These days, with a few transitions going on (ending my teaching for the season and starting a few new contracts) I’m having a hard time focusing on writing a blog post. Yesterday I remembered how much I used to love to write random posts. Brain dumps, I suppose they are.
So here you go… a few random things on my mind… and a bonus picture.
1. I wish the season of flowering trees weren’t so fleeting.
2. There’s a deer who seems to have made her home in the small piece of woods a block from my house, but I’m afraid she may be injured. Each time I wander through those woods I see her, and the last time she seemed to be walking with pain.
3. Speaking of those woods, I will cry if someone ever arrives to bulldoze them down.
4. I am happy to be immersed in the world of non-profits, sustainable living, and international development once again with my new contract work.
5. Yes, I have new work and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Plus it’s work that excites me.
6. I need a healthier routine for my mornings.
7. I need a healthier life in general. I’ve gotten lazy lately, in more ways than one.
8. The downside of walking 100 km last fall is that for about a month afterwards, my feet hurt too much for regular exercise, and then I got out of the habit again.
9. I think I will get off this computer shortly and go to the woods to see if I can find the deer again. I like to sit quietly and stare at it while it stares back at me.
10. I have had some lovely emails from students lately, and most of them say something to the effect of “You did so much more than teach us to be better writers. You taught us how to live.” That makes me very happy.
11. One of my students posted a photo of me and him on Instagram, with the caption “Favourite teacher of all time.” Smile.
12.Speaking of Instagram, I love it.
13. It’s like peeking through little windows into people’s lives.
14. My kids tease me that my iPhone isn’t really a phone, it’s a camera.
15. They’re right.
16. I taught grade 5 and 6 students how to make mandalas yesterday. It was great fun.
17. Right around grade 6, I’m afraid, we begin to develop our self-consciousness around whether our art is “good”.
18. Around that same time, we start losing some of our natural tendency for play.
19. We need to re-learn it, because play is transformative.
20. I think I may have found the perfect venue for a day of play time with grown-ups. A big comfy room with a huge wall of windows that looks out into the woods. Stay tuned.
21. I am working on a new website, combining this one with what I have at heatherplett.com.
22. The new website really represents a new business focus. I think I’ve finally found something that focuses me but still leaves wide open space for exploration and creativity.
23. As you can tell, focus is not my strong suit.
24. Squirrel!
25. That was a reference from the movie “Up”, in case you missed it.
26. What are you doing in August? I hope you’ll join me here.
27. I need to find some nearby office space for the summer. I won’t get much done in the house when my family is here every day. Any ideas?
28. I am aching for an overseas trip.
29. Really, REALLY aching. When I look at pictures from my trips to India or Africa, or someone tells me a story from some place interesting, the longing shows up in an instant clench in my stomach.
30. I have been incredibly lucky to travel to interesting places in my life.
31. I will be lucky again, I’m sure of it.
32. I hope I can take my kids on an overseas trip some day, before they start moving into lives more separate from mine.
33. I am not very good at blogging for business purposes.
34. I’m much better at just having conversations.
35. It’s the same way I teach – I prefer conversations to lectures.
36. I need to get off this computer now, go walk in the woods for a little while, and then dive into my work.
37. Today’s focus will be figuring out how I can help this amazing organization promote this incredible sustainable building apprenticeship program and this one. Know anyone who’d be interested?
38. I like you. Thanks for reading.
39. What’s happening in your life?
40. I don’t like ending lists on uneven numbers.