A Legacy of Light

Happy 2026; has your #oneword found you yet?

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I Got This! I Have Bounce Back Superpowers

Today I'm thinking about resilience, the ability to bounce back.

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Love Becomes Us

Happy official first day of summer; today I'm eagerly working on material for this Twitter chat for Saturday morning. Why not join us?

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PPBF: Our Playground Rules!

Today I'm excited because I'm getting ready

for four author visits in the next two weeks.

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An Emotional Awakening

Today I'm feeling grateful even as the grief continues.

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PPBF: A Small Kindness

 Today I'm grateful because I just spent six engaging hours over the last two days with the school counselors in South Carolina. Virtually, of course, so there's that, but what a blessing. Here are the adapted lyrics to You Are My Sunshine that I wrote to sing for them while strumming my ukulele:

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For Such A Time As This

Today Franklin Rock, the novel I've just read, has me thinking about time.

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Listen Up!

Today I'm excited for my guest post at Dr. Jean's blog; click {here} to go there for this song and other fun ways to foster Emotional Literacy.

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From A Distance, For Now

Lately, it seems that it's all about timing; on Monday,

we had the blessing of hosting a Car Parade, to check in

with our students and their families. By Tuesday, a

stay-at-home order for our area had been put in place.

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PPBF: The Rabbit Listened

Happy PPBF.

I'm so excited about this week's pick, but first things first. Last night I got to speak at a Family Character Night at Ferguson Elementary and look at their cool Character-Cam Photo-Booth backdrop.

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Just One Drop Of Kindness

Readers, we have a winner! To everyone who commented last week, we entered your names and our Super Wheel randomly selected Meghan, who now has a signed copy of Moon's First Friends coming her way.

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Swimming With The Kindness Current

Today I've got kindness on my heart and mind as I reflect back on my impromptu visit to Westlawn Elementary in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, the home to some incredible Dolphins who are making a huge kindness splash in our world.

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What's On Your Plate?

What a week! Today I'm excited to share just a quick summary

of what's been going on in my corner of the world.

Isn't this the prettiest picture?

It was taken at our new-to-district employee luncheon,

while the crowd was arm-in-arm

singing the Cheers theme song as our launch.

Be still my heart ... talk about your caring connections.

I'm so grateful to my hero Michele Borba for the inspiration

and the permission to piggyback her idea and share it as I speak.

Here's how it went with the Friendswood Junior High leaders.

What a fun and engaging day that was, connecting with the faculty and staff at a school where all three of our children went in grades 6-8. We talked about being HOPE dealers and how to grow as a family during their Mustang Impact Time.

As a silly out-of-the-box activity during the Mindset piece, we drew a back-to-school picture on the plate atop our heads. Afterward, we wrote the one word that we want people to feel when they leave our presence on the plate for a "What's On Your Plate?" character wall display. 

Here's how that very activity looked the following day

with these delightfully passionate educators in Deer Park.

Both groups especially seemed to enjoy exchanging their 

one word in a riveting game of Give Me Your Hand(le); 

such a cool icebreaking activity that truly has the power 

to change the climate in the room.

Wanna practice handshakes and eye contact;

here are the instructions so you can give it a try.

 Afterward, one of them wrote me this sweet sticky note.

Such a thoughtful gesture.

I did manage to carve out some shopping time for the boys, who launched into another year in Aggieland today. Look at what our character camera spied on the wall at the local Kohl's Department Store.

Wouldn't that make a fantastic bulletin board in a school?

We also saw this brilliance at a school visit ... 

at Webb Elementary in Navasota, TX, this morning.

I went to visit Principal and author Todd Nesloney, to treat him to a Sonic drink, to thank him for his inspiration, and to ask for a tour of his school. I'm finding a lot of really creative ways to spend my time now that I'm not back at school.

My plate is overflowing with good things;

what's on your plate these days?

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New Beginnings

What a difference a good night's sleep makes!

In the days leading up to yesterday's luncheon keynote,

I didn't sleep much. At all.

Too much rehearsing in my heart and in my mind.

So that it would all go well.

So that I would make my former district proud.

