#beingmamére | Reflections on the Teche

Posts Tagged ‘#beingmamére’

Slice of Life Day 10: Crochet Sweater

Posted in being mamére, Slice of Life, Writing, tagged #beingmamére, Stella, toddler crochet sweater on March 10, 2025| 10 Comments »

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.

I’ve crocheted for years, so this year I decided to try to make a garment. I’ve made baby blankets, shawls, and hats, but when I saw a pattern for a baby sweater using two hexagons, I thought this will be easy enough.

We were taking a driving trip with our family to Oklahoma right after Christmas, and I wanted a project to do on the drive and while relaxing at the house. I picked out three colors from my inherited boxes of yarn from my friend Marion who died in 2020. My daughter Maggie, the mother of Stella, said of the three colors, “Stella will wear that.”

I crocheted and crocheted until I realized that it was way too big. The first hexagon would almost fit me! I had not accounted for the gauge of the yarn. I was just following the pattern.

Rather than lose the project all together, I decided to rip out the extra rows to make it fit. Then I spent a while making the other side.

Finally it was ready to block.

Two hexagon crocheted sweater blocked on the ironing board ready for steaming.

I brought it to Stella one afternoon when we were visiting. Stella has her own unique sense of fashion. Her preference is to wear leggings in one pattern and a top in another pattern. Sometimes she wears a dress as a skirt or a costume. Her favorites are skeleton, ninja mask, and Elsa nightgown.

Stella ready to go the art show (pj top, dress as skirt, and Elsa wig)

When Stella first saw the sweater, she said, “Nobody anywhere ever has worn a short sleeved sweater.”

My daughter Maggie explained to her that I had made it specially for her. She eventually came around and posed for a picture in her new sweater. Her dad sent me this picture.

Stella fashion: Hexagon sweater over Christmas pj top and Mardi Gras pants

Currently I am looking at a pattern for a summer sundress. Do I dare?

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Poetry Friday: My Place in the World

Posted in being mamére, Gifted Education, Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged "my place in the world" poem, #bayoulife, #beingmamére, student poetry on November 23, 2024| 11 Comments »

Poetry Friday is gathered by Ruth at There is no such thing as a God-forsaken town.

My students and I are reading Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse. In the book, there is a poem “On the Road with Arley” that begins with line “Here’s the way I figure it, my place in the world is at the piano.” It’s been fun to find music of the time period and write alongside it. My students worked hard to create poems using this beginning line. I asked them to use imagery to create a tone. I wrote a model poem about my place in the world.

In a Canoe

Here’s the way I figure it,
my place in the world is
on the bayou
lazing about in a canoe
with you.

I’m just a mamere
wanting the best time
to be outside
watching for eagles
slipping through slow current
listening for Mr. Owl
to cook-cook-for-you!

My place is in open toes
among cypress knees
sniffing catfish air
hearing cicadas buzz
when the sun goes down.

Here’s the way I figure it,
my place in the world
is in a canoe with you.

Margaret Simon, draft

Photo by Nitin Arya on Pexels.com

Here’s the way I figure it,
my place in the world is
out of it.

My place is in a different place,
far away from here.
In a mythical world,
or one that is crumbling
even more than mine is.

With my favorite characters
I venture
for escape.
Escape.
My feet will beat the ground,

in my head a pound,
and then I settle down.
In a bed or a chair,
I wind

wind

wind

down.

I read, and I am free.

Here’s the way I figure it,
my place in the world is
seeking distraction from it.

Adelyn, 6th grade

Where is your place in the world?

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Beware of the Gator

Posted in Poetry, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged #beingmamére, Alligators, Avery Island, Louisiana, This Photo Wants to be a Poem on October 30, 2024| 2 Comments »

Granddaughter June, 22 months, pointing at an alligator at Avery Island, Louisiana.

My daughter joined my older daughter and her kids at Avery Island, Louisiana, a few miles south of us. It’s the home of the Tabasco plant. The place is beautiful, set on an inlet from the Gulf of Mexico. The water is fresh water and yes, there are gators there. Alligators are generally not aggressive animals. They peacefully float along the surface. I’m not sure, but this might have been June’s first time to see an alligator out in the wild.

Let’s play with enjambment today. Enjambment is a poetic element in which a sentence or phrase continues from one poetic line to the next, without end punctuation. Enjambment can create a surprise or suspense.

