12+ Things about Me
Side Note…This is also a great list of questions to ask one another at a gathering, like a holiday dinner.
What three words describe you best? optimistic, driven, measured.
Where do you feel most at home? Outdoors, of course! But to be more specific, I love to walk, surrounded by fresh air, trees, grasses and animals, especially birds! I say walk rather than hike because hiking sounds like “work” to many.
What is something not many people know about you? If I’m indoors too long, especially during daylight hours, I start to feel really uncomfortable. For me, “too long” is about two hours. I need fresh air and the open sky above my head to feel balanced and at ease.
What values guide your decisions day to day? Integrity. Integrity means doing the right thing, even when it’s not easy. For me, it’s important to follow through on my promises and stay true to my values. At the end of each day, I want to feel good about the choices I’ve made, knowing I tried to make the world a better place.
What kind of world are you quietly trying to help create? One that is connected…connecting people to each other and to the Earth. I believe it’s essential to bring people together in authentic ways, face-to-face and heart-to-heart, so they learn how to truly live and work together as humans.…and so at nature school we spend a lot of time playing. Playing is how kids learn. They learn so much through play, including how to relate to one another.
Equally important is connecting people to nature. My goal is to immerse children in the natural world for many hours each day; so many hours and so deeply that their bond with nature becomes part of who they are. It’s not something we “teach”; it’s something they live, feeling the earth beneath their feet, subconsciously observing the changing seasons, and discovering the rhythms of the wild. In that space, their connection to nature takes root until it becomes integral, instinctive, and everlasting.What kind of activities lights you up? Making useful things using ancestral methods. I love working by hand with simple tools and natural materials. These types of activities are often done in group settings making for a meaningful connection to community as well as the earth and tradition.
What is your favorite color? Blue. And green I can’t choose just one.
What is your favorite song? What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong
What is your favorite clothing item? Shawls! And in the summer, long flowy skirts.
Where would you like to go on your next vacation? Although I would like to see ALL of the world, I must say, at this particular moment, I would like to go to Europe. Probably Eastern Europe. Or Africa!
What are you learning or struggling with right now? Balancing work and life is something I’m (always) working on. I need to practice more self-care in the form of filling my cup with more fun and less work. I don’t need grand gestures like vacations or spa days. What truly recharges me is taking a class, led by someone else, with friends or family. It’s about learning, connecting, and stepping outside my usual routine that feels joyful and restorative.
What’s something you hope for in the next year? Peace…peace for me, peace for my loved ones, peace for the world. It may sound cheesy, but that is truly my wish. I feel there is so much angst in the world right now, that I just want us all to feel a little more peace in our hearts.
What snack would you never share? My students will laugh at this one. We have a no sharing lunch policy this year and there are times when I truly want to share but then remind myself that I can’t because of my own rule! But to answer the question, I love raspberries and cucumbers straight out of the garden. My garden is still in its soil building stage plus I don’t put enough time into my garden and so it does not produce a lot. And so I find myself secretly gobbling up the cucumbers as soon as they are big enough to eat…and I don’t share them!
What smell instantly makes you happy? Coffee and toast. It reminds me of when I was a child. It was the smell I woke up to every morning.
What weather makes you feel most like you?I love all kinds of weather. I realize that sounds like a cliché for a nature school teacher, but it’s true. I do different things in different weather. Sled in the snow, swim in the summer, make fires in the fall. I really appreciate the variety that nature provides. After weeks of blazing sun, rain feels like a gift. And after endless gray days, sunshine feels like magic.
What was your favorite thing to do as a kid that you still love now? Playing kids games, like tag!
What’s a small, cozy ritual you look forward to every day? I wake up very early every morning because I cherish the quiet of the morning. I enjoy sipping my warm, dandelion-mushroom-vitamin drink while finalizing my lesson plans for the day.
What tiny thing makes a day feel “good” to you? Sunshine in the winter.
What animal feels most like your inner self today? Deer
It is your birthday month. What is your favorite birthday cake? My mom’s famous Kringle. It is like a giant, cake-sized eclair filled with A LOT of creamy pudding-type filling and drizzled, nope, scratch that, drenched in chocolate icing!