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Visiting a local nursery for some grasses, I discovered a huge cottonwood tree. Ancient.

Standing in the sun, proud and tall.

I had to approach and hug its base. I could feel its heartbeat through my hands. What an experience!

I asked how old it was.

“500 years” I heard.

Amazing!

Pulled this strange woven bark that was loose on a palm tree in Florida. Interesting.

Do you suppose nature taught our ancestors how to weave?

I spent three years tutoring elementary students in reading.  What an amazing experience.  My first student was a young boy named Freddie.  Week after week, he struggled to read, trailing his classmates.  We worked intensively together.  I let him read, then took a turn reading myself so that he could hear the words in a conversational tone. 

One day he “got it.”  He suddenly started reading with flow and rhythm.  It was a delight to see the stars in his eyes.

We became quite close as we worked for 2 years together.

What’s this? Leftovers from our restaurant meal. Which we always seem to have since we don’t eat as much as the huge portions that we are served. So we almost always get a second meal…which is good.

But taking home a styrofoam container from the restaurant? Not so good.

It means that the restaurant has to supply the containers which are difficult to find right now. And it means that we have to throw it away in our garbage. What a waste!

So we have decided to bring our own glass storage containers into the restaurant so that we can pack our own leftovers and save the hassle. Easy, peasy.

We just keep a shopping bag with extra glass containers with lids in the car so that we’re always prepared. A simple thing to do…and a hug for the planet.

Those of us, like you and me, who appreciate art and music and beauty, open our eyes to a different reality.  We can look at a garbage can in an alley with daisies growing beside it and see beauty.  We can read a common newspaper or commercial ad and see truth.  We can look into the eyes of a stranger and see a friend.

Alicia Ortego, a celebrated author of children’s books on tolerance, honesty and manners, offers a tool for your child to choose what type of book to read. That gives the young reader the chance to make the choice themselves…and change it as their interests and skills grow.

We want to give kids every opportunity to develop the habit of reading. Giving them the choice of what to read will encourage that life-long love of reading.

To find out What Is Your Next Superpower Book, check out this link: https://aliciaortego.com/what-is-my-superpower-book/

Alicia Ortego✍️