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Going in Training
As a new school year begins, I face a whole new crop of students to love and direct. We spend our early days getting to know one another and building new routines. It is the same each fall as I forget how well trained my class was in the past school year. My students learn what is expected and by the end of the year they easily follow routines and tasks because they are well versed in what to do. Then I get a new batch of students who have no idea how I operate my classroom and what I expect of them. It takes many weeks of training for…
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A Discerning Mind
Going to the grocery store is getting to be more and more complicated. The other day, all I wanted was barbecue sauce and the myriad of choices available just set my mind in a whirl. How does a person make a choice with so many items from which to choose? Now there are a multitude of brands and each brand has a number of flavour choices. It’s not just in the food store. Where we once had a few rows of toys in a department store, we now have giant stores that specialize only in toys. The same can be said for sporting goods or vitamins or makeup…the list goes…
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A Living Legacy
The morning sun seeps into the room, but the woman knows it not. As I sit with her, she asks why the light is not on as it seems so dark. Her beautiful blue eyes, ones that have looked out on me since my birth, are now unseeing and darkness prevails. The sparkle is gone and struggles take hold. Another woman sits in her wheelchair, alone in a strange place. No one is familiar to her and she seems lost in the vastness of the new facility. Her joyful chuckle is not totally silenced, but it is vastly diminished. She is filled with great unhappiness at being separated from all…
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Giving What Matters
Being around children I see lots of interesting behaviours. It’s always interesting to watch how some children share. Some will freely give of what they have to others. It seems to come to them as easily as breathing. Others hold what they have close to themselves and often if they do give something to others it is their cast offs. What really matters to them they keep and only give what they find less appealing. I have found myself in the latter category on occasion. Growing up with very little monetary wise has sometimes made me cautious and protective about what I have. I guess I have had moments where…
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What’s Your Laugh Quotient?
I heard a speaker say that children laugh 300 times per day compared to adults laughing 20 times. I’m not sure how scientifically accurate those statistics are, but I do know that children do have a flair for laughter. They tend to more carefree than adults and delight in the world around them. It seems, that as we age, laughter can get lost in all the complexities of life. It makes me grateful to have the job I do. I have many moments in my day where laughter takes hold. My students and I find joy in many things – mostly joy in the journey we are taking together as…
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Just Too Much Going On
Some weeks are just more hectic than others. I have had times in my life with extensive to do lists, but this week seems to surpass them all. I would love to say that I am handling it well and that I am trusting God to get me through whatever happens. That’s not really what’s going on. Some days I am keeping my cool, but more often than not, small things set off a string of emotions and sometimes even tears result. As I take some moments to write out my thoughts and feelings (a healing thing for me) I ponder what will turn things around for me right now.…
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Things Hidden, Things Revealed
The headlines blare with the news of massive amounts of wildfires in our province. In our county many are forced to evacuate their homes because of fire out of control. It is tenuous times with much anxiety for many. I live in 75 acres of trees. Having wildfires close at hand creates many moments of wondering If we too will be forced to find shelter somewhere else. Going through my home, finding all those special and valuable items, is bittersweet. Many lovely memories are tied to some of these things. The thought of their loss is deeply saddening. At the moment, I feel better with some of these things packed…
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Following a Bad Example
In recent days I have watched God do some amazing things for me. After years of teaching instability, I finally have a permanent job where I know I don’t have to move schools again or change grades. It was a job I never expected to have offered to me and God made it all come together! God even worked out an awesome grade group team for me. All this after me worrying about the matter for a considerable length of time. What do I do? I continue to follow the bad example of the Israelites. They saw God do so many mighty things to help them escape slavery in Egypt.…
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Living in Grace
Do you ever have those moments when the list of all those things undone or unsaid comes hurtling at you full force? Or maybe you are being tormented by things you did do or say that you really wish you hadn’t. That’s been the state of my week. As the school year winds down my mind whirrs with all the things that I wish I had done for my students. My heart is also heavy with the knowledge that my job has taken away time from my family and all I wanted to do with them. Then there’s the things that have come out of my mouth this week. I…
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The In Between
Have you ever been caught hanging, not really in one place or in another – that wretched place of indecision, confusion, or disillusionment? Those days of not knowing can cause havoc with our systems – both physical and emotional. As I sit in the in between at this moment, my heart is heavy. My brain is foggy and concentrating seems impossible. I am lethargic and strained. This generally out of sorts feeling just drags me down. At moments like these, hope seems fleeting. It is incredibly easy to delve into the bad aspects of the situation and lose sight of the positive. The waiting seems indefinite and my patience weakens.…
