As I approach the last few weeks of school, things can get pretty hectic.  To-Do lists get longer, patience can often get shorter. To counteract some of this stress I try to walk each day around a bucolic farm near my home.  It becomes somewhat meditative to be surrounded by lambs, calves, chickens and flowering fields.  It was during a walk this week that I decided to stop and look more closely.

I plucked a buttercup from a field of millions and inspected its form with a more discerning eye. I remember once studying the parts of a flower: the pistil, stamen, petals (and more). I recalled it’s taxonomic name: Ranunculus repens I decided to examine each part to appreciate its unique design.

It was perfect. It was beautiful.

As I lifted my eyes from that one flower to the enormous field of buttercups before me, they all seemed even more exquisite in that moment. I had a deeper appreciation for the complexity and aesthetic qualities of those flowers surrounding me. Each individual flower contributed to the extraordinary vision of that pasture.

That epiphany stayed with me as I buzzed from classroom to classroom the next day.  Each of those children was themselves a beautiful blossom. I found myself focusing in on one boy or girl in each class and really being present with their distinct and idiosyncratic actions, responses, and work. Not that I didn’t notice the rest, but I knew that by appreciating one more closely, I could appreciate them all more deeply.

As I finish up this school year, I want to take that insight with me-especially the more frazzled I feel.  It will remind me WHY I am here. It will comfort me when I feel like I can’t get it all done.  It will prompt me to stay present and attuned to what is before me.

I hope that you all find opportunities to look closely to appreciate more deeply.  May you all find your own Buttercup Enlightenment!

What’s On My Book Radar?

Though I realize there are MANY purposes for reading, and enjoyment is but one of them, I am not happy that that purpose has taken a back seat to more study-driven reading. I take my National Boards exam this next week and have been immersed in reading through the standards, position papers, research, and rubrics.  I will be so excited Thursday night to be finished with this component of my NBPT quest, that I will probably hit the nearest bookstore on my way home and celebrate with purchase of summer reading TBRs!!

Suggestions??

HAPPY READING!