Gratitude for People Day 7

I am grateful for Merryn and James. They make me see the world through kids’ eyes. They challenge me to be better, more understanding and patient. To not give up on love. I am crazy about them, my sweethearts. 

Gratitude for People Day 6

I am grateful for my parents. They are my rock, my everything. Everything I value most—reading, taking care of my body and health, being wise with money, political activism, integrity, caring for others, comes from them. I am also grateful for Yenny Alemán, a wonderful student I had at TC Williams for summer school and my one year there. She just popped up on Facebook and we talked a little last night. 

Gratitude for People Day 5

I appreciate everyone at the Elizabeth Mascia Child Care Center. I can’t believe we were able to find such a committed and loving community for our kids, to be like a second family for them. 

Gratitude for People Day 4

I am grateful that the brilliant Stacey Abrams will deliver the Democratic response to Trump’s state of the Union address. Can’t wait to see her speak again!

Gratitude for People Day 3

I am grateful for Catherine for being one of the best friends a person could have. For making the effort and always caring. For helping me remember my young, single life. For being a damn smart lady. 

Muhiyidin D’Baha

Last year during some WLC journaling I wrote about a Black Lives Matter activist who once grabbed a confederate flag out of the hands of a racist man, and later was murdered. I wanted to remember his name and then I didn’t look it up. I wanted to correct that omission today so I found it. His name was Muhiyidin D’Baha. 

We need to know people’s names, and say them. And remember them. Muhiyidin D’Baha’s life mattered. Say his name.

Gratitude for People Day 2

I got to spend some quality time this weekend with three new friends (one, a new friend as of today), all women: Ginny, Rachel, and Bridget. These are all moms of friends of Merryn and James. I often feel I never have time to talk with people—other adults—for any extended period, but I got to have real conversations with all three of them this weekend. Rachel invited me to come to a Quaker meeting with their family and I really enjoyed going there and seeing what that was about. It is certainly different from the religious tradition I grew up with, and has some appealing aspects. One main feature is silence; people speak “as the spirit moves them,” so to speak. There is no leader in the room. All are equal. Today, people responded to a text, but apparently that is not always the case. Anyway, I appreciated that all three of them shared a little bit of their lives with me this weekend. 

Gratitude for People Day 1

My colleagues and students impress me every day with their creativity and dedication, but the project one of our art teachers, Regina Ihsus, had our students present this week blew me away. One of their graduation requirements is a native language portfolio. So Regina had each student research an artist (visual, literary, or performing) from their home country, write the person's biography in both one of their native languages and in English, make a video of themselves discussing their artist with a friend in their native language, and then make their own artwork inspired by their artist. Many of them did pencil drawings of their artist, but some created art in the same style as the artist. Their final step was to present their project to a panel of teachers. 

Seeing the students' excitement about presenting an artist of their own choice, from their homeland, and sharing their artworks with us, was one of my favorite experiences I have had as a teacher. You could see each student showing great pride, interest, and enthusiasm for their projects. I think they felt deeply respected to have been asked to do this project, which honored their cultures and personal interests. 

As for me, I got to get a little bit of an international art history education just by watching the presentations. I heard the music of Andrea Bocelli (Italy), heard about the stories of Veronique Tadjo (Ivory Coast), heard the music of Anthony Santos and Lapiz Conciente (DR) and Yousso N'Dour (Senegal), saw the sculptures of Fernando Botero (Colombia) and the paintings of Oswaldo Guayasamin (Ecuador), and read the poetry of Mustafa Wahibi Al-Tal (Jordan) and Abdullah Al-Baradouni (Yemen). It was a pleasure to hear about them.

New Year challenges

The things that stop me from reaching my goals, or falling back after I reach them, are dépression, fatigue, and lack of confidence. So I need to have a plan in advance for what to do when those things inevitably hit me. And, I need to also be ok with just relaxing and not always having to be getting stuff done. 

New Year 2019

My goal for this year is to make getting good sleep a top priority. With sleep I can accomplish all other goals. 

I also want to end the year with at least $20,000 in my savings account. 

Those are my year-long goals. But I also would like to try making 60-day goals, 6 times this year. So for my first 60 days, my goals are:

A. Follow my running plan so that I am able to run 9 miles on Feb. 23

B. Run 130 miles

C. Read one book

D. End the period with $15,500

E. Complete the Whole Life Challenge 

I would like to make a goal that has to do with writing, reflection, and better and more authentic communication. But I have not done a good job sustaining efforts like that, so I need to find a goal that’s realistic and that I’ll actually stick with. I think the goals above meet that criteria, because I have been able to do them before. 

Pictures January 1, 2019