A Page from Great Aunt Tom's Notebook
Photo by Amy LV
Students - I am in Houston, Texas right now, at a conference for English teachers. Tomorrow I will be speaking a little bit about keeping a notebook. (You may know my other blog, Sharing Our Notebooks.) And so, of course I am thinking about notebooks. And one of my family members who kept notebooks was my Great Aunt Tom.
My grandmother's sister was my Great Aunt Tom. Her real name was Edythe Toebe, and she was a flapper. Folks called her 'Tom' because she was what they called a tomboy, which at the time was a nickname for girls who liked what were considered more boy-like things back in 1910. Here she is, below.
Edythe Toebe, My Great Aunt
Photo by ??
Great Aunt Tom really did keep a handprint notebook, and she really did write out her palm reader predictions for some of the handprints in the book. And she really did tell me that when strange things happened, she stopped reading palms. And I really am sorry that I did not ask more questions. I was there when Great Aunt Tom died, and in 2011, I wrote about that day in an essay titled What Can I Do?
So today's poem is about an object. It is about a sentence I recall from many years ago. And it is about a feeling too. I did not know what the feeling was until I got to the end of the poem, and then I knew. And then I chose the title. One word - Regret.
Which family objects do you wonder about in your home? Allow objects to inform your feelings and allow feelings to help you think about objects. And listen. Always listen. Notebooks are wonderful for gathering snatches of conversation. We never know when we'll need such snatches.
Here is a snip from another one of Great Aunt Tom's notebooks. This one is full of poems she loved (some by my Great Grandfather) and quotes such as this one from Ralph Waldo Emerson.
From Great Aunt Tom's Typed Treasures Notebook
Photo by Amy LV
The time to ask your curious questions is now. It is always now. Yesterday I met a man whose parents are both Holocaust survivors, and his time to ask is now. Do not wait. We are all walking story books, and no story lasts forever.
I feel so lucky to host Miriam Haefner over at my other blog, Sharing Our Notebooks this month! She keeps track of the moon and sky, and I recommend a visit to see and inspire yourself. Too, I am holding a giveaway for a moon journal...to go to a commenter on that post.
Linda is hosting this week's Poetry Friday roundup today at TeacherDance with her gentle generosity and a giveaway for new book and print by Rosemary Wells. Please know that every Poetry Friday, we gather together to share books, and poetry ideas all at one blog. Everyone is always welcome to visit, comment, and post. We invite you!
Linda is hosting this week's Poetry Friday roundup today at TeacherDance with her gentle generosity and a giveaway for new book and print by Rosemary Wells. Please know that every Poetry Friday, we gather together to share books, and poetry ideas all at one blog. Everyone is always welcome to visit, comment, and post. We invite you!
Please share a comment below if you wish.
