About Me:

Aloha! I'm Wendy Kennar. I'm the mother of a seven-year-old son and a wife living in Los Angeles. I was a public school teacher for twelve years until a chronic medical condition made it necessary to leave my teaching career.

I've always been described as "quiet" - really, I'm just biting my tongue. I've got lots to say, and lots of thoughts to share, I just prefer to write them. That's the purpose of this blog. Each Wednesday, I post a personal essay offering my observations and thoughts.

A few fun facts about me: I've wanted to be a writer since second grade, when my teacher, Mrs. Jones, made me a "book" with a yellow construction paper cover. I have never learned to whistle, have always preferred sunflowers to roses, and have spent my life living within the same zip code.

Through the years, my writing has been published in the Los Angeles Times, Christian Science Monitor, United Teacher, GreenPrints, L.A. Parent, DivineCaroline.com, RoleReboot.org, XOJane, and Brain, Child Magazine. Additionally, my personal essays have been included in several anthologies, including: The Barefoot Review, Beyond the Diaper Bag, Lessons From My Parents, Write for Light, Being a Grown-Up: A User's Manual for the Real World, Ka-Pow!, How Writing Can Get You Through Tough Times, Breath and Shadow, The Grey Wolfe Storybook, and Sisters Born, Sisters Found.
I am a regular contributor at MomsLA.com, and you can also find me at Goodreads.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Feel free to comment and share my blog with others!

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

A Horoscope for the New Year

   I’m not a devoted horoscope believer.  I read them only when I’m reading a newspaper or magazine and there happens to be a horoscope published inside.  I read out of curiosity - what is in store for my fellow Pisceans?  I read with a fair share of dubiousness and don’t give a lot of credibility to these horoscopes.  But, once in a while I read something that catches my attention.  A horoscope predicts something favorable in my near future, a wonderful surprise that awaits me.  Sometimes, I read between the lines, reading what I need to read at that particular time, something to give me a bit of optimism during a difficult time.

   Recently, I read my horoscope.  Then re-read it.  Then ripped it out of the newspaper and taped it inside my journal.  From the Los Angeles Times, a December horoscope for Pisces:

   What would your life look like if you made peace, relaxation and health more of a priority?  Everyone will benefit if you put them much higher on your list.

   This particular horoscope scares me and unnerves me in ways I can’t completely articulate.  Because if I did that, if I made peace, relaxation, and health more of a priority in this new year, my life as I know it would be radically different.  And there’s a part of me that truly wants that.  And there’s a part of me that’s terrified by that.

   What would my life look like if I made peace, relaxation, and health more a priority?  For starters, I wouldn’t be a teacher any more.  There is nothing about teaching that is peaceful and relaxing.  And unlike other jobs where the longer you perform them, the easier they get - it’s not the same with teaching.  I’m teaching with ten years’ experience, and I feel like my job is getting harder each year.  My students are being raised differently than I was raised, differently than I am raising my son.  Budget cuts worsen each year.  The job is changing each year.  And every year I continue, I like my job less and less.

   If I was to put health at the top of my list, I would certainly stop setting my alarm for 5:00 each morning.  I would go to sleep by 11:00 and hope my son would wake sometime after 6, thus allowing me to sleep until sometime after 6.  I would have time for walks in the neighborhood with my son.  And I, hopefully, wouldn’t have pain in my legs that prohibits me from enjoying walks with my son.

   If relaxation became a priority in my life, once a week I would take myself to a coffee/writing date.  An hour, at least, carved out for me.  My laptop, my journal, a cafe mocha.  A time for me to escape and create worlds with words.  A time for me to be creative and passionate.  The number of unread books on my shelf would decrease as I would increase the amount of time I spent taking bubble baths and reading.

   Then I blink and leave my fantasy world.  For I am an adult, a Pisces with responsibilities and bills to pay.  Perhaps I can’t change my life in these radical ways, and perhaps I shouldn’t.  But, I definitely need to start taking baby steps in making “peace, relaxation, and health” a priority in my life.  So, I’ll continue being a teacher; I’ll just be a teacher who loves soaking in a lavender-scented bubble bath.  I’ll be a teacher who once a week sets the alarm for 5:15 instead of 5:00.  I’ll be a teacher who doesn’t schedule any conferences once a week so that I may escape to the book store, drink a cafe mocha, and do some writing before I go home and grade papers.

5 comments:

  1. Honey,

    I am so proud of your writing!

    It is vital to stop and relax to enjoy life.

    Everything moves so fast it is scary.

    Enjoy the moments! They are yours to take and savor.

    I Love You!

    Paul

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  2. You've got to take some time for yourself! I'm glad that you were given pause to consider that. Your writing is amazing and I love reading it!

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  3. I love reading everything you write.You truly have a gift with writing among other things.I certainly hope you do take the much needed time for yourself,as you certainly deserve it.I love you and I am very proud of you..
    love,mommy

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  4. Thanks for sharing. FYI, it doesn't get any easier as you get older. Your job is where you get the money to live-on and your very good at it. There are many challenges to face as we all stumble through life. You are a good Mother, Teacher, Wife, and Person. I am proud of you and your son.

    Love, Dad

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  5. Somtimes our horoscopes tell us just what we need to hear. You need to take more time for yourself and to relax. You work so hard at making other people's lives better and should take time to enhance yours. I love and miss you. Sending you hugs!!

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