The way I made my life work last year was by doing zero extracurricular activities, but that's melting away... the kids are getting a little older and it's so fun to see them doing something they like. But I think that doing a year of "observation" (so to speak -- school with zero extra activities) helped me understand what I was up against.
So fun to hear about life on the bottom of the world! Just imagine-- New Year's Day in an outdoor pool. There's something really "right" about that!
Hey Steph, retired elementary teacher/current writer here :-) This post was a joy to read and I do have thoughts.
In the U.S. never mind misplaced pencils; would you like to know how many warm coats end up in the Lost & Found every quarter because parents neglect to label their kids $60-85 dollar coats? I can't even. Like, do they not miss them?
And I'm with fellow teacher Sindi below--labelling pencils makes perfect sense.
As to Lent, this Evangelical is sooooo grateful for discovering the church calendar a number of years back and thankful for the season that allows us the opportunity to fast--from noise, from busy, from what-have-you, and prepare our hearts to focus on Christ's sacrifice on our behalf.
The first day of Lent is Valentine's Day, yes? February 14th? What a mash up!
p.s. I'm gonna have to find that Thursday Murder Club book--I just discovered Agatha Christie in my old age (I'm 71) and recently finished Death on the Nile. Loved it.
This post made me smile! I am a South African who has lived in Switzerland for 6 years. I have two little kids and I was recently journalling about this very thing. Just the other way around. How it is so strange that the start of a new school year and the actual start of a new year don’t happen simultaneously here. The New year in SA feels hot and full of promise. I remember the feeling of it in my skin, sunlight and energy. Ambitious new beginnings. I started at a fast run and would inevitably loose pace or stumble as the year continued on with its ups and downs. Here January is heavier. Greyer. More exposed. More tired and definitely snottier. Harder to feel bubbling with that New Year energy. It makes me a better person, I think. I start humbled. I start close to my limit and then trust. I start with hope, a quieter kind. Eyes on God and not me. Refresh, renew. Move me to where You are. Priorities are clearer, like the way the earth is quieter when it snows. Swiss people say they can hear it when they wake up, before they see it. The lack of sound. Snow. Absorbing the noise, reflecting the sunlight.
I am learning to lean into the liturgical year and have really been enjoying the process. Living here has helped me lean into the rhythms of the year, the way the seasons are so distinct and yet they flow into each other. And the rhythm of the church year seems to be echoed by the environment. That being said, I miss the sunlight and the vitality and many many other things about South Africa. I have recently found your work and it does my heart good to read about home from your perspective.
It's so interesting that you long for the reset in the dark of winter! I'm reading about your "fresh start" right after the holidays aligning with the new year and want it all! Trying to start new habits on 8 hours of daylight (notice I DID NOT say "SUNlight"), no thanks :) I am immediately going to buy This is How We Do It. I love books like that!
This made me chortle @Steph. Why yes, we probably are pale northerners, currently in the middle of Storm Jocelyn here in Scotland. And we do have 2 chances to be a Pinterest mum, or feel the pressure atleast. The thing that often catches me out in our back to school transition is the unrealistic life plans I make during the summer holidays when my teacher husband is off. Then back to school for everyone is always a much bigger adjustment, and I have to dial back all my ambitious plans.
I love the way you phrase this invitation of lent. ❤️
I love the way you phrased “Have other British colonies evolved?” 😂😂😂😂 I so appreciate your different perspective on stuff like this because I’m a teacher who went from this system into this system and I need my worldview shaken up because it just seems normal to me. 🫣
However, with regards to labels, it makes life SO MUCH EASIER for me if I pick up a pencil (or whatever) in my classroom (happens daily) and it’s labelled, so I know who to return it to. When it’s not labelled it just languishes in the constantly-growing pile of lost property in the front of my classroom that no one ever checks and I end up handing out at random or throwing away near the end of the term. 🤷🏻♀️
The way I made my life work last year was by doing zero extracurricular activities, but that's melting away... the kids are getting a little older and it's so fun to see them doing something they like. But I think that doing a year of "observation" (so to speak -- school with zero extra activities) helped me understand what I was up against.
So fun to hear about life on the bottom of the world! Just imagine-- New Year's Day in an outdoor pool. There's something really "right" about that!
Hey Steph, retired elementary teacher/current writer here :-) This post was a joy to read and I do have thoughts.
In the U.S. never mind misplaced pencils; would you like to know how many warm coats end up in the Lost & Found every quarter because parents neglect to label their kids $60-85 dollar coats? I can't even. Like, do they not miss them?
And I'm with fellow teacher Sindi below--labelling pencils makes perfect sense.
As to Lent, this Evangelical is sooooo grateful for discovering the church calendar a number of years back and thankful for the season that allows us the opportunity to fast--from noise, from busy, from what-have-you, and prepare our hearts to focus on Christ's sacrifice on our behalf.
The first day of Lent is Valentine's Day, yes? February 14th? What a mash up!
p.s. I'm gonna have to find that Thursday Murder Club book--I just discovered Agatha Christie in my old age (I'm 71) and recently finished Death on the Nile. Loved it.
This post made me smile! I am a South African who has lived in Switzerland for 6 years. I have two little kids and I was recently journalling about this very thing. Just the other way around. How it is so strange that the start of a new school year and the actual start of a new year don’t happen simultaneously here. The New year in SA feels hot and full of promise. I remember the feeling of it in my skin, sunlight and energy. Ambitious new beginnings. I started at a fast run and would inevitably loose pace or stumble as the year continued on with its ups and downs. Here January is heavier. Greyer. More exposed. More tired and definitely snottier. Harder to feel bubbling with that New Year energy. It makes me a better person, I think. I start humbled. I start close to my limit and then trust. I start with hope, a quieter kind. Eyes on God and not me. Refresh, renew. Move me to where You are. Priorities are clearer, like the way the earth is quieter when it snows. Swiss people say they can hear it when they wake up, before they see it. The lack of sound. Snow. Absorbing the noise, reflecting the sunlight.
I am learning to lean into the liturgical year and have really been enjoying the process. Living here has helped me lean into the rhythms of the year, the way the seasons are so distinct and yet they flow into each other. And the rhythm of the church year seems to be echoed by the environment. That being said, I miss the sunlight and the vitality and many many other things about South Africa. I have recently found your work and it does my heart good to read about home from your perspective.
It's so interesting that you long for the reset in the dark of winter! I'm reading about your "fresh start" right after the holidays aligning with the new year and want it all! Trying to start new habits on 8 hours of daylight (notice I DID NOT say "SUNlight"), no thanks :) I am immediately going to buy This is How We Do It. I love books like that!
This made me chortle @Steph. Why yes, we probably are pale northerners, currently in the middle of Storm Jocelyn here in Scotland. And we do have 2 chances to be a Pinterest mum, or feel the pressure atleast. The thing that often catches me out in our back to school transition is the unrealistic life plans I make during the summer holidays when my teacher husband is off. Then back to school for everyone is always a much bigger adjustment, and I have to dial back all my ambitious plans.
I love the way you phrase this invitation of lent. ❤️
I love the way you phrased “Have other British colonies evolved?” 😂😂😂😂 I so appreciate your different perspective on stuff like this because I’m a teacher who went from this system into this system and I need my worldview shaken up because it just seems normal to me. 🫣
However, with regards to labels, it makes life SO MUCH EASIER for me if I pick up a pencil (or whatever) in my classroom (happens daily) and it’s labelled, so I know who to return it to. When it’s not labelled it just languishes in the constantly-growing pile of lost property in the front of my classroom that no one ever checks and I end up handing out at random or throwing away near the end of the term. 🤷🏻♀️