For Clinks and Giggles

Last weekend my sister visited me.  If you know me at all, you pretty much know that my sister is basically my favorite person in the world.  She's funny, caring, smart, easy-going and fun, just to name a few of her many fantastic traits.  I had a great time showing her around the Peninsula and just getting to spend some time with her in general.  Here are a few of my favorite memories from her visit:

*both of us wearing almost the same outfit when I picked her up from the airport (Sierra Nevada hoodie, jeans, brown boots and a beanie)
*not being surprised we were wearing almost the same thing
*giggling about nothing in particular
*having a snowball unintentionally thrown directly into my eye when Kath was trying to "recreate" snow falling
*seeing the sun set on Mount Baker Friday afternoon, while appreciating some other "scenery" (Aydo!)
*having the sun shine for two days in a row
*cheersing various things with her, with all sorts of beverages, including fresh pressed apple cider
*"Through the good times and the shit times..."; Dorat/Bolly?
*Building a very successful fire in my backyard fire pit
*Sunday beer
*Writing post cards with an impromptu jam session spring up next to us

Today another winter storm blew in, creating a short and snowy work day for me.  In all honesty, it was fine by me.  I have been feeling a little burned out at work, although I'm not sure why.  ...it's too early for me to be getting short-timers syndrome...  For my mood today, playing in the snow with Maise and hibernating in bed reading some of the few books I have going right now suited me just fine.  Maybe it's because I didn't grow up with snow, but I am still enamored with the way it looks when it's floating softly down, and how everything is quiet and coated in a white blanket that transforms ordinary landscapes into beauty-kissed ones.  There are mini icicles hanging from porches and other overhangs that were glistening in the waning light when Maise and I were shuffling through the powder.  Knowing that there is a minimum of a two hour delay tomorrow morning, if not a full on snow day, has also lifted my sleep deprived spirits.

One of the reasons I love this landscape here...

I'm also continuing to minimally work on applications and preparations for after my AmeriCorps service is done.  Lately I've definitely been feeling the pull back towards California more than any other time here so far.  How long will it last?  I'm worried that I will miss the natural beauty that is unique to this place and that I have steadily been falling more and more in love with.  Although I always end up following the directions my heart gives me, I worry that when it's actually time for me to "give up" living up here I will find it more difficult to leave than I predict.  I am cultivating a life here that suits me well, and part of me is definitely afraid that if I go back to California, where so much is familiar and safe, my personal growth will slow and I will become restless once again.

For now though, I am doing my best to stay present in what I'm doing here, and live with intention and be authentic to myself.  Having Kath here left me feeling refreshed and validated.  I'm excited for my mom to come in a little less than two weeks and show her some of what I've done with my life here since she and my dad helped move me up from Sacramento.

Energy Lessons

In one of the fifth grade classes I work in I got to sit in on a science lesson that one of my fellow AmeriCorps was presenting.  It was awesome.  The kids loved her, hung on her every word, and she knew her stuff and was able to present the topic in a way fifth graders understood.  Energy was the topic at hand, and she described how one type of energy (light) can help a plant grow, creating another type of energy (growth), that can then turn into energy in food form for us.  In the past few days I've been wondering how I can take one kind of my own energy (frustration and anger) and turn it into another, more productive form (change-inducing actions).

I doubt that I will ever dislike the day-to-day tasks of my job.  Overall I love working with the kids that I do, and I feel great when some of my students look at me and say "Oh, now I get it!"  Because I have been somewhat successful in creating relationships with my students and some of them now trust and like me, I have recently been able to pay more attention to the underlying factors that unfortunately sustain the challenging situations my students and the region that I live in face in this culture.

My thought process goes something like this: It seems that some parents do not prioritize their children or their children's basic education.  These parents are selfish and more concerned about making sure they have the newest phone or game console.  Why does it matter so much to have these items when their child doesn't have a proper winter coat or shoes?  Our culture says that one must show off their "wealth" through consumption of disposable items - whatever form those might come in.  By eagerly consuming disposable goods the money keeps coming in to the few who benefit from it and keep those who are forking over the money sedated into a false sense of momentary complacency because they have the sickest new gadget that does ten million tasks.  What's lacking in all of this?  In my mind it's a lack (or complete absence) of meaningful human connections and relationships.

