in the in between

In the basement  In the deep end In the cellar of my soul In the basement In the deep end There’s a fear that grips, controls In the darkness there’s a battle I must fight And fight to win But the irony, the beauty, –can it come in the surrender? Surrender? oh surrender… to  relinquish and to see It’s accepting, not rejecting- With great courage, comes great peace In the stopping, in the hearing,  In the ground beneath my feetRead more

Stubborn Little Hyacinth

Stubborn Little Hyacinth Peeking through the soil Resilient little perennial It’s been a year of toil Yes it may show up in the blooms This year, so scant and slight But beautiful little Hyacinth You made it to the light!! (And that was no small fight!) Stubborn little Hyacinth I feel a bit like you Am hopeful that the resilient beauty I’ll see in me like I see it in you. Beautiful, Lovely Hyacinth What a gift you are toRead more

Thankful Thursday

  The other night, my daughter surprised me by lighting this candle and putting it on my desk.  She didn’t make a big deal. She just lit it and the sights and scents changed the whole atmosphere. The cool thing was that she had had a ‘terrible, no good, very bad day….” but instead of wallowing in it, she went out and got herself a candle and shared the love by giving me one as well.  Sweet. It’s a goodRead more
13 Comments

in our midst

This past week, I was reminded that we never know who is in our midst, or where those around us have walked.  I have learned time and time again that those who come into our lives might be there for a reason, for a season, and not by accident. I teach a variety of academics at the elementary school where I work. But in recent years, I have been trying to help students to develop skills of resilience as well.Read more

(not-so-Silent) Sunday

There’s a cool breeze blowing in western NC this morning. The sun is shining and it’s not yet the predicted 90 degrees–it’s an early morning 75 degrees. Well, I made my coffee and looked out the window and saw this beautiful little white morning glory and it just gave me a glimmer of hope. I’ve had this morning glory plant (as well as some other perennials) in a big pot for years. Usually, it starts blooming in early July. ButRead more

…a few thoughts on noticing…

After leaving my classroom behind for three weeks, I walked in to see that I had neglected a few things. Am thinking my little plant wasn’t feeling so loved at all during my absence. It’s a plant that really doesn’t need much care at all. It’s not one of those persnickety needy plants. It’s not sensitive to light. It  deals with my sporadic watering and can go through long periods of drought. It’s resilient, hardy, and needs so little careRead more
6 Comments

…a few thoughts on resilience…

I saw this little dandelion in the parking lot at school the other day. It was after a long day  that still had lots of places for me to be and things for me to do…and maybe that’s why seeing this dandelion made me smile with gratitude. It made me think about resilience…and how resilience, the ability to bounce back, is a pretty cool thing. Resilience doesn’t develop in the ease of circumstance. It develops in the midst of obstacles.Read more
4 Comments

…not…

I love daisies. They are simple, but beautiful. They grow gracefully and don’t need much care. But this little daisy isn’t quite thriving at the moment.  It’s in a large pot  just off of our front porch and isn’t amidst lots of blooms. In fact, it is the only one blooming. It has lost a petal or two and the green leaves at its base are looking kind of brown.  Poor thing looked like it had been through a prettyRead more