All kinds of things went haywire. But now, at the end of a day that saw upset plans, I have graded assignments from my grad class. Karin Perry and I have updated our YALSA course. I got a new pair of shoes. BH got some socks. We had a lovely lunch. We even were graced with a visit with College Girl. Bottom line: go with the flow, Teri.
How, you could rightly ask, will Teri make a point about books and reading and teaching?
I think many of us have plans. We plan to read every day. We plan to blog every week. Then life comes at us. Time for reading, thoughts of writing go up in smoke. It happens to the best of us. So, we revise, reschedule, move on.
My friend Kylele Beers uses the term "dormant" readers. I love this metaphor. Sometimes, we need to lie dormant, gain nutrients, grow almost invisibly. The book can wait. A blog post will be written. Maybe next time plans go awry, we need to claim dormancy, go underground, rest, grow, spread our roots.
My plans did not include a lengthy discussion with Donalyn Miller today. But, heavens, am I thankful it did happen. I walked away from the discussion with a head full of possibilities. So, perhaps I need to include in my plans the time for plans to fall apart, reassemble, change.