Fishing

A glimpse into my life where I find beauty in.. baking?

People who know me know that I have my own unique sense of style.. if you can call it that. One of my dear friends will tell you about a time we went into Auckland city as teenagers, me dressed in my petticoat (it was the 80s!), op shop 'blouse', floral waistcoat, and lace dressing gown. That same friend will tell of how she nearly fainted when the woman in the fabric shop commented on how groovy I looked! There will be my husband who raises one eyebrow at the idea that I might have a 'sense of style', and then there is everyone who knows that I love colour.

So, when I read this blogpost http://www.sankofasong.com/blog/game-of-go-fish/ from sound guy (ok, he's more than that, but just wanted to shorten it) Fabeku, I let out a huge sigh... this resonates with me! Some things really do, and I so totally mask over that in my rush to be a .. heaven-forbid ... people-pleaser. ARGHH! The fact that I only like the outside of the carrot, not that sweet bit in the middle, and care about peg marks on clothes when you hang them on the line, are my things.. They may so totally not resonate with you.. but there are some people out there who will absolutely get this .. or at least appreciate it.

Go have a look. I look forward to reading your comment. Meanwhile, I'm going fishing... ;o)

A shift

I'm not sure who really comes here, but, if you do, then maybe you are interested in pondering with me how life grows and evolves. There is the yearning - dreams are good (I always get that Happy Feet song playing in my head when I think that 'You got to have a dream, if you don't have a dream, how you gonna make a dream come truuuue'), and there is a time for finding motivation in reaching, stretching...

But, it seems to me, there is a little-talked-about consolidation time that is required, once dreams come. My dreams have come true: I have two healthy, happy, fun, loving, delicious children, a cute puppy, a sunny house in the 'burbs with a fenced section and 'good bones', a loving, intelligent, handsome husband with a sense of humour that always makes me laugh (even when I'm grumpy), and supportive, thoughtful extended family. I am a TEACHER!! I have a career - and I can do things with this training that can (do?) positively influence the children of today who are our adults/society of tomorrow. For this, I am deeply grateful.

It's the living of the dream that is causing me to stumble a little. (OK, a lot, just at this time) There are plenty of 'yeah, buts' going on... I am living my dream FULL STOP Yeah, but how do I fit in the exercise I need to be healthy in my head so I don't be grumpy to the children (at home, in class). Yeah, but how do I get reflection time to make the connections between the learners (all 23 of them) and their next steps, then put that in my planning, in an interesting way so that I appeal to all learning styles... yeah, but, how do I make do all this and make sure we have enough healthy food to get us through the week.

One idea is systems - routines, systems for EVERYTHING. You must know, you might feel it yourself, that resistance. I want the JUICEY-NESS of life not the routines. yet, I am wondering if that's how one gets to the juice - by ways of taking care of the mundane.

Any words of wisdom from out there in Blogland? Voices of experience who have tried this and found a better way? or, have I stumbled on a pearl of wisdom that I should write down for Emma and Ciaran when they are wondering the same things?

I would LOVE to hear from you :o) Cheryl