handwritten on June 15, 2019
This morning we woke up early to take a ride down to the Alcatraz loading station. It was a bit cold this morning at only 50 or so degrees. Nevertheless, the wharf was spilling with different language different people and that gentle spray of a breeze. It has not rained yet in San Francisco, but every now and then you will be walking along the sidewalk and realize there is a mist that is waking you up and alerting your senses to the world around you.
We took a ferry ride (quite peaceful) over to Alcatraz and begin our walking and guided tour around the area. Alcatraz is such an interesting part of history. Though it is a prison, the grounds surrounding alcatrez are absolutely beautiful-the...
handwritten on June 14, 2019
Today was day one of our San Francisco travels. It is fair to say, I have fallen in love with a city I have never visited nor seldom thought about. It is a city of warmth-of such interesting vibes. There is a culture and a feel to this city I have not felt yet in any other.
We woke up around 9:00 and then headed down our incredibly steep hill (truly you should see this thing) to find a coffee place in Noe Valley. Noe Valley reminds me of the Lawrenceville of California. The amount of young children running around and baby strollers walking at just 9:30 already helped to display a whimsical feeling of energy and excitement. Afterall, kids to possess the most vibrant energy in everything...
handwritten on June 13, 2019
At around 2:30 today we left the apartment for our travels to San Francisco. As I was on the plane I was able to catch up on some lost reading throughout the year. I had the opportunity to read about a principal who had essentially built her own school in on of New York's most difficult neighborhoods. Every page spoke to me, but what I enjoyed the most were the small stories of success shared throughout the book, the idea that any child can learn, can reach the standards as long as they are lifted higher and higher until that student is soaring.
I have always been a firm believer that if you try hard enough, you can get anywhere you want to go. I realize there are exceptions to this rule,...
handwritten on June 12, 2019
For a few birthdays and graduations that have come and gone, I have been working on a few gifts of painted shoes. I think there is nothing more beautiful than creating a gift for another person. And if you can capture the expression of that person through a quote or an image. Well-that gift becomes more than a gift but a token of appreciation, an acknowledgement of the person they are and how they contribute to society.
I asked my husband's cousin who did just graduate to contemplate her favorite quote. Thought I have yet to start the shoes, I have spent my fair share of time thinking about her unique quote which (though a lover of good quotes) I have never heard before: "In solitude, be a...
handwritten on June 11, 2019
Well today was the day the golden year came to an end. And it wasn't a golden year because the students were so very bright or because the year did not have challenges. It wasn't a golden year because my students were perfect by any means. Rather, they simply had precious hearts and curious minds. If you are a teacher, you know that this is the greatest gift in the world. To learn to love, to scoop all the knowledege you can and give back to the world around you.
It was interesting, because the minute my students stepped into the classroom, there was a silence that followed. I saw many of them look around at the walls and the chalkboard and the familiar quotes on the walls and say to me, "...
