The Sweetest Community Act

My sister Carrie started back to work last week at Hubbel Elementary after being out for 10 weeks for her double mastectomy. All the cancer was successfully removed and she had a lot of love and support whilst recovering, so recovery went well. Just like that it's done. Hard to imagine in those early stages of hard times that one day in the future you'll walk out of it and keep moving on and it'll be done with. She faced one of the most terrifying ailments we can be struck with, but she stayed absolutely positive and stoic and rarely complained throughout those darker, painful days. Last week when she walked into her office at the school--she's the principal there--taped to her window were 18 pictures, one from every class. And in those pictures were all the kids from Hubbel wearing pink shirts and smiling huge. Another photo was taken of all the staff and teachers at the school, again all donning pink shirts. Just as the tears were starting to prick her eyes, the doors were opened and all the hundreds of kids started filing into the school, every single one of them wearing pink shirts and welcoming back Mrs. Belt. That kind of community action will no doubt impact all those kids, inspiring them to be kind and supportive to those in need, and I imagine they will all remember that day and what they were a part of just as my sister will always remember. Here's to a long life of remembering.

Everything Will Be

I love fall the most of all the seasons--the crisp, spice-like scent, the harvest, the evening light on a hillside, the cooler temps. It's in the air now. All summer I've been so caught up with moving and remodeling and a mountain of stress unlike any I've known that I did what is so easy to do--I lost myself. I became a shell and made no time to get back into being, to do the things and the thinking that give me a sense of purpose. I still feel like there's no time, and it amazes me how much busier my days are with Fisher in school full time--all the extra driving and errands. We're not on our own schedule anymore, we're caught in the shuffle. But this air has given me pause. Soon the leaves will turn and fall from their boughs, grounding the way I also need grounding. For me that means more walks, more woods, and simply more looking--the fuel for the thoughts that inspire my writing and make me feel connected. It means finding the balance in my days so that I don't solely exist as one who carts, cleans, cooks, and cares for kids. We are many things to different people, but sometimes we forget what we are to ourselves. And it's okay, as long as we recognize that disconnect and work to improve it. It can be as simple as making a little space each day to do something for yourself. I've been struck by this thought lately--you do yourself a disservice when you think you're supposed to be happy all the time. Life isn't always going to be great, and it's hardest when you think you're supposed to be happy and can't obtain it at every turn. I'm realizing it's better to strive to be comfortable with being, no matter the swirl of the seas we all face. Not complacent, but content in knowing that things will get better eventually. Everything will be alright.