So there are the societal pressures that create (?) selfish people who then procreate and then pass off their bad habits to their children because they are leading by example.  Then, today I read yet another article about how there are multiple proposals on how to "fix" the country's problems by cutting funding from programs that are proven to work and support multiple layers of our society.  I've read lots of these articles and cringe with every one, but this time it was personal: all AmeriCorps funding is slated to be gone.  Taken away.  As in, the way I read it, no more AmeriCorps.  Granted, this would not directly effect me because my term of service (and funding) is secure.  But what about next year and the year after and the year after?  I read that one supporter of this idea said that these cuts would help restore American's faith in the economy and help get people back to work.  Mr. Senator, let's have a real discussion about this.  Why don't you come talk with me about how my funding isn't really that important, and the work that I and all my other AmeriCorps mates are doing isn't worth the paltry stipend we receive to create real and lasting positive change in our communities.  With so many of my generation out of work with great skill sets who are ready and willing to work in positions like AmeriCorps offers I just CAN NOT understand how cutting this program will benefit not only our economy but the overall quality of life in our country.  I have heard countless people in Port Angeles comment on how they love the AmeriCops here and how much of an asset we are to the community.  I imagine wherever there are AmeriCorps members, their community members are echoing what I have heard.  How are we supposed to cultivate important relationships with one another and learn from each other and grow with each other and make the world a truly better place if there are not opportunities for people to work in capacities such as AmeriCoprs positions?  The cynic in me thinks maybe that's the point.  If we're all mice running on the wheel trying to get the new phone, etc, we won't bother to look around and see where we are and who's around us and what we're missing.  Mindless consumers don't need critical thinking skills or advanced math knowledge or, really for that matter, how to read anything more than a how-to manual to follow directions at work.

I do not accept this, though.  I never will.  There is so much more to life that accumulating things that will just break in a short matter of time.  I will work to change things, and I believe that I am not the only one.  All over the world things are changing.  People are finding their commonalities and embracing their differences and uniting to make their dreams reality.  My anger and frustration energy will find a conductor path to join into so that it may change form and become lasting change.

Digging In

Yesterday was the first of two weekends of helping with a Plant-a-Thon where 5000 native trees and shrubs are planted to help restore prime salmon habitat.  It felt amazing to be out in the mud and fresh air and drizzle.  At the beginning of the day I felt kind of lost and unsure of what I was doing.  Many of the people on my crew knew one another from their schools, and also knew about the trees and shrubs we were planting and where they should be planted.  I had to remind myself that I am here, in Washington, to learn things and grow and push myself in new areas that I might not always be comfortable in.

Within a little while of scooping and digging mud and getting the trees and shrubs Tim, one of my co-team leaders, was laying out in the best spots for them, I felt like I was getting in the groove of things.  The high school guys who I was on a team with made feel included and made it easy for me to chime in on their conversation about "winning the game" and "losing the game" (...and now I just lost the game, for those of you who who play...) and zombies and the salmon habitat we were helping restore.  Another co-team leader, Lauren, is from California, too, and we compared notes about what we miss about that landscape and what we love about this one.  After digging the first few holes, I felt like I had a handle on controlling my shovel, and realized I wasn't the only one with fist sized rocks in the soil I was trying to scoop out.  By the end of the day I decided I was at least competent in creating holes deep enough for the trees roots and getting the plant protectors around the planted trees and shrubs.

While I had a great time just planting and being covered in mud, I thought about the other meanings that these plantings have.  One is that we are hopefully restoring a habitat that has a multitude of beneficial effects for the environment.  Much of the area around Tarboo Creek was cleared for farming at the beginning of the last century.  This altered the habitat that the salmon were used to, creating adaptation "problems" for them.  It's my understanding that these salmon reproduce every four years, so if in that time period their habitat has changed a great deal then their chances for a hearty survival are diminished.  Parts of the creek were also channelized in order to aid in farming the area, which further exacerbated the issues salmon were facing.  Now, these changes did not just cause issues for the salmon, but also for the area at large.  More sediment was washed out into the bay, which then created more issues, and it goes on and on down the domino-effect chain.  The night before I went out to plant I read an article about large swaths of the Amazon Rainforest  dying from an extreme drought in 2010, and how this may cause copious amounts of carbon to be released into the atmosphere.  The Amazon has been thought to be a carbon sink, but now because of the drought and dead trees decaying could instead be a carbon emitter.  As I was planting some of the 1500 trees and shrubs yesterday I thought about how maybe these baby trees can help sequester some carbon and improve to the atmosphere overall, not "just" help the salmon population.

The other part of the Plant-a-Thon, perhaps my favorite part, is that every tree and shrub is planted in honor of someone.  I'm not sure how all that is organized, or how one goes about sponsoring a tree or shrub in someone's name, but I am in love with the idea.  Although I didn't officially dedicate a planting to someone, while I was planting I thought about my loved ones who work hard to make the world a better place for all Her inhabitants.  "This tree is for Lani, my Earth Goddess love, who radiates sunshine through the blackest clouds and believes in love and beauty and equity for every being in the universe."  "This tree is for Aunt Ann, whose wisdom and love work inspires me to continue working even in the apparent face of defeat."  "This is for Mom, whose kind and loving words and actions towards all raised me to try and emulate the same."  The list goes on...

...and this tree is for you!  <3