So that I would fire up their new teachers

and give a booster shot of inspiration to their mentors.

Since the event had a Broadway theme,

I dusted off my Elsa gown and took center stage.

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Let It Go

Today I'm excited because my daughter Kaitlyn helped me create

 this beautiful brochure to help launch my encore career.

Click {here} to take a closer look

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Sitting On The Sill & Saying So Long

Today I'm excited, because I did it.

I cried a million tears without floating away.

I made it through my last day of school.

I finally graduated for real.

The day started like this, all sunshine and smiles.

Since I'm leaving my dream job to pursue my dream, that every school in the world would be character schools like Westwood and Bales, I knew it'd tug mightily at my heartstrings and end with sniffles and sadness.

For the last three years, my days have started like this,

sitting on the sill, strumming and singing with students,

greeting them and getting an emotional barometer.

Sometimes the littles from Westwood whom I've missed so desperately since my departure from there three years ago, sit and sing for a spell. The first grader on my left actually taught me this song. We changed the words a little, just for fun.

It was emotionally loaded, saying goodbye to my little learners. 

Midweek, I went classroom by classroom to tell them

that I was retiring my FISD jersey and moving into coaching,

to move from a dream school to another big dream.

I told them that sometimes pursuing your dreams hurts, and

encouraged them, through my tears, to honor their feelings,

to dream big,

to work hard,

and to be kind.

When you are kind, I told them, all of the True Colors

will fall into place.

They must have been listening,

because they wrote me these beautiful notes of gratitude.

I wish you could see all of their incredible notes.

Guess what they valued and are going to miss the most?

My laughter and smile.

My kindness and joy.

My puppets, the ukulele, and our learning space.

{All pretty simple stuff; no degree required!}

Then we hugged it out.

Some of them sobbed in my arms.

And that was hard to take.

But since it meant we were so very deeply connected,

I'll take it, any every day of the year.

Some of them brought me gifts.

And some of them came to help me clean.

When one girl asked what my favorite treasure in this room is,

my answer was (and will always be), you!

I've been busily giving away 34 years worth of stuff.

I put most of it on a Free Table outside of our learning space,

the kind of table that Gerry Brooks makes fun of, but

it made my heart happy to leave some joy behind at Bales.

{Don't worry, Gerry, I threw the half-empty glue bottles away.}

I kept a few special things back, some of my favorites,

thinking I might keep them, just in case.

But last night I decided to wrap them up as gifts

for the other counselors in my district.

Can't wait for my treasured colleagues to open them up

when we officially bid farewell on Tuesday.

On Friday, my birthday, my wedding anniversary,

and my district retirement luncheon,

THIS magic happened.

These moms brought these superheroes by with a birthday bouquet,

some homemade chocolate chip cookies, 

and a gift card to Gringos.

After serenading me with the birthday song,

they came to my learning space,

sat in a circle with me,

and listened to my story.

It was better than any retirement party anyone could have thrown.

It's hard to tell in this joyful picture,

but we cried and cried.

These mamas and their children mean the world to me.

Alex (L) has already left me and soared through sixth at FJH.

Jet Stream Jax in the middle is still at Bales, headed to crush 4th grade.

The sweet girl on the right, Adam's little sister, isn't even there yet,

so I'm not really sure I even know her name.

But I know her face 

and I know her heart.

And it makes me super sad that 

I won't get a chance to learn, grow, and play puppets with her.

But it'll be okay.

In fact, it'll be incredible.

We have prepared these students well.

And they're ready to soar without me.

I will always love them

and I will forever uplift them in prayer.

It'll be October before we know it,

and you better believe I'm going back for Nana Puddin' Day.

After a few long, emotional days,

we launched them into summer

and I waved goodbye one last time.

And like that, they were gone.

When I got back to my office, I got an inquiry for an August training; next week I'll be meeting with my first potential client in my encore career. 

In a serendipitous twist, it's with our friends 

at Friendswood Junior High.

Where I did my counseling internship 25 years ago. 

Where we send our fifth graders.

An incredible gift, that my influence might continue

{even as I take that leap of faith and head out into the world}

right here in my own land.

Happy summertime.

