Currently my family is preparing to move! The big move day is next week and one week from now we will be in a new home.
Moving is a beast. The kids are having emotions, The Builder and I are on edge, even the dog seems depressed. Our intention is to downsize and simplify, but we are renting an even smaller home as we build the next one. Many of our belongings are going to storage. We definitely aren’t getting rid of enough. The age of consumerism is bearing down on us like a Mack truck.
Right now, as I write, there are boxes and trash bags, papers and dirty dishes in almost every room of our home.
Our summer is coming to a close and we are whispering with affection, “O Routine, Routine, wherefore art thou Routine?”
Life feels as heavy as the August storm clouds.
How do we cope with the challenges and changes of life?
I do ask myself, “Where are the bright places this week?” and “Where is my heart singing with gratitude?” There must be a place. It can’t all be gloomy.
Grace arrives…
It is in the connections.
- Brunch with our daughter before she left to serve at a Haitian orphanage for the summer.
- Our unexpected gift of time with our son over Friday night pizza.
- Cozy cuddles in pajamas with the littlest one at dawn.
- The laughs The Builder and I are enjoying in our chaos.
- Our dear friends from California visiting.
The weight of change is passing through. The sunshine will return soon! There is always light along the way.
Learn Forward offers the courage to have faith for the future. It offers the courage to connect! The courage to connect strengthens when we have the simplicity of the five journeys in our hearts and minds: faith, worthiness, selfhood, belonging, and changemaking. We know what’s most important. It’s all in place. We’ll get to everything. We can make the transition and find our way.
With courage as our meditation, we make our transition into fall. In the fall, we can focus on building a learning community, particularly the teacher-parent-child relationship. We call that relationship the Table of Learning.
Joining the Table of Learning, with parent, student, and teacher, requires courage. In order to forge and sustain healthy relationships we need the fortitude, resiliency, and forgiveness to continue.
Over the summer our focus was on families. As we gently transition back to considering fall, I am longing to explore the theme of courage. School days need to be filled with it. As teachers and parents, we need courage to join hands with our children and each other in this sacred work.
Thank you for being with me this summer! I hope you feel the strength of your connection with your child. I hope you’ll continue to join us this fall for weekly blogging and the Learn Forward book launch!
For the sake of the children,
Karine