Teaching children how to write is no easy task. I’m referring specifically to my role at Children’s Hospital with Seattle Arts & Lectures. In the past six weeks I have worked with a number of people ranging in age from 3 to 21. I have had days full of wonderful writing and connection. And I have had days of continual rejection. It’s been a challenging process, learning how to interest total strangers in trying to write with you, on the spot.

The successes have far out-weighed the shortfalls and I am glad to have taken this chance at sharing something I love with others.

I have been thinking a lot about what kind of work I want to aim for. I work everyday as a writer, but writing is my vocation. What I need is a living. At times I’m drawn to a low stakes job. (Read: grocery store or building boats). At other times I think of teaching, which I consider high-stakes. Everyday other people are depending on you for their experience of the world. It requires great emotional investment.

My time at Children’s has required such an investment, one I do not regret. Last week I helped a few folks write their version of a Recipe for a Good Day—a great list poem that insists one pay attention to detail in their surroundings, and one that requires some thought to what it is, specifically, that makes something good. People bring the substance. I just help them find a shape.

I think being a dad somehow helps in all of this. It asks that you care about more than yourself.