Oh, it's contentment.
Well hello, contentment. It's been a while, yes? How have you been? Oh. You've been content. Of course. Well, not me. Not until recently.
Maybe it's because I live in a HOME now where I feel welcome. Not a house where I feel like a barely tolerated burden.
Maybe it's because of all the walking I have been doing and the endorphins that has been releasing.
Maybe it's because instead of cars outside, I hear kids practicing baseball across the street.
It COULD be because I have a comfortable bed now that doesn't have squeaky springs so I get a good nights sleep and feel rested. It gets harder and harder to get out of bed each morning. I hit my snooze later and later every day. And I cannot WAIT for the weekend so I can sleep in!
It could be because I can shower whenever I want.
It could EVEN be because I feel like I am a part of this house rather than a random addition and Kathy COMMUNICATES with me and I HELP her with things and she is CONSIDERATE of me and I of her.
But if you are asking me, I think it's probably a combination of ALL these things.
That's just me.
I think it also has to do with E.O. Wilson, warm covers, space, flexibility, new music (lost of it), a new month, and....
wait for it....
...
WORK.
I imagine you are confused, contentment. When have I EVER felt you while working (except when kids have been involved)? There are no kids programs, so why should you accompany me during my regular work hours?
I'll tell you why.
But that story starts with a familiar friend (and your long time rival) discouragement.
The program I have been working towards since February, "Kids Can Grow", flopped. After all that outreach, the publicity, the effort, the meetings, the anticipation, the WORK, we only had two kids sign up. Not enough to run the program. Not the way it was meant to be run.
So we collectively decided that it was not going to happen and notified the two families.
Discouragement managed to cling to me through most of the weekend. Then, I realized that I could either let discouragement be my desk buddy, or I could move on.
I decided on the latter. I began to let my mind roam and imagine things that I COULD do with my now free summer. I prepared to present these ideas to the education committee when we met.
They loved EVERY one of my ideas and gave me the go ahead to pursue all of them! Suddenly, I go from discouragement to ENCOURAGEMENT!
I have my work cut out for my, I tell you what. But they are all things I WANT to do!
1. Children's Garden: though we cannot do "Kids Can Grow" that doesn't mean we should abandon the children's garden. So we decided that we would still have a weekly children's garden day. I have been POURING through Sharon Lovejoy books looking for new and fresh ideas. Like a PIZZA garden, mini trough gardens, a "bucket o' spuds" garden, a bean tee-pee, and ALL KINDS of activities we can do with kids in these gardens. We can plant lemon verbena and sunflowers, and FUN plants! There is just SO MUCH I can DO! And, though I am in love with the idea of "Kids Can Grow" and all that it offers for kids, I think I will have a lot of fun this summer with this garden.
2. Movie night: I proposed that we have a nature movie night maybe twice a month. We could show episodes of Planet Earth. We could show some kids movies. All those Disney Earth films would be good. But we would try to show films for a diversity of groups. And we would ask for donations to help offset the cost of popcorn and a Netflix account. They loved it. So I am going forward with that.
3. A Monthly Music Series: This would but for the summer and fall. June-October. We would search for local musicians who might be willing to play here for free or for a minimal fee. They could play in the gazebo and we could have a suggested donation of $5 or something like that to offset cost. I know a COUPLE Merryspring Members who are musicians. And I can ask around the Down East Singers. MUSIC! WOO!
4. Having a morning birders club: Birding is "said" to be the fastest growing outdoor sport right now. I have no idea how true that really is, but I know A LOT of people here are interested in birding. There is some concern because we lost a lot of avid birders ever since introduced the off leash dog field. But I think we might still be able to get a group that meets weekly or Bi-monthly to go birding. Merryspring has a lot to offer!
5. A weather camp or "Experimental Scientist" camp held in the Fall: I think this would be a lot of fun. We could do it after school for a week or all day for a weekend. There is a lot of potential and my hope is that we can INCREASE our school outreach to get to the kids DIRECTLY in order to encourage more participation.
We already have two schools who want to bring groups to Merryspring for a tour in the summer and I hope that MORE will sign up as well!
I am still working on getting someone to help with the Interpretive trail but I think that is going to happen.
I am determined to ENJOY my work! I am going to leave my mark at Merryspring. They are going to remember Sarah Lambson as someone who tried her best to leave this place better than when she came to it.
I will not be defeated by discouragement!
In other news, I have started studying for the GRE. I am scared that I am not Grad School worthy. That being said, I am already considering Utah State University and the University of Rhode Island. Any other suggestions?
3 comments:
I'm so glad you and contentment are getting re-acquainted - I'm working on that relationship myself (:
AND YOUR IDEAS SOUND AWESOME!! I hope you have as much fun executing them as you seem to have had generating them! Talk to you soon...
UTAH STATE UTAH STATE UTAH STATE UTAH STATE UTAH STATE UTAH STATE.
*cough*
Sorry.
Yeah, I agree with Juli! Your ideas are AMAZING! I wish I were in Maine so I could be a part of this summer with you!
Ditto - and, if the bean teepee is on-line, send me the link. My bean growing teepees were too short, I think.
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