I may not be the queen of multi-tasking, but I sure am close to being one of the princesses of it. Like many of you, my mind feeds off of stimulation, new ideas, and challenges. I’m not sure if I was born this way, if it was acquired through my upbringing, or maybe it’s a combination of the two. But however it shakes out, anyone who knows me can attest to the fact that my hands are always in about 52 different things. I see life as a blank canvas, one where any colors and ideas can be used. It’s how I’m wired; learn, try, GO...try some more. This mentality fit my life until I had my twins. While on 18 months of maternity leave from teaching, I had much more “quiet mind time” (yes, even with twins!) than ever before. You would think that this would be an incredible time of peace, but this was actually when my mind became my worst nightmare. It drove me CRAZY. Working three businesses from home, while taking care of my young family, apparently wasn’t enough to keep my mind satisfied. I felt like I was always just searching (in my head and online) for that perfect fit. And while all of this searching was going on, I would miss out on what was right in front of me. I was biting off more than I could chew to “work from home” and despite being physically present, emotionally I missed out on many special moments. Sad, but true. I would have conversations with myself to try and just let things be. I acknowledged the problem but couldn’t fix it. Despite the attempts, somehow I’d literally end up thinking about new ideas to explore. It became a vicious cycle-one of which almost had me to turn to medication. It wasn’t until I forced myself to slow this hot mess down that I discovered the power of simplicity that can be found within yourself. This was the missing piece. I had lost my grounding after having the minis. As busy as life had become with work and tots on the move, I finally learned the importance of taking care of my own well being first-before anyone else. It seemed selfish to me. But I sucked it up and started with five minute meditations and have grown from there. I saw the powerful difference it made in resurfacing my ability to be physically and emotionally present, both at home and in the classroom. Time for me is now a non-negotiable because it has the power to transform one’s life journey, which impacts the journey of others. The quest for a mindful future for our children starts with us. With that in mind, I challenge you to treat yourself to five minutes today, tomorrow and the next day to engage in whatever makes YOU happy. Just five minutes. Your life is your masterpiece. It can be anything that you want it to be, as long as you make time for yourself first. Everything else will then fall into it’s beautiful place...even as a princess multi-tasker. #5minFridayChallenge For your listening pleasure and inspiration, Masterpiece by Andy Grammer:
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Rumor has it that it takes 30 days of consistent, focused behavior to create a habit. Our inspirational school leader loves to challenge us with new ideas. Tomorrow “The Principal’s 30 Day Challenge” begins. Our UPK classroom has chosen to be consistent with practicing whole group mindfulness for 3-5 minutes a day. It is 10:45am and I grab my phone. After a handful of expectations and several prompts, the kids are ready for their first experience. I click on the Headspace App for Kids and choose “Focus” as our 3 minute mindful practice of the day. We close our eyes. “Andy” begins to walk us through a visualization journey with different animals of various sizes. Frogs, monkeys, chickens, elephants and fish make up the experience. “Mrs. N?” I peek through one eye and see a pair of brown eyes staring up at me on top of a big beautiful smile. I smile back, send the quiet signal, and gesture to close the eyes. “Shhh,” I hear from across the room. “Close your eyes!” another voice mumbles. “Hey, move into your space,” a whisper calls. I pause the mindful journey. It has been 23 seconds. Twenty-THREE!! Do I abandon and start over tomorrow or continue on? I mean, technically the challenge hasn’t started yet... Nope. Continue on we must. I take a deep breath to refocus, share a few reminders and then we close our eyes again. I hear rustling. It is coming from every angle. I take a look. Legs are moving, bodies are shifting, booties are scooting, heads are wobbling….only 2 minutes to go. We can make it. We really can! I pause to give a prompt and we start again. Once the lengthy stretch to the finish line was up, we took a minute to reflect. “What animals did you picture?” I asked. And the first answer to be shared is “A pink polar bear!” I chuckled and wrapped up Day "0's" session. It can only grow from here...haha! With love, Christy Lynn Lessons Learned by Day 2:
“I am a patient mother” is my meditative focus for this Sunday. We are amidst a bitter cold streak in our area of the country, which causes many families to hibernate. Well, hibernating with two 2 year olds can be a bit challenging, and patience can be hard to come by for the adults in their lives. So I set my intention, “I am a patient mother,” laid my head back and focused on that...until I started to hear the cries from Mini A. Then, Mini B. I can hear the stress in the voice of their father as he tries to rectify yet another squabble. It is not even 9am! I listen into the situation. Of course I want to stop what I am doing so that I can run down and help but instead I just listen. The timing of the event is purposeful. Be patient. Listen. Reflect. And the idea hits me...the girls, MY very own girls, don’t know what to do next. BUT they are ready to. They are completely present in the moment of the squabble with tears, but then what? They both default to outright cries and carrying on (sometimes for 5 minutes or more) because they have not yet been taught how to be present after the quarrel is over. And then it hits me-they need a space. They need their own Healthy Mind Space to go to to help them move on. I just thought they were too young, but are they? Teaching the girls to take ownership over their mindful presence after the heat of the moment is my new mission. I have found in the classroom how calming the features of a snow globe can be. Which means that this mom took a quick trip to Target for supplies to make our own "snow globes." With some glitter glue, warm water and glassware, we now have make our own calming “Sparkle Jars!" With love, Christy Lynn *Note: I used a recipe from this online resource to create the Sparkle Jars. There are 6 different options! |
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I'm obsessed. This is fabulous. LOVE that you are doing this. The new way of being a student forces us to think outside the box and approach how we teach more dynamically. ~Derek, Father of 2 and Elementary School Principal
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Just a girl with a dream to collectively build a healthy mind space for children, while creating a healthier mind space for ourselves. Archives
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