In 1838 this woman climbed Mont Blanc with 18 bottles of wine, 26 roast chickens and a carrier pigeon. The person in question was Henriette D'Angeville, who became the first woman to ascend Mont Blanc in her own particular style.

Because my daughter grew up with horses

She has learned to learn on her own.

She has had teachers that cannot speak, nor write, nor communicate beyond body language and reactions.

26 years ago, I was pregnant with my son and my first child. A friend who would later become a godparent to our daughter, who would arrive two years later, announced that she had melanoma. This frightened her, and what would later be the beginning of a series of challenges she would face, she somehow continued to be strong with a clear intention of her desire. She still had plans.

I’m sitting on my porch for a spell in between two very busy times in my life. Taking a moment to observe the stillness I am suddenly reminded of the busyness that surrounds me.

Much like this song “ Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley - I am reminded of the simplicity and amazement of nature. You see, residing within a homemade birdhouse that my children made a dozen years ago at their middle school, live a small family of birds with very busy parents.

I started preschool when I was 4 years old. On the 6th of May, I turned 62—my entire life has encircled around the agrarian needs of a school calendar with its beginnings and endings differing from the traditional 12-month calendar.

True joy is a limitless, life-defining, transformative reservoir waiting to be tapped into. It requires the utmost surrender and, like love, is a choice to be made.

Why do we practice hard things? So that we know we can, perhaps. As humans, our emotions arise spontaneously - are we a masterpiece in the making? This question can deepen our perspective where we can see the long game and be connected to purpose. In the end, we seek JOY. We may pray, practice and meditate, re-training our muscles and our mind to seek JOY.

I am a fortunate being to witness both scenarios … of love and that love permeates both the wonder of innocence and the grief of losing our loved ones. Love is a force, is the connective tissue and what we source from in being held in community.