handwritten on January 8, 2020
3.5 miles: As I ran today, I was filled with the thought of the chase and how much life-to really create something worthwhile-requires a chase. Chasing after thoughts or chasing after dreams or chasing after yourself or after someone else. As I was running today, I quite literally thought back to all the times in my life I had been lead on a new/ beautiful path towards others, towards vision, towards ambition, towards greater clarity, towards helping humanity and towards unchartered waters. All of these circumstances always required a faith inside me, a resilience and most importantly the ability to continue the chase until the journey was fulfilled.
No one likes the chase. Your legs may...
handwritten on January 7, 2020
One mile: Today wasn't even a Monday, and I was dragging. When you come back from a break of laying low and completing a lot of sleeping cycles, it sure is hard to get back in the swing of things. As I was making about four-hundred salt dough hearts with the student council after school, and I reflected back on this as I was running only one mile today, I chuckled a bit because with the amount of hearts we layed out on that table, I felt like my own heart was just half full today.
Not half full in the sense that I didn't feel love but half full in the sense that I wasn't able to fully realize my own heart today because of how tired and drained I was by the end of the day. But then I...
handwritten on January 6, 2020
4 Miles: Talk about a play on words today-we quite literally were fighting to see with clarity today as the power randomly went out within our school from about 11:20-12:45. Naturally, without a wink, my students quietly went to their desks, brought their desk lamps I had given them for the holiday season and we simply carried our lights wherever we went within the classroom. Our stereotype creative writing lesson continued without a hitch, and I smiled as I realized you simply cannot blow out the flame of love and learning regardless of visible clarity.
As I ran today, I just continued thinking of this image of darkness which in my mind transformed into the silhouette of a dark tree with...
handwritten on January 5, 2020
I ran precisely one mile today. Certainly, I did so bregrudgingly. It was cold, and I was a bit cranky in my want to exercise. Nevertheless, one mile is one mile. As I was running outside for a very brief period of time today, my immediate thought that lasted the entirety of my run was the phrase "Sharing Sunday" or "Sharing Saturday." Sharing a meal is of the greatest importance. I always felt like my dad was truly the best at sharing a meal, as was his mother and my mother-in-law always shares a similar sentiment. There is nothing more beautiful than sharing a meal. The preparation forces you to think about others, the warmth (or smoke) that arises from cooking creates a cozy ambiance and...
handwritten on January 4, 2020
Today was a wonderful way to kick off 2020 with both my husband's family and my brother's wife's extended family. Beautiful people. Beautiful conversation and understanding. We are quite lucky in that our family has continued to grow and yet all three families live within 10 minutes of eachother in either direction. In the midst of the party tonight, my mother-in-law brought a coconut for everyone to try. After a picture of a coconut and a straw had been sent around to my extended family on Christmas Day, she decided to carry this experience with her.
With care, the coconut was shaved and cracked open just so the meaty seal on top was cut out and the juice could be enjoyed. Even more...
