Let me stress that I'm getting the parts of my job description done, to the best of my ability. I'm not sloughing off my official duties. But those official duties are not what has brought me joy at work this week.
My primary source of joy has been the creation of a butterfly garden. We have an ugly concrete deck of an upper parking garage with some metal tables. From the moment I saw it, I wanted to transform it.
I had a vision of some sort of garden--at one point I thought of growing food. But gradually, the idea of a butterfly garden inspired me. Those plants are fairly hardy: drought resistant to a point and tolerant of long hours of intense sun.
Plus, I love the idea of butterflies.
And so, I got some pots from a friend who's downsizing and some plants from my pastor who is also a talented gardener, and just like that, my dream became a reality. I've been waiting for the rainy season to start, and once I procrastinated, I realized it would be a great welcome back message for students as they returned to class on Wednesday.
On Monday, as I finished the first phase, I thought, what this garden needs is an inspiration stone. And so, I made one.
Yesterday, I wanted another one. As I was taking my morning walk around the neighborhood, I saw a chunk of concrete in a pile of construction debris.
By the end of yesterday, I had transformed it:
I do worry that it looks a bit amateurish. And yet, I'm hoping that's part of its charm.
Anyone can go to a garden center and pay for some mass-produced inspiration stone made in a factory in China. Not every butterfly garden has repurposed construction debris!
The other favorite part of my week has been putting baked goods out for students. We got a huge haul on Monday. Some weeks I pick up the day old baked goods from a local grocery store, and I have to parcel them out carefully to last the week. This week, we had more than we could use, and it's been fun to put out a variety.
What does it mean that I'm enjoying these aspects more than the onerous parts of my job, like accreditation report writing? I'll think more about that in the weeks to come. My initial thoughts:
--I like creating a beautiful space that might inspire us all.
--I like the way I feel like I'm nurturing people when I put out baked goods or creating a beautiful space.
--This week I also had an idea for a "Summer of Self Care." I like creating co-curricular activies for students.
--I might like creating a beautiful space more than I like creating events.
--I like creating a green space out of concrete and metal--the possibility of beautifying something that was ugly.
--I like the creating part of it all--the way that inspiration comes to me as a surprising, "I can do this!" moment.
--I like that I have supplies in my office so that, indeed, I can do this.
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