Happy New Year

I have been slow to return to the blogging front since leaving for Christmas in Florida. I've been caught up in my head, reflecting on my family and my future. Everything just felt too personal--either for me or on behalf of the people who inspired my thoughts--so I haven't written. But life is starting to get back to normal, and it's time to post again.

I'll start with a silly little anecdote. I've been trying some of my stories out on the kids I tutor when we walk to their home from the library. I taught them "The Little Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly" last month and they wanted to sing it again on Wednesday. Do you remember how for every animal she swallows, there's a little rhyming commentary? "How absurd to swallow a bird!" or "Imagine that, she swallowed a cat." Well, when we get to the end of the song, the kids never want to stop. So they don't say "horse" (she died of course), instead they give me some other animal, or a boy, or a girl. Then we try to make up the rhyme for their new animal. Such as "she swallowed that bear with all of his hair!" and "He threw down his toy when she swallowed that boy." Very silly, but a lot of fun. I love watching them take the reigns of the story.