A Life Full of Choices

I’m thrilled—except when in the toothpaste or deodorant aisle—that life is full of choices and that we have the freedom to make large and minute decisions; the smaller ones with alarming constancy.

About four months ago I acquired a long term substitute teaching position in a school where I’ve been working for a dozen years. When asked why I was looking for more permanence after all these years, I said it was to establish a stronger, deeper bond with the children. When subbing, the relationships are very superficial and it’s hard to establish rapport. To be honest, it took several LONG weeks for the kids and I to get that bond thing working. But by the end of the school year, it felt like I was just getting started. Not only did I feel closer to the kids, but made some new adult friends as well.

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Because of working full time, creating art came to a stand still. Love the summer months of freedom and more power to choose. After careful deliberation, I selected a composition and began an oil painting—which still requires many hours of work—but painting has produced some great satisfaction, and many smiles into my days.

Still speaking of art, I’ve started a totally new process—working on scratchboard, with specially made sharp metal instruments. Once scratched, there’s no erasing, but of course there are special inks made just for scratchboard mistakes and enhancements. So I’m happy and hopeful for the tree I’m scratching, and am already looking forward to the next composition.

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Another artful decision was to try ‘one more time’ to show my work in a gallery. Even if I don’t sell enough to make it financially worthwhile, it’s been great to meet and talk with artists and patrons.

Finally, I’ve decided, and kept to my decision for the whole month of July—to establish some consistency in my approach to exercising. It’s trite, I know, but it’s time to take charge of my body, instead of flabbing around and blabbing about it. For the last 4 weeks and even the first couple days of August, I’ve been on the move. One big exercise routine is a combination of lifting weights, lunges, tummy exercises, and yoga—which all last over an hour. My other exercise is walking—whether it be to new vistas, the local marina, or a trip to the gym—the choices of venue make life interesting. If I keep up the variety, I may even increase the times of 3 or 4 days per week, to either longer or more frequent bouts.

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