Well, I cut school and went to the Bean.

Not exactly school, but I ducked out of the conference that I was at during the small group discussions and headed to Millennium Park and the Anish Kapoor’s Cloud Gate for the 11-11-11 Beckoning of Lovely.

I towed along with me four other teachers. We saw lots of our students (Miss AmyKR’s kids go to my school) and found my daughters, my nieces and a passel of friends from home and work. So many of the circles of my personal Venn Diagram overlapped during that hour, starting with the basic big page of white and nerdy. What my cousin Alan refers to as “pleasant geeks.” Add on top of this field the overlapping circles of Nerdfighteria (the fans of John and Hank Green), teachers, the circus family that my daughters have cultivated, my nieces down from WI, and work – and well, you have much of my life assembled at in the park.

And this year’s Beckoning did not disappoint although it was more subtly sweet and less overtly a series of products.

• We made a grand entrance.
• We made music.
• We made friends
• We made a wish.
• We helped make a red scarf (make something beautiful)
• We listened to the music of Nick Gage.
• We made a pledge
• We are making a book of advice for John Green’s son Henry. Don’t Forget To Be Henry.

And of course, I got a little misty. A young woman (a nurse) told us about a patient of hers who has since died. She has, tattooed over her heart, “Make The Most of Your Time Here” in his handwriting.

It was lovely – a chilly day full of warmth.

“We’re here because we’re here because we’re here because we’re here.”