Be Juggling Flaming Bowling Pins while Riding an Unicycle

If you asked me how life is going right now, I’d probably laugh before answering.

Picture someone juggling flaming bowling pins while riding an unicycle. Now replace the bowling pins with a master’s thesis, the end of another school year, conference planning, countless emails, family life, an ever-growing list of ideas and health issues that stop me from falling asleep. Welcome to my current season.

Some days I feel like I’m absolutely thriving. Other days I can’t remember at 11:30am where I left my breakfast… or whether I actually ate it.

This spring has been one of those “full” seasons. I’m researching homeschooling and online learning to prepare to start my Masters thesis, comparing Grade 9 and 10 student achievement across different learning models. It turns out I genuinely enjoy looking at spreadsheets and statistics, which surprises no one who has ever watched me colour-code or create summary fields in a Google Sheet.

At work, another school year has wrapped up. There’s something deeply satisfying about seeing students finish well, teachers catch their breath, and families celebrate another year of home learning. It’s also a reminder that education has never been one-size-fits-all. Every student carries a different story, and every family chooses a different path.

At home, life continues to remind me how quickly time moves. Our boys are teenagers now, building lives of their own and travelling around the world. (As I write list, JC has just landed in Lison, Portugal to compete in his first International trampoline competition representing Canada! CC is getting ready to go to the World Cup in taekwondo and our youngest is a practice players on the BC summer games team!) It’s a strange and wonderful transition, from packing lunches and driving to sports to cheering them on from the sidelines of growing into adulthood.

Somewhere in the middle of all this, I keep coming back to the reason I started Be Enough.

Not because I’ve mastered contentment.

Not because I’ve figured everything out.

But because I need the reminder as much as anyone else.

The world constantly whispers, “Do more. Be more. Achieve more.”

God quietly says, “You are already loved. You are enough. I am enough.”

I’m learning that my worth isn’t measured by another degree, another accomplishment, or another perfectly checked-off to-do list. Those things are good, but they were never meant to define me.

So if life feels a little chaotic right now, you’re in good company. Mine certainly is.

Here’s to unfinished projects, overflowing calendars, unexpected joy, abundant grace, and learning, one ordinary day at a time, that we have always been enough because of the One who made us.

Thanks for following along on the journey.

Have the best week!

Love ya, xoxo Joanna

Be Talking TO or ABOUT People

I was a “full-on”, “on purpose” teenager.  I played volleyball, basketball and ringette.  I travelled all over western Canada for my sports. I played flute in the band as an out-of-the timetable course. I had a boyfriend in grades 10 through 12 and a large circle of friends in my neighbourhood and around the city. I enjoyed Wing Wednesday at Earls on the bypass and even went to park my car at McDonald’s to see what everyone was doing on weekend nights that I was in town.  I am not sure if I was oblivious to gossip, but I definitely lived on the outside of it as I was having too much fun living life. 

Lately, as I contemplate my last few years, I realize that there are two kinds of people in life: Those that talk TO you and those that talk ABOUT you. (I am not sure how I skipped learning this in high school, but perhaps I got lucky learning this now!) 

If you are saying my name and I am not physically within ear shot, yup that’s talking ABOUT me.  If you have an encouragement or thought about something I did and you tell me directly, with no third party involved, that’s talking TO me.  For me, there is not a grey area for talking about and to someone, even if you are praying for them.  One can build someone up and the other rips them apart, step-by-step.  

Why did I decide to write this today. Well folks, I am hoping that as you walk through life that you will have people around you that always talk TO you. I would rather be around people that are busy bodies than spend five seconds with a busybody.  

I hope this encourages you on your walk through life today. Have a terrific Tuesday and love what you do. 

Xoxo Joanna 

Be Talking about “Herbstferien”

I received a text from a teaching friend in Germany who is on Herbstferien (Autumn break) for the next two weeks. She had been spending time walking in the woods, at a day retreat and then had plans to be with her family after a busy start-up to the new school year.

This one text made me long for the year round schooling schedule for my colleagues working in the campus school system in British Columbia.

Did you know that in most countries in Europe, they have year round schooling, where they shorten the summer to 4-6 weeks and then take more holidays throughout the year?

