Spring Break 2011

Spring Break this year was full of fun and surprises. I'm grateful to my parents, hubby, in-laws, and son J for making it so memorable! I really needed some fun.

 Tron was a BIG deal at our house this spring. We were excited to find all kinds of Tron stuff going on.

Yes, J and I rode California Screamin (in the background.) Loved it!!!

Got to see the preview for the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie with real pirates!

After a couple of days at Disneyland, we dropped off Mima, picked up Steve, and headed to Southern Utah to visit Steve's folks. We stopped at Baker Reservoir to check out the massive amount of water there. 

 Handsome devil! You can see why I love this guy!!!!

 J and Grandpa target shooting with J's BB gun out back.

Copyright 2011 Corrina L. Terry

Photo credit: Corrina Terry

No Crystal Stair

This blog was inspired by a posting I left on an author's blog recently. She'd posted Maya Angelou's poem, "Phenomenal Woman."  I hadn't read that poem since college. It was cool then and made me proud to be a woman, but I was in my early 20's. What the heck did I know about being a woman? I'd only been one for about 4 years.

It seems that I love myself differently for different things, in each stage of my life. (Does that make sense?) What I loved about myself at 20, I still love, but I've found so much more to love along the way. Now at age 40 I love things about myself I never noticed or appreciated before (like the fact that my body is flexible, my knees still work, and I have a confidence in myself I didn't have at 23.) It's pretty dang cool.

There's another poem about life and aging that I read with my students at school. It's by Langston Hughes and is a mother telling her son life is hard, but not to give up.


Mother to Son


Well, son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor—
Bare.
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So, boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps.

'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall now—
For I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
    ----Langston Hughes

Life for me ain't been no crystal stair either. Childhood was pretty blissful, but adult life has been the stairway Hughes described. I suppose I love this poem because it's exactly what I'd tell my son Josh. Life hasn't been easy and sometimes it hasn't even been kind, but I'm not giving up. He shouldn't give up either.

Reading this at 40 I feel like I know exactly how that mother in the poem feels, but 40 years from now I know I'll be chuckling at the younger, limber me and saying to myself, "Girl, you had NO idea!!" 

Copyright 2011 Corrina L. Terry
Photo credit: http://www.rb-29.net/

Spring Has Sprung!

Spring has sprung! I love this time of year. Everything is green (in Vegas this is a very short period of time--- February through early June), the air is cool, and it even rains once in a while.

Our Spring Break is exceptionally late this year. It begins Monday and, for me, marks the true beginning of spring. I'm sooooooooooooooooo ready for it! The kids at school have been so squirrelly they'll barely do a lick of work and I'm sick of waking up in the dark at 5:30 am every morning. A week off travelling to Cali and Utah are just what the Doctor ordered.

So here's a toast to spring: Hope our allergies are mild, our grass is green, and our heating bills are low! Bottoms up! ;o)

Copyright 2011 Corrina L. Terry
Photo credit: Unknown (I found it years ago.)

Where I'm From

I don't know why this picture imported into Blogspot sideways and I'm not sure how to rotate it, but I wanted to share the idea with you, the reader.

This is a poem prompt that I use with my 7th graders. It's fun and fairly easy for them to use the template to brainstorm. After all, it's all about them!  I give them an example of my own work  to show them. If you're stuck with nothing to write about, use the template yourself. You'll be amazed at what you come up with.

The poem below is mine from last year. Hope you enjoy!

"Where I'm From"

                                                          "I'm from Las Vegas,

The golden city of gambling and lights,

A city that like a siren calls to gamblers everywhere.

I'm from old-school Vegas,

With its mafia kids, open deserts, and 10 high schools.

I'm from my parents' house,

Big and noisy,

A crystal clear pool and green paved tennis court,

Roller skates, bikes, and big wheels,

Full of life and laughter.

I'm from Cedar Mounatin,

Fresh air, miles of green trees, and blue lakes and streams.

I'm from summers in the mountains with my grandparents,

                                     Building forts, drinking pop, and walking to the
                                                             store for ice cream.

                                                       I'm from Christmas mornings,

Up before dawn, waiting for Grandpa and Grandma,

Opening presents and eating candy.

I'm from my Mom---

Her face, her hair, her baking skills, her optimism.

I'm from my Dad---

His grit, his temper, his desire for knowledge.

I'm from my Grandpa---

His nose, his love of animals, his thoughtful ways.

I'm from my Grandma---

Her stubbornness, her zest for life, her feistiness."

Copyright 2011 Corrina L. Terry