Breathing

If you've been around Jeff and me enough, then you've heard him remind me to breathe at some point. In the last 7 years together, I've finally started to get better about reminding myself to breathe, too. So much better, in fact, that today, knowing that Jeff wouldn't be able to pick me up from work until a half hour after my day ended, I decided to go for a walk around campus.

I should pause here to explain that I'm incredibly blessed by working on one of the most beautiful high school (or college!) campuses I've ever encountered (and I've attended, taught at, and visited some top-notch ones). Though we're located just 3 miles outside of Washington, DC, the buildings themselves back up to acres upon acres of woods and fields, and there's a beautiful stream that runs through the trails behind the Upper School buildings. That's where I went today.

Hopogo Farm, the house where I grew up, also had a stream winding through the property, which meant that I fell asleep to the sound of running water every night and woke up to it every morning. I spent countless hours building boats out of bark and leaves, wading into the icy chill on a hot summer day, and hop-skotching across the rocks that peppered the stretch of Silvermine Brook beyond our waterfall. As a result, the sound of running water never fails to calm and soothe me.

One of the most remarkable things about my campus is the sheer volume of outdoor teaching spaces: rows of benches overhanging the stream, circular wooden logs set in a clearing, a low ropes course hidden amidst the trees, and my favorite spot of all--Morton Deck (pictured above). Throughout the chillier winter months, our incredible Environmental Studies and Sustainability team keeps warm fires roaring in the fire pit so that we can bring our classes outside to read a few lines of Whitman, to share creative essays they've written, or to learn about the plight of Washington's men during the cold winter at Valley Forge. Even now, on a warm spring day, the deck remains inviting as sunlight filters in through the verdant trees.

As my walk came to a close, I stumbled upon an outdoor classroom I'd never noticed before. Pictured above, it seemed so inviting within the cool shade of the overhanging branches that I stepped in for a closer look.

Yes, this is a good place to breathe.