Walk. Stop. Look around. Beauty is everywhere. We live in such an amazing world. ♥️

Have you ever heard of the Japanese art of Kintsugi? It is the art of repairing broken pottery by mending it with gold and silver. Once the pottery has been mended, it looks even more beautiful and is stronger having been broken.

People who have been broken by life, in my opinion, are much like the repaired pottery. They are even more beautiful because they’ve been broken. Their gold is the wisdom and grace that come from overcoming. Their silver is the depth of soul and spirit that comes from finding strength from within. So if you have ever been broken or even feel broken right now, remember, you’re beautifully broken and even stronger than you were before. You are more beautiful than ever.

Stairs. I love stairs. I love the accomplished feeling of getting to the top and the positive feeling of getting to the bottom. I’m finding my life’s journey is all about stairs.

No sooner do I get to the top, feeling accomplished I’ve overcome some obstacle, I easily climb to the bottom, have a good look around, then look up, and climb again. Stairs, I’m either at the top or I’m at the bottom looking up….either way, I will always overcome the stairs placed before me.

Life isn’t easy but boy is it ever worth it. Go ahead, climb the stairs, the view is quite spectacular from the top.

I am a huge believer in rewarding yourself when you’ve done something you didn’t really want to do or when you do something hard. That was me today. I got shot one of the Pfizer COVID vaccination. I’m not a big fan of putting foreign material in my body, yet I am a big fan of science. I’m so grateful for my friends who wouldn’t stop asking when I was going to get vaccinated because without their push I likely wouldn’t have (truth be told).

So, a dear friend of mine and I ventured out this late afternoon and got a couple of beers. Nothing beats friendship and beer after a long day, hell, a long week! I just want to say “cheers” to those peeps that got vaccinated. Those peeps that had the courage to step up and go through rounds one and two. You are heroes. You want to see this pandemic end and you want normal to return and you, yes you, are doing your part, to make that happen. No matter how uncomfortable it may be.

Cheers!

Spring is in the air and there is a promise of a fresh start. I see buds and think, what will this spring blossom into? I am hopeful, forever optimistic, that COVID will slowly stop taking over our lives and that we will enter into a new normal. One where friends and family gather together. One where people laugh again. One that offers hope.

Be strong, resilient, and believe friends. We are entering the season of a new beginning. A fresh start.

Yesterday, I was given this beautiful bouquet from some students picked from our own school garden. It warmed my heart and made my day. Every single time I look at them I feel happy, loved, and positive.

I am grateful that there is a teacher, teaching his his students, how to do small acts of kindness. I am grateful to receive this gift. Most importantly, I am grateful he is teaching his students that sharing these flowers will help uplift staff and change their lives for the better. What is even more special, is watching the pride, love, and kindness that is exhibited by the students when they give the gift. I feel so fortunate to be the recipient of this small, yet wonderful, act of kindness.

What small act of kindness will you do today to change a life for the better? Think about it, then go do it! It makes a difference!

Here’s to a week of ups and downs. A life filled with happiness and sadness, light and dark.

Here’s to resilient spirits and people who persevere despite it all.

Here’s to the friendships that lift you up and out of dark moments. Friends who bring you light and never give up on you.

Life isn’t easy folks. No one cruises through it without experiencing both the light and the dark. I am grateful to hold hands with some of the best human beings on this roller coaster called life. The ride is so much richer, better, and more lovely with you on it with me. Thank you my friends for riding through the light and the dark of this life with me! Thank you for sharing your light with me.

Life….it’s filled with holes….things that trip you up. You see it, you know it’s there, and yet for some reason you trip over it or fall in.

Let me remind you, if you see them coming, you can jump over them. Go around them. You don’t have to let life trip you up. In fact, you can even change course.

I’m very familiar with tripping over life’s holes. I have chosen to do my best to avoid them from now on. To look, notice, and be aware. To jump over. To go around. No more will I be falling into them. Nope, life is so much enjoyable when you watch where you’re going!

I have learned, over time, to take the time to enjoy life. You can enjoy life in little moments with those you care about. It can be a quick visit or an extended one but what is important is to connect. Those connections make life worthwhile. Those connections warm your soul. Those connections are, in my opinion, what life is about.

I’m grateful to find the time, to actually make it a priority, to connect with those I love. No matter what day of the week it might be…if a friend asks you to go for a walk, to schedule a call, to grab a glass of beer or wine, DO IT! You’ll never regret the “yes” response and it will lead to deeper connections, laughter, and a whole lotta love in your life.

I sat watching, young adults, one after the other, surfboards in hand, go around or climb over one fence just to encounter another. There they maneuvered their way down a steep path and then rocks to make their way to the beach. It’s like my dad always told me….where there’s a will there’s a way.

With that in mind, remember, you can do whatever it is you want to do if you want it bad enough. It just takes thought, effort, tenacity, and will.

When you’re in the midst of a tough time….just be cool. Things will take a turn and the tough time will turn around. Challenges come and go to teach us and help us grow. So trust the process and cruise through it. Be cool and just go along for the ride. Things will get better. They always do.

Right now it is difficult to clearly see how the next three months will unfold. Once again, I’m being asked to do the impossible in my profession. I will do it but it will come at a cost to myself, my family, and my friends.

I know “this too shall pass.” I’m grateful knowing this chapter is only temporary but it doesn’t change the fact that the price will be high.

I will do it. I will persevere. I will overcome. I am formidable and competent. I am woman. I am strong.