When all the noise is silenced,
the meetings adjourned,
the lists laid aside,
and the wild iris blooms by itself
in the dark forest,
what still pulls your soul?
In the silence between your heartbeats
hides a summons.
Do you hear it?
Name it, if you must,
or leave it forever nameless,
but why pretend it is not there?
The Terma Collective
"The Box: Remembering the Gift"
How can it be that another school year has passed between posts to my blog? Indeed, I have just completed one of the best, most fulfilling years of my teaching career, and I have not recorded it. This was the year that reminded me why I became a teacher thirty years ago. Put aside were all the stresses and distractions of the usual school year, and instead I could just work with children face-to-face. I had the pleasure of seeing the "I get it!" look on a daily basis. What a joyful experience that was!
Now, I have been reassigned to my former position in second grade for next year. Although I have been told that my reassignment was due to financial cuts, I am choosing to believe there may be a more esoteric reason. I am choosing to believe that God has a reason for this change, and I'm willing to do whatever He calls for me to do. My summer will be spent gutting and totally reorganizing my old/new classroom, and spending time with my parents as my dad recovers from major surgery. I am thankful for the year I just completed, and the opportunity to find my purpose in second grade next year, and the time to help my parents.
On this, a rainy first day of summer break, I find this poem. It speaks to my heart.
So what is it that is calling me?
Goal #1 for myself this summer is to try to write every day. I miss writing during the school year. I often feel that pull, but frankly, I'm usually too exhausted to do it after school. My hope is that if blogging becomes habit over the summer, I'll be able to carry on with it once school starts again.
Goal #2 is that I intend to take at least one photograph to add to this journal every day throughout the summer. A-Picture-A-Day is a self-imposed method of exploring and tapping my creative spirit every day.
Goal #3 for this summer is to force myself into creative variety. I plan to dig out old forms of artistic expression from my past, and maybe even some new ones, in an intentional effort to revitalize my creative juices.
Goal #4 is to keep working on my genealogy project. I am thoroughly enjoying my newest hobby, and hope to get a lot of work done on my family tree over the summer months. The voices of my ancients call out to me
.
This is a picture of my beloved grandmother, Grace. She was a teacher and the person who taught me the value of creativity, art, and beauty in life. I cannot remember a time when my grandmother did not have a crafting project in her hands in the evening. She loved to sew, knit, crochet and garden. She had a green thumb that was not to be believed. She was fiesty and a fighter to the end. My daughter, Katherine Anne, which means "pure grace" is named in her honor. She was born on the first wedding anniversary that my grandmother was not with my grandfather.
Be grateful and see the beauty in each day!
No comments:
Post a Comment