life beyond the well…

Author Archives: erin.almond


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Friday Favorites- Intangibles

I decided to start doing a weekly series on my favorites because I felt that it would help me be reminded of all of the things I have in my life that I’m grateful for. Each Friday, will have a different “theme” for my favorites. I’ll start this week with “intangibles”.

While “intangible” is defined as something that is “unable to to be touched or grasped; not having physical presence” (courtesy of Dictionary.com), I’m extending that definition to include things that cannot be purchased. It’s my blog. I can do that. And without further ado…

  1. Family- I think my family is comprised of the best people God could have given me. They keep it real, they love me, they support me, and they let me be me. I have yet to discover the limits of their love for me, and quite frankly, I don’t think it exists.
  2. Faith- Perhaps this should have been first. Oh well. My faith is the glue that holds me together. When all fails, I can rest in my faith.
  3. Hugs- I don’t know that I was always a hugger, but I have definitely become one. As a teacher, I give out at least 7 hugs a day. Sometimes the kids need it. Sometimes I need it. Many a hug has brightened my day.
  4. Silence- I enjoy silence and being alone with my thoughts. I’m a processer by nature, so I enjoy having time to decipher what I think and feel and why I think and feel a certain way. So much of my day is spent in noise and conversation that by the end of the day, I’m grateful for an opportunity to just “be”.
  5. Love- There aren’t enough words to describe this feeling. Life is incomplete without love.  And in the words of the old hymn, “…when nothing else could help, love lifted me…”
  6. Friends- I think that I have the best ones, but I’m obviously biased. If you don’t have people in your life that are there for you through whatever and who care enough to tell you the truth, life can be really hard.

So that wraps it up for my first round of Friday Favorites. Until next time…


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Yet.

I’ve recently begun to embrace the word “yet”. We spend a lot of time talking about this word at work, in helping students understand the difference between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset.

I like this word because it helps define that space in between what is, and what is to come. Yet is a word of the process. Think about the difference the word yet makes in these sentences:

“I’m not doing it.” vs. “I’m not doing it yet.”
“I don’t have a job.” vs. “I don’t have a job yet.”
“I’m not there.” vs. “I’m not there yet.”

That tiny word transforms a sentence. It allows us to see that what is…doesn’t always have to be what is. Imagine what would happen if we infused this word into our beliefs, our minds, and our hearts. I imagine the things that we say to ourself would change. You know, something along the lines of this:

“I haven’t lost weight” changes to “I haven’t lost weight yet.”
“God hasn’t delivered me” changes to “God hasn’t delivered me yet.”

There are many areas of my life that I have treated as if they were finite, when they actually have infinite potential and possibility. My personal challenge is go back and reflect on those situations, with my “Yet” mindset.

I suppose this is just another part of the process.

Until next time…