“Attention is the most concrete expression of love. What you pay attention to thrives. What you do not pay attention to withers and dies.”
This is what Momma Zen said on her blog and I love it. You have to pay attention to stuff, whether it is the cake baking in the oven, a child in a classroom, your laundry, your family and friends…all of these things and people need you to pay attention to them.
This is a funny time for me. I am finished school for the summer and instead of going back in September, I will be meeting our baby. I feel a little scared, a little excited and very curious as to how this is all going to be. I have always thrown myself into my work and my classroom and it has kind of become who I am. I am a little worried about what “I” will be without it for a while. Growing up, I always visualised being a teacher, not a mother, but now, I will be learning to be a mother. I am sure that this new journey will bring lots of things for me to learn and will add more dimentions to what “I” am made of, but it feels so new and undiscovered that I have to admit, I am very nervous.
Nervous about how to be a mum, but also nervous about not being a teacher and losing that really important part of who I am. But then I read the post by Momma Zen.
I make a big deal about giving all my students attention in the classroom. The same attention, but different for each child. This is what I think helps them grow from shy little seeds into big strong beanstalks. My teaching assistant in London, (who taught me so much about being a teacher) calls this attention TLC. Attention matters to me. When the children feel secure and happy, it is only then that they can really engage in creating a classroom community and take part in learning.
But thinking about this, I needn’t feel lost because I guess now is the time to pay attention to my own little baby. She needs attention so that she can grow and thrive. So after giving all my attention to lots of children over the last six years, which I have loved and will absolutely return to, I think I will take a little time to give attention to the sunflower in my own belly and see what I learn from that!
P.S. I have planted sunflower seeds on the balcony. And they are still alive. Yay! Fingers crossed I can keep them growing until the flowers start to bloom

