Hi there! How are you? New year starting off okay?

I have been busy, with two new articles up at Waldorfish.com, both on Pedagogical Stories (what the heck is that???). One of them already has an audio version, and the second audio will be coming soon! We went on a little mini-vacation to visit my aunt in Florida and take in the Harry Potter attractions at Universal Studios, and to walk on the beach and splash in the pool. Since our return, we've been battling various illnesses, and I'm glad that March is here and spring is on the way!

I have also created a new course for your -- all about using stories to help and heal. It's called Little Stories, Big Changes, and you can learn all about it HERE! 

and you? what are you doing these days???

here's what I'm pondering and doing and dreaming today...

• What it means to be a Campaigner, and how that might help me serve others. Find out more at 16personalities
• how even if I don't follow the recipe perfectly, things can turn out okay, as did my cinnamon rolls today, from this book
• watching beautiful animated movies that make me choke up a bit -- Bolt and The Lorax.
• playing Exploding Kittens with my dearest friend from long, long ago and my kid
• how I can use this blog for deeper connection...
• what it means to be of use
• What courses or series I might offer this year...
• what my word of the year should be, and working to discover and uncover it
• being at home, where it is peaceful and cozy, and wishing winter break could go on and on and on...

in the quiet spaces of the year, as we reach toward its turning from old to new, I am dreaming of what I can offer you in this space. What stories I can tell, what journeys we can take together... 

What are you listening for in these days? What stories does your heart long to hear? Leave me a comment and let me know! 

I wish you a beautiful, health-filled, joyous new year...

With love and many blessings,
Sara
​

So, I made this big "oh, I'll post every day" announcement, and then I got a stomach bug. can we say, "upper limit problem?" yep.  we can. 

I'm stepping back. I'm going a little quiet. It's advent, and it's also a busy time of year, and I am going to work on balancing these two truths. 

I'm pulling in my shingle and my banners, and resting a bit. There is time, and I can determine what exactly I'm doing... 

much love to you all, gentle ones. have a beautiful december...
​

Here's the deal: I posted a thing to Instagram yesterday (you can totally follow me there, but if I don't know you, drop me a message so I can add you to my sooper seekrit, fancy-people list), about how hard things have been lately, and how I was really down and funky. Not in a good, Bruno Mars, Uptown Funk way.  

I was laying too much of this funk on a friend, and she did something amazing: she said no. She gently, kindly told me that she needed a break while I upgrade. I was SO HAPPY. I LOVE IT when people set clear boundaries about what they need. LOVE IT. And she reminded me: There's a purpose to all this funk.

There is no shame in being in the funk, in the stew and the muck and the stink and the awful. I was stuck in that smallness and overwhelm and anxiety. I tried pretending I wasn't. Didn't work so well.

What worked, in the end, was hearing that I was UPGRADING. Yup. You know how when you are in the middle of a project, cooking or making art or building, and there is a God-awful, unholy mess everywhere? That was me. I was a mess. I'm still kind of a mess. But I've decided not to be scared and sad about it any more. I'm in the process of an upgrade. Not that there was anything wrong with the old model of Sara, but the new one will be even better.

So, I'm letting myself off the hook. No perfectionism allowed, not even about no perfectionism. No freaking out, even about maybe starting to freak out. I started a little "not-good-enough" panic today, and I stopped it. I overdrew my bank account by not depositing a check before buying groceries, but it's FINE (I have overdraft protection! Thanks, me!) The stories I'm telling at Reindeer Day tomorrow might not be perfect. It's OKAY! 

So, because December is a really busy month, I've decided More is More. I'm going to try to post daily, and see what happens. No perfectionism.

Meanwhile, go listen to this total gorgeousness. 

that isn't quite right...

how about this: 

Give the people what you want to give. Give them the things that make you feel alive. Give them your poetry, your heart. Give what you can part with, and give just a little more.

But don't give away yourself, and don't give into the need to sell and sell. 

I'm not doing a lot of things I could be doing, and I'm working on being okay with that. I am working on not needing to figure out what others want from me so I can give it and gain their approval.

What I want to do instead, is find what I can give, and give it.

