The Band

Shane(bass guitar) and Alec(electric guitar) and Nathan(drums)
Nathan and Jake(electric guitar)
Alec and Nathan
The quality of my photography leaves something to be desired...but the guys are top notch! Oh, the name of the band is "Why Johnny Can't Read". Clever.

"One can never consent to creep
when one feels an impulse to soar."
Helen Keller

My First Paycheck...

in over 21 years! O Happy Day! Can you see my name? In case you can't see the amount, it is a whopping SIX DOLLARS AND 74 CENTS! This check, minus FICA and Medicare of course, is for the substitute teacher training I attended. There are many great reasons to teach, but money is not one of them! Nevertheless, I was pretty excited about my first check... even if the amount is miniscule.

48 Hours...

at a "Beginning Experience" weekend resulted in the following:
new friendships
lightbulb moments
tears
laughter
new ways of thinking
forgiveness
chocolate
clarity
hope
AND a spring in my step!

Guess where I went today!

Daddy

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Maya Angelou

Sunday Scenes

STEAKS...cooked to perfection!
SEAMSTRESS Nicole...diligently sewing as Nathan and Christy look on.
SERENE Ana...journaling in the gazebo.

Seen and Heard...

Today I was the substitute teacher for five classes of 11th grade US History. Most of the 50 minutes was taken up with attendance, instructions and a test. These 11th graders were a piece of cake compared to last weeks 2nd graders. I have observed that boys talk more than girls...be they 2nd graders or 11th graders.
First Male student: Do you like music?
Me: Sure!
First Male student: Do you like rap?
Me: Mmmm, not really...mostly because I know a lot of it has bad language.
Second male student: Do you like country western?
Me: Yes, I grew up dancing to country western.
First Male student: I can teach you to dance rap. Wanna learn? (He is dancing)
Me: Nah, that's ok and how about sitting down in your chair.
************
Me: I am a really mean substitute and I will take up your test paper
if you talk while testing.
Male Student: No, you aren't mean...you are pretty.
Me: OK, I'm not mean but I will take up your test paper if you are talking!
************
Me: After everyone turns in their tests, y'all may talk QUIETLY till the bell.
Male Student: What do you consider "quiet"?
Me: Quiet enough that the teacher next door doesn't come in to see what the ruckus is about .
Male Student: OK, cool...

Me and Melanie at the Ambrosia Tea Room. I had Avocado Chicken Salad and Cream of Asparagus soup. Good food...great company!

A Few Of My Favorite Things!

Christy's first clarinet lesson.

Nathan, Christy and Ana hamming it up for the camera!

My recent lab results...with "A++" kudos from my doctor!

"In my practice and my personal life, I have found that all negative patterns of behavior and emotion are due to unexamined pain from the past intruding into the present.
When people commit to finding and feeling that pain, they invariably learn they can not only survive it but benefit from it. They learn that their pain, from which they have tried so hard to run, is indeed their true source of power."
Keith Ablow, MD

Bleu, Blue, Bleu

Texas Longhorns!

This morning, Nicole(and her great b/f, Charlie) and I moved a bunch of her belongings into the Taos Coop in Austin. The location is ideal...right across the street from the University of Texas campus...and I think Nicole will be very happy there. We discovered that her co-op is just a hop, skip and a jump from the co-op I lived in 28 years ago. Small World. Here's Nicole with her new roomate, Asha. Turns out they are both psychology majors and middle children and well, I suspect they have lots in common. Go Get Em, Nicole!

Be Lights For Each Other...

"The world needs all of our power
and love and energy,
and each of us has something that we can give.
The trick is to find it and use it,
to find it and give it away.
So there will always be more.
We can be lights for each other,
and through each other's illumination
we will see the way.
Each of us is a seed,
a silent promise,
and it is always spring."
Merle Shan

What's in your stack?

Self-Portrait

Anxiously...note furrowed brow...considering my next step. Turns out it was a step full of promise.

Rejuvenate

Rejuvenate:
a : to make young or youthful again b: give new vigor to c: to restore to an original or new state

Yesterday, I was able to spend 24 hours with a couple of dear friends and rejuvenate my spirit. This "Bucket Full Of Fun"...sweetly prepared by one friend's daughter-in-law... was packed with delicious food, a fun game, cards, fingernail polish of course! and lots of love. I am thankful that for 24 hours I was able to laugh, cry, talk and dream of a brighter tommorrow. "Rejuvenation" is a good follow-up to "melancholy".

Melancholy

Melancholy...depression of spirits, dejection, a pensive mood

Melancholy is the word that comes to mind as I consider this little girl sitting in a bone-dry bird bath. She holds a shell as if waiting to hear something...she's been waiting for a very long time. Whenever I go to the lakehouse I think, "something needs to be done about her." Then I walk on by.
Last weekend I stopped. I sat down on the grass and took her picture. I let myself feel the melancholy emotions she evokes in me. I knew the "shell" had a message for me but I didn't hear it until just now. I heard, "Don't keep walking by your emotions, Susan. Stop and think about them. Name them. Do the hard work of listening to and healing your spirit."
I will. I am.

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step."
Chinese Proverb

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And Wisdom to know the difference.