Front porch railing

His favorite spot 

was 

to stand on the front porch, 

arms resting on the railing, 

leaning into the pose.

From there he 

noticed, observed, watched.

Now.

His presence

can be felt.

Stand, rest, lean.

Notice, observe, watch. 

On a snowy day, 

step into the pose,

raise your face to the sky, 

and imagine the view through his eyes.

A smile appears

and

all is well. 

Slipping, sliding, running

My daughter had an idea.  "Let's run in the snow!"

It was currently snowing.

There was already 6 inches on the ground. 

We had just spent time shoveling our driveway.

No plow had been by yet.

We live on top of a horseshoe hill. 

We are in training for a St. Patrick's Day 5k. 

Most of our training has been done at the gym on a treadmill.

I needed no convincing.  My husband, on the other hand, needed reasons explained and expectations outlined. 

Eventually the three of us set out, in our boots and bundled up to run against the fall of snow.  As we tried to determine whether it was better to run in the fresh snow or try to find tire tracks to run in, we fell into a rhythm.  

Slipping, sliding, running. 

Slipping, sliding, running. 

Slipping, sliding, running. 

The slope of the road to reach our house is steep.  With the unplowed snow, cars have trouble going up it.  So heads down, feet moving, we inched our way up the hill towards home. 

Slipping, sliding, running. 

Slipping, sliding, running.

Slipping, sliding, running. 

"Whose......idea...... was......this?" my husband panted out when we reached our destination. 

As the snow continued to fall, walking to cool down, his breath caught, he marveled "It's so nice to be outside when it snows."  

Yes, let's go run in the snow. 

Helping hands

"Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others." Philippians 2:4 

When a student dropped his pencil box and the contents scattered across the floor, the rest of the students continued to stand in line, not moving.  This was an opportunity to model what the above verse looks like in a kindergarten classroom.  I leaned over, started to help pick up the items, and said "We are here to help each other out."  As soon as the words came out of my mouth, two students joined in helping.  A smile appeared a moment later when another pencil box spilled open, and silently, without prompting, classmates joined in to help. 

Family dinner

"So this is what family dinner looks like" my son teasingly says as he sits down at the table.

Family dinner is my favorite part of the day.  However, over the last 5 years it has changed.  For four of those years my daughter was away at college.  So there was an empty space at the table.  Now that she is home, it is my son who has been absent, as he now spends most of his time with his girlfriend.  We might catch a glimpse of him every so often.  But last night, all the places at the table were full, as was my heart. 

Practice

Note to self- on yoga nights, write my slice before class, because my mind is in a different zone after practice.  Hard to come back down to Earth.  But tonight's practice reminded me of the importance of sticking with and continuing to try difficult poses.  

The book My Daddy is a Pretzel is a favorite of my students.  A student will check out the book, and while waiting for the rest of the class to finish check out, the student will lead others in going through the poses in the book.  One day, as I was joining in, I mentioned how the crow pose has been a challenge for me.  Well of course, I had a few students show me how it was no problem for them.  Ever since, each week they ask about my yoga class and if I am able to do the crow.  Week after week I report that I keep trying, but have been unsuccessful.  

Tonight was the night.  When it was time to try, I sunk down, listened to the yogi's prompt, and started to lean forward.  I watched my feet, as I was able, to begin lifting up my toes, so that just my big toes was connected to the mat.  Then continued to lift my big toes up, and I was airborne. I lasted 3 seconds before I came tumbling down.  Feeling like I wanted to shout my success, I quieted myself down, and tried again.  I was able to hold it the next time for 5 seconds. I couldn't wait to tell my daughter after class about my accomplishment.  And I can't wait to tell my students that I did it.  I can't hold it as long as they can, but I was finally successful. 

Sparks

Looking out the window, 

I see flashes of light 

Falling from the trees.

Sparks, 

Glittery sparks.

Not rain, nor snow. 

As the sun rises, 

More rapid they fall. 

Energy, 

The moment when ice turns to droplets.

The coated branches 

Provide the start 

For the sparks. 

Rainbow Chips

Food memories.

Grace just spent the last 30 minutes looking through scrapbooks for the picture that shows when she first fell in love with rainbow chip icing.  

It's her birthday and she made a special request for her cake- a funfetti cake with rainbow chip icing.  After spending time looking in various grocery stores for the elusive can of icing, we turned to the internet and discovered that Betty Crocker no longer makes the icing.  This fact has led her down memory lane, as she looks back on all of her previous birthday parties.  

We laugh at the power of food memories, and trying to recapture the magic of past experiences.  Like trying to find a pot of rainbow chips at the end of the rainbow.