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PPBF: Yoga Frog

Today's PPBF is so stinkin' adorable; prepare to fall in love with Yoga Frog.

Title: Yoga Frog

Author: Nora Carpenter

Illustrator: Mark Chambers

Publisher: Running Press Kids

Birthday: May 29, 2018

Suitable for ages: preK-3rd grade (and beyond)

Themes: mindfulness, relaxation, yoga

Brief synopsis: Travel with Yoga Frog through 19 yoga poses to help you 

re-energize and get back in touch with your happy self.

Opening page: 

Every morning, Yoga Frog wakes with the sun and stretches his arms high above his head. Sometimes he's still tired. Sometimes he's even a tad grumpy. 

He isn't really a morning frog.

When he's not feeling his happy, froggy self, or if he wants to feel better, Yoga Frog knows just what to do: yoga! Join him! 

Resources: Check out the author's website {here}.

Read a Publishers Weekly review {here}.

Do yoga with Frank the Frog and Cosmic Kids {here}.

Sing the I Am Yoga song with Emily Arrow.

Compare and contrast Yoga Frog with I Am Yoga by Susan Verde. 

Why I like this book: Such a playful way to introduce our littlest learners to the practice of yoga as a way to stretch, relax and regroup. The author and illustrator work together in harmony to explain and show the poses, sharing their everyday names along with their Sanskrit names. I loved the bonus Note To Parents in the back along with a perforated fold-out poster of the precious frog 

practicing all of the poses.

In a world in which children are increasingly stressed out,

it's so important to find ways to stay in the moment,

to relax and restore, and to unwrap the present.

Check out this book for help with doing just that.
Put it in a calm-down caddy or a Peace Room.

Then head to Susanna Hill's blog for today's other PPBF picks.

Oh, and May the Fourth be with you. 

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Living Mindfulness

Today I'm excited because I got this Mindful Breathing vision board done outside of my office in the hallway in time for our Spring Open House next week. I'm so eager to teach all of these options to help our learners stay in the moment, mindfully aware, breathing with intention. 

For the shapes breathing, click {here}.

For the five-finger breathing, {here}.

For the eight breathing cards, visit {here}.

For the labyrinth breathing, {here} and {here}.

For the flower and leaf breathing, click {here}.

I'm so grateful for my collaboration with Emily Rose, a counseling colleague in Wisconsin, as she shared many of these freebie resources with me.

Need a song to complement your mindfulness practice?

How about some apps to enrich your efforts?

Mindfulness books?

 And finally, some benefits of practicing mindfulness.

For my Mindfulness Pinterest collection, click {here}. 

How do you live mindfully?

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If I Had My Way

Today I'm thankful because I actually got to sleep in. Until 9:30. And it was glorious. I woke up slowly, lounged around in PJs, enjoyed a sweet latte, jumped onto a tweet chat for a bit, then went on a long walk. The first song that played on my iPod was Linda Eder's haunting ballad If I Had My Way. 

She wrote it after 9/11, but it still fits today, 
especially after what happened this week in Parkland, Florida.
It has made me reflect on some of the things we take for granted.
On what I think we could do better.
On what our world could be like if I had my way.

If I had my way ... 

We would see all children as our children,
even the ones with mental illness,
{especially the ones with mental illness}
because it truly does take a village to raise a child.
We would serve as healthy role models so that
they all know, embrace, and feel from little on 
that we see them, 
that they belong, 
and that they matter.

We would give our youngest leaders leadership opportunities
so that they know how to lead when the time comes.
We would help them work through angry, hard feelings
by letting them know that it's okay to not be okay
and giving them healthy strategies for emotions expression.
We would make our schools safe zones where
we put social and emotional learning first;
we would remember to focus on nurturing the whole child,
mind, body, and spirit.
We would willingly step into each other's stories,
be kinder to each other on purpose, with intention,
and love unconditionally.

We would honestly care-front one another
and initiate courageous conversations that need to happen.
We would hold one another accountable for their choices
and help each other restore what they've harmed
not just by saying sorry, but by doing sorry.
We would report stuff that doesn't seem right
so that we can work together to fix it and move on.
We would lavishly shower grace and forgiveness
and live and lead with a servant heart.

