My student put her blue book in the pile on the desk with a big smile. "I love this prompt," she said, and my first thought was I need to write about why this prompt is so great, but then I got distracted by an uncomfortable question: What will I write about after I retire, when I no longer have students to feed me clever lines and cool ideas?
Maybe I'll try to resurrect the past, wallowing in nostalgia for bygone years, or maybe I'll provide up-to-the-minute breaking news about the state of my kitchen, how many socks need darning, or how high the grass has grown (with updates at 11!).
Or maybe I won't write at all. It could happen. Retirement might transform me into a barely sentient lump on the sofa, perusing a never-ending supply of British murder mysteries and heartwarming episodes of All Creatures Great and Small. I'll go around the house humming peppy TV theme songs while wondering why I ever spent so much time playing with words and ideas. Maybe I'll slowly lose the ability to put words together in meaningful ways, or maybe one day I'll just decide that I've written enough.
Or maybe not. When my teaching days are over, maybe I'll find inspiration elsewhere instead of relying on my students to inspire me. But who will step up and slide me some great writing prompts?
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