A list will be easy, I thought.
Just jot down 23 thoughts for 2023, I told myself. Weeks later, I am trying to finish the list! You can find the first installment here and the second installment here. But now, finally, the last thoughts for this list.... 14- Apparently geometry has been the area of math that everyone has given up on in the pandemic. When my current third grade students were in kindergarten, schools closed down in March. During online teaching, with all that kindergarteners need to know, geometry didn't make the cut. Fast forward to first grade, when some students were learning remotely and others were in school behind glass shields, wearing masks. Gaps had to be filled from the year before and geometry was the least of our worries people! Second grade....I can only imagine it was the same story- this time with everyone back in the building though and no glass shields. Our school i-Ready data shows that no one knows geometry. So now I'm thinking of how can I bring in geometry concepts at other times of the day to shore this up a bit? (Math friends- s hare ideas!) 15- My children are so much more skilled and talented than I ever was- at least, athletically. My son, Alex, is super fast and does well in all the sports he plays. My daughter, Megan, loves to horseback ride and recently started ice skating and rollerskating. I could never even stand in skates. I loathed the roller rink, but on Friday night, there she was, zipping around the rink on her light up skates even though she hasn't really ever roller skated. I'm so glad they are both like this. 16-I am trying to unlearn many things about eating and how I feel about my body. It is new and different to not feel guilty for eating things like cookies or fries. The guilt still shows up but I try to tell it that there is no reason to feel badly about myself as a human being for eating a cookie or a french fry. My whole life, from a young age, I have been on a quest to change the way I eat and the way my body looks. Now, at 43, I am embracing a new mindset. I am loving what is (or trying to) without the constant quest to make myself smaller. I am teaching myself that food is neutral and eating it makes you neither good or bad. It is harder than you think to undo these lifetime thought patterns. 17- I have crazy dreams at night- almost every night. There is no pattern with the dreams other than they are weird and usually stressful in some way. I'm wondering if I engage in some type of meditation at night if this will stop. I am open to any solutions anyone has on ways to calm your mind at night to have more peaceful sleep. 18- I've received a Grand Jury summons and will need to call in later this week to see if I need to go to court. A librarian atm y school was on Grand Jury for over a month. There is a chance I can be selected and away from my school for weeks. I've never done another job except teaching since being 22 years old so it would be interesting to see how the courts are and experience something different for a short period of time. 19- My sister and I took part in a Vision Board workshop this weekend. It was so much fun. I came to the workshop feeling like I don't really have a vision anymore for myself. My whole life- I wanted to be a teacher and a mom. I've been those things for a while now and I don't know what else to strive for. I was surprised that what came through during this exercise was a lot of ideas on framing my thoughts, choosing grace and happiness, looking for the silver linings, and embracing the ideas of self worth. These are what spilled across the page of my vision board. 20- My sister's vision board fit her perfectly- fashion, fine food, wine, fun, with sprinklings of gratitude and positive mindset. It was so funny to me how our vision boards did really express who we currently are as well as what we hope life will be like for us. She is a breast cancer survivor and that experience has reshaped how she views the world in a lot of ways. No time or reason to sweat the small stuff. 21- I always thought dogs were adorable, but after my son was badly hurt by one years ago, I really hated dogs. They were everywhere and I despised them and resented their presence. It makes it all the more wild to me that I love our dog, Teddy, with a fierceness that is hard to describe. We got Teddy in December of 2020- and adorable, gentle muppet-like cavapoo. He has brought our family so much joy and healing. We are all free to love dogs again- especially our Teddy. Holding him, stroking his soft curly fur- he brings joy to my days. It goes to show, you really can always change your mind. 22- I used to think it didn't matter if you didn't attend a wake or a funeral for someone you knew who lost a loved one. I figured they would not notice either way who is there. But after my own losses and hard times, I absolutely always knew who was there and never forgot w ho showed up. So now I try to show up. I try to attend wakes or funerals when someone I know has lost someone they love. I've learned that it really is important to do that. 23- I am aware of time passing yet also aware that the days right now are really precious. My son is 12 and my daughter almost 10. They are older but still little- still under my roof- still kids. In the next ten years, they will be adults- either in college or just out of it if that's their path. Ten years ago, my son was 2 and my daughter just about to be born. Wasn't that yesterday? And also forever ago? It reminds me not to waste these days and moments. Carpe Diem. I made it! Whew! Next week, I can start a new topics! :)
8 Comments
I really enjoyed reading your thoughtful reflections, and I'm intrigued by your vision board experience. I feel like I'm at a crossroads in my life and wonder how exploring this idea might shed some light. Each of your posts contains the seed for a more in-depth post. Maybe you can explore some of them in March! (which has me wondering if I should start a reflective list to amp up my store of ideas!)
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Sally Donnelly
1/24/2023 03:37:37 am
In my opinion, you now have 23 "seeds". I'd return to the ones you want and craft a small moment out of each. I think you'd stick with this writing if you just wrote a bit each week. AND now you have a great l-o-n-g list of ideas. Happy Writing!!
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Erika Victor
1/24/2023 04:01:59 am
This series has been fun to follow. How did you choose what made the cut?
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Glenda M. Funk
1/24/2023 05:57:36 am
There’s so much here and in the previous two posts. No wonder it took a long time to list everything. First, I love the way Teddy has brought healing and love to your family. And yes, time is fleeting and scary! I can relate to the food struggles. I try to let health govern my food choices. It’s harder as I age. I don’t k ow how to solve those geometry problems, but I think schools have to focus on reading, writing, arithmetic and center play and social justice w/in those. I worry about kids and wonder if in the desire to let kids be free we’ve missed the freedom that comes from learning self-control and self-discipline.
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1/24/2023 07:01:25 am
Love this - Kathleen! Want to try 23 for 23 myself. Love the vision board idea too! Thank you!
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Wait, what?! Geometry fell by the wayside? YIKES. I would've thought it would have been something like probablity or graphing. I'm gobsmacked. Maybe it's because Isabelle was at the beginning of a geometry unit when the world shut down and I had to take over. (Remember how kind you were to share some resources with me?) I thought we'd never finish geometry, but we did!
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Dawn
1/24/2023 03:35:48 pm
I've been neglecting my "job" as reader of many slices. I love the idea you had, and now saw to completion, to jot down 23 thoughts for the year 2023. I admire that you stuck with it over the course of a few weeks. I'm so happy to hear that you are enjoying the fry and working towards that positive self! In my mind, I only know you through these posts, you are fabulous, just the way you are. Isn't it fun to admire what your children can do that you could never do at their age -- it's one the gifts of motherhood! Now, I'm off to find 1-13 of your list! Thanks for sharing and being you!
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I've loved reading your 23 for 23, even though this may be the first time I've left a comment.
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