Life is short...

*Disclaimer, I know I've been totally neglecting the blog but I promise I will get back on the bandwagon... After all we have a 3 day overnight field trip this week you'll want to hear all about it!*

Recently my family lost someone special. My great-aunt in the words of her wonderful sister "went up". With Muzz passing I realized how important it is to create special bonds and relationships with people. That includes teachers and students. It isn't just about how you see the world but sometimes it's about how the world sees you. I have always been a supporter of not making decisions because of other people but in the overall scheme of life you want people to remember the good things. Muzz was an absolutely amazing person. She was a great "other" grandmother and I will always cherish my memories of her. Being sisters with Mema, my grandmother, I got to see a how close relationships function with strength and caring. Even into their later years with their mental struggles they continued to talk all the time and see each other as often as possible. I love that about them. Sure, sometimes it's frustrating but their connection is amazing. I think maybe to a lesser degree teachers and students are the same. We as teachers should be motivating our kids so that everyday they are dying to get into the classroom and learn. Life is all about who we can touch with our own light and who touches us with theirs.

Being the emotional, caring person that I am, I worry about my grandmother now much more than I did before. Having this connection with her soulmate of some kinds broken, I cannot even begin to imagine how different her life will be. My cousin Diana is currently living with her and is experiencing first hand how hard this loss is. Especially since poor Mema relives the loss over and over again. Diana is the perfect example of a strong person, a leader,and a wonder woman. She is holding someone else's life together. I hope that when I am a teacher I can be all of those same characteristics and keep my students motivated.

I know that I'm pushing the limits of out there but with this loss I can't help feeling like we all need to be a little nicer to each other because you never really know when the end comes. So person in my apartment building who is angry about parking. I once again apologize and if it really means that much to you I will be happy to relinquish it just to keep the peace. Sometimes its the little things and if parking is a little thing for you then so be it.

Finally, I want to share one of my all time favorite poems by Rumi with you. The reason I find it to be important is because we all sometimes need to step back and realize that life is a big picture. The tiny moments make up the big portrait and maybe it's just remembering to look at those tiny moments, loving them and putting them back into the big picture.

"Out beyond the ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there. Where the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about. Ideas, Language, even the phrase "each other" doesn't make any sense."