Can you put a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) order on a blog? When is it time to pull the plug? (And as I write this, J is looking over my shoulder and whining a plaintive "Nooooo...but I love your blog!" My biggest cheerleader, as ever.) I'm not sure any of my arguments for not writing would hold up under even the most mild scrutiny - I've been busy, we moved, I've been tired. Yes, they're all true, but I've written under similar circumstances in the past. Honestly? I think the biggest reason I haven't written is that in the months leading up to our move from New York to Wisconsin, I felt like writing would solidify the melancholy I tried hard to keep under wraps. For as ecstatic as I was in anticipation of our move back home, the reality of saying goodbye to our friends, my students, my colleagues, our communities was a little too much to write about. Writing it, publishing it, would have made it all too real. And so I simply avoided it. And then, over the last few weeks in particular, all the bloggable events rushed together in quick succession: the last day of school, watching our apartment swiftly emptied by three extremely industrious movers, our final goodbyes over a thoroughly Brooklyn Shabbat, our 888-mile drive with a very unhappy cat in tow, my week spent at an invigorating string teacher's professional development workshop. And of course, our pregnancy announcement! Every single one of these events is worthy of its own post, and I even drafted one for the last day of school, but as soon as the next big event transpired I felt like it was too late to go back and honor the previous event. I have bizarre standards for my own writing.
I enjoy writing but I never prioritize it unless I have a due date and someone putting a grade on it. It's perhaps the same reason why I enjoyed writing papers for grad school but never followed through on my professor's recommendation to publish in a journal. What can I say? I'm shamelessly driven by praise and reward for everything except teaching and being kind to others. Those are entirely intrinsic, which is how I know I'm a teacher and not a writer. I'm not done sharing, so I guess the blog isn't dead yet - it will live to see another post, as long as people are still willing to read it. To all of you reading: Thank you.
2 Comments
Patrick Young
7/14/2019 03:07:01 pm
You may not realize it but your blog posts teach many people much of the time. Keep writing of your experiences and feelings as you grow in marriage, motherhood, and career. Because, you know, you're really teaching.
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Amy Healey
7/14/2019 06:40:22 pm
I agree with Dr. J, I love your blog. (Of course, I think you should have published your papers as well). I’m not sure you realize how interesting and informative your blog is. I sent your stories of searching for a synagogue to every clergy person I know.
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AuthorNashira is a music teacher and proud Small-Town Jew who, after surthriving six years in Brooklyn for her husband's surgical residency, is finally back in Wisconsin where she belongs! At least until the end of the two-year surgical fellowship, that is. It's a wild ride, and she's ready to tell you all about it! Archives
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