Gratitude

One thread that always takes me back to where I need to be is gratitude.

Sometimes it's easy to get hung up on all the things that may not go my way. It can be easy to fall into the trap of complaining. In order to be grateful and happy, you have look all around you and see the wonder. You have to notice all the gifts around you.

Today a few things were big gifts to me. One was the azaleas, which have bloomed incredibly over the past week. They are so luscious I want to nap in a bed of them. When parents came out the the school and helped for our playground beautification, the old leaves were raked out and new mulch put down below them, making them stand out even more. Thank you! It's such a cheerful sight and makes me so happy in the morning.

Two: my students are cute, adorable, sweet and very hard-working. They all made me so proud today!

Three: my lovely co-workers-- we enjoyed a staff meeting over lunch, planning out the last 6 weeks of school in detail. They are just such good people. Each one is a gem, with all these interesting facets.

Four: so many parents gave me such smiles today and asked if I was feeling better from last week. Sometimes I feel so appreciated.

Five: my husband worked incredibly hard on Saturday and I'm so grateful for his ongoing involvement and support.

Six: my youngest brother is recently back from many travels: Colorado, Oklahoma, Hawaii. We enjoyed Vietnamese food together last night and I'm so happy he's back. I have a big, overwhelming and wonderful family.

Seven: memories of the people who profoundly influenced me. Today I wrote a letter to my former mentor Peter Temple-Thurston. He was my instructor (and Head) at the Governor's Magnet School for Visual Arts when I attended, circa 1993. He's an incredible artist who currently lives in Tacoma, WA. At the darkest, most turbulent times of my life, he saw me through. As a senior in high school, he showed me I had a path beyond-- I had a future. Because of him I persevered and applied to art schools. He taught me to work hard, to be unafraid and unembarrassed, to take risks, and to follow through. My art was catharsis-- and due to his influence, I earned a scholarship at Maine College of Art. Later, when I transferred to VCU, his amazing prints were a source of inspiration for my drawing classes. Thank you for Taoism, Tea, and all your time.

There have been many other angels in my life towards whom I have nothing but gratitude. Today, just to be human and walk on the green grass, fills me with a deep gladness.

Morefield Mines

I think the Morefield Mines might be one of my favorite field trip spots overall. I love that you get to take home all the gems and minerals you dig for, pan, and otherwise find! My children were so happy to join my students on the field trip.

We came home with garnet chips, amethyst, and tons of milky quartz, smoky quartz, marble, amazonite, and other stones. I plan on using mine for the garden this year and to border the trees in my yard.

Since Parent/ Teacher Conferences and gearing up before Spring Break makes this always a busy time of year, it was so nice to spend a few hours doing something totally different. :)

a photo

I'm posting up here a picture I took over the holidays to share some of my photography. Sadly, I lost my camera at the AMS conference in NY. I have since purchased a new digital SLR which I'm trying out.

What I liked about this pose was that I could see her shoes! M is great at the sad or thoughtful shots.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Observance

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, our primary class participated in an experiment last week. We segregated the class so that brown eyed children could only stay on one side of the classroom, while the blue eyed children were on the other. We drew an imaginary line across the classroom. For about 10 minutes, we worked in separate groups. Luckily my assistant has brown eyes, while mine are green. (Green, hazel, and gray went with the blue-eyed group.)

After the timer went off, the children met back at our group rug and we asked them what it was like to be separated from their friends and not be able to use the whole class. The majority of the students said they missed their friends on the other side of the room. The brown-eyed children missed the snack area on the other side! We had read a story about MLK so we compared this to his story. The whole class was so glad to be back to normal!

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. " Martin Luther King, Jr., 1963