We would listen to understand more often,
and listen to respond less frequently.
We would comfort one another when they're hurting
and let them comfort us when we're hurting.
We would hug more and give the gift of hope to each other.
We would choose joy and positivity.
We would make gratitude a verb.
We would focus on progress not perfection.
We would work to be a better version of ourselves every day
while we help others do the same.
And we would connect with each other
as if our life depends on it,
because I'm pretty sure it does.

If I had my way, we would hold each other's hearts so close,
as if today were our only chance to get it right. 
We would show and tell people 
what we're thinking, 
how we're feeling,
what they mean to us.
Today.
Right now.
Because we never know what tomorrow might bring.

Such an incredible gift today's reflection time has been.

What would be different if you had your way?

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Loving What Is

Today I am excited and a little edgy because it's Day 2 of our new window installation. Turns out, out with the old, in with the new can come with a price. No, I'm not talking about how expensive it is to purchase storm windows that will withstand hurricane-strength winds coming at us with speeds of up to 110 mph. I'm actually referring to being displaced and moving everything around that's got me slightly off keel. That, and guess what we totally forgot about when we ordered new windows? Yep, blinds. The original Levelors that we've been using since we moved in twenty years ago just aren't going to cut it anymore, so out goes the old.
{Didn't I hear somewhere that old is the new new?}

Today I'm choosing to focus, with intention, on loving what is.

Loving what is working.

Loving what is positive.

Loving what is joyful.

I'll start with this Sweeter Than Sweet exhibit.

Joshua worked on this at the Houston Museum of Natural Science when he interned there two summers ago. He researched how much artificial sweetener it would take to equal 10 four-pound bags of sugar. See the beakers in back? There's your answer! He also put together the chemical compound models and it is now an actual exhibit in our Museum. Super cool, right?

I'm also loving this darling new book,

about love 

and the circle of life

and letting go

and loving what is

and then rediscovering love all over again.

It's one of those books that you might give

to a new mom at a baby shower.

Or maybe to the mother of the bride (or groom?)

on her wedding day.

One of those classic gift books.

Not only is the story super sweet, but I love the way it came to me.

As a gift, from one of my fourth grade leaders.

Who used her own money.

Who put a pick for herself on hold because 

she didn't have enough to buy both.

Love is ...  

I love that she would do that for me.

And I love that Emily Arrow made a song out of the book!

I may have to learn this one on my ukulele.

I love this Kindness Tree ...

and this box of crayons, both on display at Ward Elementary.

And I love the TeRRiFiCC entrance markers that welcome people to

Clear Lake City Elementary. 

Wouldn't you love to be a part of these State Schools of Character families?

I love that I have a friend who would craft six year's worth

of my special one little word choices on these crosses at Camp.

Thank you, Annie, for your thoughtfulness.

And though I'm home and locked in a bedroom with my cat,

trying to escape the noise and the dust

and needing to shop for blinds online,

I'm loving that our youngest is in Hawaii with his band

and sending an occasional picture our way.

They're going to be playing patriotic music in their concert

on the USS Missouri at Pearl Harbor later this week.

I especially love that they'll be uniting with a neighboring band from Dickinson High School to play a few of the songs together.

I'm also loving that Kaitlyn is hiking in Colorado with friends

and Jacob is in the Hill Country camping with friends.

I love that they have good friends

 to travel with,

to hang out with,

to do fun stuff with.

And I love that I get to work with this passionate leadership team.

Here's what we give to our staff on their special celebration day,

along with a birthday pencil and a chocolate bar.

Oh, and I love my husband, 

who just popped his head in the bedroom,

to see if he could bring me a diet Dr. Pepper.

He also offered a pedicure, but he left to get the soda before I could answer yes!

And so, dear reader, the point of today's post is this:

When things feel a little askew,

and it seems like life might go awry, 

{like, say, blindly ordering windows

without even thinking about window dressing},

try loving what is

instead of what isn't.

Make a list.

Say a prayer of thanks.

And move onward.

Here's to loving what is.

 And on that note, I must move on for my dentist appointment;

gotta love that annual spring break check up!

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