I Believe in Magic

“If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water.” Loren Eiseley

This weekend I sat and watched my daughter swim. She loves to paddled herself around the pool, wearing her swimmie-wings. I had planned to get in, too, but when I checked the thermometer and saw that the water was only 74 degrees, I only got in up to my tootsies.

As I sat on the ladder, dangling my feet in the the pool, I reflected on the magic that is water. I truly believe that water has the ability to heal. When I was 8 and 9 months pregnant with Sophie, I took a water aerobics class. All week long my body would ache. I would feel the pull in the muscles as my belly grew heavier with my baby girl. By Thursday afternoon, I would be questioning whether I could actually survive through Friday. But Thursday night, I would experience the miracle of water aerobics. Suddenly, my body didn't ache. The effects would carry me through until the following Thursday.

I felt sort of melancholy sitting there. I realized that I needed some magic to carry me through until autumn began to charm me with her beautiful colors.

Tune in tomorrow to see the end-of-summer party that I orchestrated to be the bit of magic that I needed.

Out With the Old and In With the New

For a teacher, September marks the start of the new year. It's hard to see it any other way. My calendar runs from September to June. The summer months don't need a calendar, or a watch, for that matter. Time simply doesn't exist in the summer.

Summer, for me, ends tomorrow. It's the start of back-to-school meetings. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't sad. My family is my life, and it is painful to have to go back to spending 8+ hours a day away from them. I'd also be lying if I said I wasn't excited. I feel like my batteries have been fully charged. I have so many new ideas and a brand new crop of kids to love.

My goal this year is to sit down at the end of each school day, remember something positive from my day, and write it down in a journal. I want to have a catalog of joy by the time June rolls around.

Now it's time to get some sleep or morning is going to be rough!

It's the little things

My husband went to the store the other night, and while he was there he picked up popcorn for our beloved hot air popper.

I've discovered that Jolly Time white popcorn is our favorite. They are small and crispy and absolutely perfect.

He was able to find Jolly Time, but they were yellow. Instead of coming in a jar, they came in a bag.

Now, bags are messy. Kernels have a mind of their own, and tend to go spilling into a zillion places. But, I was struck with an idea.

I love glass milk bottles. I don't know why I love them so, I just do. And here I had a convenient storage mechanism, and a cutesy display piece. Love it!

Pressing "Pause"

I'm feeling a bit stressed. I have end-of-the-school-year tasks coming out the wazoo. I need to devote real time to cleaning, instead of just doing a "good enough" job on my house. I am smack dab in the middle of a grad course.

Really. I'm asking Calgon to take me away.

Tonight, with 589443 things to do--and those are just the things that are due tomorrow--I decided that we will slow down and do something silly for dinner.

So we are eating our Hamburger Helper (I told you I was busy!) with chopsticks. It started out as something fun, but it made me slow down and enjoy my meal. I guess it was just what I needed.

Rewind and Recharge

I had a day today. A day that started out rough. I thought of throwing in the towel--calling for a sub and heading home to hide.

I didn't though.

I toughed it out. I prayed. I asked friends for prayer. I had a steaming up of coffee.

I felt better. I accomplished much more than I thought I could. I made it through.

One of the things that brightened my afternoon was reading through posts in this journal. I may not write a lot, but going back through lifted my spirits.

I feel the same way when I read through my personal journal. It's like taking myself by the hand and walking through the good times and the bad and seeing how I made it through. It's refreshing, really.