handwritten on July 21, 2018
If you were that door
you know, the one that
has freshly painted blue coat
yellow trim
squeezed fresh as lemonade
beautiful fresh cut flowers that demand attention
at a distance you can see it
half a mile away able to
open at whoever is
passing by
in between crumbling doorsteps
peeeling paint and, you know
near that one door that looks out of
place that is just
left alone teeming with "sighs"
and "maybe if they kept up better"
and "lazy" and "tired"
"filthy and disgusting"
but you,
you were given another color yesterday
purple above the yellow trim
as if you needed it to be more
humble
reflecting off that, not dark but
sky blue the one that people
see for miles and smile and laugh at...
handwritten on July 5, 2018
It's interesting when I step into Children's Hospital, I never know what to expect. Generally, I see a patient and the next day they are gone. However, more times than not, it is important to realize that many children spend weeks and months sitting in the same hospital bed, looking at the same walls whilst trying to pass the times by watching movies or coloring by themselves, etc. It is rare that I ever have the opportunity to see a patient on a consistent basis. However, being that it is summer and I am not engaging in lesson planning, I find that I am able to build more consistent relationships with patients who are at the hospital for longer periods of time. Recently, I met a...
handwritten on July 3, 2018
There are very few times where I ever look around me in my surroundings. Actually, that may be somewhat untrue. In the moment of wherever I am, I usually attempt to be completely present (mind, body and soul) but this is not always the case. Usually, it is my mind that I tend to lose track of as I may be standing at a coffee shop but it is opening the drawers of thousands of other places. The problem I struggle with daily tends to be "being present" rather than "stuck in the future."
Nevertheless, I was meeting two friends for coffee the other day-which I never have time to do during the school year-and I was struck by the most beautiful tiny picture frame of two women. The women were older...
handwritten on July 1, 2018
Since January of this past year, I have been running a lot. I have found that running is when I seem to do the best thinking. I suppose it's something about letting my mind run free as my body seemingly is doing just that as well. Regardless, I always sense this inherent dread at the end of my run as I am forced to run up a rather steep street "Main Street." I have now calculated that this specific street is exactly .5 miles long. This is just short enough for me to try to make it up to the top without dying. However, it is also too long to make it...all the way up (at least not with careful training.) I have noticed that whether walking to the end or running to the end, my thoughts...
handwritten on June 30, 2018
Summer transition or transition into summer is always a bit hard for me. In general, I'm someone who thrives when going in nine thousand different directions at once. I love teaching, I love volunteering, I love creating assignments, tweaking curriculum, reading books, running around the neighborhood, reflecting, writing, talking with parents, gaining inspiration from unexpected places, etc. However, this summer I challenged myself to finally not spend a summer doing an activity full time. I'm nannying two beautiful children and volunteering with the JFCS and for me, though the down time is remarkably hard, I'm also learning that it is necessary. It is okay for a few weeks in the summer to...
