Fourteen Years Ago…

Jul 092009
 

Last summer in Montana with Mary and Lucas

Last summer in Montana with Mary and Lucas

… Hargobind Singh Atwal was born. I am grateful that such a wonderful soul joined our family those years ago. And that he has grown into a fine, young man.


Gratitude creates it’s own attitude. It can give you a new perspective, a new focus. I am going to use this day as my opportunity to see those things.


Take a few minutes today to create your own Thankful Thursday.

How:

  • Sit back and consider what you have to be thankful for. Listing three to five things is nice, but one will do.
  • Post about gratitude on your blog. If you don’t have your own blog, go ahead and write about what you are thankful for in the comments here instead.
  • If you blog, please link back here or leave a comment.
  • Feel free to tag other bloggers, if you like to do that, but it’s not necessary. This is not a meme that obligates you to do anything, but look for gratitude. Oh, and link back, and comment, that’s all I ask.
    • Visit these other blogs that often participate in Thankful Thursday:

  • The Pony Expression
  • Tired Dog Ranch
  • Enlightened Horsemanship Through Touch

    • Gratitude in adversity

    Jun 262009
     

    Gratitude creates it’s own attitude. It can give you a new perspective, a new focus. I am going to use this day as my opportunity to see those things.

    I am a day late on this, but writing it has taken some time to think it through.


    In the early morning of June 24th, between three and six, Ridgeline Montessori School had a change forced on it. My son started at Ridgeline in first grade. He has one more year left there to finish middle school and eighth grade.

    Back when I was on the board several years ago, we considered moving the school to a new site. The building that we were leasing from the 4J school district was aged, needed a new roof and we were outgrowing the wing we started out in. Fast forward several years and we had taken over that entire wing, the office and part of another wing and shared the site (including cafeteria and gym) with the Village School. We did know that we would need to relocate eventually as the district had decided not to make large repairs to the classroom buildings. All seemed well for the time being.

    That changed with yesterday morning’s events. A fire broke out under the overhang at the back entrance of our main wing. Seven of our nine classrooms and their contents are gone. The walls still stand, but that’s about all.

    Chrystall Reed, our administrator said,

    “As devastating as this (fire) is, we will find a new place. It may not be here, but it will still be Ridgeline Montessori.”

    At the scene
    Video after the fire
    Photos

    So what am I thankful for?

  • That no one was hurt, of course.
  • That I know the school community is strong enough to pull through this challenging time.
  • That there is a gathering tomorrow to see what our next steps will and organize volunteers. I plan to be there.


    • Take a few minutes today to create your own Thankful Thursday.

    How:

  • Sit back and consider what you have to be thankful for. Listing three to five things is nice, but one will do.
  • Post about gratitude on your blog. If you don’t have your own blog, go ahead and write about what you are thankful for in the comments here instead.
  • If you blog, please link back here or leave a comment.
  • Feel free to tag other bloggers, if you like to do that, but it’s not necessary. This is not a meme that obligates you to do anything, but look for gratitude. Oh, and link back, and comment, that’s all I ask.
    • Visit these other blogs that often participate in Thankful Thursday:

  • The Pony Expression
  • Tired Dog Ranch
  • Enlightened Horsemanship Through Touch

    • It was there all along

    Mar 112009
     

    Gratitude creates it’s own attitude. It can give you a new perspective, a new focus. I am going to use this day as my opportunity to see those things.

    Snow at TDR last weekend

    Snow at TDR last weekend

  • Like sitting on the couch with my two children, aged 13 and 19, exploring the web together, talking about everything from politics to html coding to personality profiles and life plans. What could be more wonderful than that?
  • Lately the skies have seemed more beautiful than ever. I look up and see incredible things every day. Last night, it was the moon, absolutely luminous, clear and crisp, hanging low and large as I sped down the freeway. Yes, I did keep my eyes on the road, but it was hard. This weekend, it was huge flakes of snow wafting down, making the air thick and fluffy. A couple of weeks ago, it was magnificent cloud structures that changed every hour. After living in New Mexico, I never thought that the Oregon skies would capture me as much a they have this last month. Have the skies changed or have I? Or maybe it is just the coming change of spring.
  • I love the creativity in my family. My sister has been unearthing all sorts of wonderful family treasures, in the form of stories, photos and other ephemera. I believe that some really interesting projects will come from this archive. And then my brother’s music just lifts me up. I listen to it at work. My love of the blues was helped along by the education he gave me. He made me a great tape of classic blues when I was twelve or thirteen, I think. I still have that tape and definitely love the blues. Thanks, Ben.
    Take a few minutes today to create your own Thankful Thursday.

    How:

  • Sit back and consider what you have to be thankful for. Listing three to five things is nice, but one will do.
  • Post about gratitude on your blog.
  • Then link back here or leave a comment.
  • Feel free to tag other bloggers, if you like to do that, but it’s not necessary. This is not a meme that obligates you to do anything, but look for gratitude. Oh, and link back, and comment, that’s all I ask.
  • If you don’t have your own blog, go ahead and write about what you are thankful for in the comments of my latest Thankful Thursday. post instead.

    • Trying something new

    Mar 102009
     

    I’m testing out a new plugin for embedding videos in my blog. Let’s see how it works! Here is my brother playing guitar in Dublin in 2002.




    And this one is from 2007…



    Ah … love it!

    For more see his MySpace page.

    A sense of history

    Mar 052009
     

    Smiling Shadow

    Smiling Shadow

    Gratitude creates it’s own attitude. It can give you a new perspective, a new focus. I am going to use this day as my opportunity to see those things.


    It’s proving to be one of those ‘chew you up and spit you out’ weeks for me. Too much to do, not enough time to sleep and I feel more like hibernating and not talking to anyone than posting on my blog, but I don’t want to miss a week on this meme, so here goes…

  • I feel lucky that I have artifacts of my family’s past; my great aunt’s oriental carpet, a painting of Gaurdian Mountain, where I grew up… I can sit in my great grandmother’s chair and at my grandmother’s desk. Though, in the last year as he has aged, my dog, Shadow, claims the chair as his nightly sleeping spot. I know that these are ultimately only things, but they do give me a sense of connectedness. They are not just old things, but things that people (some of whom I never met), who carried my genes, used in their daily lives. There is a continuity there that gives me peace.
  • I appreciate that we have a cozy home. Even though there is not enough space to store all the stuff that we seem to accumulate and it’s often disorganized and cluttered, it is still home. The people I love are here, along with reminders of those past, in the form of all those things, furniture, books, photographs, the accumulation of generations.
    • Mr. Lorenzo Bumblebee and his person

    Mr. Lorenzo Bumblebee and his person at TDR

  • And furthermore, I’m grateful that I have a weekend at TDR to look forward to. I will get to visit with friends and savor the cool beneath the trees, breathe in the moist, crisp air and be away from pavement and sidwalks; streetlights and traffic. I’ll have time to spend with my horses and them with each other. Maybe I’ll even hike to the top of Larison Rock trail with Vin. Time will tell!

    • Take a few minutes today to create your own Thankful Thursday.

    How:

  • Sit back and consider what you have to be thankful for. Listing three to five things is nice, but one will do.
  • Post about gratitude on your blog.
  • Then link back here or leave a comment.
  • Feel free to tag other bloggers, if you like to do that, but it’s not necessary. This is not a meme that obligates you to do anything, but look for gratitude. Oh, and link back, and comment, that’s all I ask.
  • If you don’t have your own blog, go ahead and write about what you are thankful for in the comments of my latest Thankful Thursday. post instead.
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