as well.

Listen was selected to be like a little toy poodle with a pink collar and blingy-bougie leash, cleanly groomed, smelling of strawberry rosebud shampoo, daintily prancing all sure-footed, the kind you could take with confidence into a china shop, knowing there'd be no damages.

Instead, my word turned out a lot like that great dane in the movie The Ugly Dachshund that was secretly slipped into a litter of dachshunds as if no one would be the wiser, until the truth became clear. Listen is no strawberry poodle word - it follows me like a clumsily lumbering beast into fragile places that force me to take careful steps, assessing the catastrophic potential for any missteps.

Words are like that ~ like beams of sunlight through a dense canopy of trees ~ illuminating the dark places in random rays of light on the leaves, bringing awe and wonder to moments that may otherwise go unnoticed. Words have power to show, to guide, and to prompt change, understanding, and compassion in our lives. As I write through August and September, I'll pause daily using Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters and consider the power of words to shape my life, dedicating a day to each of these words and considering other words I might add to my own personal lexicon for change:

acceptance, ally, belonging, compassion, courage, create, dialogue, diversity, dream, empathy, equality, exercise, experiment, forgiveness, freedom, fuel, gratitude, hate, hope, humility, intention, justice, kindness, laughter, listen, love, mindfulness, nature, netiquette, open, pause, peace, question, reach, release, respect, service, shero, team, tenacity, upstander, voice, vulnerable, witness, wonder, xenial, yes, and zest.

If you haven't read this book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship, sharing insights on the words and the response opportunities that the authors create in the book.

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Dictionary for a Better World - The Words

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At the beginning of 2022, I made a series of blog posts on my choice of my One Little Word intended to sharpen my focus throughout the year as a challenge for personal growth. My word choice was Listen. You can read my OLW posts here, here, and here, which share the OLWs chosen -...