Lincoln, a Girl, and Some Summer Fun

Sitting in the parking lot waiting on Lincoln to get finished with color guard practice, I realize I am famished!  It's almost six in the evening and my lunch time at school is 10:43.  My stomach makes that Winnie the Pooh "rumbly in my tumbly" sound that used to make my little boys laugh when they heard it.

Lincoln makes his way out of the high school slowly.  He has a girl with him.  Hmmm, interesting.  "Hey, mom.  You think we could give Morgan a ride home?"

I grinned at him and quickly said, "Of course we can."

Lincoln put his purple color guard flag awkwardly in the truck.  He angled it across the seat so that there was room for Morgan and her flag too.  He hopped in the truck bed so this cute brunette could ride up front in the cab with me.

We drove down the road and dropped Morgan at her house in a small neighborhood about half a mile from the school.  Lincoln joined me and I began to throw out the "mama questions" so quickly he finally said, "Mom, geez, can you give me a break here?"

I had to laugh.  He had just spent almost twelve hours at school.  He was tired and didn't feel like being grilled about a girl at the moment so I set my curiosity aside for the time being.

My stomach growled again which prompted him to ask the question that I constantly hear from him after a long day at school (and sometimes a not-so-long day).   "What's for dinner?"

"How about we run to Waxhaw and grab a bite there?"  I had had a tough day too and didn't feel like cooking, but I was so hungry!

"Sure, that sounds good," Lincoln replied.  "What do you feel like eating?  You want Chinese?"

"How about Luigi and Sons?  I really don't want Chinese,"  I answered.

"Okay, that works," Lincoln smiled.

We made our way into the small nearby town of Waxhaw.  It's a quiet little town with lots of charming antique shops and a few quality restaurants.  Luigi and Sons is one of our favorites when we feel like splurging on some rich Italian food.  It is small place with a quiet atmosphere that begs you to sit and relax a while over a great meal.

Entering the restaurant, we were suddenly hit with the amazing aromas of garlic , tomatoes, pizza, and pasta.  Lincoln and I look over the menu.  We talk about what we want to eat, decide, and the waitress, Heather, comes over to take our order.

As Heather leaves our table and enters the kitchen through it's silver door, we hear her loudly call out the cook's name, "Marco!"

Lincoln yells back lightning fast, "Polo!"

I can't help it; I burst into giggles.  The couple in the booth next to us crack up.  He has the whole place laughing!

He's a witty young man and since he was a July baby, summer is never far from his mind.

We finished our wonderful dinner and started for home.  With my hunger satisfied, I was happy to return to the topic we had shelved while we ate.

 "So, who is Morgan...?"

Planning to Write for Teachers Write!

A little late making it to the first day of camp, but I'm here finally!  It's the last week of school and there is a FULL MOON, people!  Making time to write is difficult at the moment, however, I have a plan.

I have thought about what I can let go for the next couple of days to be able to write.  I am at school generally until around 5.  Our students leave at 3:15.  If I leave at 4:30, I would have an extra half hour to write once I got home.  After the final end of year workdays and an instructional mapping workshop on the Common Core Standards, I will be able to write in the mornings after my wake up cup of coffee and my breakfast.  My fifteen year old son will still be asleep and my twenty year old will be at work so I will only have the cat there to distract me.

I will spend the time writing at my kitchen table--in the afternoons until school is over and then in the mornings.  Looking out the window there, I will be able to see my beautiful, green front yard.  I have two huge water oak trees the birds and squirrels love! ( I suppose I have to include watching them as a distraction for me also. )

My students at school as well as my sons know about my plans to attend writing camp and how and when I will work on becoming a better writer.  Now, of course, I have shared these intentions with other members of the Teachers Write! community--being held accountable to myself and the people that I've shared this plan with will should be enough to keep me motivated until August 10th and beyond.

Thank you, Kate, and all the authors and other teacher/librarian writers involved in helping me grow as a writer!