“poetry is plucking at the heartstrings, and making music with them”
– dennis gabor
—
photo credit: vermont garden journal
when in london many years ago
i happened upon these two in a park
struck by the natural warmth between them
i took this picture without their knowing
hoping i could somehow capture
the closeness
the easy comfort
between them
in that moment in time
it was simply impossible to do so
but every time i look at this
it makes me feel that warmth again
just for a moment.
—
“there is a certain phase in the life of the aged
when the warmth of the heart seems to increase in direct proportion with the years.”
-john phillips marquand
doing virtual early childhood parent-teacher conferences online
did not feel natural
but i give parents so much credit
some went to elaborate lengths
to find a space and time
where their child wouldn’t find them
so we could openly talk
and share stories
about how their child
touched our hearts this year
we talked to parents
in a closet, in a basement, up in an attic room,
and those who sent their child off on an errand
some waited until their child was asleep at night
but one thing was the same
this was a wonderful group of supportive, think-on-their-feet parents
who kept our connection with their children going
even from a distance
as we all navigated our way through this uncharted territory
and we were so lucky to have them as our teaching and learning partners this year.
—
“in a world where the great technologies enable us to record, replay, cut and paste, zoom in, and delete –
listening is the crucial commitment to keep the heart touchable.”
-mark nepo
—
photo credit: bored panda
Beneath The Sweater And The Skin
How many years of beauty do I have left?
she asks me.
How many more do you want?
Here. Here is 34. Here is 50.
When you are 80 years old
and your beauty rises in ways
your cells cannot even imagine now
and your wild bones grow luminous and ripe,
having carried the weight
of a passionate life.
When your hair is aflame
with winter
and you have decades of
learning and leaving and loving
sewn into
the corners of your eyes
and your children come home
to find their own history
in your face.
When you know what it feels like to fail
ferociously
and have gained the
capacity
to rise and rise and rise again.
When you can make your tea
on a quiet and ridiculously lonely afternoon
and still have a song in your heart
Queen owl wings beating
beneath the cotton of your sweater.
Because your beauty began there
beneath the sweater and the skin,
remember?
This is when I will take you
into my arms and coo
YOU BRAVE AND GLORIOUS THING
you’ve come so far..
I see you.
Your beauty is breathtaking.
—
Credits: Author: Jeannette Encinias, Studio Yuki Photography, Thank you Russ Thomas
as we watched
the big kids perform
‘a christmas carol’
the kinder
kept whispering
and asking
‘why is that man so mean?’
‘why is he so crabby?’
‘how can he be that mean?’
I told them that later in the play
mr. scrooge’s heart will grow
and he will learn to be nice
just like what happened to the grinch
it made my own heart grow
to think about
their innocence
their naturally kind and compassionate state of being
how they could not even begin to imagine
why someone would choose to be mean.
—
‘i think being nice is more important than being clever.’
-ricky gervais
I find it simply impossible
to sit through
one single episode of
‘undercover boss’
without tears rolling down my face
or to watch
one rerun of
‘the office’
without laughing out loud.
my daughters have said
that most of my own stories
end with me
either crying or laughing.
apparently
my heart is the real boss of me.
—
“Sometimes you have to take a break from being the kind of boss
that’s always trying to teach people things.
Sometimes you just have to be the boss of dancing.”
(Season 2, Episode 11) The Office – Michael Scott (Steve Carrell)
—
image credit: nbc tv/comedy central – the office