Resilient. A word fraught with deep meaning and much complexity. For me, it signifies that one is faced with challenge and is able to withstand. It is about weathering the storm. Withstanding the pressure. Rising after the fall. It is how I feel most of the time, if I were being truthful. I often think I am unduly faced with challenge, but I do realize this is a matter of perspective. My level of resilience is based on my perspective: how I view the situation determines its magnitude ... continue reading...
Living A Writer-ly Life
I am not much for New Year's Resolutions, as would be 2/3 of Canadians. Go figure. It appears I am in good company. However, two specific people, friends of mine, have unknowingly inspired me to write. That is, to write again. Without making much ado about this, shoving fanfare to the side (for if I should coddle this little dream, I might never remain resolute about my goal): I have decided that the theme of my work-life thus far (this school year) has been 'enabling teachers and ... continue reading...
Feed Your Hope
Had not driven very far this evening in the Dodge, me being the sole occupant of the vehicle (so Sirius Satellite Channel 113 was my friend and faithful time-passer)…when CNN alerted me to the fact that a 100-year-old gentleman and his beloved, Sara, at 98, had been burned to death in California’s wildfires. Oh my heart. I cannot imagine surviving WWII only to die such a horrific death upon marking a century of living. Can not imagine the pain of that dear family tonight- their children and ... continue reading...
On Intimacy
There are so many moments in a life that go without noticing, but the moments I remember the most clearly, the ones that stick in my mind and are seared on my heart, are those moments in which I have shared a closeness, shared an intimate moment with a significant other. A touch of the hand on the aching back of a laboring mother---the cool promise of scented cream to ease the pain. The gentle kiss of my Husband at dawn. The tug of little ones at my leg looking for a lift up. The feeling of a ... continue reading...
Dear Mama of Littles
Dear Mama of Littles at the Beach, I have been thinking about you since yesterday afternoon, when we chatted at the beach -- thinking about you and your precious Little Ones. I keep rewinding the video of them playing in my mind, so that I can watch your baby boy charge into the waves with delight, again and again. I rewind to other parts, too: his little legs running like a little penguin up and down the shore, his little hands grasping a bucket of water, which he then proceeded to dump onto ... continue reading...
Small Moments
Sometimes in the scheme of life, it is hard to remember that our lives are filled with days and our days are filled with moments. Small moments, at that. Sometimes it is the smallest of moments that we overlook in our quest to conquer the larger ones. We forget what it was like to eat our piece of breakfast toast complete with melted butter and strawberry jam, just five minutes after the fact. And all because we are too rushed as we head out the door to make it to work on time. We forget that ... continue reading...
Pinterest Fail? Or Win?
I don’t know whether Pinterest has failed me or enabled me. The jury is still out. A “while” ago... (which is to say, "longer than I would like to admit….". Pffft.) (And this is embarrassing, because what I am about to describe is “a fall harvest project from a few years ago” kinda longer.) (Uh-huh: I am not known for my seasonal appropriateness.) So, a while ago, I attempted a Pinterest project. Okay. TBH. I am rarely if EVER on Pinterest. I have way, WAY too much to do on Facebook to ... continue reading...
When Lesson Plans Change
The one thing students really need on any given day may not actually be contained in the words written down on paper -- those goals for the day typed out on a lesson plan or scrawled out on paper. No, it might not be the planned numeracy lesson or literacy centre that meets them where they are at. Not even the science activity or health endeavour designed to maximize student achievement that can bait their appetite for learning and knowledge. Actually, these curricular outcomes are not always ... continue reading...
Dear Tired Mama
Dear Tired Mama: You wonder if it will ever get better. Wonder, too, if there really is a light at the end of the tunnel. Wonder incessantly if you will ever have energy again. All while you also wonder if you ever will see a semblance of your former self again. You are so exhausted. And tired and worn out and frazzled and spent. I hear you, friend, and I truly feel for you. I remember those days. I remember three and a half short years ago corralling my screaming child in the church ... continue reading...
When Life Is Hard
“It’s too hard,” he says looking at me with big brown eyes. Shoulders already slumped in defeat. I assure him he can do this, but I do know that in his mind: the task before him appears beyond reach. Outside the limits of capability. Like climbing a treacherous mountain. It’s monumental, this undertaking. And certainly everything does appear to be harder when you have not been through it before. When you are just learning the ropes. Buttoning buttons, zippering zippers. Doing math problems. ... continue reading...
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