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Bex Hall > Creative Education > A young writer observes and reports and brings me to tears

A young writer observes and reports and brings me to tears

October 10, 2021

Ellie’s story

Ellie, at almost-eight, informs me of her need for a notebook, for school. We rifle through Pawpaw’s stash with intense consideration. This one, the paper is too slick. That one, the paper doesn’t feel right. She tests the lead from my Zebra M301 mechanical pencil on each page with careful penmanship and declares the steno pad the perfect match between graphite and paper.

She takes her new tools with her as we run errands around the property in the Gator™️. We drive through the yard. The grass is green. Dappled light filters through the trees. The sun is yellow. The sky is blue. She turns to me with an astonished look as she points at the fluffy cumulus and writes, the clouds are white.

We finish and head home. The house is brown.

Inside, in our pajamas, she continues to write with an occasional spelling request. After some time, she asks me to read her three new sentences out loud. Because they are short, I can get through all the words but the last one, before my voice cracks.

The heart is red. The family is love. Inside my heart.

Filed Under: Creative Education, Writing Tagged With: creative life

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About Bex

 

Bex Hall

Her writing has appeared in various online and print publications, most recently in Kerning, a literary magazine, and in the Stories of Hope Collection in Transplant Living. Her artwork has appeared and sold through the Grayson Gallery. She blogs here about creative life and creates in Studio BE overlooking the Ohio River. Her work in progress is a memoir about the secret life of objects.

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  • Creative practice goals:

    Show up every day behind the pen, the brush, or the lens and share my work.

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