Live Each Day as if it were Your Last!

Is it just the start of fall, the beginning of the school year, or the impending snow that inevitably gets me into a funk every year? I have seen this occur with many of my friends, so I do think the seasonal variations definitely have something to do with it.

This is my 22nd year of teaching. I can't believe it. Where has the time gone? And I feel this itch that I need to be doing something a bit different. I said to Jeff, "I wish being a yoga teacher paid as well as a public school teacher." Because quite honestly, I'd get my yoga certification in a heart beat.

But honestly, what is keeping me from getting it now? Most likely the cost factor. I have looked at the 200 hour courses and it seems to me to be cost prohibitive at the moment. My heart is truly there...but, knowing what I do about mindfulness, I need to be present in my life right here, right now.

This past summer I attended a program offered through the Illinois Writing Project. It changed the way I view myself as a writer and how I teach my students to value their ideas and get them on paper. This also has gotten me to think of offering professional development to different school districts, but you know that thing--Money?! Seems that school districts, too, are hanging on to all they have, like me.

That great saying that says 'Live each day as if it were your last'. Not sure I have the energy to do that. But here's what I'd do:

• I'd practice yoga 1 1/2 hours a day in a beautiful, peaceful room in my house
• Take long walks with my family
• Watch funny movies often
• Go to all the yoga retreats I could find
• Explore all the exciting places in the U.S. with my family before my kids get too old to want to spend time with their parents
• Learning more crocheting techniques. I'm 1/3 of the way done with my first afghan and I crocheted my first mitten--albeit it could fit the Hulk!

The list could go on and on. Remembering to do this is completely another thing all together. And here's the thing I really need to remember. There will be good days, bad days, days in which you are grateful that the day is over, and days that you wish were more of. What I do know is this: there will always be change. It's how I choose to react to it that will determine my peace of mind. Namaste.

Starting to Emerge into Youthful Yogini

This has been a year of many trials and tribulations, but also many wonderful gifts. As it so happens, 13 is my lucky number, and it does not surprise me that the changes being made have happened in this year.
For years I have been struggling to find balance with my family, in my work, play, gardening, alone-time, theater (also being a board member to the theater group that I'm a part of). To start, I had to give up a part in a summer play, because the balance in my family life was way off kilter. That, in itself, was a wise decision. The growth my family and I have made has been a blessing, though the journey has not been an easy one. But the pressures we've endured have certainly made us a stronger, tightly-knit family. Here are the lessons I have learned to date:

• Fake it til you make it, and act as if
• I do not control my destiny...I only play my part
• I do the next right thing without being attached to the outcome
• I always left my doors unlocked to show to myself that I trusted the universe to keep me safe. Now I am safe, so I will lock my doors.
• My higher power (inner guide, subconscious mind, raw intellect, God, whatever you may call it, I just choose to call it my higher power) had to wear me out so that I could see what was right in front of me.
• I need Mrs. Biddlebox. Great children's book. Check it out.
• I finally have stopped caring what people think of me (for the most part anyway).
• I have allowed change (death of certain ways of life) in my life and the fear does not control me as it did before.
• I've learned how to stop seeking permission to be happy.
• And PLAY! My kids and I have been having so much fun. My husband just smiles and occasionally shakes his head. Jeff, my love, my life, my partner...that's what I've finally rediscovered.

Namaste.