planting seeds.

I'm discovering, as I become older and hopefully wiser, that there are themes that emerge for each figurative season in my life. Lately...

words to live by no.1

//San Onofre campgrounds//

I'm a California girl, always and forever, and the outdoors is my thing. Especially the ocean-side outdoors. When I was younger, we'd head south to Oceanside for a week at a time share in a complex with its own entrance to the ocean. That was one of my favorite weeks of the year, second only to the Christmas holidays and my birthday week. I didn't have very much to stress about then, but still, that week was pure relaxation. That week was home-cooked meals with a few early morning walks to the cafe sprinkled in. That week was about doing whatever felt good - starting a book on the patio and finishing it in the afternoon on the beach, journaling the same way, heading to the jacuzzi for an hour after the sunset because the warm water felt so soothing after the saltiness of the ocean.

This last year, we did a little bit of camping. Camping is a lot of work, packing and prepping. It's not always comfortable - we've haven't yet splurged on an air mattress for inside our tiny 2-person tent. But camping is magical. It's all earth and sea and salt and wind. Camping is earthiness and groundedness and being completely present. Camping is so in the moment - rugged and cool and rough around the edges. I love it. It's one of my favorite parts of summer to just sleep on the dirt for a couple of days.

It's practically summer in China, and the closest we've gotten to the ocean was our visit to Hong Kong. We're worlds away from the OC, but I'm holding on to those lessons from the beach. Watch. Listen. Breathe. Feel. Present.

Awake.

"It’s all a matter of paying attention, being awake in the present moment, and not expecting a huge payoff. The magic in this world seems to work in whispers and small kindnesses."

—Charles de Lint

quote via this is glamorous

I like the idea of this, this taking advantage of the present. This being awake.
Because my work day is broken into 40 minute periods, I have a hyperawareness of time. I value this time. I know how much I can get done in just five minutes.
And so the days go by slowly, and so do the weeks.
And nothing big happens, except that each week, I get the work done that I need to do.
I like working. I like feeling like I've accomplished something with my day, even just a lot of little things. It's about using the time that God gave me. It's about putting my head down and doing what I'm here to do. And then, it's about looking up and appreciating the sunshine. And the students who say hi in the hallway. And the solitude of that afternoon getaway to Starbucks where the barista makes the latte perfectly, extra hot and frothed to the brim.