I'm in the mood for a quick morning post about things I'm happy about.
- Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC): I work at a school that not only has a great Women's and Gender Studies Program and one of the best college programs in the nation for students with intellectual disabilities, but it also has a preschool that's about as good as I could imagine a preschool being. In fact, I think it's probably better than I could imagine. And Maybelle gets to go there. She loves it, and she comes home knowing things that Biffle and I haven't taught her. Recent examples: Biffle and I have worked on counting from 1-10 with her, but now she's pretty good at counting up to 20. She's learned to kick a ball and ride in a tire swing. She also says, "Ready, set, GO!"
- The first cup of coffee: I do love the first cup of coffee in the morning. These days I'm doing some mindfulness meditation, and one of the things the mindfulness folks are big on is being in the moment. So for the last few days I've been consciously savoring the first sip: feeling the warm cup in my hands, smelling the coffee, letting the drink be a real experience. I've switched to decaf in the last couple of weeks, but it doesn't matter--that first cup is still a great part of the day.
- Riding the bike: Biffle and I were wise enough to buy a house downtown, so almost every day I get to ride my bike to school, and almost every morning Maybelle is with me. We get to breathe in the air, notice the world around us, and feel alive in a way that a car just doesn't promote. Plus, I never have to search for a parking spot. I ride up to the door of my office and get off my bike. That's it. Fantastic.
6 comments:
well I am just going to continue this theme:
1) yes to bike riding and to the birds! Downtown Charleston must be some sort of bird convention center -- so birds on the early morning bike commute.
2) the first moments of sitting at my desk when the day is stretched in front of me and the to do list seems do-able.
3) the early evening moments on the couch with one young person or another finding out about the day and watching the gaming and thinking about childhoods.
That first cup of coffee IS sacred. And the biking... well, a girl can dream!
These three things sound just about perfect to me! The "just about" is for the decaf coffee --
ALLISON,
I'm very, very pleased that you now seem to be pleased, even happy, with Charleston, the CofC, and your life in general. When you first arrived here several years ago and started "baxter sez," I was disturbed and more than a bit irritated at your immature, frequently expressed put downs of Charleston and your snide comments about the residents and students of both the city I love and the college of which I'm a graduate. I literally love Charleston and the College of Charleston. Once, years ago, I posted here on baxter sez, admittedly in disgust. that you should "love it or leave it." Biffle got angry with my telling you both that. I sense now you've come to love both this city with all its warts, warts that we long term residents are aware and are continuously seeking to positively address without a newcomer's condemnation. The same is true about our medium sized liberal arts college that is undoubtedly one of the best in the nation. I am pleased, proud, and grateful you've changed your tone about both the CofC and Charleston and believe you've come to love what I do about Charleston and the College of Charleston...both of which are wonderful and deserving of our pride and love.
Sincerely,
"Anonymous then and now,"
but not with malice only love for all especially for your daughter and those who have DS and any other conditions of a similar nature and those who love and care for them.
Alison,
Please accept my apology for misspelling your name with two "l's" in my earlier message. Also, while it's not relevant to what I wrote, I wanted you to know and I thought you would find it interesting that I was a SNAP student at the College. The CofC is not just a wonderful college, it's a great University and I'll be forever grateful that I was able to earn my degree there.
Anonymous
I'm still stickin' with the tourism slogan i thought of years ago:
Charleston: Where it still feels like 1880. (Just ask any African American.)
Post a Comment