kinder carefully bathe their babies
each with their own method
including a squeegee
all were clean and happy.
—
“it is the nature of babies to be in bliss.”
-deepak chopra
Dec14
Author Archives: beth
Dec13
soul-stirring.
this is not me
but we both
always have green eyes
usually wear glasses
sometimes like to get fancy
and never fail to enjoy ice cream
—
what better time to celebrate national ice cream day than a week before winter begins?
—
“i doubt whether the world holds for anyone a more soul-stirring surprise
than the first adventure with ice cream.”
-heywood broun
—
image credit: christine de carvalho, darling lola designs ‘ice cream bae’ in watercolor
Dec12
light and dark.
kinder create
then it’s all dark
turn on the black light
their art comes alive
like magic.
—
“every moment of light and dark is a miracle.”
-walt whitman
Dec11
kid congress.
my grandson, Jackson (in the green shirt and shorts)
who loves
people, animals, kindness, dancing, laughing, and tacos
has become a part of a new kid congress
a group springing from the legacy of
‘kid president’
(who has now grown into a young man)
with a mission to show
that kids can help to change the world for the better
thank you to kid president for passing the torch
giving more kids the opportunity to bring good to the world
i couldn’t be prouder of these little people with gigantic hearts.
—
(if you have two minutes, use the link below to meet the new congress)
—
“children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see.”
John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States
—
credits: kidpresident.com, soul pancake
Dec10
falling.
it was a quiet, simple act
a couple walking in my direction
stopped
the man bent down
to tie his companion’s shoe
and in this tiny moment
revealed his heart.
—
“let me tie your shoes. i don’t want you tripping and falling for someone else.”
-author unknown
Dec9
losing it.
(not me, a reenactor, but we do have similar pj’s and hair)
—
many moons ago
when i lived a very busy life
single-mother, college, 2 jobs
I had family and friends over
to celebrate my daughter’s graduation.
the day started early
somehow everything came together
the party went well
my divorced parents got along
none of the food burnt
the cake turned out
everyone was pretty happy.
as the day wound down
there were just a couple of guests left
who wanted to stay to watch
the very end of a championship basketball game
we expected it would wrap up very quickly.
what are the odds
it broke records and went into triple overtime?
at a certain point
I could no longer stay awake
and tried the usual methods to end the day
yawning, cleaning up, sighing, talking about tomorrow
finally it was so bad
that I put my pajamas on and laid down on the floor
the game continued
the guests continued
at last there was a win and we said our goodbyes.
the next day,
I woke up went to work,
went to my class,
went to my other job
where my friend thanked me for a nice party.
I went on and on about how exhausted I was
due in part to these late guests
who just did not get the hint
that I needed to sleep
no matter what I said or did.
she nodded sympathetically
as I dramatically reenacted the entire end of the night
she listened quietly
until I finally had it out of my system and was done
and then she said,
“beth, that was us.”
epilogue:
we still are good friends and continue to laugh about it all these years later.
I am still not a good late-nighter and have a foggy memory.
—
“the guest who outstays his fellow guests loses his overcoat.”
~ chinese proverb
—
image credit: littlejayz/huffington post
Dec8
behind wall.
always a good rule I think, in general.
—
“now I know that anytime you see a “no trespassing” sign,
it means you’ve got to go in and take a look.”
― I’ll Be Right There
― I’ll Be Right There
Dec7
the teacher is the learner.
what an honor and a pleasure
it was
to have spent two days
with intelligent caring educators from many places
coming together
to
share, discuss, question, wonder, listen,
learn from each other
about leading
respectful, compassionate, joyful, creative, curious, playful, democratic classrooms
for young children
where they begin
to discover and grow a love of learning
about the world near and far
every experience
preparing them for what is beyond
this comforting place
they call school.
—
“the limit of your present understanding
is not the limit of your possibilities.”
-guy finley
Dec6
inspiration everywhere.
beginning
and ending
a beautiful day spent in chicago.
—
“inspiration comes from everywhere:
books, art, people on the street.
it is an interior process for me.”
-colleen atwood
Dec5
hearing.
I have a strong feeling
that olive has a strong feeling
about me leaving for a few days.
I hear you.
—
“the most important thing in communication
is hearing what isn’t said.”
-peter trucker
I didn't have my glasses on.... 