The Clay Teacher Blog: Snowdrifts and a cat.

Sunday morning we drove to Weyburn Saskatchewan, about 8 hours from here, to visit Jim’s Mom in the hospital. I have always lived in the north, but it has been a long time since I have seen snowdrifts like we saw in southern Saskatchewan. There has been record snow falls for the region and it shows. We were driving beside snow drifts that were in some places 6 to 8 feet deep. I am not sure how they found the road to clear it. They ploughed out the side roads and again, how would you know where to go when it is all one big snow bank? I saw a truck in a field and all you could see was the roof and a few inches of windows. Some drifts were as tall as the roofs on the farm houses.

We got there in time to help Mom move out of the hospital into a yet smaller room in a senior’s home more equipped to look after her. There was only space for items that were very important to her as the room she was moving into was very small. We took a larger shelving unit for all of the family pictures, her lift chair, bedside table, a few things for on top, her clothes and a few incidentals. . We also took her shelf made from apple crate boxes. Years ago before cardboard boxes, fruit came in wooden crates and many people, including my parents, used them as shelves, either stacked or nailed to the wall. When she got married her apple box shelf unit was their first piece of furniture. Two apple boxes stacked one on top of the other. She has had those shelves for over 60 years. The last thing of importance we took was a clay cat her youngest son made in school.

The cat is great little door stop cat. He did a good job, but as far as I know, it is the only thing he made in school out of clay. It is sad that even back then, clay was not that readily available for students to work and play with. That is why we, The Clay Teacher, are trying to get clay back into the class room and back into the hands of children, so one piece does not have to be that important. If Ed had made a number of cats, his mom could have had lots to choose from to carry around with her for years, and Ed, after all those cats, would make one kick butt cat. I didn't think to take a picture of the cat, but since it has been around for the last 40 years, I am sure I will see it again and have a second chance to take its picture. How many clay treasures are out there? How many kids during their school years only get to make one or two things out of clay that are now a family keepsake? When we say Every Day is Clay Day, just think how great that would be!