This has been quite a spring: Two days before I left for Spain, I learned my main job was downsizing next school year, but do I have the luck of the Irish :). That luck includes fantastic art therapy colleagues who let me know of a “hardly ever happens” opening and helped me, in so many amazing ways, secure an interview and prep for it. Rachel, Alison, and Aaron…you rock. Cue weeks of too much zero-dark-thirty running and a fairly constant loop of the Beastie Boys and Eminem during my commute, and you might well imagine my stress level despite all their selfless help.
Midway through my job search freakout an old friend commissioned this, a blue tanager mixed media piece, for the CEO of the Nature Conservancy. She even provided the collage materials, below. What a complete de-stresser creating this was! I love how the bird’s colors beautifully complemented a photo about Arctic loss, so that became the top of the wing. Thank you so much, Janine, for the opportunity to create in the midst of chaos.
And, yes, I got that awesome job. Here’s a little bit about the new school where I’ll be the full-time art therapist next fall: https://wamu.org/story/16/05/25/how_specialized_programs_can_get_kids_with_anxiety_back_in_the_classroom/
Take a breather, Beastie Boys. Cue the festive Van Halen.
Spain with Mattie was such a treat: seeing my beautiful girl, touring gorgeous cities, taking in all the ancient buildings, narrow cobblestone streets, convents with obscure systems for buying nun-made marzipan (really!). It only took me a couple days to figure out what Mattie was saying to the tapas bar servers, too: “A mi madre le gustaria otro vaso de vino tinto.”
My kids and I have an annual ritual in November. I buy a dozen gigantic pomegranates at Costco, and we sit around the table getting the seeds ready to freeze. Occasionally we expel Jack from the lineup, as he eats more than he leaves.
A slew of landscapes are on their way…as yet unseen. I’m soon to be in Spain to see my oldest, Madeleine, who is studying abroad this semester. I am beyond excited to experience some Spanish culture with her, and simply to relax, with a book tucked in my bag and my iPhone camera at the ready. I’m sure I’ll capture loads of beautiful vistas as well as empty glasses of rioja :).
Last week was a rough one with news from Parkland, FL.
As I drove to work on January 2, following a two week holiday break filled with rest, wonderful family time, long-overdue home chores, and some lovely and memorable evenings with friends old and new, I was captivated by the last bits of the Supermoon while stopped at a red light. What a sight it was, lifting the ordinary to something ethereal and beautiful. What is it about all things space which are so captivating? Whatever it is, one of my new year’s resolutions is to spend more time looking up, as I used to do before life got so busy. Two of my fondest memories are of seeing the space shuttle Discovery flying over D.C. back in 2012, and setting my alarm for 3:00am to go outside and see the Perseids meteor shower one gorgeous night. Time to get back to that.
What on earth do this bird and Bruce Springsteen have in common? Well, let me tell you ;). Years ago, I totaled my ex-husband’s car…all for Bruce. It seemed really, really important at the time to listen to Tunnel of Love on my way home from work, and fiddling with the cassette deck (I’m aging myself!), I rolled the car on a deserted stretch of rural highway. I really did mend my ways, until 18 years later. As I led a caravan of minivans through a beautiful stretch of forest to Girl Scout camp, I spotted this gorgeous bird, a summer tanager, and almost slammed on the breaks for a better look. It was just so amazingly and thoroughly red against a backdrop of solid green. But a gravelly, New Jersey-inflected voice (surely it was the Boss) whispered in my ear and guided me against Tunnel of Love Total v. 2.o. A close call…but what a bird. I’ve not seen one in person since, so have bestowed upon it unicorn-like qualities in my mind.
These birds. This happy-go-lucky yellow warbler had me thinking of a recent moment when I was installing new shrubs out front. I was digging and ruminating (funny how those go together) about some kids I work with who are just having the toughest time right now. I stopped for a moment and heard so many birds singing in my yard, and it lifted my mood so much. Animals are terrific that way.
Well, here he is. This supremely cool and confident little vermilion flycatcher. Clearly his Christmas cards didn’t arrive too dark, his principal isn’t asking for an uploaded PBL lesson ASAP, and no one’s asking him to put up the lights already, because Thanksgiving was LAST WEEK. I just finished raking the leaves, people.
Inside one of my kitchen cabinets I’ve taped A Few Important Things: re-order details for my running shoes, my laminated Mother’s Prayer (