The opportunity to teach has been a source of enormous inspiration and immense pleasure. On the first day of class for a new semester, I usually arrive with goofy erasers, pens, pencils, and a few mini-staplers in a grab bag. I used to feel shy and awkward about carting around tiny tokens of gratitude, but each time the items would disappear. Sometimes requests are made for extra: "Can I take two erasers?" or "Can I have a pencil too?"

This never fails to make me smile. At times, life can be rocking freak full of challenges. And when I was a kid, school was both my favourite escape hatch and a place that overwhelmed me with anxiety—depending on the teacher and the subject. A small kindness is offering an eraser shaped like a lady bug or a soccer ball. Forza Italia!

Last winter, I taught Creative Nonfiction at the University of Guelph's Continuing Ed and I thought "Time to step up my game!" Instead of writing calendars with deadlines, tchotchke-talismans or candies--I made twelve seriously homely journals for a group of generous adults. (They considerately accepted my cut-and-pasted taped together little journal without laughing at my hastily patched up crafty work.) Over the summer, I decided to make them for friends as well and the result is this journal:

I suspect some of the prompts could be used for fiction. The title comes from the night the lights went out on reason and democracy. Sharing true stories is an antidote for the harmful effects of cruelty (external or internal...say like that inner critic who never rests). The journal is available from Amazon.

Ta-dah! This is what I did on my summer stay-cation, plus of course cutting a rug.