Today's piece of joy

Would you like a little piece of joy?

Over at my website I said it's always a good day for joy!  Read it here

Check out my "Joy" mini canvas at etsy

Blessed

What makes you feel blessed?

Transformation

Here is the February Defrost painting for today

You can see more pictures or purchase it HERE.

This is a season of transformation for myself and my little family.  It feels pretty messy if I'm honest.  

Part of what is giving me lots of anxiety these days is the whole teacher accountability piece of education.  The whole thing just feels like a spiritual sucker punch to me.  

And then I sent my son to a Waldorf school, and I was blown away by the contrast between what he is receiving in PK and my students receive in 4th grade.  His day is not filled with bells and whistles, but teaching and learning in a beautifully human and ordinary way.  I'm struck by the fact that he is expected to have a higher level of personal responsibility than we expect from 9 - 10 year old.  

It's started to sink into the core of my being.  There is an in insurmountable chasm between teacher accountability and student responsibility.  Will politicians ever figure this out?  Probably not because there is not lots of money to be had when we just do good old fashioned learning and teach kids to be responsible members of a democratic society.  I think that would be transformational education

Dream

What are you dreaming about today?

A career move?
Warmer weather?
Better health?

Whatever it is, dreaming is a healthy and important part of living a full life.

If you're a dreamer (or wish you were) HERE is a blessing for you today.

Today for February Defrost I've posted a little painting titled "Dream" at my etsy shop HERE.

Whatever you may be experiencing today, KEEP DREAMING!

February Defrost

I feel like I've been silent for so long, but life has continued to hurry along.  There have been many changes in family and schedules, school, and what not.

One thing has not changed--February always feels like winter may never end!  This seems especially true this year.  So I've decided to have a little fun with some of my little paintings.

I am making one original mini canvas available at my etsy shop each day this month.

Today you will find "Be The Change."  Enjoy!

What are you doing to chase the cold desolation of winter away from your spirit?

The Trees Are Naked. . . Where Did Fall Go?

My son ran upstairs yesterday to make sure I looked out the window to see that it was snowing.  I was driving to a coffee shop this morning with the sun shining, and I realized that the trees were mostly bare.  It just seems like last week that I was waiting for them to change colors!

This begs the question, Where did Fall go?

It's gone into applying new laws and standards and evaluation systems in my classroom, acquainting myself with a new principal, being an inclusion teacher, having 28 precious 9 - 10 year olds counting on my best every single day for differentiated math and reading, wacky stories and life lessons, math fact night, student led conferences, and many more bits.

At home I've been mom to a preschooler who has had a tough time adjusting to preschool, speech therapy, and learning that life has "a lot of rules."  We are in the midst of applying to school for next year.  We are excited, and I'm nervous about the money.  {It's just money, right?}

In my free time I've wasted energy on feeling guilty that my house is NOT anywhere near organized or cleaned.  I've done some hiking and trips to parks with Sam.  I assembled the 3rd annual Brave Fall Retreat.  We celebrated and decorated for Halloween.  Can we do something besides a robot next year?  Now we have autumn decorations up for Thanksgiving.  We are already talking about when we are getting out the Christmas decorations.  I haven't painted at all in the past month, but I did go to Rust and Found and get a gorgeous winged wreath that's already on my door.  I've gotten to do a little yoga teaching.  I wish I could say my personal practice was stronger, it's not.

I'm worried that with all this running, life will just pass me by, and I won't even notice that the trees are naked.  I hope this is just a brief season.  I don't like that feeling that I will never be caught up.

Where did Fall go for you?

The Outside of a Horse

"Something about the outside of a horse

is good for the inside of a man."

(Winston Churchill)

A huge THANK YOU to Lin and Mark and Brin for giving Sam such a fantastic farm experience!

He got to ride his first horse and his second tractor!  The tractor is the favorite--bigger and noisier!

How would we do it without friends? 

Why do I ever think I need to do it all alone?

Why can't I just remember this?

I'm humbled and overwhelmed with gratitude