Things I Love About Spring Break 2009

1. The color green
At this time of year, everything is bursting forth ready to bloom. My deck garden resembles a little green carpet. It is all I can do not to take my shoes off and wiggle my toes in its green lushness. Even the weeds look good.

2. Time
All my breaks from school bring an awareness of time. This one has made me realize that the more time I have the less I waste. When I am at work I am constantly thinking about things I need to do when I'm not working. Someday I will learn to write these things down instead of having to remember to think about them again when I am not at work so they can be addressed. While I've been home this week I was able to deal with anything that popped into my head and then still had time to enjoy the pleasures of life. It is an interesting thing, the more time I have the less I waste but the less time I have the more I waste. It just doesn't make sense.

3. Watching the rhythm of the world around me
I am fascinated by the view outside my front window. People come and go in their cars on a regular basis. The older people take their walks at about the same time everyday. The sun makes its journey across the sky changing the light patterns inside my house. I am lulled into some sense of relaxation simply by the regularity of it all.

4. Time to face issues of my life with some sense of logic
I am able to address problems that need to be dealt with in my life with something more than a knee jerk reaction. My money/car thing still hangs over my head but I can process it with a little more in-depth reaction. Perhaps it's just the ability to look at things with a broader vision. The world is not coming to an end. I can still afford to eat and drink. I have a roof over my head. And there is even a car in the driveway. If not, that little red bicycle would love to go for a ride.

5. Sunshine
I am a great lover of light. Even despite the high winds of the past couple days, I have deeply enjoyed the longer and brighter light of April in Santa Clara. Recently I have had thoughts that I could live quite happily in Florida where it's lighter for more of the year. Would I miss the changing of the seasons? Would I appreciate the increase in light without the darkness it must overcome?

6. Looking back
Spring break is a time where there isn't much left of the school year so it's a little frightening to look forward. 39 days isn't long to finish off the curriculum that must be done before these kids are sent to 7th grade. So it is a great time to look back at where I started 8 or 9 months ago. I knew so little about middle school coming in, so I am pleasantly surprised to still be so happy about the move up. On one level I feel incredibly lucky to have landed so softly. But I also know that the experiences of my past have prepared me for where I am today. Lucky me.

7. The approval to do nothing
As I get older I give myself the permission to "waste" time. This is not part of my Iowa upbringing so it has been a huge hurdle to overcome. I can know sit on the couch for an hour or so and read fiction. I can sit on the deck for longer than it takes to eat lunch or dinner and just sit.

8. Taking the time to walk
The days have very few scheduled events so I can take the time to walk to the store or the bank or wherever I need to go - even to La Paloma for that Cadillac Margarita with dear friends.

9. Cooking
I take the time to cook breakfast everyday and actually plan a menu for lunch and dinner. I have tried out a few new recipes this week and loved them all. I love the adventure of assembling ingredients and the voila feeling of when it's done. The first taste is a total sensory experience.

10. Reconnecting
I have enjoyed hanging out with my friends and family. Bill's Cafe, the aforementioned La Paloma, Easter Brunch, Barefoot Coffee, phone calls to celebrate birthdays and just because I'm thinking of you. It is that reminder that we were put here together to be in relationship with one another.

I am extremely grateful for all I have been given. Time is clearly the theme of this break. It is all we have and it is up to us to determine how it will be spent. Alone/together Working/playing Sitting and breathing/Walking and thinking I love my job not only for the actual work I do but for the time I am given away from it.
Christmas break,
February break,
Spring break
It is in the time spent reflecting that I can become better at what I do not only at school but in the world. The person I am becoming comes to me in the quiet times. I give thanks for the peacefulness that currently resides in my heart and guides me forward. I am calm. I am serene. I am happy to be in the place at this time.