RAIN

Things have still been hyper intense over here with my new job. Not bad, just very stressful.

I figured out last night that this situation, how things are, will not change for at least another year. There are various reasons for that, which I won't go into.

So, I decided that I am the one who has to change and figure out a way to handle the situation in a more sustainable way.

So, after letting that thought sink in before falling asleep last night, I had a beautiful dream that I really treasure. Just a simple little dream in which my mom was showing me pictures of when I was a little girl. In one of them, I was running in the rain, with my head thrown back, and I was laughing. Looking at that picture in my dream, I could feel that true happiness and simplicity of the state I was in; that pure enjoyment of what is, for no particular reason.

Outside of my dream, I know that that feeling is real, and I know that it was a reminder for me that this state of simple joy is always accessible to me, even now when I am burdened with the cares and stresses of daily life.

Today, after I taught my class, I was posting a video on my YouTube channel. I started my own physics YouTube channel, to help students solve problems, etc. (go to YouTube and search Raluca Mocanu Physics and it should come up, if you're interested).

When I finished uploading my video, another video popped up. Like my dream last night, it was also on the theme of Rain, coincidentally or not, and it held a beautiful message and a method that felt almost like a reminder / complement to what I saw in my dream. The video is called "5 hindrances to self mastery" and Here it is if you want to watch it.

Peace

It really is the little things, sometimes...

One of my students anonymously posted this sticker this morning on our virtual white board while I was teaching my Physics class. I did not see it until after the class, but when I did, it made me so happy.

I guess I'm doing something right, at least for some of the students, even though things have felt so stressful over the past few weeks...

And here's snapshot of what my "white board" looks like teaching remotely. I got myself a stylus and pad that I can hook up to my computer and write on, so it appears on the screen like this. It's fun!

Peace

A Little bit of an update

 Things have been crazy with my new job: coming in one month into the semester, trying to jump right in, get to know the students, cover the material to prepare them for the AP Physics exam, and figuring out the classroom technology at the same time. On top of it, the ongoing school closures and changes due to covid. The latest was on Friday, being told that we're going fully remote for the next two weeks. Just when I had figured out the smartboard in the classroom :)

I've had to do most of this pretty much on my own. But on the upside, I have already made some great connection with the kids in my class. They are so smart and sweet, and I really care about them already. That is enough to carry me through this period of stress.

Furthermore, the teachers at my old school have been so encouraging and amazing, really boosting me up and telling me that they think I'm going to be a great teacher. It really means so much to me, and I have learned so much from them over the past year, sitting in their classrooms and seeing how they teach.

As far as the farm, things are going really well considering how busy Ed and I have both been doing our own thing. Our worker, Dan, has been keeping everything afloat, and sales have been very good. We still have a lot of vegetables in the field.

I am still doing deliveries every Friday, which is actually a good thing, because the drive time gives me a break from overthinking and generally trying to do too much. I am also milking the cows once a week, but I had to stop making cheese because it was too much. I still make yogurt though.

So that's about it for my update. To sum it up, I would say that things have been crazy, but also that I am very excited, and I really think that being a physics teacher it will suit me well. 

I hope you guys are all doing well :)

Oh yeah, and don't forget, whatever you do, don't forget to:

Peace 

Aiyana is 15!!!

 Aiyana got her first leather jacket yesterday for her 15th birthday.

Happy birthday to our lovely, smart, creative, kind, animal lover, and always fashionable Aiyana!!!!