Back to School and Writing Therapy: A Degrees of Maternity Reset

There are a few special times of the year that I feel the need to do a reset with the direction of my blogging content, and I’m currently at the onset of one of those times right now. Bet you can guess what time it is.

Well, it’s Back-to-School Time, of course! And, this school year is going to be different than any of the others I’ve experienced in the past. A stand-out — a one-of-a-kind experience built on many “teachable moments” I’ll be sure to share with you along the way.

Yes, this back-to-school timeframe will be one for the books, because . . . I’m actually going back to school. I’m going to be a STUDENT! And then, a TEACHER! Go figure!

Now, don’t act surprised. I mean . . . I pretty much allude to the fact that I’m all about life education through the very tagline you see on this site. The whole “where life education never ceases” thing? So, learning and growing and evolving are right up my continuing ed alley.

I get it honest, though. After all, my Mother is a retired teacher, who spent 30+ years giving her instructional gifts to the public school systems she worked for as a Kindergarten and first-grade teacher. And not only did I grow up under the care of teachers, but I grew up around teachers. Boy, did they influence me much more than I realized at the time.

Because NOW, I find myself longing to work with children in a capacity in which I can positively influence their learning experiences through my creative passions. If that doesn’t sound like a WIN-WIN situation, I don’t know what does.

But, here’s where the STUDENT part (for me) comes in.

I start training to receive my certification to be a virtual reading tutor. Whoo hoo!

Yes, I’m sharing this a little prematurely, as I haven’t even officially started yet. But, I’m in the next tutoring cohort that’s about to get all edumacated later this month and into the next two. I’M SOOOOOOOOO EXCITED!

So, if you were wondering who that middle-aged woman is who was described in last week’s A Tale of Two Loves, well, now you know. YOU KNOW the one I’m talking about — the woman who was torn between the two creative loves of her life: Reading and Writing.

IT’S MEEEEEeeeeeee! Yes, I’m the middle-aged woman in the tale. (Kudos to those of you who probably figured it out last week — PHIL!) Hee. Hee.

Hey, I decided to not be torn anymore. I mean . . . what reason would I need to be? For me, to be held down to only one particular creative interest (love) to discuss and explore on this blog (such as Writing during “Writing Therapy”) is to NOT be true to my inner passions that have to come out full force in some shape or form.

And, reading tutoring will be one of those passions. I’m a straight-up advocate for writing AND reading. So, it’s time for another Degrees of Maternity journey to unfold before your very eyes.

One of my overarching life goals is to NEVER be stagnant, holding back my opportunity to grow as a person as well as a professional. So, I aim to learn, grow, and evolve in the areas of interest that exploit my talents, abilities, passions, calling, mission, and the like. I desire to fulfill my fullest potential.

Maybe a lofty goal, but it should be one we all try to take on at some point in our lives. Because, living should be more than just going through the everyday motions of existing. Living should be about making sure those motions are serving you in the best ways possible. It should be about experiencing “quality” motions that bring you closer and closer to living your best life (as YOU, ideally, define it).

So, I’m adding virtual reading tutor to my stack of exciting, new endeavors to unpack. But please believe, I have no intention of throwing writing therapy to the side, while I do so.

No, I’m just simply pressing the reset button here at Degrees of Maternity. And, what will that look like exactly?

Well, I don’t “exactly” know the answer to that question. All I can say is that time will tell. I don’t claim to have all the answers to life’s mysteries and I’m not a predictor of the future, but I am a  hopeful dreamer of positive things to come. So much so that I plan on working diligently to make those dreams a successful reality — hopefully.

But here’s what I can tell you about my PLAN, thus far . . .

My blog is my creative life and where I share my adventures, encourage others and myself to do positive things, stay creatively connected with family and friends near and far, and therapeutically uplift myself. So, the blogging will continue with the once a week schedule. For sure.

Honestly, I’d like to increase my blogging schedule to twice a week; but I’m taking on a new role and not decreasing what I already have going on. So, let’s be real. Ain’t no way I can add another blog post a week into my routine. At least, not at the present time, anyway.

Furthermore, Wednesdays or Thursdays will be my posting days. I haven’t quite decided which one suits me the best just yet. So, I may have to play it week by week and just gravitate toward whichever day calls my name the loudest in that particular week.

Oh, and blog content on writing (specifically, in the realm of writing therapy) will NOT be nixed. No, I’ll just be setting up a co-working space, so that Writing can share some of its online time with Reading, my other love.

Just know that you’re in for a treat, because you know I like to share all things reading and writing. I’m a big advocate for both.

And, if you didn’t already know this by the hundreds of blog posts I’ve posted, featuring discussions about children, please know that I’m a HUGE advocate for children and their learning development, as well. (Remember the whole “Incentivizing the Reader and Writer” series I tried to get off the ground here at Degrees of Maternity.)

Well, the series kind of fell flat. But, it’s about to get a whole new lifeline.

So, the fact that I get to spend time with all my loves — AT THE SAME TIME — is golden! And, future blog posts will benefit from all the learning enrichment that’s about to spill into the content in these, here parts.

LET’S GO . . .