Dig Deep and Find Joy

This particular season in life has a lot of care-taking and a lot of deadlines. Between parenting an active 22-month-old learning to use the toilet and wrapping up a school year, this is a full season in life. To be clear, I love being a mom and a teacher. But the end of the school year is full of the combination of special events, administrative tasks, and grading. Plus this year, with Covid, we have some intermittent returns to hybrid teaching and the end of the year looks different than it typically does.

I'm finding it easy to focus on how much energy this requires and miss all the joy that is a part of this moment too. Lately, I keep coming back to this phrase: dig deep, and find joy. When I come home and focus on what funny thing Avi is doing or being really silly with her, I feel more joy and connection with her. When I focus on planning fun end-of-the-year projects that feel meaningful for my students and connecting with them, all the administrative tasks feel more doable.

If I can find that little extra kernel of energy to bring to the situation, everything else goes more smoothly, and I'm able to see all the good that is part of this moment too. Do you have any phrases that you come back too during busy or challenging situations in life? I'd be curious to hear them!

Comments

Adventures Big & Small

Photos from a recent adventure I just started listening to Tranquility by Tuesday by Laura Vanderkam, and one of the ideas she mentioned was planning 2 adventures each week: one big and one small. As I was listening to her describe the rule, I thought about what I had planned this week and realized that I had a few adventures planned without thinking of them in that way. It really helped shift my mindset to realize that I do have some fun and novel things planned, and I'm curious to experiment with adding this to the routine, particularly as we are settling into a new city. I feel like I've plateaued a bit the last few weeks even though things are finally starting to feel settled down. I hit a point where I missed our Colorado friends and my old job, even if I feel like this move and taking time to be at home is right for us in the long run. Thinking through new adventures in this new phase of life is a way to balance some of this feel...

Two November Experiments

Avi as a strawberry for Halloween. Since I'm feeling a bit more in a routine work and schedule wise, I've decided to try two experiments this month. I've been thinking about both of them for a while, and I think I have the bandwidth to try them out this month. Experiment #1: The Seven Minute Workout I struggle to get into exercise routines. It's not my highest priority, but I always do feel more energetic on the days I exercise. I've decided to do the seven minute HIIT workout everyday in November to see how it feels. It definitely gets my heart rate up without feeling too hard, and it's easy to fit in right before I shower in the morning. Although I've done this workout intermittently, I'm curious to see what it feels like to make this a daily habit. Experiment #2: Time Block Planning at Work Attempt #1 I read Deep Work by Cal Newport earlier this year, and I've also been listening to his podcast recently. In both...

What I Want to Remember (Avi at One Year)

It's hard to keep up with our forever changing, on the move girl! Her first birthday was on Monday. I want to take a moment to capture what it's like to have a one-year-old, and what Avi is like at this age. In the midst of all that is uncertain in this moment, I want to hold on to some of these memories, especially because she changes so quickly! I want to remember: Avi's first word yesterday--Mama. ❤ how she loves to drum on everything and is constantly moving. her love of all berries and the way she looks intently into your eyes when she signs "more." the way she loves to take things out of containers (like drawers, boxes, cabinets etc.). her love of the outdoors and fascination with pine cones, grass, and flowers. her laugh and smile when she is on the swing. the way she looks up to find airplanes and birds in the sky. how much she loves to read, turn pages, and point to things...

Eye to Wonder

Search This Blog