Pottsgrove Peeps

The past week has had a lot of good byes. Many have been really hard. So as I transition to a new job, I have taken time to take stock of all I have learned over the past five plus years.  (This, to be perfectly honest, is my big cope.)

While here, I have learned that.... ( in no particular order)

educators work really hard 

many kids have difficult lives 

performance art is not loved by all, but everyone participates because they want to be cool :)

holding the hand of someone going through something terrible is sometimes the best thing to do 

many of the people doing the very best work shun the spotlight, they just work hard and get stuff done, never forgetting that the kids are why we do what we do- I see you! 

ladders and heels don't mix 

( seriously there are rules about this and also about using chairs as ladders- who knew?)

IEP Online can be painful

lunches on Friday are special

honest conversations are sometimes no fun, but necessary

make it a game and you will be so happy to see who plays

no one (not the wee one nor the grown) wakes up in the morning and hopes that today will be the day that they will fail, that they will  disappoint, or that they will be less than what everyone hopes

adults are often a whole lot of no fun, but everyone likes to get a surprise!

small wins count 

taking yourself too seriously is silly- there will always be someone smarter or more dedicated

a kind word makes a difference

seeing the potential and speaking it out loud changes things

having amazing people around you makes the day amazing (even when it appears to be not amazing)

people who love you will put up with a lot of nonsense ( performance art, one million things lost, pedometer challenges, garish decor, consistent lateness, interesting food tastings and the occasional curse word are just a few examples)

sparkle really is my favorite color

the following things really suck- accidents, cancer, child abuse, drug addiction, really mean people, and a bunch of other real life stuff

volunteers are sometimes the difference between its going to happen and its totally not going to happen (thank you volunteers!)

ESY is super fun

I can do more than I thought I could- but I am not the person you want in charge in a real emergency (I scare easily and I hate anything that may or may not be blood)

nicknames can be funny

choose your seat carefully in meetings

those who are under the willow tree love that they are under the willow tree and will always meet me there

sometimes you need to help people learn how to hug, sometimes you need to learn to keep your cards close

real friends will tell you when you have something in your teeth, your hair, or your nose

telling people you love them is important

budgets are real

there is a difference between hearing and listening

community counts

sometimes the toughest lessons are the ones I need to learn the most

____________________

I am a luckie luckie girl. All along my life's path, I seem to find the very best people.  I know I have found many of them here. 

Thank you for teaching me to be a better person and educator.  I will miss you. I wish each of you all the best- being here was an everyday blessing to me.

Imperfect vignettes

 I have a large worn, brown spot on a little hill in my yard.  It has been created by the kids next door and their new obsession with baseball.  My little hill, it seems, is a perfect home base. I freaking love that spot.  It is evidence of play and dirt and triumph. I freaking love that spot in the sea of green lawn. It is the perfect mess of well-lived days.

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Many years ago, I bought an old rocker. It is well worn on the sides; creaky and wide.  Whenever I sit in it, I put my hands on the worn spots and rock away.  CREAK CREAK CREAK. I would never refinish it. I would never change the screws. That rocker brings me peace. It has the mojo of an object well-loved.

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I have a belly cut in half by a long scar and covered in stretch marks. I would considerate it "that part" on my body best left to itself, out of the light of day.  But lately, I have been thinking, that belly brought me my children, I survived and thrived after the big scar incident, and my belly is rotund from the abundance I have been blessed with to date.  (Hot damn.  I think I love that belly.)
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A dear friend and I were wandering in a store last weekend and happened upon a sign.
"Life doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful."

What a lovely lesson.

I have decided.
 I don't want to miss all the wonderful moments
waiting for the perfect moments.
 ( In this world, there are far too many moments that are sadly neither.)

I want to awkwardly dance to great music and laugh as I lose at pool!

Luckie me-
Life doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful.

Luckie me-wonderful imperfections abound.

Carolina farmhouse

I had past the house,
Only twice before.

Alone and peeling,
standing in the tobacco field.

It struck me as a bit sad each time.
unloved by family and weather-
overseeing a crop that was destined
for weathered lips and worn out lungs.

But then I saw it in the Carolina spring.
Its paint peels were curls of feathered lead.
The field was a riot of purple blooms-
tickling the foundation.
And the pillar that held the front porch had collapsed.

The house was smiling in its grand fade.

The acceptance was joyful.

hello and welcome green creepers and morning glories.
hello and welcome little critters who play at twilight on my crooked grin.

do not feel sad passerby,
I am returning to the sweet dark smelling earth
to begin again.

