handwritten on June 30, 2024
I've decided that it is best to write reflectively on Sunday evenings. This forces me to get in a groove but also very meticulously reflect on the week that was had as well as the week that lies ahead. What a week it has been. It's amazing that with one plane flight, we are suddenly in LA and out of Pittsburgh to live out a year of whimsy, unknowns and new adventures. I'm reminded that we can do hard things. Luna had a horrible two nights of sleep but with a new bedtime between 7:40 and 8:00 as well as a very strict bedtime routine which ends in the ringing of our wind chimes (I know so whimsical) to ring in a beautiful sleep, we are now going to bed with absolutely no crying. See? We can...
handwritten on May 29, 2024
There have been so many interesting transitions over the past year. One of those transitions being the retirement of my dad and now the retirement of one of the greatest teachers in all the land-Mrs. Amoscato (the original.) I wrote a poem on her behalf that I wish to place here as the second post in living "Outside the Neighborhood." Let's face it, the end of any vocation (be it good or bad) requires a shift in order to live outside the neighborhood you have been living in for so many years. However, in shifting times, it is also so important to celebrate the person undergoing the shifts and also leave time for tears-always a reminder that what was accomplished was life-changing in so many...
handwritten on April 20, 2024
We landed in Ann Arbor, Michigan this evening as we begin to really sift through job opportunities and options as a family, and I couldn't help but become completely mesmerized by our daughter Luna's excitement and approach to change. As someone who likes to know what is coming next, I would be remiss if I didn't confess the fact that I am terrified of "what comes next." Because honestly-we have no idea. I like my goals, I like the comfort of my own home, and I like my routines and so the fact that we are moving across the country in two months, don't have a place to live yet and just spent the past 24 hours boxing up the last seven years, I feel like i'm in some sort of twilight zone....
handwritten on April 10, 2024
Time has passed by so quickly that we had to lump the 10 & 11 month blog into one! However, we give ourselves grace as we are in the midst of tying up many loose ends as we prepare for our move and other "big-life" contempations. These two months for you were like the ultimate "garden months." You blossomed and grew at such a rate that we honestly didn't even have time to reflect on the garden and write it all down.
You began to say small words and right now everything is "egg." This came in perfect time for Easter where you managed to label absolutely everything in sight with "egg." You can still say baba very clearly and have started to say "duck" and sometimes "dog" as well as "ma"...
handwritten on March 24, 2024
Yesterday I was able to attend the first truly meaningful educational PD in many years inspired by Mr. Rogers and held at my sister-in-law's wonderful school. The school itself is a masterpiece (and even that is an understatement.) I suppose I do wish that educators would be granted more of these opportunities for the sake of inspiration and wonder. However, I think back to when I was actually in a classroom (the past eight years) and I wonder sometimes if we are just too tired to wonder and that in itself makes my heart a bit sad. There were so many meaningful conversations and though I was not able to attend all sessions, I did feel truly warm listening to the stories of many educators...
