I am not allowed to ...

This is my version of a writing exercise I once gave my students :)  It's very therapeutic!!!

I am not allowed to ….

Eat Pringles for breakfast
 
Listen to loud music when my children want peace and quiet
 
Drink a bottle of wine every night 
 
Ram into cars that do less than 110kmh down the southern outlet  
 
Accept free tickets to bands from young girls 
 
Burn students’ assignments because I can’t be bothered marking them
 
Go swimming at the gorge after midnight
 
Ignore my mother’s text messages
 
Flirt with hot guys because I am married 
 
Run away to France for a year 
 
Keep a dragon as a pet 
 
Be facebook friends with students till Dec 31
 
Make voodoo dolls of people
 
Eat my children just because they look delicious
 
Tell students what I really think of them 
 
Buy myself Christmas presents
 
Buy a new Volvo V50 wagon 
 
Marry Eddie Vedder … apparently ?  (well, maybe I will)

Bereft ....

It is with a heavy heart that I write tonight. My fluffy little Writing hatchlings have flown the nest …. and I am left alone.

 I worry about how my baby birds will fare in the big wide world: my wayward sons, Sam and Josh, what will become of them? Who will save them from themselves? Not even …



   

                                                                                                               

My beautiful little girlie chicks .. how will they fend off all those boys whilst pursuing their ambitions to change the world? And how will I keep my nest in order without Zoe to save me from chaos???

 They have shared their stories with me, both on paper and in life. I have witnessed their joys and frustrations, deep hurt and indifference. They have made me laugh and curse, wonder and admire.


So … it is the end of an era of cupcakes and coffee, ‘misplaced’ keys (I guess I can now publicly confess that they were in my pocket all along – oops!), no laptops and excuses ….

What will the bag Nazi do without Dee (and countless others) who have broken the laws about bags in IT – risking death in the pit of fire in their transgressions. Tsk tsk. It is not only me who will feel the loss of this mixed bag of lollies that is English Writing 2010 (I cannot bring myself to say ‘was’).



A whole year has passed – and not a single classroom romance? Or is there still time for one to blossom??

I am left alone, with only final results before me, unsure what to do with myself – a life? But what is that? I do not know. I have our final farewell dinner to live for … and then perhaps I am destined to wander, “lonely as a cloud” … Fly, my little chickadees, spread your wings and fly.

And a huge THANK YOU to the wonderful Makayla for letting me use her amazing photos <3