handwritten on August 16, 2024
If you haven't already caught on that life living near the LA Park has been life-changing, you are in for a treat of a life story. Because we are so consistent in our park-going, we have met so many wonderful friends/nannies/parents and as a result, the two little ones are incredibly excited when one of their "friends " arrive at the park for a visit. Today was no exception. This particular nanny is around my age and was telling me part of her life story. We have seen her many times before this and Luna usually plays with a little one that is around the same age. She grew up in Columbia and eventually moved to LA because she felt it was always her dream to do so. She has family mostly in...
handwritten on August 7, 2024
In this time outside of the neighborhood, I've committed to writing a series of short stories for both elementary-aged students and educators. The series is entitled "KidzTeach" because they are centered around the stories I have learned as an adult through working with children. The first lesson in the series is entitled "Hurry Up and Slow Down" while the second is entitled "That's What I Remember" and is more of message from students to their educators. Important to remember that this series is just for me haha (no publishing on the horizon.)
KidzTeach Series
Hurry Up &
Slow Down
As the sun rose above the barn
A young rooster was knitting socks with purple yarn
When he heard...
handwritten on August 2, 2024
In the busy world we live in, people are constantly thinking about the following: Their careers, other people, posting pictures on instagram, getting ahead, thinking about the future, building their resume, etc. But what we all should be contemplating is how we are to spend our finite time (here on earth) figuring out ways to throw our heads back with pure Joy with a capital "J." My daughter, who is now 15 months old, is the master of head tilting and joy receiving/giving. We know when she feels pure bliss when she runs down the sidewalk and throws her head back with a huge smile or she throws her head back to look at the blue skies when she is swinging. Her life is filled with the simplest...
handwritten on July 17, 2024
Sometimes when you are a youngster and you cannot fully comprehend when a transition is going to happen, you tend to do best when there is a fair warning or a signal. For Luna, this is both wind chimes and a habitual "goodbye" to every object in the environment we are currently departing. It's almost like a goodbye moon sort of variation of life but it makes me smile when we "say goodbye to our morning walk" or "goodbye to the park" or even "goodnight to LA" approximately 15 minutes before it happens. For those who are educators and also parents, it is incredibly interesting to find the parallels of life lessons that worked inside the classroom and those that work just as well outside the...
handwritten on July 8, 2024
This week's outside our neighborhood was a beautiful start to our "new" every day life for this year. And I think above all, what I was reminded of this week was the beauty in our collective stories. For those who have visited California, you are probably aware of the homeless population, and it certainly makes your heart ache when you see the amount of it that exists (in every city) but more noticeable here in LA because of how big the city truly is. And anytime I do see someone homeless when we are driving in the car, I always say a prayer and wonder about their personal story. What led them here? How are they feeling? What are they thinking about?
This week we had our first three days...
