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How I’m Learning To Step Out Of The Comfort Zone Of Creativity

Posted on May 16, 2016 by

“The only unique contribution we’ll make in this world will be born of creativity.” ~ Brene Brown

There’s this crazy, confusing thing  happening as I get older. As I’ve passed through the decades and find myself looking at a life ahead that is bound to be on the downhill slope, I see with clarity things that I hadn’t seen before -I see the urgency to step out of the comfort zone of creativity.

Perhaps these things were never there to begin with. Maybe they’ve been inside all the time, and it’s taken this long to realize that creativity is a need, not a want.

I’ve never been what I considered the ‘creative’ type. My sister, my aunts, my mom, my grandmother – now there are women who are creative. Canvas becomes startling images of beauty. Clay transforms into object. Fabric turns into clothing and pillows and bags.

The closest I’ve ever felt to being creative was through my garden. My approach a cultivation painted with reckless strokes, sometimes wild combinations of color and texture, but always with the hands of a woman trying to squeeze beauty into my space; of one attempting to simultaneously curb and release the loveliness of a part of what makes a home. I guess some might consider parenting an exercise in creativity; I’ve always felt that if I do it well enough, my children will be my greatest contribution to the world.

Step Out Of The Comfort Zone Of Creativity

Step Out Of The Comfort Zone Of Creativity

My garden is my creative escape.

“When did inspiration promise us that it owes us anything?” ~ Elizabeth Gilbert

Writing wove its way into my life five years ago; blogging transformed my private journal scribbles into a rough-hewn, unrefined platform to practice sharing my stories for the first time. As my children aged and my confidence matured, I recklessly dove into my newly released creativity. Inspired to connect with other women – mothers and teachers and writers and like-minded creative spirits who used words as their outlet, I greedily crafted a community that lifted me up, gave me courage, and reminded me that I need to write every day.

“When you get to the place where standing on the edge is more fearful than the risk of failure, I think you owe it to yourself and your world to leap.” ~Brene Brown

And here I find myself, half-way to 51, standing on the edge of what is left of my life. I see my children launching into adulthood with grace and courage. I write and publish and share and push myself to refine, to reflect. I know the nest will be empty soon, and I’ll be left with a vastness ready to fill.

I think about teaching another 15 years, and wonder if the system will support my need for change. I’m astonished I’ve made it this far – 25 years ago, I comforted myself with the notion that there were so many possibilities in the world, and when I didn’t like teaching anymore, I would jump, hoping that the net would catch me.

Turning 50 has created a strange sense of comfort and discontent; the moments when I sit in my writing space, surrounded by all that I’ve created in this life, I feel as if there is nowhere else I would rather – or I should be. I breathe deeply and slowly and write my daily gratitude for home and family and this span of moments which weave together so exquisitely. I wonder where my creativity could lead me, and what is worth doing even if I fail.

Step Out Of The Comfort Zone Of Creativity

Looking down from my writing space.

“Failure has a function. It asks you if you really want to go on making things.” ~Clive James

And then the discontent creeps in on the back of absolute acknowledgment of where I am. I know my days are finite. I see my mothering transfer into my children as they age and grow and find their own space in the world. I wonder where my creativity could lead me, and what is worth doing even if I fail.

Now is the time to step out of the comfort zone of creativity, the time to leap without knowing where the landing is. It’s the time to trust the creative journey, and to know that whatever challenge the day presents is there for a reason.

It’s time to go on making things and continue the story.

Jennifer Wolfe

Jennifer Wolfe, a writer-teacher-mom, is dedicated to finding the extraordinary in the ordinary moments of life by thinking deeply, loving fiercely, and teaching audaciously. Jennifer is a Google Certified Educator, Hyperdoc fanatic, and a voracious reader. Read her stories on her blog, mamawolfe, and grab free copies of her teaching and parenting resources.

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Easy Ways To Embrace A Healthy Lifestyle

Posted on May 2, 2016 by

At this point in life, I’m learning that things that used to be easy in my twenties, like sitting cross-legged for hours on end, just aren’t quite as simple now. Or running a 5K. Or staying up late to go to see The Cure in concert night after night.  Passing 50 last December was certainly a milestone I’m proud of. But I’m equally proud of the work I’ve done to embrace a healthy lifestyle. I’ve realized that while some things used to be easier in my twenties and thirties, many struggles I had back then have ceased to be as anxiety ridden. I’ve learned that embracing a healthy lifestyle means more than just counting calories and getting enough sleep; I’m learning that for me to feel whole and balanced and joyful requires a few key elements.

Easy Ways To Embrace A Healthy Lifestyle

Setting boundaries

Like many working moms, I struggled in my thirties with how to balance my teaching career with motherhood. I wanted both. I knew I needed to work outside the home, and I felt the opposing pull to stay as close to my babies as possible. I tried every schedule I could think of. I switched schools, changed the subject I taught, and quit then worked part-time then quit again. Finally, after six years of this yo-yo life with teaching and mothering, I landed in the right school with the right schedule. In the fourteen years since, I’ve become adept at drawing the home/work boundaries. I didn’t grade papers when the kids were awake. I took time off to drive on field trips, and volunteered in their classrooms. I was home (mostly) in the afternoons and did the things with them that I wanted to do. It wasn’t always easy, but setting boundaries then has prepared me to set boundaries for myself. I draw a line between my work life and my creative/at home life, and rarely cross it.