Autumn break – 2 weeks in October

Ski weeks – 2 weeks in February

Easter holiday – 2 weeks around Easter in late March or April

And oh yes, the usual 2 weeks off for Christmas.

When I taught in Germany and Switzerland, we never went longer than 6-7 weeks of teaching in a row throughout the ENTIRE year.

Did you also know that there were no substitute teachers to phone in to work in your class when you were sick or away? If you “had to” be away, the teacher next door would not only continue to teach their class, but also would cover for you and teacher your class. One thing to note in this scenario is that our “Director” was a businessman, not an educator, so you couldn’t expect them to come and help out in your classroom. This perspective definitely made you aware that you needed to come back from your holidays rested for the next 6-7 weeks of teaching.

The most beautiful thing with this school schedule and the lack of a substitute teacher pool is that overall the teachers, and children, were healthier. These chunks of learning also made for a well-defined learning schedule that helped with planning units.

A season of hard work and then a few weeks of rest. A season for all things!

Have a wonderful Sunday rest day folks and love what you do!

xoxo Joanna

Be Wondering about the “To Me”

I have always loved the perspective of things happening “for us” rather than “to us”.  Lately, I have been wondering about the mental benefit of making this division in my mind between the words “for me” and “to me”. (You know how much I love words and my mind often does play mental gymnastics with words.)

In the last four months, I have had three things happen in my professional and personal life that I feel were definitely done “to me”.  Things that affected my life, without any type of discussion or collaboration beforehand. In one single moment, my life shifted. 

Fundamental.

Unprovoked.

Future shifting.

Life altering changes.

They have all ended up progressing me towards a positive, as I know when unforeseen things happen we can either become wounded or wise. I always choose wise.  But it still feels like these three things were foisted on me.

The latest example was my childhood kitchen table. The wooden, handcrafted fifty year old table that we ate every dinner at together as a family, celebrated birthdays and Christmases at, where my mom did her marking and my dad did his bookkeeping for his business. The hub of my family home growing up in Northern British Columbia where many memories were made. One night, a few weeks ago, I received a text from my dad with a picture of a new dining room set. Where had the kitchen table gone you ask? My father had suddenly decided to gift it to his girlfriend’s son. This one moment with the loss of my childhood table, which symbolized so many things about my sweet mom, brought me to my knees and made me reflect on all these moments in the last four months where things were simply done.

Gone.

Without thought of me.

Without any conversation beforehand.

Nothing I can say to change things “back”.

Done.

Unrecoverable.

Unchangeable.

Simply done and done.

As I sit in the sun today, I am not reframing these three events so that they sit better in my soul, I am simply sitting with this feeling and becoming wiser in who I allow into my life, what I hold tightly to and how I am spending my time.  Time is our greatest commodity friends.

Who? 

What? 

When? 

These are all up to me and allow me to live with JOY even when things happen “for” and “to” me.  

I am enough. 

You are enough. 

Keep being conscious of your who, what and when. 

Happy wonderful Wednesday folks and love what you do.

Xoxo Joanna 

Be Living with Teenage Boys 

Three weeks ago our youngest turned thirteen. The boys are now thirteen, fifteen and seventeen. Three teenagers in the house! I am not sure if what I am going to say next would be true for a family with mixed genders, but as we add a third teenage boy to the fold, I am noticing some patterns:

1️⃣3️⃣ – He wants to be more independent, but this independence often leads to boredom and then whining. He is embarrassed now when I drop him off to activities and doesn’t want me to stay.  Big feelings exist on the daily and we create space and honour those knowing this is “normal”. Bedtime tuck-ins are still mandatory and asked for every night.

1️⃣5️⃣ – We have solidly moved out of the early teenage stage and our 15 year old is now wanting his “mommy” again.  He is asking me to attend and actively watch every activity and loves one-on-one time.   He is making efforts to connect with others again, but still has big emotions, especially related to his siblings. Bedtime check-ins are a must and every night he asks, “Are you going to tuck me in?”.

1️⃣7️⃣ – This young man is almost an adult. He independently does most things and no longer wants any help with editing his writing from his wordsmith mom. The first few times that I did offer to help this year, he became minimally annoyed. (He is not one to move quickly to anger or sadness.). Our oldest now goes to bed later than us and is often the one saying goodnight to us, if we are still awake.

