March Break is almost over and I’m still so tired my eyes ache. I’m not ready to go back. The EduKnitNight chat is full of “you can do it” messages as we gear up for the certain chaos of the return to school on Monday.
“Gently suggesting that we all take space for ourselves – even if just for 20 minutes – today or tomorrow. To help us through the week with a little reserve.”
“Breathe, know that you are enough, be kind to yourself.”
“Messy and underprepared is not a sin.”
There’s a post in there somewhere, but I can’t quite find it. I text my sisters for ideas & they immediately list hilarious moments from our past – the time B put ketchup on her ice cream, the time we hid our exchange student’s speedo before we went to the beach, the time my sister broke her arm (which is funny because we were wearing towels around our necks and jumping off blue armchairs, spinning around and yelling, “Wonder Woman” when it happened). Soon we are talking about my nephews’ upcoming birthday, and…
I still don’t know what to write. I want to write about the concert Andre and I heard on Thursday or the play we saw last night. I want to write something funny about… something… but instead here I am, writing about not writing and laughing at myself because I have been participating in this challenge for six years and I think I have written some version of this post every year and every year I’ve felt badly about it.
I think about Elisabeth saying once, probably my first year, that this isn’t so much a writing challenge as a publishing challenge, that part of this month is about knowing that some days I’m going to write things that aren’t great and I still have to hit publish because it’s ok for some things to be mediocre.
And, once again, I have written something – which is better than nothing – and now it’s time for dinner and conversation with my friend. “Messy and underprepared is not a sin” I whisper under my breath. In a moment I’ll post this, heave myself out of this beanbag nest and tomorrow, I’ll write again.
Persistence and Pedagogy 
Amanda,
I’m feeling this struggle today. It’s hard to write when you’re tired and dreading Monday.
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Well, I like it! And ‘heave myself out of this beanbag nest’ is a great line. And we all “get” this moment, this mood. You conveyed it!
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Ah…yes! I love the affirmation that “messy and underprepared are not a sin.”
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Mediocre is okay! We cleaned my daughter’s room today and it is mediocre. My kitchen was cleaned three times today, but it’s still mediocre. My own post today is mediocre. Tomorrow we’ll try for better.
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That’s my motto this weekend…”messy and disorganized is not a sin,” as I chose to do no house chores this week other than dishes and laundry. I love how we end up with a slice when we write about what we aren’t sure what to write about. 🙂
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I feel this. Just pure ugh this march break. I guess we will have interesting Monday slices!
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Oh, I wish you were feeling more rejuvenated after a week off, but I totally get how you’re not. We have February and April break in New England and I feel like February break never happened. I already feel like I’m living for April break . Also, a fact of the challenge is that there’s always at least one post about not having anything to write about. I was worried when that almost happened for me on Day 3! Kudos to making it til Day 18 🙂 Hang in there. Treat yourself well and squeeze every moment of enjoyment you can out of the next 24 hours!
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I’m sure everyone in this challenge has written a post about not writing a post. I’m charmed by yours because I was following right along when the skis just went off the slope somewhere around a story about your nephew’s birthday… scraping the barrel of moments. I’m with you friend and still smiling. We can do hard things!
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Your break is over already? No wonder you’re having trouble writing. It happens to us all.
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“Messy and underprepared is not a sin” is a mantra I can embrace. In fact, those adjectives sound like what the road to eventual preparation is paved with…
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See, messy and underreported? All good. I love the WonderWoman story.
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It really does deserve its own post…
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