I watched a movie the last couple of mornings while I was in my basement exercising before school...I know, I know, I watch way too much TV, but at least I was exercising at the same time, right!?! Anyway, the movie was called, The Map of All the Tiny Perfect Things...I don't want to spoil the movie if you decide to watch it, but it centers on the idea that mixed in with all the broken parts of life, there are many, many, tiny perfect things that happen too. The movie reminds the watcher that if we focus only on the negative, we might miss the tiny and perfect. It's those perfect things that get us through - tide us over - when the hard parts seem to want to take over.
So what kinds of tiny perfect things do I mean?
Think...
A flower growing through a crack on a sidewalk, belting out, and nailing, the lyrics of a favorite song, a perfectly shaped cloud in the sky, looking at just the right place at just the right time to see a whale breaching in the wide ocean, or The last slice of apple pie a-al-mode on a summer afternoon!
Tiny. Perfect. Things. I want you to watch out for them over the break! In fact, make a list, keep a journal, or simply make a mental note. Bring me back some gems after the break. I want you all looking for perfect things among the hard ones and I want to hear about how they help you see the beauty of this sometimes challenging life.
A former CBMS parent posted a song on social media that I listened to yesterday and I felt like it matched this idea of life's beautiful things mixed into everyday normalcy. Have a listen.
"Cover me in Sunshine...shower me with good times...tell me that the world's been spinning since the beginning, and everything'll be alright." So don't forget, bring me those good times, those "perfect moments" after the break! I want to hear about all your little things!
For today's last Black History Month Spotlight, I want to bring your attention to two individuals I think you should know about. (Since I didn't do a spotlight during my busy day yesterday I am glad to highlight two today).
William Henry Hastie was an accomplished lawyer who was one of the first African American members of the President Roosevelt Administration, serving as a race relations advisor. He was the first African American Federal Judge, appointed in 1937, and as was the first African American to hold the post of governor of a U.S. territory, (The Virgin Islands). Hastie had an esteemed career and held many other important posts, both political and academic. He certainly helped pave the way for others to follow in his footsteps.
In 1967, another African American lawyer and Judge, Thurgood Marshall, became the first black man to be appointed to the United States Supreme Court as an Associate Justice. He was appointed by President Johnson and became widely respected as a Judge who stood proudly as a champion for civil rights. During his time on the bench in the highest court in our nation, and in his 30-year career prior to that, he was passionate about civil rights for all Americans.
This afternoon, as we close our formal celebration of Black History Month, we send a silent (or maybe a loud) thank you out into the universe to all those unsung heroes of our culture and history that we didn't have time to touch upon here in these blog posts. We remember that it is on the shoulders of those that come before us that we ride. I hope that as a society we live our lives in such ways as to make them pound and to not let their hard work be in vain.
Have a great vacation everyone! Stay safe, and have fun!
Good Morning Students, Staff (and other loyal readers), If you've been following along, you'll know I have not posted in a few days. My lack of posts recently can be attributed to the final crunch, obviously, but also to the reality of full-time in-person school days. It became much harder to write each day with so many of you fully present. Also, because you were all present, I could see you more often, and hopefully offer the same pearls of wisdom in person rather than in writing. And so it seems, the purpose of this particular blog has come to an end...but not without a few more final reflections. First I'll say, I have absolutely loved writing this blog. Long before the pandemic, I had toyed with the idea of writing. This dream of publishing something "someday" materialized as I became a reader in high school. I found that I very much enjoyed reading books that documented the lives of real people in real situations. Here ar...
Yesterday was a Monday, and it was a hard Monday for me. I felt like I struggled to prioritize my work, had issues with using the technology I needed, butted heads with my kids about their work, and spent too many hours looking at a computer screen. (It's hard to have good boundaries when your work is in your home). At the end of the day, I felt both emotionally and physically drained. (I think I mentioned it in my evening blog post). I wanted to acknowledge it this morning and talk to you all about it for a couple of reasons. Mostly, because it's important for us as humans to acknowledge and address our emotions. All emotions are valid and normal, and worth examining so that we can do better, or maybe just feel better, the next day. If we stuff our emotions or refuse to address the ones we perceive as negative, we don't become the best version of ourselves in the future. Additionally, emotions unaddressed tend to turn i...
Welcome to Tuesday Everyone! Over the past few days, I have been thinking about helping others - finding ways amid this crisis to do things for others - and how when we help others it makes our own days and weeks brighter. This past weekend, I spent all of Saturday and most of Sunday making masks for my family and a few close friends who needed them. The project kept me busy, and it felt good to know that I was doing what I could to help the effort, with the resources I had to hand. Yesterday my daily question in my Google Classroom was, "describe something you did this past weekend that was helpful to someone," and I was happy to hear from so many students who took the time to support others in their free time. I started really thinking about how helping others helps us after twice hearing a story about Margaret Mead, an American cultural anthropologist. I went digging a bit deeper and found an article written by Remy Blumenfeld on March 21st. E...
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