One Word at a Time

I   w e n t  .  .  . upstairs for bus duty        back downstairs for a sweatshirt     back upstairs for bus duty            outside with the late bus         inside because it was too cold                back outside with the late bus only a few minutes later             downstairs to a meeting                    outside to my car                 back inside and downstairs for my charging cell phone                        outside to my car             inside to change into leggings and feed the cats                    outside to my car         inside the ...

With all that's been going on in my life over these last few months, the weekly yoga class I signed up for on a whim has been my saving grace. At the end of each class, my teacher guides us through a meditation, which sometimes involves imagery. Tonight she asked us to imagine a place, a place that we love, a place that makes us feel happy. My mind knew immediately where to go. My place is a curb. ~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~ I'm sitting on said curb, with my knees up near my chin (since it's a low kind of curb). One hand rests on the cement walkway behind me, avoiding stains left by other curb sitters. When I do my curb sitting, it's dark, but not fully dark. The sky itself is dark and full of traces of smoke. But against that dark sky are lights, lights everywhere. Lights from children's toys, whirling around and around in fast tight circles. Lights from flashes, as moments in time are captured again and again. Light illuminates the world behind me, so my body cas...

Do you have stacks of papers everywhere? Do they threaten to topple over at the slightest touch? Do you, regardless, know where everything is? My mission at work today was to get rid of my stack. I'd been moving it (yes it - multiple stacks had mutated into one giant stack) from my desk to a work table to my bag and back again. The stack was somewhat organized, with sticky notes indicating my thoughts about the organization of what was in it, but it was still a stack. And today was the day I was going to do something about it. So, I began. I came up with a system, labeled some file folders, punched some holes. I chatted with my fellow coaches as I worked, finally let go and recycled some unimportant paperwork, and set up a pile for the shredder. I could feel some of the stress leave my shoulders as the stack got shorter and more things found their home. I now have a few stacks, but they are much shorter, and each will be more manageable on its own. I do need a better system...

each snow day begins like every other day like every other morning spring, summer, winter, or fall with snuggles but snow days continue like few other days like few other mornings snowy, sunny, rainy, or cloudy with snuggles couch chair bed no matter at all they find a way to dig in, knead away, snuggle purrs vibrate sighs are soft every now and then movement stretch position change but mostly it's quiet sweet sleepy together snuggles

As I wrote yesterday, 2018 has been a tough one, actually even stretching back to the late December of 2017. Between traumatic injuries, deaths in the family, and illnesses - I just can't keep up. This year, more than ever before, I've focused on self-care. I pay attention to my water intake, to the food I'm eating, to the time I'm taking with myself. And thank goodness I have, or these ten weeks would have gotten the best of me. One thing that happened, quite naturally actually, is that I have gone silent . No more TV in the background, no more podcasts while I shower, no more radio in the car. Complete. Silence. Before this? I woke up to music. Played Pandora or podcasts or ESPN Radio while I showered and got ready. Worked out or ran to upbeat cardio music. Worked on the computer to music. Channel surfed while driving to sing along. Consumed podcasts while cleaning and doing laundry. Turned the TV on as soon as I sat down at night, even if I was reading or s...

2018 has tested me more in ten weeks than any year has before. I'm sure it's trying to teach me something. Not sure what that is yet, but I have some thoughts. As I teach my students when they're thinking about the theme of a book, I'm developing a theory. And, as they do with every page that passes, with every day that passes, I'm collecting evidence to strengthen or modify that theory. I'm open to learning. I'm open to changing.

This morning, I had breakfast with a friend who has been slowly cleaning out her father's home. Her father recently had to put his partner in an assisted living home, and so he will no longer be living on his own. She has gathered much of his "stuff" in her home, but other family members have also come to look at the "stuff" to see what they may want. Some have even gone so far as to write their names on pieces of tape and attach them to "stuff." Her brother suggested that she just pack everything up and bring it to her house to deal with it there. She reminded him that when it was her time, all of that "stuff" would then be his to deal with! Tonight, my cousin came to have dinner with my family. His mother passed away a year and a half ago and his step father a few months ago, so he has come up to go through their home and clear out their "stuff". He has set aside baking things and canning jars, knowing that that "stuff...