The Sunrise Story

I've been gone from this space for a few weeks. My initial reaction to that is guilt and shame. I remind myself that these few weeks have been filled with other kinds of writing and growing and learning. I'm back now. I celebrate returning to this space that always welcomes me home.  Winter break has begun for me. I plan on posting daily here as I have lots to process and share. Today, I want to celebrate creating. It's the holiday season and that means there are gifts to give. Every year, I make a gift for my friends, family, and students. The gifts come from my heart. For my students, I create a touchstone, a talisman, that holds our class motto. Here's a picture... Students seemed to enjoy getting these small tokens. I love to watch their eyes light up at this gesture. On a group text with colleagues, I randomly asked, "What's your favorite word?" I was sneaky and made these for my team members. Their reaction was fun to see, too! My next ventu...

Yesterday was a cranky day. I felt frustrated and lonely. When I tried to turn things around, something always seemed to go wrong. Days like that frustrate me. Yesterday, I found something that brought me some joy and a little peace. I crafted. I made some word stones. I've made these before, but I wanted to test out new techniques and methods. I used my typewriter and typed up some words. I gathered my supplies and got to work. Soon, the cranky feelings were replaced with wonder and joy. I puzzled my way through making these. It's a slow process because of the drying time. I think the slow helped me. Making gave me permission to redirect my focus from frustration to creation.  When cranky days appear, I get into this negative headspace that's hard to escape. Writing helps. Walking helps. Listening to music helps. Crying helps. Yesterday, I found a new way to cope...create. Once I began making these stones, I noticed that my breath slowed down, I no...