Confession: I sometimes tune in to "The Cat In The Hat Knows A Lot About That" while drinking my morning coffee--it's one way to wake up my Sense of Silly before heading to the preschool classroom
Today is the first cooler day after a series of unseasonably warm days. There is a blustery crispness in the still mid-60 degree air that whispers of change to come. This time of year everything outdoors seems to slow down and turn inward as the days grow short and the temperatures cool. Contradictory to that, however, is the fact that for so many of us this is a very busy season! School is starting, the Jewish High Holy Days are quickly approaching, and there is much to be done around the house in preparation. It becomes a bit of a balancing act to accommodate the hustle and bustle of daily life and still be attentive to our natural tendency to also want to slow down, turn inward and seek warmth.
My preschool students started school last Wednesday and I will start afternoon/evening classes myself next Wednesday. I am adjusting to a now busier schedule, and am embracing this opportunity to set new routines for myself. I happen to love the structure and security of set routines. I know what to expect, when--and in that I find I get a lot more accomplished. This same concept works wonders in my classroom as well. Students--especially new ones or more sensitive ones, thrive in an environment in which they know what to expect and when. That said, flexibility and a sense of humor are also imperative--for those times when best laid plans fail to pan out as we'd expect. In the preschool classroom, that sometimes means putting on a knit apple hat and dancing around as "Morah Apple" picking apples off of the students' "trees" (raised arms as branches). That is the very nature of Autumn, which I love. One day could be 63 degrees and blustery and the very next day could go up to 97 degrees (after you have packed away your summer wardrobe, of course).
A weekly e-mail newsletter I receive from Yoga Journal stated my feelings most eloquently:
"The changing of the seasons offer a wonderful time to pause and reflect on the beauty of nature, the nature of time, and the times that are changing."
Yet, even within my tendency to rush around and maximize the number of tasks I can accomplish at one moment, I still need to have that time to pause and reflect. Maybe that means squeezing in a Yoga practice or water aerobics class or Zumba at the gym even when I could be doing something else. Perhaps it means going to my weekly knit night--even if I am on my laptop doing work part of the time. Often it means concocting something delicious, nourishing and comforting in my kitchen. This time of year, that is very often a soup or a batch of gluten free muffins.
What do you do during this season of change to balance the bustle of busying routines?
No comments:
Post a Comment