As a teacher I often give assignments that come in the form of reflections about what was learned, read, experienced in class. I guess this is my homework for an end of the year post. I also think that these questions, after thoughtful moments, open paths to what is to come and what is desired... Continue Reading →
Winter, You Wicked Teacher
It's so dangerously cold that skin freezes in minutes. Yes, minutes. Exposed hair grows icicles. Hair hanging out of toques, eye lashes, beards, eyebrows turn white and crispy with tiny stalactites. Every morning I am layered like a pleasant smelling Ukrainian nesting doll. Somewhere under the ski pants, the regular pants, the thermal underwear and... Continue Reading →
I Hope You…
I came across a post by Coffee and a Good Book on Facebook with a list of hopes in a meme. It read as follows: I hope you: find time this week to get really really quiet curl up in a big cozy chair and watch a movie you've seen a million times beforehug people... Continue Reading →
Leave It. It Might Get Better.
At the start of every English class we quietly read. Every single day. It's the ritual of the class. For students it's the few minutes of transition from a noisy hallway to a focused Language Arts class. It's the shift in gears from perhaps math, or social studies or physical education. For me it's also... Continue Reading →
53 Lessons
Last year, on my 52 birthday I made a list of 52 things I am grateful for. You can read about it here. Not so originally, this year I am making a list of 53 things I have learned in my life so far. There are way-way-way more than 53 things but for the sake... Continue Reading →
The Magic of Music
I'm sitting on my couch. It's evening. I'm under a big thick blanket with my lap top on my lap. The fire place is on. Today we had the first slushy, wet, cold snowfall of the season. The song Ola Dika Sou by Giannis Poulopoulos (1968) came on my streamed Greek radio. And everything stopped.... Continue Reading →
Canadian Thanksgiving
Canadian Thanksgiving was on the weekend and you know what that means---time for a gratitude post! When practicing mindfulness we're supposed to find things to focus on right now---so in my gratitude practice for Thanksgiving here's a list of 25 things I am happy for this Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. Sunshine. Each day was quite sunny... Continue Reading →
The Magic of Willingness
My favorite season is summer. I appreciate the unique offerings of each season but I have, in the past, had a hard time letting my favorite season go. I saw a post recently that said "It's not officially fall until September 22 so sit your Happy Halloween, Sweater wearing, pumpkin spice latte drinking, scarf donning... Continue Reading →
Talkin’ ‘Bout an Evolution
Dave handed me a book called Show Your Work by Austin Kleon. It's about sharing your work and creativity. And that made sense since we have a co-authorship. The name Austin Kleon and title of the book rang a bell. After a little pondering I realized Kleon was not new to me. I had also... Continue Reading →
Summer, Thank you
Thank you for each of the 94 days that have passed since June 20 where I chased the sun, consciously and unconsciously. I spent that first day of summer, the longest day of the year, the day with the most light---I spent that day chasing the light. I drove west with Ashlee following the sun.... Continue Reading →