The Road to Summer

My mind has been on high alert, making yet another “to-do” list. However, a springtime cold slowed me down this week and forced me to sit, sleep, and wonder.  June snuck up on me; all of a sudden it arrived. With only two more weeks of school ahead of me, I’m looking forward to getting outside into the air, the green, the blue of nature.  I am thirsting for time on my own to roam the woods and shorelines from Maine to Miami.  Most of my colleagues and our student body are also weary of indoor school days and are anticipating the freedom that June brings: our own pace, our own activities, our own adventures. This sense of freedom is part of the school cycle that I have been part of since I was four years old.

I’m taking these two weeks to glide into summer mode.  I have a stack of books to read and am looking for some children’s novels to even out my pile.  I also signed up for two asynchronous courses – one presented by Ethan Mollick on AI in schools and one on creativity called “Divergent by Design”.  My summers are always filled with travelling/photographing, unwinding, writing, reading, and a bit of drawing.  This summer, I’m looking forward to all of that but also to learning some new things, so I can’t wait to start my AI and creativity courses once I’ve had a little room to breathe and walk in the wild. 

I’ve also been taught to crochet by some of our 5^th graders, so I also plan to keep practicing and hopefully become more proficient by September so I can teach another crop of children. This will give me an excuse to wander into some knitting and crochet stores in all the places I will visit this summer, a cool respite during my travels.  I’m looking forward to developing this lost skill again.  I’m starting with a small granny square.  I don’t want to get too ambitious, just rekindling a peaceful pastime.

Recently, a younger friend and I were discussing an important career choice she was in the midst of making.  I was honored that she sought my advice.  I wanted to give it my full thought and attention.  As we sorted out the two possibilities, I was reminded of Frost’s poem, “The Road Not Taken,” which many people interpret as an admonition to take the path that is different, unique, and offers freedom and non-conformity.  However, Frost states clearly that both roads are equally beautiful and much the same.  His deeper point is that life requires us to make choices, but it is up to us, not the road, to make our journey a productive one.  So, I told my young friend that whatever her decision, it would be the right one because she would be the one taking the journey, and I trust that she will make it memorable, enjoyable, and important.

When I was younger, I definitely misread Frost.  I thought he was telling me to take the Bohemian poet path, but I couldn’t quite stay on that path.  I felt like a failure. I found myself leaping from the poet path to the teacher trail. And because I could not decide on one specific way to take my life, I made each intertwine, and “it has made all the difference.”