What lies ahead

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As of Friday afternoon, 2 pm, I officially walked out the doors of the school that I had taught in for the past 21 years.  I worked really hard to get my art certification, and I worked hard for the 21 years that I taught art to youth at risk, those who had autism, those who were emotionally challenged, and any combination thereof.

During those 21 years I split up with my fiance, moved out of my house, met another man,  moved back into the house, got married, barely survived adolescence with my two children, sent a daughter to war, welcomed two grandchildren into the world, have watched my daughter suffer with cancer and other illnesses, had to put my mom in the nursing home.

I listened to, hugged, educated, mentored and loved thousands of children. I saw four shifts in education which meant I had to reinvent the wheel four times, and witnessed education go from being an honored profession, to one disrespected and blamed for the woes of the world. The child became the one who was always right, while we became greedy, overpaid, incompetent professionals.

I never stopped making art and in the past 20 years I went from closet artist to showing regularly.

I went from earning little money working three jobs, to working one job for a lot of money, and now   back to probably working many jobs to make ends meet.

But now I am doing only what I love. My jobs will be joyful ones, and I hope to be as much as my own boss as possible.  I will be doing the hustle, but as long as I love what I am doing, then it's all good.

So follow me on this journey of reinvention. Of meditation. Of the magic of life and possibility.
A journey of personal and spiritual growth. Of getting my physical strength and mobility back. Yeah, Patti's getting her groove back.






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