Contributing to my community

When my four-year-old son started karate, one line of his daily pledge was to ‘contribute to my community’. I loved that message, and because of him we took it seriously. I tried to weave age-appropriate acts of giving into our lifestyles, and to teach my children that you get what you give. I love simple acts of kindness like bringing our neighbors some fresh cookies out of the oven, or bringing the kids to visit their great-grandmother at the senior center. We evolved into more involved, planned contributions such as trash pick up around our favorite creek, or cooking and serving meals at the homeless shelter. As teens, I’ve taken my kids to help improve schools in Nicaragua and am encouraging them to study and find jobs in order to make the world a better place.

easy ways to embrace a healthy lifestyle

Getting outside every day

In my twenties I used to love to run. Now, I love to walk. And I’m ok with that. yes, I have to walk much farther to burn the same calories as running, but to me, walking is meditation and exercise. I walk the dog, walk to errands, and walk to socialize with friends. I love to walk in cities I’m visiting, or along the beach. In the mountains, there’s nothing better than walking along a trail and just paying attention to what’s around me. Sometimes I listen to podcasts, but often it’s just me and my dog, and my teens (if I’m lucky!). A daily dose of nature lifts my spirits and reminds me that I’m just one small part of a very big universe.

Enjoying the ordinary moments

When my kids were little, I was obsessed with videotaping everything. I’m old enough that smart phones didn’t exist during their early years, but I faithfully recorded life from behind the lens, then followed up with daily journal entries. Looking back, our favorite memories aren’t necessarily the ‘big’ moments of life; instead, we love seeing the ordinary ones, the moments of everyday life when smearing yogurt on their faces made them giggle, or running after them when they rode their bike down the street, or just noticing the book we were reading or the car we drove up to Tahoe one summer. Now that I’m older and more reflective, I’m embracing those daily, extraordinarily ordinary moments. With one kid in college and one still a teen, my ordinary moments are less likely to involve my children, allowing me to slow down and really pay attention to the curve of the branches of a tree outside my window, or how the clouds flirt with the sun on an April afternoon. I treasure the first blooms in my garden and the way my students’ eyes light up when they understand what I’m trying to teach. Enjoying the ordinary moments leaves me joyful and grateful even on the most difficult of days.

easy ways to embrace a healthy lifestyle!

Eating well

I love to cook. A Saturday spent shopping and baking and preparing a creative meal for my family is one of my favorite ways to show my love. I’m a rabid fan of Food Network, having grown up on Julia Child and The Galloping Gourmet. Now, my love of eating well has transfused to my son, and we get downright giddy together in the grocery store. For a sixteen-year-old, he has sophisticated taste buds and reminds me to think about the flavor profile and what we’re eating, sticking to foods as pure and unprocessed as possible. Restaurants are a special treat; we’d rather spend a Sunday watching over a slow-cooker full of authentically spiced carnitas, or rolling out our own dough for cinnamon rolls. Eating well, to me, isn’t just about keeping a calorie count – it’s about indulging in food as a simple pleasure and displaying my creativity and caring towards my family.

It’s never too late – check out these fun and easy ways to embrace a healthy lifestyle with Chobani Simply 100! I’d love to know what you love to do!

Easy Ways To Embrace A Healthy Lifestyle

Jennifer Wolfe

Jennifer Wolfe, a writer-teacher-mom, is dedicated to finding the extraordinary in the ordinary moments of life by thinking deeply, loving fiercely, and teaching audaciously. Jennifer is a Google Certified Educator, Hyperdoc fanatic, and a voracious reader. Read her stories on her blog, mamawolfe, and grab free copies of her teaching and parenting resources.

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Rooftop Gardens

Posted on July 9, 2012 by

For me, gardening is a respite from the stresses of every day.  I love having a big, open garden to spend hours in, but have often wodnered what I would do if I had to move to a space without all this dirt to dig!  Today’s guest blogger, Jolissa, answers some of my questions with her thoughts on rooftop gardens – enjoy!

In today’s world, a lot of us are concerned about being green. We do what we can to be a little bit more Earth-friendly, and we support those who are helping us to lessen our carbon footprints. One of the ways that people enjoy being Earth-friendly is gardening. There are many ways that gardens benefit our planet, and they can be fun!

There’s only one problem with gardening: cities. City folks like gardening, but it’s often impossible. Cities often have many green areas or parks, but you can’t exactly go start a garden in one of them. So, what can green-thumbed city dwellers do? Beyond planting small plants in pots and setting them by windows, a new answer has started popping up in cities everywhere: Put gardens on roofs!