Here’s an example from Maggie Smith’s poem “First Fall”:

“I’m your guide here. In the evening-dark
morning streets, I point and name.
Look, the sycamores, their mottled
paint-by-number bark. Look, the leaves”

Here is my draft:

Your finger is the guide here, pointing,
noticing, identifying first gator.
You say, “Foggie,” and Mom
repeats, “That’s an alligator!”
You point again, fumble over
new syllables, soaking up
space, place, and being
a toddler on tour.
Margaret Simon, draft

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Spiritual Journey and Poetry Friday: Wholehearted

Posted in being mamére, Gratitude, Spiritual Growth, Writing, tagged #beingmamére, #HurricaneFrancine on September 13, 2024| 18 Comments »

Today is a dual post for Spiritual Journey and Poetry Friday. Ruth Ayres is our host for the Spiritual Thursday link up here. Heidi Mordhorst has the Poetry Friday gathering here.

Ruth chose the topic of “wholeheartedly” for Spiritual Thursday. When I looked up the meaning of wholeheartedly, I read “with complete sincerity and commitment.”

Due to the invasion of Hurricane Francine, I wholeheartedly jumped into protection mode. My daughter sheltered at our house with her two littles, Leo (5.5) and Stella (3.5). Combine that toddler energy with a 6 month old puppy and you get an equation of full on energy. We baked, we colored (Albert ate a few crayons), we read, watched a fun Disney movie “Brave”, and played and played and played. My daughter said to me as they took all the plastic containers out of the cabinet, “They never get bored.”

My teacher heart was happy when Leo wanted to write a book. We folded a zine, and he wrote and drew. It was fun so see him making the connection between letters and sounds and words. His first page read “Mat is soopr hro.” He couldn’t stop laughing when he decided that Mat would sit on a pear. I loved seeing his face shine with pride.

I’m happy to report that Francine came through with little fanfare here in the arch of the boot, New Iberia. She skirted by to the east and only dumped rain and some leaves and branches. My grandchildren have learned about earning cash for chores, so they happily helped pick up sticks (a penny a stick) and swept cypress needles off the deck.

This post is neither very spiritual or poetic, but I felt I should post something. There’s a reason I didn’t write much while my children still lived in our home. I am wholeheartedly a mother and now a grandmother. I wouldn’t change a thing.

Leo and Stella show pride in their baked banana bread.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Bubble Acrostic

Posted in This Photo Wants to be a Poem, tagged #beingmamére, #small poems, bubbles, fibonacci poem on June 19, 2024| 17 Comments »

Grandson Thomas is fascinated by bubbles

This morning I am waking up with Thomas. His mother is on a work trip, so I am being Mamére. Thomas is fascinated by bubbles. He has a bubble blower and a collection of bubble wands. Early in the morning, this is his outside play time in between bites of cereal.

I wrote 3 poems for Two Truths and a Fib, an anthology by Bridget Magee. In that book, I have a bubble metaphor poem, acrostic, and Fibonacci poem. Since another fascination of Thomas’s is numbers, I decided to write another Fib poem. The syllable count follows the sequence, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8 (and so on, if you choose).

Bubbles

Trapped
Air
circles
in the wind
caught in a rainbow–
A fascinating wonderland.
Margaret Simon, draft

I invite you to write a small poem today. Please respond to other writers with kind encouragement. Thanks for stopping by.

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Slice of Life: The Mountain

Posted in Slice of Life, Writing, tagged #beingmamére, grandchildren, imaginative play, Simon Summer Camp on March 4, 2024| 13 Comments »

Last summer we instituted the first annual Simon Summer Camp, complete with t-shirts. One of the daily activities was a walk. A neighbor and long time friend has an empty lot next to his house. He’s had a mound of dirt on this lot for a while now.

We call it the mountain. Leo is five, so he remembers. When he and his sister Stella visited this weekend, Leo said, “Let’s go to the mountain.” Stella, in her 3 year old wisdom thought this might be a long trip, so she would need the Disney chair.

Watching these siblings create games is thoroughly entertaining. It wasn’t long before they were racing from across the street to make it to the mountain. Leo always won.

Then Leo found a shovel under the tarp and wanted to dig. There was only one shovel. This caused a little screaming from Stella, so Mamere had an idea. “Let’s go back home and get little shovels (trowels) and pots, and we can make plants.”

They loved the idea, so we hiked back home and got two trowels and two black plastic pots. The kids successfully dug some dirt and filled their pots. Unfortunately, there was a gathering of stinging ants near Leo, but he didn’t complain. It wasn’t until later that I noticed both of his hands covered in ant bites. Somehow when you are on a brave adventure, a little pain is to be expected and endured.

I happened to have an envelop of marigold seeds left over from last summer, so they were able to plant seeds as well as decorate their pots with clover flowers.

I know these childhood adventures are fleeting. I hope they will remember their visits to Mamere and Papere’s as times of fun, love, and safety. My daughter values our time with them because she had these moments with her grandparents. Those memories feel like dreams now as she manages a tough job and raising two smart, sassy, and curious kids. I’m exhausted after only a mere 24 hours. They’re totally worth it.

