Hi!
Well folks, it's been another pretty incredible week.
Not only are we busy as heck at the shop, but I was able to sneak a day away to hang out with some pretty fantastic kids.
I was honoured to be invited to read to, then do a workshop with the kids, as part of Lucky Lake School's Writing Slam event.
My helper/photographer for the day, AKA my eldest offspring, did a great job. It is out of respect for munchkin safety that the photos have been strategically blurred, not photographer faux pas.
During the workshop, I gave students the task of writing a story. They were given some sketches to inspire them, with no rules. They could use as many or as few as they desired, in whatever order they so chose. They had the option to colour the sketches, leave them as is, or do something in between.
At the end of the session, we had stories that varied from Evolutionary Princesses, to Continually Concussed, Chronically Klutzy, not skate-talented, Olympic hopeful skaters from Iceland, who suffered from Hallucination- filled Mush-brain Dreams.
Kids are awesome.
While keeping up with current events on tv news shows, through the internet, reading newspapers, however you choose to receive information, we see children put in terrible situations. They are thrust into chaotic violence and otherwise perilous circumstances, none of which are of their own making or in their control.
Too many children are faced, every day, with very adult problems. It's nice to see a group of kids just be kids. When their imaginations kick in, they tend to forget to be "cool" and bored with everything. It's pretty fun to watch.
It's at this tender age, in these first few years of school, in this PG social microcosm of adult life, that they first start to care how other perceive them. They lose the freedom they had as toddlers to be unicorns, princes and fairies without fear of judgement. This is the first place they get a glimpse of the boxes society has in store. They will soon begin to feel the pressure figure out in which box they fit. If they don't fit, they will soon begin to conform to the size and shape of the box the majority of their peers believe they are best suited. The Brain Box, The Jock Box, The Cool Box, The Social Butterfly Box, The Shy Box, The Badass Box.......you get my drift.
One of my greatest hopes is that, someday soon, we, as a society, figure out that each of these boxes are suffocating traps. Traps from which we can escape, if we choose to be brave enough to do so.
I believe that trying to fit kids into these "boxes," these categories, is like catching lightning bugs in a jar. Yes, if you poke holes in the lid, they will survive, but they will lose their ability and desire to shine.
The final days of this week were spent adding some wordage to the novel I'm working on, doing laundry, vacuuming, scrubbing toilets, and taking a bit of a road trip to visit my Mom.
As for the following few days...........
Another mini road trip to visit my sister and her hubby.............
Working at the shop...............
Be a witness in a court case...(I'll let you know how that goes).......
Write!!!!
Take yet another mini road trip to visit a friend..............
Squeeze some grandbabies!
Until next time..........
May we all become the very best of everything we know ourselves to be.
May we shatter the boxes to which we've contorted ourselves to fit, setting our best selves free.
May we simply stop trying to compartmentalize those around us, at home, at work, or at school.
May we realize living life craving approval, driven by the opinions of others, is the life of a miserable fool.
May we live a life that's full, one of kindness and adventure, pushing our talents as far as they can possibly go.
May we waste no time getting started, our time here is brief, so little time, so far to grow.
www.margyreidbooks.com
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