I got it!

I got it! 

I got the job I wanted, the one I loved, the one where I really felt at home and happy. What a big sigh of relief! What a great reason to celebrate...

Missing In Action

I'm sorry I've been so MIA recently. Planes, trains, and automobiles is my new moto when people ask me what I've been up to (except maybe take out trains and insert "moving boxes"). Needless to say, I'm busy and spending very little time here with you.

But, as I was reminded this morning- soon it will be summer. And summer equals a big sigh of relief that I made it through all of this (no matter the outcome).

I'm off to LA again! Working on convincing those educational institutions that they want to hire me... Wish me luck!

xo.

Blogbooks!

As you are all well aware of by now...I'm on the move this summer. With only a tent for a home  and a backpack for a dresser, I will needless to say be a little out of touch during the months of June and July. I'll do my best to post when I can, but what I am more sad about is missing out on all the happenings of my internet reads!!! I know I know. Nell- you'll be in beautiful Northern California hiking, biking, swimming, and making art with friends and little Lost Coast campers- you don't need blogs! But still, I like my daily dose.

Thank goodness for bloggers who turn their blogging into books :) I can't wait to get my hands on both of these  so I can dive into little tidbits while I am out of service and in the wilderness. Since I don't have them yet, I can't give you book reports. But I can give you a little insight into what makes these ladies ideas and thoughts so worth reading...

My mom always taught me to write a thank you not for everything. Well, turns out Leah actually does. The way she give thanks to the little things in life is a true lesson in gratitude. And I have to say, the saying of "you can't be anxious when you are grateful" is hard to live by when one is waiting. But, she helps me remember- I have SO  much to be grateful for.

Oh and if you go here go can watch two lovely trailers for her book! Trailers for books??? Yes please and thank you!

Have I mentioned how thrilled I am about my future of year round fresh produce!?! I can only imagine the bliss I will be in to have fresh and local ingredients to make Super Natural Every Day food. Heidi's blog 101 Cookbooks is a bible of mine and as soon as I get my hands on it I will savor every fresh ingredient and beautiful picture she's got!

Happy reading- blog or books, whatever your style may be!

The way a 6th grader expresses herself...

All I could do was hug her.

The Lanyard- a day early

I'm headed out for the weekend to backpack with one of my most dearest Nashville friends. Nothing like some sweaty trail hiking to say goodbye to the ones you love.

But I had to post my annual Mother's Day poem for Mom. Especially since I won't be back till later tomorrow night. 

The Lanyard - Billy Collins

The other day I was ricocheting slowly
off the blue walls of this room,
moving as if underwater from typewriter to piano,
from bookshelf to an envelope lying on the floor,
when I found myself in the L section of the dictionary
where my eyes fell upon the word lanyard.

No cookie nibbled by a French novelist
could send one into the past more suddenly—
a past where I sat at a workbench at a camp
by a deep Adirondack lake
learning how to braid long thin plastic strips
into a lanyard, a gift for my mother.

I had never seen anyone use a lanyard
or wear one, if that’s what you did with them,
but that did not keep me from crossing
strand over strand again and again
until I had made a boxy
red and white lanyard for my mother.

She gave me life and milk from her breasts,
and I gave her a lanyard.
She nursed me in many a sick room,
lifted spoons of medicine to my lips,
laid cold face-cloths on my forehead,
and then led me out into the airy light

and taught me to walk and swim,
and I, in turn, presented her with a lanyard.
Here are thousands of meals, she said,
and here is clothing and a good education.
And here is your lanyard, I replied,
which I made with a little help from a counselor.

Here is a breathing body and a beating heart,
strong legs, bones and teeth,
and two clear eyes to read the world, she whispered,
and here, I said, is the lanyard I made at camp.
And here, I wish to say to her now,
is a smaller gift—not the worn truth

that you can never repay your mother,
but the rueful admission that when she took
the two-tone lanyard from my hand,
I was as sure as a boy could be
that this useless, worthless thing I wove
out of boredom would be enough to make us even.

Happy Mother's Day to all my favorite Mom's...especially to Ms. Jayne Adair the Fair.

For a good Mom's Day cry...

raindrop print by Jaimers

Listen to his incredible conversation...here

Every Friday morning I bawl my eyes out to this program, especially when parents are involved. I love NPR for never ceasing to make me feel such strong emotions about the relationship between child and parent. One I cherish SO much.

Love you Momma. Happy Mom's Day weekend.

Home Part III: New Old Friends Take Time

As I prepare for move #10 in my adult life (this does not count the move directly across the street that my family and I did when I was 12...) I'm thinking about the friends I am leaving and those I've already left (in physical nature of course- as most of you know, I'm a big time phone friend).

But really, it's hard...when you've got these folks that you adore inside and out. You know their mood swings, their shoe size, exactly what kind of wine they want every Saturday night, and their favorite burger at the burger joint around the corner. You know their signature lunch sandwich, their default radio station, their brand of soap, and the exact kind of chocolate they need at the end of the day. And most importantly, you know exactly how to say I love you and when you don't have to. It's hard to start over...

But! I've done it before and I can do it again. But just know that if I'm leaving you this time, I really don't want to. And if I've left you in the past, I miss the shit out of you.

Waiting...

There is really nothing worse than waiting. I know everyone says that patience is a virtue, but when it comes to your dream job I think that's just puff. Because in all reality when someone tells you they'll let you know in two weeks...it seems like eternity. 

But in the end, that's the way it goes. So now I am waiting...

Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow...
...just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
... just waiting.*

Tapping my toes, biting my finger nails, tapping my toes, biting my finger nails. 

 

*Quote from the oh so perfect Dr. Seuss and photo from only chair designer I'd be happy to wait in- Herman Miller.