A Little Calm, A Little Chaos & a Lot of Abundance
Hi Everyone,
Happy Sunday! I hope all is well in your world.
I am almost finished with my painting for the Fair. It’s titled Abundance, and I’ve been keeping it in the corner of my studio so I can let it percolate a little and see if there are any other changes I want to make. But honestly, I’m really liking it. There’s a softness to this painting that I love, especially with that beautiful purply background color. I’m trying not to fuss with it too much and talk myself out of what I like about it. We’ll see!
Let me know what you think.
Next, a little bright spot in what was otherwise a pretty rough Friday at school…
I came home from school to an email from a friend telling me how happy she was about an article I had been featured in. I had no idea! It was such a wonderful surprise—not only to find out that I had been featured, but to hear from a friend who was genuinely excited for me. It really meant a lot.
A while back, I had submitted some information about myself and my art to https://www.karenabend.com/, but I didn't know when—or even if—it would end up being featured. So, getting that email was a lovely surprise. I feel very honored to have been chosen, and I have to admit, it gave me a bit of a boost and a nudge.
One of the things I do most Sunday mornings is look through Substack. I love the way it serves up this wonderful, curated collection of writing, ideas, art, and creativity. It's become one of my favorite little Sunday rituals. So, I'm thinking maybe it's time I dip my toes into Substack myself and start posting over there.
If you're curious, you can https://docs.google.com/document/d/15LAmaTkpOedFgnvsh7Z2DlRJg7ANTW_vQrWOYikU564/edit?usp=sharing. And I've included a screenshot of the email that started this whole little happy surprise at the bottom of the post.
And now…back to school!
Last week was our first full week with students. So, how did Calm Flow work out?
Well…hit and miss.
For the first three days of school, my AC was out. It was HOT. So, that was challenging—and sweaty. I came home every day and took a shower!
We’re also still working out our schedules and rosters because students are continuing to register, so there has been a lot of adjusting and readjusting. Some classes were great, and it is just so cute to see those little kindergarteners walking down the hallway and calling out, “Hi, Mrs. Schurer!”
Those moments make me smile.
But I also had a couple of classes that were a struggle.
I have a now-fifth-grade class that is big and noisy, and even though my goal this year is Calm Flow, I still feel like I spend too much time raising my voice with this group. They were a challenge the last couple of years, and apparently, the struggle is continuing into this year.
And then there was a first-grade class where…well, everything went sideways.
There was screaming—not me, a student—tears, spills, and that unmistakable feeling that everything was completely out of control. It was one of those classes where you get to the end and think, “Okay. What just happened?”
So next week, I’m going back to the drawing board with that group.
We’re going to start over.
And maybe that’s one of the things I’m learning about Calm Flow already. It doesn’t mean every class is going to be calm. It doesn’t mean every day is going to flow. Sometimes, you have to stop, take a breath, figure out what isn’t working, and begin again.