Gobblers on the Green

Driving down Route 80 yesterday as the sun set, I spotted up ahead a small hillside where the snow had melted. There was a patch of green and brown amidst the never ending sea of white and gray.

As we got closer, I saw that it was teeming with animals- a whole flock of turkeys were scratching the ground and goofing around together.  They looked like they were having a party! Two small deer watched on the edge- little wallflowers looking enviously at the green dance floor.

It was a lovely sight (Oh Spring how we will appreciate your blooms and colors this year!)

Thank you gobblers on the green for the gentle reminder to celebrate the changing seasons.  I am so grateful for the opportunity to once again discover all that has been slumbering these long months -

tucked under Mother Nature's thick white quilt.

Something for the babies up North.

I was attracted to the line immediately. The woman's wise energy was smooth and intent. (She was also rocking a super cool, slightly sequined and exceptionally worn hat as she waited.) She was putting what looked like the interesting makings for a holiday (10 iced cotton candies, an assortment of chocolates and a pack of bikini underwear) on the checkout belt.  I couldn't help it. I was drawn to that line.

We stood there for less than a blink and then she said to me, eyeing my cart and the elf hats therein, "You must be shopping for some little ones too!"

"No," I said, "Believe it or not, these are for work- a girl's gotta have a little fun in the office at the holidays!"

She laughed and went on to talk about the gifts for her nineteen grandkids!

"The little ones get toys but the older ones each get $30 in cash and some sweets.  What do I know about shopping at Aeropostale?" She laughed quietly and carefully counted the treats as the cashier rang her out.

The cashier started to give her the change from her transaction, but the lady stopped her.

"Put this money on her bill, " she said, pointing to me.

The cashier and I both looked at her a little confused.

"I saw one of the parents of those babies up North in Connecticut on TV. That mom said right into the camera to do something nice in this world to remember our babies.  Well," she continued, looking right at me," I have decided to do my niceness to you."

The cashier and I both choked up.

"Thank you," I said tearfully, "I am honored." I put my arms out to hug her.

The cashier touched her hand.

The woman looked at both of us and said, "C'mon on now, it wasn't that much money."
She smiled a bit sadly under her beautiful hat, turned her scooter on and drove away.

The cashier and I looked at each other for a minute and then she started ringing me out.

"There are angels everywhere if you look," she said, passing my elf hats over the scanner.

"Agreed. Now, how do we honor that angel?" I asked.

We hatched a plan right there. The cashier will give the money to a kid she chooses that comes through her line tonight.  She will say an elf left it for a special child and then she will  hand it to a special, special  child.

"This will be quite a night," she said, handing me my receipt.  "How will I choose?"
________________________________________________________________________

I am one luckie girl- 
bumping elbows with two angels, 
in one check out line on a Tuesday.

A little thing called purpose

This theme has repeatedly and in a multi-faceted sort of way shown up in my life a lot lately:
Much of what happens is determined by perception.  

For another reference to this same theme, please refer to blog:
http://luckieme-luckieme.blogspot.com/2012/01/sometimes-you-just-need-to-see.html


Last week, I had the privilege of thinking about and discussing how to coach others in finding their purpose.  To be honest, I have thought about little since.

The presenter, a passionate man who has dedicated his life to helping at-risk youth find their purpose, was engaging, knowledgeable, and down to earth in a way that encourages others to be down to earth.
He shared a lot of research about the power of understanding our own purpose and in the belief that no one is without purpose.  (Feel free to check out his website: purposenavigator.com)

But one of my most essential learnings from that day was this, when people perceive they have meaningful purpose, they treat their lives differently.  The perception of one's value to the greater good decreases a whole host of nastiness into which many throw their lives, including drug abuse, criminal behavior, etc.

 It turns out that mattering, really matters.

Of course we all know this on at the deep level, but to see the research supporting it gave me great hope.

 To see oneself as useful, not disposable is powerful. To see others in the same way changes everything.

Living on and with purpose- an everyday miracle of life changing perception.

Convos at the CVS

I stood still and
Pretended to read the cards
But really listened instead to all the jumbled conversations
   of all the jumbled human beings
   in the very orderly aisles
   amongst the straight lines of merchandise at the CVS.

To me some conversations seemed silly, some sad, some were random, everyday chats.

But once, I forgot my quiet mission and
 Found myself eager to engage,
To argue even
When a young man's words echoed past the shampoo...

"Gift cards suck."