I came across this quote on a school visit during some down time. I loved it immediately and copied it down:
“IF OUR LIVES DON’T FEEL SIGNIFICANT,
SOMETIMES IT’S NOT OUR LIVES, BUT OUR RESPONSE
TO OUR LIVES, WHICH NEEDS TO BE RICHER.”
— Theodore Roethke
Confession: I did a little digging and could not find the source for this quote, or even confirm its attribution. But who cares!
I’ll tell you why I love it. I live a modest life, a little dull, probably. I’m a cliche: three kids, the house in suburbia, soccer practices in the minivan, etc. It’s so . . . ordinary. And I guess I once suffered from the image of “writer” as someone who lives an adventurous life, travels to exotic places, experiences big things, has important friends. And maybe, at times, fleetingly, I wished I lived that amazing life. But that’s the thing: I do. I already do. I have three children. A beautiful, loving, caring wife. Good friends. A house! I could go on and on. That’s enough material for a writer, the everyday fabric of our lives. It’s enough for anyone. We just have to absorb it, appreciate it, stand before it as if front of an alter and revel in the awe of it, this ordinary miracle, life.
So I’m thankful today, as a writer, father, husband, brother, son, neighbor, earthling.
And also: I’m grateful to you folks for stopping by here, of all places, in this cluttered world. I appreciate it. Just today I had to double my costs to up the giga-somethings to host this blog’s steadily growing traffic. Craziness.
* Thanks, too, for the folks who sent in photos for my Fathers Read project. It’s coming in December, promise! I’m so happy about this, it feels absolutely right, and really hope it contributes in some small, positive way to make the simple statement: Reading is a guy thing. We need male role models to sit down with a book and be counted. Please, keep sending in those photos.
* You can vote in “The Kiddo Awards” for A Pirate’s Guide to First Grade in the category of Best Illustrated Book of 2010. Greg Ruth did the illustrations. I sooo don’t want to come in last place.
* Harriett Levy offers a special holiday message of love. And I have to say, I loved this video about nine different ways.
Almost forgot . . .
HAVE A GREAT THANKSGIVING . . . AND I’LL SEE YOU ON MONDAY!
What we need is more people who specialize in the impossible.
Theodore Roethke