Sep 12, 2007

bittersweet: life as a bar of dark chocolate

september flowers

The sweet: My backyard is ablaze in yellow, as these plants have one last raucous outburst ...

The bitter: ... before the first freeze comes. Then they will make their humble retreat, unceremoniously becoming part of the soil from whence they came.

The bitter: Already a month of the school year has come and gone. Before I know it I will be leaving Mexico, my students, and my life here. I just returned from faxing a job ad to AMI's headquarters in Holland. Yeah. The one that will (hopefully) attract my replacement. This was hard. That fork in the road up ahead? It's no oasis.

The sweet: I'm going "home." Beginning a new chapter. Connecting with old friends and meeting new faces. Becoming part of a vibrant university intellectual community once again.

The bittersweet theme rings true in many areas of my life at the moment. I'm endeavoring to savor life as the dark bar of chocolate that it becomes when it's all taken in perspective. After all, it's the bitter that makes the chocolate rich, its flavor deep, and its delight lasting.

P.S. If you haven't listened to CraftSanity's podcast with Amanda of SouleMama, please do. I believe it touches on this theme. It's very uplifting. I really love Amanda - both her approach to raising children and her effusive creativity that touches every moment of her life as a mother and crafter. It's an hour well-spent.


4 comments:

Sarita said...

Well I hope you keep blogging about your adventures... :)

Anonymous said...

oh, the bittersweet. you write about it beautifully. And thank you for your very kind words about the podcast - you're sweet.
Wait till you see the second photo in my post today - sweet serendipity with yours!

mamma said...

I have checked your blog often and I really enjoy your craft ideas and thoughts about children and education. I like the idea of choclate being bittersweet, only if there is not enough sweet to cut that bitter - it would seem one would be less likely to love that chocolate! Seems where I live we could use a little more sweet this time of year....

Bethany said...

How exciting! A new chapter in your life. I can't wait to hear what you're doing and where you're going. This seems like it was such a wonderful experience for you and those kids are going to miss you immensely!!!!