A Myriad of Purposes

Rooftop gardens are sometimes a perfect solution for those who would love to garden but live in the city. They’re popping up everywhere in cities like Minneapolis, MN and Chicago, IL. They come in all sizes, and they’re used for different purposes. Some are just grass, tress, and small shrubs or flowers, and are used as a sort of rooftop park. Others function like vegetable gardens, and edible things are grown. Still others are flower gardens, with stone paths through beautiful flower bushes and shrubs. No matter their makeup, they’re all meant to be oases in the city, and they all provide some environmentally pleasing benefits.

A Positive Impact

Beyond lifting the spirits of those walking in them, rooftop gardens make several positive impacts on the environment.

  1. Air fresheners – Trees and plants take in carbon dioxide, filter it, and release it as oxygen. While you may think that just one green area in a couple square miles of city doesn’t do much, every little bit counts!
  2. Heat island reducers – Cities are often a couple degrees hotter than the surrounding countryside, because of the amount of paved (dark) space that attracts the sun’s rays. Adding parks and rooftop gardens wherever possible helps reduce this effect, as they reflect some of the heat while using some of it as energy. At the same time, they help cool the space around them via evaporation and shading.
  3. Building energy efficiency – Putting a garden on a rooftop can increase the energy efficiency of the building itself. During the summer, the garden will reflect sunlight and shade the roof, keeping the inside of the building from getting as warm and needing as much air conditioning. During the winter, the garden can act as insulation, keeping heating costs down.
  4. Clean water – Rooftop gardens will absorb some rainwater, keeping it from running over the dirty roof and becoming polluted before falling into the sewers. When the dirt can’t hold any more water, the water will begin filtering through and becoming clean. The clean runoff could be collected and used for later watering or cleaning inside the building.
  5. Good eating – Vegetables, herbs, and some fruits can all be grown in rooftop gardens. Especially if there’s a restaurant or kitchen within the building, this can be incredibly useful. Or, if it’s an apartment building, residents could share what they grow together. There are also plenty of charities that would love some fresh veggies!

How do I begin?

Not every roof is suitable for a rooftop garden. Not only does it need to be flat and have easy access, but it needs to be able to stand the weight of adding dirt, vegetation, and people. For instructions and tips for creating a rooftop garden, search the web for rooftop garden advice and professionals near you. You’ll need to chat with a contractor or architect before constructing a garden, to make sure your roof is structurally suitable.

Citations:

Jolissa D. writes for Shingobee Builders, a nationally recognized commercial construction company that uses green initiatives to create energy-efficient solutions for buildings.

Jennifer Wolfe

Jennifer Wolfe, a writer-teacher-mom, is dedicated to finding the extraordinary in the ordinary moments of life by thinking deeply, loving fiercely, and teaching audaciously. Jennifer is a Google Certified Educator, Hyperdoc fanatic, and a voracious reader. Read her stories on her blog, mamawolfe, and grab free copies of her teaching and parenting resources.

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Teens and Texting Featured on BlogHer

Posted on July 8, 2012 by

Featured on BlogHer.com

A few weeks ago I wrote a post about teens and texting – did you miss it?

It’s an ongoing battle in our house – especially since our daughter has been away at ski camp in Mt. Hood, Oregon, for the last four weeks.  Our conversation has dwindled to a few scattered texts every other day or so – unless she needs something, of course.

Texting definitely has its advantages – it does allow for some type of communication with the surly teens in our lives.  It surely can leave parents frustrated, ill-informed and longing for the good old days of email – forget about phone calls, right?

BlogHer enjoyed my post so much they decided to feature it in their Tech section – please click over and check out “Teens and Texting: Two Can Play at That Game” on BlogHer today!

Jennifer Wolfe

Jennifer Wolfe, a writer-teacher-mom, is dedicated to finding the extraordinary in the ordinary moments of life by thinking deeply, loving fiercely, and teaching audaciously. Jennifer is a Google Certified Educator, Hyperdoc fanatic, and a voracious reader. Read her stories on her blog, mamawolfe, and grab free copies of her teaching and parenting resources.

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Why I Write

Posted on October 21, 2011 by

Words allow my unspoken and uncertain thoughts to come to life without having to use my quiet voice, and gives me time to think before I speak.

Today is The National Day on Writing- a great day to celebrate our favorite writers, and to thank a teacher (in person or in spirit) who encouraged, inspired, or taught you about writing.

Thank you, Mr. Carey.  It is because of your kind humor, your compassion, and your understanding of ‘quiet Jenny’ that inspired me to become an English teacher, and has given me the courage to share my voice with the world.  I miss you your presence, but your spirit lives on in me every day.

For more on why writers write, please visit http://www.ncte.org/dayonwriting/testimonials.

Jennifer Wolfe

Jennifer Wolfe, a writer-teacher-mom, is dedicated to finding the extraordinary in the ordinary moments of life by thinking deeply, loving fiercely, and teaching audaciously. Jennifer is a Google Certified Educator, Hyperdoc fanatic, and a voracious reader. Read her stories on her blog, mamawolfe, and grab free copies of her teaching and parenting resources.

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