As we welcomed our third teenager into the fold, I now can internally say, “Oh, I have seen this before!” while I share a big mama hug and then gently correct a rude word or inconsiderate behaviour with a smile in my heart at these beautiful, incredible, growing boys.  We have always said that we don’t want to raise “robots” or “sheep”. I think we have done that!

I wonder what you remember about being a teen or what your journey with your own teens is like?  I am enjoying every second of this house of teenagers as I love change, evolution and watching people become their best selves.

Happy Friday amazing friends. Love what you do.

🤩 Joanna

Be Driving a Jeep for a Week

Growing up, did you have a dream car? Please let me know because I am genuinely curious about you.

My dream car: I have always wanted a Jeep, until last week. At my high school, there was young man a few years older than me who had a Jeep YJ. I can still imagine it ripping into the parking lot with music blaring every morning as I walked up the path to D.P. Todd Secondary. 

Ever since, I always thought that Jeeps were a “really cool car”. I wanted to own one until my car got rear-ended a few weeks ago and the rental company gave me a Jeep.

Yes, it looks like a “really cool car”, but it was a rough ride and remarkably uncomfortable. It’s amazing how you can take something for a drive and suddenly your whole life perspective can shift. I will never be able to look at a Jeep in the same light again.

Sidenote: Anyone guess the topic that I am using my Jeep metaphor to now talk to my boys about? Don’t judge things from an external vantage point, especially when choosing a partner for life.

Happy Thursday amazing friends. Love what you do.

xoxo Joanna

Be Having Grandma Hands 

I was hanging out with twin three years old last week and one of the sweet souls grabbed my hand and exclaimed, “You have grandma hands!” 

I wanted to cry as I looked down at my hands. 

I realized in this moment that I have MY MOM’S HANDS! 

I almost bawled. 

I cannot even put into words the pure JOY that I felt. If I can pour a portion of the love that my mom poured into the world through her life AND her hands, I will be blessed.  

Grandma hands. 

To bless. 

To give. 

To share. 

To love. 

Thank you Jesus for giving me this vision about my hands. 

Thank you for the privilege to live long enough to have Grandma hands.

Happy Saturday lovely folks and love what you do. Xoxo 

Joanna 

Be Adding More Fun F’s to 2024

In early January, I posted five F’s that were my goals for 2024:

1️⃣ Fitness

2️⃣ Have Fun with Friends

3️⃣ Find Fantastic Fiction

4️⃣ Flourish in the Fine Art of Frosting a Fabulous Cake

5️⃣ Frolic Across Canada

I feel eager to share that that I am rocking and rolling through the top 3 F’s. 6 workouts done, lots of fun with friends and I have been reading some fantastic fiction. WOOP WOOP! We have our first birthday in the house in April, so I have a few months to find someone who will lead me in the art of frosting a cake and our frolicking across Canada dates are booked! Can I get another woop woop?

I had left my goals out on the kitchen counter for a week or so and suddenly I started seeing more F’s for 2024, so I have added to my list.

Here are the latest F’s I am excited about for 2024:

🤩 Faith-filled, festive fun with the boys: I have been trying to play more games, plan more get togethers and surprises for the boys the last few weeks. It’s brought a beautiful lightness and joy to our home.

🤩 Flourishing romance with Sexy Neck: After Steve was able to take a whole two weeks off at Christmas, the first in seven years, I realized how much I really missed spending time with him. We have been enjoying working out together, doing projects together and talking about daily life on a regular basis. What a gift!

🤩 Fun with Finances: As a girl who loves a good spreadsheet budget, this is a really fun activity for Steve and I to do together. We are updating our expenses and especially looking at our grocery bill and “extras” that we spent our money on. I am excited to see what shakes down and how we can save and give away more. Earn more, give more! That’s fun!

And that’s all folks, just a little update on the F’s goals that keep morphing into more in twenty twenty-four.

If you have a word or goals or some F’s to share for 2024, I would love to hear them. Big hugs to you all.

Have Sunday funday and love what you do.

xoxo Joanna

"Be a human BEING, not a human doing!"