​Because of a global pandemic, I have spent a lot of time at home the past 5 months. I’ve read numerous books, listened to countless podcasts, completed several puzzles, spent hours on Zoom, watched way too much Netflix, and I even took 3 months of online guitar lessons. 
 
While everyone else was ordering toilet paper and Clorox wipes online, I decided to order my first Paint By Number canvas. There are hundreds of beautiful paintings to choose from. The concept seems simple – match the numbered paints to the numbered areas on the canvas.
 
The company’s website says, “Relieve stress and reveal your creative side.” Apparently, lots of other people were also feeling the stress of the pandemic, because sales on their website drastically increased and it took over 2 months for my canvas to arrive.

​As my students lined up at the end of the day on March 12th, I reminded them, “Remember to study your spelling words tonight. Tomorrow we’ll learn a new cursive letter and we’ll continue working on our famous American project.”
 
As they left our classroom, they smiled and each one gave me a hug, handshake, or high five. “Have a great night. See you tomorrow,” I said.
 
At the time, we had no idea that we had just spent our last day together in our classroom. We had no idea how much we would miss a “normal” school day.

In the midst of a global pandemic, I have found it hard to put into words everything I'm feeling right now. And then I heard the song "You Already Know" by JJ Heller. 

After hearing her beautiful song, these words came to my mind....

I Can Trust You With Tomorrow
 
When so much seems uncertain
And I don’t understand your ways
I trust in your unchanging word
And I fall to my knees to pray
 
I give you my worries
I give you my fears
I give you my questions
I give you my tears
 
You give me comfort
You give me peace
You give me hope
And reassure me
 
When others are distant
You remain near
When I feel weak
You’ll help me persevere
 
I can trust you with tomorrow
Because you were with me yesterday
I can trust that you’re still good
Because I feel loved by you today

​I was standing in line at Chipotle, waiting my turn to place my order. No matter what time I go, there always seems to be a line. The man in front of me had a list and was ordering meals to-go for his entire family.  When he got to the register, he looked over at me and told the cashier, “Add her meal to my bill.”
 
I immediately said, “That’s so nice of you, but you don’t have to do that.” He replied, “I want to. Sorry for the extra wait.” I was still in shock, but thanked him, and walked out the door with a smile on my face and my free Chipotle dinner in hand.
 
This complete stranger had no idea of the long day that I had, but because of his random act of kindness, I ended that day feeling joyful. 

​Happy New Year! For many people, January means making New Year’s resolutions....and then breaking them days, weeks, or months later. I used to be one of these people, but five years ago I decided to make a change.
 
Instead of resolutions, I simply picked one word to focus on for the entire year. I saw such positive results, that I have continued selecting a new word each year.
 
Here are my words from previous years: