December 22, 2015 {336/365}
"It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness." - Chinese proverb, Confucius, Eleanor Roosevelt? (Who really said that?) Today is the shortest, darkest day of the year, so light a candle and enjoy the coziness. It only gets better from here!
December 21, 2015 {355/365}
"One fish, two fish, three fish, more fish!" (adapted from Dr. Seuss)
Last spring while walking in the Third Ward, I noticed three little fish painted on the sidewalk. As with everything that catches my eye, I snapped a picture (below). Yet since it didn't seem worthy of my photo of the day, I had almost forgotten about those fish until yesterday. On our way to brunch at Trocadero on the Lower East Side, I spotted them again (above). Apparently they're all over town. A little research revealed that artis, Jeremy Novy, has also painted them in Honolulu, Chicago, New Orleans, San Francisco, New York, New Haven, and Northern California. Have you spotted any? Novy paints the fish where "artists or free-thinkers or people who think differently gather...They cause people to see beauty and color." In Chinese mythology, koi change into dragons when they reached the top of the Yangtze River. Their images symbolize perseverance, courage, independence, individualism, and ambition. Novy's art is meant to bring messages of harmony, equality, love, friendship, diversity, and peace.
(Read more about these lovely discoveries here.)
December 20, 2015 {354/365} "You had me at hello."
December 19, 2015 {353/365)
"God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December." - James M. Barrie (Well, memory and florists ;)
December 19, 2015 {352/365]
"Nature's far too subtle to repeat herself." - Paul Muni
Amid the bright lights and decorations of the season, take time to notice the unique and understated.
December 17, 2015 {351/365}
"Develop a passion for learning and you will never cease to grow." - Anthony J. D'Angelo
Today, I had the pleasure of presenting a mini French lesson to the Pewaukee High School Humanities class. These students have autism, Down Syndrome, dyslexia, and other severe learning challenges, yet they were reading and speaking French in less than thirty minutes. I was so inspired by their enthusiasm, their encouragement of each other, and their genuine delight in their own accomplishments. Today, I was proud to be a teacher.