I hadn’t read Bird by Bird in years so when the 25th anniversary edition popped up on Overdrive, I checked it out. I didn’t love it quite as much as I did the first time, but only because her voice and advice weren’t the revelation now that they were way back when.
Lamott isn’t perfect (and I’m positive would never ever claim to be), but her advice is practical and caring and inspirational all at the same time. How I wish I’d had a creative writing teacher like her.
“If you can’t annoy somebody there is little point in writing.” -Kingsley Amis
On the off chance anyone cares, I thought I’d give a quick update on what’s new around here.
Update #1: The kids are now all being home-schooled. Yes, by me. Yes, I am aware I’m not a teacher. Yes, I know they’ll be completely unsocialized and spend the rest of their days living in a cave. Thanks for your concern.
It all started with Foster. He just isn’t a classroom kind of kid. He’s very bright and astonishingly creative, but he’s also quiet and adept at flying under the teacher’s radar. While she was busy with the high-maintenance kids, Foster was busy tuning out everything he found boring (math, in particular) and losing himself in writing and drawing. He needs one-on-one attention to make sure he’s staying on task and a teacher, responsible for 25 kids, can’t provide that. I can. I can also tailor his day so he has more time to spend on his passions. And I can find ways to make the boring stuff slightly less boring.
After a couple weeks of home-school, Charlotte was so jealous of her brother’s new-found love of learning, she started asking to be home-schooled too. We discussed the pros and cons at length and made her think about it for a while and she eventually decided yes, she wanted to be home-schooled too. After another couple weeks, Anna came to the same conclusion.
The kids LOVE it and say they have no regrets and no interest in returning to regular school. They learn just as much, if not more, in a home-school day and do it in half the time of a public school day. While teaching them isn’t as hard as I expected, it definitely is time-consuming. I’m lucky that I can bump my Wingspan work and library shifts to afternoons and evenings to accommodate our school schedule.
I should also mention that I was prepared for huge disapproval from everyone who found out about this and was shocked to receive almost none. Our biggest supporters, in fact, were the principals of the kids’ former schools who think it’s a terrific idea. (Which either says my kids were so bad they’re glad to be rid of them or they recognize the public school system is not an ideal learning environment.) Aside from my mother, every single person to whom I’ve mentioned it has gushed about what a wonderful idea it is and how their __________ (daughter/niece/neighbour) home-schools her children too. I am amazed at how many home-schoolers are out there.
Update #2: Our house has still not sold. Honestly, people, what are you waiting for?
Update #3: My doctor continues to struggle with finding the right dose of thyroid medication for me and seeing as she goes on maternity leave shortly, this issue isn’t likely to be resolved anytime soon. I am still waiting to see my specialist regarding the nodules, which, according to my latest ultrasound, have not shrunk despite the meds. Bummer. In the meantime, I am experimenting with my medication (what happens if I start taking double? what happens if I stop taking it entirely?) because hey, I’m impersonating a teacher everyday now so why not a doctor? How hard can it be?
Update #4: My novel is pretty well finished and now it’s time to start searching for an agent. The thought of this makes me so nervous I could puke. Or maybe that’s just the double dose of desiccated thyroid I took this morning. If any of you have become literary agents without mentioning it, please do let me know and I’ll send you my manuscript for you to ignore and/or reject.
And what’s new with you?