This as an assignment I gave my students that I did along with them. You start out with some listing—family memories, fears, triumphs, likes, loves, etc. Then, create a kind of a personal “found poem,” beginning each line with the phrase “I am from.”
I am from...
I am from pink spongy curlers in my hair every Saturday night, for princess hair on Sunday.
I am from days in the car—writing letters on crackers in squeeze cheese, playing and fighting and sitting.
I am from job lists and sharing a room and "borrowing" my sisters clothes.
I am from salt smells and waves and fog; and naked red rock and juniper and sage.
I am from The Mists of Avalon, The Red Tent, The Blue Sword, and Dragonsinger.
I am from a religion that spread guilt like cheep margarine.
I am from the thrill and the burn, the laughter and hunger and sometimes the truth.
I am from long sticky nights on the couch, filled with kisses, Cheers and Taxi.
I am from stony silence, and fighting it out, and talking it out, and loving it out.
I am from stretch marks and breast pumps and diapers and a baby bouncing on my hip.
I am from Funshine Bear and big girl panties and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
I am from South Beach and Atkins and Phentemine and bulimia
I am from crying with Mandy, playing with Katy, singing with Kodie, dancing with Jennifer, and regretting with Kelli.
I am from apostrophes, settings, topic sentences, and make-up work.
I am from driving with Janzen, reading to Sophie, and Erik holding my hand.
Today's best thing about being a mom:
Being introduced at day-care by Sophie as if I'm a movie star. "This is MY mom!"
Today's worst thing about being a mom:
Somewhere she picked up "You'll never get away with this!" It's what she says to me when I give her a time out, try to put her to bed, or comb her hair. It's SO HARD NOT TO LAUGH, but it also really pisses me off.
14 comments:
How funny. The exercise that I did in class today was the Twenty Statement Test. The students had to fill in the blank two times. I am ________. I was trying to show them how their answers differed from children of different ages. Your assignment is much more interesting.
Of course that should be twenty times, since it is the twenty statement test. Sigh.
"You will never get away with this" is one of the best ever! I can only imagine how hard it is not to laugh! Stay strong Mom - if she gets by with this she will playing you for ever.
And remember "You WILL get away with it" cause you control her groceries & toys....hehehehe
does she shake her fist menacingly when she says it? that would be so great.
I love your poem. sticky naked red rock.
Awesome. That's just awesome.
Why can I not stop thinking of Soph as Stewie from "The Family Guy"?
"Curse you, woman! You've impeded my work since the day I escaped from your wretched womb!"
I'm gonna do one of those poems right now.
I'd teach her "of course you realize, THIS means WAR!" for a full set of silly statements to hear from such a young'un.
Man Sophie is a kick!!! I would have laughed out loud and been a very bad parent. I miss my son being younger...well to a point. Now I can live vicariously through you and Sophie.
I might steal your assignment too. You rock !
beautiful.
OK, "You'll never get away with this," is a f**king riot . . .
I think Rob's onto something . . . might Sophie be Stewie? The mind boggles.
Most things that make me want to laugh also piss me off. It's one of the most frustrating dualities I face, surrounded as I am by funny people (who all, to the person, piss me off--not that I don't love them).
nice to know I'm pissing Lyam off.
Listen here, funny man . . . oh, never mind. It's actually pretty hard to be pissed off at the funny people when other people in my life are lobbying so hard to be the [subject? object?] of my undiluted ire.
I love this and am tempted to do it myself but yours is SO good that I know I would be horribly disappointed in my efforts.
And I also wanted to thank you again for being such an incredibly supportive, sweet and funny blog friend.
I think this is wonderful!! I would like to use this in an undergraduate textbook I am writing to illustrate the self-concept from childhood to adulthood. Please contact me to talk via e-mail. Thanks!
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