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Poetry Friday is Here!

Posted in Poetry Friday, tagged #beingmamére, grief poems, haiku, Leigh Anne Eck, ReadWriteThink, winter on February 15, 2024| 47 Comments »

Welcome to Poetry Friday. I am happy to be hosting this week. I chose this week because I am out of school for the week for Mardi Gras break. I’m sorry you do not all get this break. It has been so much fun. And today the fun continues with all of your poetry goodness. Find the link up at the end of this post.

Leigh Anne Eck is naming skies. On Thursday, I read her post on Facebook alongside a photo of a sunrise. She wrote “Today’s sky is “step.” I hope you “step into a new day” and “rise up from the dust and walk away.” Following the madness of Mardi Gras, coming home to the solemn Ash Wednesday, I felt surreal, a mixture of fantasy and fact. Her message grounded me as did my morning walk through my familiar neighborhood. Home.

I thought I might get a poem from all of this, yet that poem is still brewing. Today I am sharing a sweet haiku I wrote about my 4 year old grandson picking a wildflower for me. Here is a photo of the tiny blossom in a Mardi Gras cup. I wrote the haiku using Read, Write, Think Haiku interactive, a prompt from Donna Smith.

Winter in Louisiana is mostly wet and humid. On an early morning walk while walking through the foggy air, a grief poem came to me. Maybe reading these two poems side by side will put you into that surreal mood I’m in, where there is joy and grief and everything in between.

If you are joining in the link up party, click below and add your link.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!Click here to enter

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Wonder

Posted in This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged #beingmamére, Baton Rouge Children's Museum, Ethical ELA, Naani poem form on January 24, 2024| 46 Comments »

Thomas at the Baton Rouge Children’s Museum

My three daughters made a last minute plan to meet at the Children’s Museum. They sent pictures, and I fell in love with this one with the paper butterflies (I first thought they were cranes) and Thomas looking up. He’s 4 years old, the age of wonder. Find a small poem or story in this photo and write it into the comments. Be sure to leave encouraging responses to other writers.

Today on Ethical ELA Leilya teaches us about the Naani form originating from India, an expression of one and all in 4 lines of 20-25 syllables.

Paper butterflies
flutter through a wind
of imagination–
a child’s vision of wonder.
Margaret Simon, draft (Naani)

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Spice of Life: The Artists

Posted in Slice of Life, Writing, tagged #beingmamére, Major Jackson, narrative poem, The New Yorker on September 5, 2023| 17 Comments »

I often find that when I read poetry, I am inspired to write poetry. Yesterday I read the poems in August 28, 2023 issue of the The New Yorker. I loved Major Jackson’s poem The Nature of Memory. In this poem, he describes a happy memory using the specific names of his children. His final line grabbed me: “I hope they love themselves loud as that day,/ light-drunk, kicking up sand. I opened my notebook and poured out the story of Sunday afternoon as I observed my grandchildren Leo (4.5) and Stella (2.5), and their friend Nils, side-by-side creating their own art under the watchful yet permissive eye of my daughter. Did I ever allow such free art in my own children? I hope so.

Love Themselves Loud

I watch the side-by-side
play of toddlers. Leo like a turtle
crouched on the table laser-focused
drawing a rocket heading to earth, a round
blue and green ball. Stella paints her hands
pressing layers of color into a star of hands.
She moves

to her feet making them pink
like her beach shoes. Nils beside
her paints his hands and feet green–
his body a canvas for a green monster.

Later they come together
in toddler madness jumping from the top bunk.
“Only jump onto the bean bag.”
No one is injured before the game changes
to Lego building and pizza.

I hope they love themselves loud
as this day painting a landscape,
making their mark.
Margaret Simon, draft

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This Photo wants to be a Poem: Color

Posted in Photography, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, Writing, tagged #beingmamére, canna lily, color poems, June, mandevilla, red on July 26, 2023| 6 Comments »

What is your favorite color? This is a hard question. Somedays it’s the cyan blue of the sky; others it’s the purple center of a gladiola. Yellow is my favorite color of summer, but I don’t often wear yellow because years ago I had my “colors done” and yellow makes me look pale. I recently asked a friend what her favorite bird was. She first said dunlins for their murmurations, then she said, “house finch.” And finally, after some thought, she texted a photo of Anna’s hummingbird. Do you have a favorite bird?

Today for this photo, think about your favorite color of the moment, and write a Color is poem.

On my back deck I have two red flowers blooming. They seem to be heat resistant. I used the portrait mode on my iPhone to take these photos.

Red is hot
waving in the summer breeze
like a warning flag
to stay inside
and drink iced tea.

Red is June’s skin
so rosy it’s almost purple
as she crawls across the floor
looking back
to smile at Pépère.
Margaret Simon, draft