One thing is consistent in life and likewise with this blog—change. This month the big change in my life is I have finally landed a job I love. I am working three days a week teaching writing to GED students, and two days managing a middle school/high school library. I love both jobs and the variety they weave into my workweek.
However, my writing and blogging time are now greatly diminished. Like most otherwise employed writers, I squeeze in time to write before work, during lunch, and on the weekends.
Blogging time and reading time has been a little tougher to keep up with. This month I finished reading just one book. (No Mom, I’m not sick; there is no need to come over and take my temperature.) This was the result of a combination of forces—first a number of commitments on my calendar based on the assumption I would not be employed this month—including a one-day writing conference, a writing retreat, and a church women’s retreat. (Whew! It makes me tired just listing them.) All were great experiences, but the combination, along with my new job, left me exhausted. Therefore…I went to bed each night solely to sleep, and not, as is my habit, to read then sleep.
However, I can wholeheartedly recommend the one book I did finish reading—it was a revisit with an old friend: Elizabeth Goudge’s Gentian Hill. It is always interesting to come back to a novel you read long ago. There are several storylines in Gentian Hill, and the only one I had any recollection of was that of the young people. However, as a no-longer-so-young person myself, I was deeply drawn to the older characters and their equally significant roles in the novel. Read it if you can find it. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
As November rolls in, my personal calendar is beginning to look a lot less tiring. However, to keep it manageable, I am revising my blog schedule.
As a writer, the “Play With Your Words” writing prompts are one of my favorite parts of the Literate Lives blog and will continue in their weekend-kick-off position, Friday.
Mondays will be the grab-bag day. Best Books of the Month, Wonderful Words, Teachers’ File Drawer, Websites to Check Out, Reading Response Exercises and random posts will appear here.
Lastly, I am deeply committed to the Greek and Latin Roots Spelling and Vocabulary Program. Therefore new root and word lists (every other week during the school year) and tips and strategies for helping students learn their roots will appear on Wednesdays of each week.
I’m looking forward to the upcoming month. And I can hardly wait to begin reading some of the many books that have been placed in my care. I love reading; I love writing; I love books. As writer, reader, writing teacher, and librarian, I am one happy lady.
Debby Zigenis-Lowery's Literate Lives 