The Problem with a Broken Hammock - Day Two Online

Imagine being on this when the thud happens.

Almost a year ago, I persuaded my husband that our lives would greatly improve if we bought a hammock. During his first little rest hanging above the ground, he quickly agreed that my purchase was wise and it has been a welcome haven for both of us to relax with a book or for a nap. 

The other day, though, while laying on the hammock myself, there was a sudden thump and my back met with the ground. Our dear hammock collapsed on top of me as one of the supports bent and cracked. 

Of course, my immediate thought was to get online and order a replacement. With covid-19, though, I didn't think this should be a priority and instead mourned the loss with my husband through many laments. 

End of story? Not exactly. 

Yesterday, when I woke up early to finish preparing some class work before my morning online lessons, I found that I could not see properly. Blind spots obscured my vision so that as I messaged family to pray about the situation, I could not see the words I was typing fully and most likely sent a few typos. With my family 9 hours behind, they were just about to go to bed, but saw the message in time and began praying, over the phone or just on their own.

Thankfully, within 30 minutes the spots began to fizzle and then fade. By the time I started classes, I could see almost everything and was able to conduct the lessons well. After classes, with a huge headache, I knew that rest was in order. But how do you rest without a hammock? Honestly, for me, not that well. I may have sang out a few more grief filled sobs.

This morning my creative writing students joined me for our second lesson of the term. I woke up very thankful for my perfect vision, even though my headache remained. I took time to read the bible and pray to find some peace. This time of correcting my perspective and remembering God as my Lord is an imperative part of life. It's not a fix for when I need help because I need this communion with God every day as a basic activity. 

Class started well and we had plenty to do. Honestly, I wish I'd been able to focus better to plan a more interactive and entertaining class. (If I had a working hammock...) We covered POV and tense as part of the foundations of writing. I was able to send the students into mini groups to gather some ideas for time order transitions. Unfortunately, this was probably the most exciting time for them because they could share and discuss together. 

After this, we had writing practice, using one story prompt told in different POV and tenses. A simple exercise, but thankfully one that provided a lot of opinions afterwards, as students shared their experiences of the difficulties they felt or the comfort in preferred methods of narration.

My students today all preferred to use the third person, some in limited perspective and some omniscient. A few talked about ways to approach second person that inspired the others to try this again. 

It surprised me that no-one enjoyed first person all that much. In my own writing I find that I naturally start most of my stories in first person singular. I've wondered why that is and pushed myself more and more to write in other POV, but I regularly find that if the story idea comes to me in sentences or clear pictures, they are told in this perspective.

My WIP, which started as a short story and the first prose I ever seriously tried out, is first person singular. However, the two stories accepted for publication a few years ago were both third person omniscient. While first person may be an instinctive POV for my writing, I've had success with others. It'll be fun to see how my students develop in this area. 

Rest is essential. How we rest is crucial to proper relaxation and further performance. I'll keep this in mind and remember that God offers peace and rest. But I'm also going to search deals for a new hammock. 

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