13

I had a really interesting collision of my school and home life today.  I was getting ready to discuss the end of Huck Finn with my AP Jrs and so I asked them to write a journal entry about what they were like when they were thirteen.  My reason for doing this is that the end of Huck Finn is often disappointing to them, because they feel let down that Huck goes back to messing around with Tom instead of treating Jim like a human being, and I wanted to remind them of what they were like at that age, to give them some perspective.  So I was really surprised at the push back I got from them -- they didn't want to go there!  Several of them said they couldn't remember anything from middle school.  I said, It was three years ago, you guys -- but for them, it was still so fresh they almost couldn't talk about it.  So I'm sitting here tonight at dinner across the table from my own thirteen year old, and I'm hoping that her days are going all right and that when she thinks back on them, it won't be with horror.   I guess it was too soon for me to ask them to reflect on it.  Sometimes they act like they're so mature and I forget that they are still so fragile.

Receiving

Today was the last day of the receiving project for me. It has been a real gift, even though I haven't made the most of it every single day. Being able to accept what I need and not beat myself up for being imperfect is actually one of the main gifts I've given myself. It goes along with my word for 2012, feel. I want to lean into feeling, without judgement. Part of this is committing to a meditation practice. More on that later...

My Word for 2012

This beautiful locket that I ordered from Liz Lamoreux came today, with my word for 2012: feel.  I absolutely love it.

VT Collage

The kids and I made this in my art journal while we were in Bolton Valley.

Uncle John

Last Wednesday's gift was lunch with Uncle John. We walked to the deli at BV (quite a comedown from big plans for Burlington) in the snow. We ate grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato and talked about Iowa City, Things, the beginning of the time, Zen retreats, my work and his work. I forgot to tell him this: my unit of measure for something tall is an Uncle John. Uncle John is 6 feet tall, so whenever I'm estimating distance, since I was a small girl, it is in Uncle Johns. That's how far back, how deep he is in my life. The way I see the world around me. Measured in Uncle Johns. Very cool, and very fitting.