Sometimes

Sometimes, when I’m out hiking, the sky is so blue. The trees are so green. The mountains are so brown. And grey. And red. And SO tall. The streams are so clear and the lakes are so turquoise.

And it is SO quiet.

Except for the birds. And the rivers. And that corner you turn and hear the waterfall for real for the first time and it sounds like a train. Then it isn’t quiet.

And I go. Up. Up more. And the views are gorgeous. So pretty that they hurt. And you get to a place and you stop. And feel small. Very small. And a year of worries and concerns melt away in an instant.

And in that instant - an instant I felt numerous times over the last month - I feel so thankful to have lived such an incredible life.

I also feel ready to go back and tackle another school year, to go out and innovate and fail and make my classroom a better place, a place students really want to be in.

I hope you were able to - or will be able to - find that place this summer.

That place, top of Sulphur Skyline. Not posed. Photo by Joe L.

My favorite image from the trip is below.