“So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, goodbye
I leave and heave a sigh and say goodbye — Goodbye!
I’m glad to go, I cannot tell a lie”
– from “Song Long, Farewell” by Rodgers and Hammerstein

Here we are: the last day of March. For the fifth year in a row, I’ve written – and published! which is harder for me – for 31 days in a row. Other years, I’ve ended the month writing about a sense of power or community or learning. This year, I’m ending with a sigh. This has been the hardest year yet for me, mostly, I think, because I’m worn out. Writer’s block only dogged me a few times, but I sometimes struggled to get my words out the way I wanted.

So… why keep going? I mean, I could have quit. Well, in addition to several half-written posts, I’ve been jotting down lots of notes about ideas that popped up but didn’t quite fit in this space. Maybe this will help me try my hand at writing something beyond my blog. And once again, I found myself paying attention to details throughout the day, realizing that I could frame them this way or that, understanding, again, that the way we choose to tell a story makes a big difference in how we define ourselves. I kept going because I expect students to turn things in and I need to remember how hard it is to turn in things even when you want to do them, because I love reading other people’s blogs (and Deirdra only blogs in March, so I can’t miss that (heehee), and because I love the way being in a community of writers buoys me up even when I think I can’t write another day.

As grateful as I am for all the ways this challenge helps me grow, year after year, tonight, I know that “I’m glad to go, I cannot tell a lie” because, like Brigitta in The Sound of Music, I am tired – especially because I keep trying to write *after* we get the kids to bed. Now that is something I will change for next year.

Thank you to the whole team at Two Writing Teachers for organizing this challenge and for growing this community. Imagine all the writing teachers out there that are better for this work – and then imagine all the children who have better writing instruction because of that. Amazing.

Now, on to the next.