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Joy
I sat on the couch with two pups at my feet. They needed to go on a long walk after waiting all day for me to return from teaching. There were dishes in the sink, laundry, emails to answer, words to write for this blog and for my new novel. I felt like I had just run a marathon and could sleep until morning. I’ve always said there’s no tired like teaching tired. But my pups wanted two things, to be with me and to walk. I laughed to myself thinking they were my priority–one of the vocabulary words I had explained to the 6th graders. One side effect from teaching is…
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Bittersweet
Bittersweet. It’s a word that has resonated with me lately. It seems there is this pull on my heart like puppies tugging on a rope; one end is joy, the other sadness. I search for the place right in the middle where I can stop and take it all in.
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It’s the Holidays! 5 Ways to Keep Joy from Escaping Like The Gingerbread Man
I don’t know about you, but this time of year can leave me feeling overwhelmed. Buying gifts, baking cookies, decorating, wrapping presents, planning meals, on top of all the daily household chores and writing a novel. I’m busy. It’s not that I don’t like doing any of those things, I just forget to enjoy them while I’m doing them because my mind keeps reminding me of the things I have yet to accomplish. That’s when I begin to shut down. Well, my heart shuts down, or numbs joy, and as soon as this happens the annoying voice in mind pipes up: It’s the holidays stop being such a Scrooge!
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Are You Enough?
Vulnerability – (adj.) Capable of being hurt or wounded. Possibly the best way to know exactly what you want in life is to know exactly what you do not want in life. Three and half years ago I left my job as an elementary school teacher to spend more time with my family and more time writing. I remember the sudden sense of relief and freedom I felt when my schedule opened up. If I wanted to, I could stop and watch a osprey teach her baby to fly, go for walks with my son, spend an hour chatting with my daughter or drive to the store in the middle of…