Here's what I have right now:

I have this thing I do, where I find a story for you. You tell me what you are needing, what feels wrong, or where you are lost. Or you tell me your joy, the excitement you have about something new or old or beautiful. You tell me a little or a lot. And I find you a story.

Just for you.

When was the last time someone picked you out a story, a story that might have a key in it, or a treasure, or might just have the words you want to hear?

And then we figure out why and how this is your story, and what happens next. Together. It takes some trust, some willingness to step into that story. 

It's what I have to give. Right now, I have stories waiting for the right people. And I have you -- you are waiting, some of you, for the right story.

If this sounds like something you want to receive, to give to yourself, you can go here and sign up. 

I want to give this. Give what you want to give, and let the people who will receive it, do so. 

*warning. this gets a little scatological. you've been warned.*

It's not working.

Trying to be anything other than what I am, who I am. Trying to make this into something that makes money, when all I want to do is play. Trying to be the perfect mom/wife/teacher/daughter/anything.

It doesn't work.

It binds me up, holds me back. Nothing flows. My creativity turns into nothing. My heart feels totally tightened and tugged. I snap, anxious and irritated by everything. I believe the lie that my life is something happening to me.

When I tell myself I have to be an expert.

When I tell myself I am failing as a Waldorf mother.

When I tell myself I am a failed teacher.

When I tell myself I am not enough. Not enough of anything.

And it all gets so very heavy.

Then I am afraid to write, to share, because it isn't good enough. It's not hip enough, bright enough, expert enough. I don't look good. I don't sound together and hop and high-frequency and spiritual.

Fragile. 

Fearful.

And how does it manifest? Oh, people. All this shit has to get held somewhere.

Literally. 

And it comes down to this: Somewhere, I believe in the core of my being that I am never going to be good enough. That I am never going to the right kind of girl, even though I've been a woman for years and years. I believe I've missed the boat. That I'm too old to ever make my way.

And this blog should be better. Should really be about stories and storytelling and parenting and being a perfect waldorf teacher-mother-partner-artist-person. 

And my storytelling isn't even happening on the level that people could call "professional."

And those are ALL LIES.

ALL LIES.

Is this bloodroot not good enough?

The magnolia?

The butterfly?

​

look. 

I'm never going to be anyone else. This blog is never going to be SouleMama or the Magic Onions. It won't be anybody else's blog. My courses aren't going to be like the ones other biography workers or storytellers or mom bloggers offer. I'm not them.

The work I'm doing right now? It matters. And even if I were serving coffee or entering data or sweeping streets or proposing legislation or performing surgery or performing puppet plays, it would matter. Work matters.

I matter.

You matter.
​

This ordinary life matters. And even if this blog isn't making me money, even if only 2 people sign up for a course I'm offering, even if I yell at my kid or leave the dishes in the sink for days or lose weight or gain weight, even if nothing changes, it matters.

and I'm tired of trying so hard, and of pretending, and of striving to be something else.

When I was in high school, I wrote a column for my school paper. I called it "Dust Particles," because I thought that was cool.  I wrote about life. I wrote terrible poetry with one or two good phrases, because it felt good.

There's a forest of "I"s in this post, and I'm still going to publish it, because I need to prove to myself that this is good enough. Being here, telling you about my life. It's enough. 

You are enough. 

Your life is worth telling. You're enough.
​

I'm so delighted to be sharing some storytelling tips this week over at Waldorfish.com! Come learn three easy ways to get started with storytelling for the kids in your life!
​

Want to tell nature stories, but not sure where to start? Need help making your science curriculum come to life? Wishing you could help your children understand the world around them without resorting to dry facts and figures? Why not join us for a fun journey into storytelling with nature?!? We start in October, and you'll be ready after the very first day to dive in and tell stories that awaken wonder and joy about the natural world! Find out all about it here!

Hello, lovely ones! I have two videos to share with you right now. These are the facebook live videos I've shared in the past two weeks. One is about WHY we need fairy tale role models -- heroes and heroines. That one is here.

The second is a bedtime story -- Sweet Porridge! It's a sweet little tale, perfect for any time of day, really!
​