Tag: gratitude

I haven’t had time like this for ages and I love it. Andy has worked this week, the kids have been mostly occupied outside the house and it has just been Ella and I mooching around the house. I have It is great to have no set agenda and to be able to just potter about from one project or chore to another.
I have listened to Kate Bush. The family bought me the new CD Aerial for my birthday but they complain loudly when I listen to it, so it has been great to having it blaring with no complaints.
I have resumed work on my mosaic table and come up with a design I really like. Nearly two years ago I began it and managed to complete the border and then I was stuck. I had some ideas about what I wanted but no real clear vision. The other night in bed, it all came together in my head. Tom had been using the incomplete table for the computer upstairs and now that Asha has her own computer he has moved his into the desk in his bedroom. Ah the luxury of wireless! Anyway whilst I was cleaning up there I noticed the now vacant half finished table and thought, I must finish that, as you do. Then I got the vision in bed and now I am steaming along each night whilst I watch TV, crunching up tiles and positioning and I am delighted with how it is coming together. I will put a photo up when I have finished, but in the meantime, here is the photo of the mask I made at school last year. Another thing I said I’d do but hadn’t got around to it.
It is like a spiral of completions. I have noticed this before, once you start making positive progress in keeping agreements or completing things, it creates like a current taking you further into that direction with more force and ease. It is a good spiral.

Swimming Carnival and the week that was…

February 10, 2006

johblogs

reflection No Comments

Yesterday we had the annual swimming carnival. It was a washout. I got wet to the bone. This week has been a long one. All the illness in my home has skirted around me and I have felt it creep closer from time to time. My new routines of eating fruit and vegetables and taking vitamins and exercising and drinking plenty of water have protected me well. It has not quite penetrated my health to the extent of really stopping me.
I am reading a book of short stories called “Black Juice” by Margo Lanagan. It is delightful. When I got it out of the library at the senior campus last year, with the intention of reading it over the holidays, the librarian said the young person who had been the one and only borrower had given it a 5/10 and she didn’t expect much of it. I guess that is why I have not rushed into it, although I had read many positive reviews. In my mind I put it in the category of those things that get good reviews because they are all buddies and afraid to tell each other the truth. I usually trust the opinions of the children around me before the ‘experts’ or ‘acclaimed’. In this case I judged wrongly.
This week has passed well. I thought it had been a dull week until I came to write about it. I had a lovely pizza dinner with family and friend last night. It was a great combo of good food, funny, often interrupted stories and much laughter. We were fare welling my daughters best friend who is heading off to Wodonga to study. It was an enjoyable evening although underneath the laughter and smiles, I felt sad to be setting her off into the world. I had that sense that things would never be the same again. So many nights she has spent laughing and being ridiculous, always spontaneously and rarely planned. It is right that they should grow up and pursue their own lives but that is the pain of young people growing up . When they are successful and grown they leave.
I also brought home a ceramic mask I made last year after school. I made the mask at an after school workshop. I was pretty cranky whilst I was putting it together and I really enjoyed the process as a distraction from the hurt I was feeling at the time. It turned out well. One day when I am not tired and lazy (as I am right now) I will put a photo of it on this blog.

Daylight Saving – don’t you just love it.

February 2, 2006

johblogs

reflection No Comments

Tonight we went for a walk down town at around 7.00pm. We walked through the park. It was mild and the light was perfect. I really appreciate the summer and daylight saving. It gives life a leisurely feel. There is time to enjoy the stroll down town, and still achieve a bit of housework and cook a worthwhile meal after work.
I had a good day at work and met my final class. The students were all respectful and well behaved and I hope that I can ensure the classes are interesting and challenging enough to keep them this way. I do love teaching. I know I can build a good relationship with the students. I enjoy learning and improving my skills and knowledge with them. I love getting to know them as people and sharing in this small year of their lives. It is a real privilege I think to be a teacher.

Leisure time

Swimming Carnival and the week that was…

Daylight Saving – don’t you just love it.

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