365 Project: June

The month of June brought many changes, not the least of which was my retirement.

Knowing that my career as a teacher/librarian was drawing to a close, I decided to include more pictures of students and school life. Flowers and holidays also appeared in some of the daily photos.

By far the most viewed image was Good Bye! As buses pulled out of the parking lot on the last day of school, elementary teachers gathered to give their students a rousing send off


I decided to include two "bonus" photos, one from my college yearbook


the other from a staff picnic/retirement celebration


since both images are associated with major changes in my life.

My favorite photos this month were The Visitor, because it was totally unplanned and unexpected (I didn't even SEE the insect until I cropped the photo!)


and A Grand Old Flag. This little girl is the first member of our extended family born in the 21st Century


I hope her life is as interesting and full of adventures as mine has been... and I'm not done yet!




You can see a slideshow of the 30 June photos (plus 2 "bonus" pix) here or view all of my 2009 photos to date here.

The two groups to which I contribute are 365/2009 and 2009/365.

New Steps of Change

"The horizon leans forward, offering you space to place new steps of change." - Maya Angelou

Today was my last day as the K-12 Library Media Specialist in Fort Ann, NY. Yesterday, I said good bye to students; this afternoon, I bid farewell to teaching colleagues and staff members.

Teaching was not my first career, nor will it be my last. I've been a social worker, day care provider, bookstore clerk, and librarian in both academic and public libraries. Now, I'm an online editor and facilitator. If life offers me any other opportunities, I'll accept them gladly.

Forty years ago, this photo of me appeared on the last page of my college yearbook.



Now, as I did then, I'm walking away from one world to enter another. Exits are also entrances. Doors and gates open to new possibilities.

I think I'm ready for the next Journey.

A Single Small Globe Against the Stars

Yesterday, I watched a 2-hour parade that honored Flag Day. There were bands, floats, fire engines, clowns, a princess, even an Elvis tribute artist. Little children scrambled for candy under the watchful eyes of parents, while their younger siblings slumbered in strollers.

The crowd spontaneously applauded as men and women in uniform marched by. Hats off, hands on hearts: flags were saluted with obvious emotion visible on many faces.

There is still room in our flattening world for love of country:

"What do we mean by patriotism in the context of our times? I venture to suggest that what we mean is a sense of national responsibility... a patriotism which is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime." - Adlai E. Stevenson

combined with a broader world view:

“It is not easy to see how the more extreme forms of nationalism can long survive when men have seen the Earth in its true perspective as a single small globe against the stars.” -Arthur C. Clarke

In the end

"A man's feet must be planted in his country, but his eyes should survey the world." -George Santayana

*A Flickr slideshow of the Saratoga, NY Flag Day Parade can be seen here.




"Town Meeting Crowd" by redjar
"space" by Jram23

Eyes to See

"I have eyes to see now what I have never seen before." -Anonymous

The above quote was written in the late 1870s by a correspondence student of American chemist and educator, Ellen H. Richards. The student was learning through the Society to Encourage Studies at Home, founded in 1873 by Anna Eliot Ticknor.

Paul C, of quoteflections, has issued an invitation:

For the month of June could anyone so inclined go on an interesting personal journey for good quotations and include some reflections?...You could select one a day, or skip some days and do twenty...or ten for the month. It is entirely up to you.

Since these are our final, crazy weeks of school here in upstate New York, I've decided that weekly quote/reflections would best fit my schedule.

The anonymous quote I've chosen appeals to me for a few reasons.

It was written by a correspondence student, a female who chose to further her education in a non-traditional manner. If this woman were alive today, I am certain that she would be exploring the rich diversity of digital learning opportunities, just as I am.

These words might also describe my growing love affair with photography. I've been contributing a daily photo to two Flickr groups, 365/2009 and 2009/365, and my attention to detail and appreciation of the world around me has increased exponentially.

I now have "eyes to see."

"Me, Myself, and Eye" by Clearly Ambiguous