I adore quotes.

There is something so powerful about them, and I can’t really put my finger on it. As a teacher, I started each day off with a quote of the day plastered loud and proud on the opening slide of my powerpoint. Often it would tie in with the novel we were reading, the lesson we were tackling, or a current event.  I had these high teacher hopes that the few seconds we spent discussing it would somehow impact their middle-school souls. Because, wow, some quotes are just knock your socks off, tattoo it on your heart and live by it powerful.

Here are a few of my favorites “Classroom” quotes.

  

So it’s no real surprise that I have a lot of quotes posted around our house in various prominent positions. I would have more, but my husband has a firm dislike for “clutter.”

I painted these for my daughter London’s nursery. I’m not sure if the one on the left counts as a quote, but I’ll let it slide.  I can’t take credit for the beautiful design as I just free handed these from the original artwork of Katie Daisy. If you’ve never looked at her work on etsy, you need to. I own quite a few pieces, but nothing she sells came as large as I needed for the nursury, so I busted out the old paint brushes and got to work.

Also- take a moment to look at the cute one-year-old busy “reading” during this photo shoot. And just to keep it real, it took some major re-shelving  while she un-shelved to get this picture.

The quote on the right reads:

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” 
-Mary Oliver

These two beauties live in our living room.

Also, that picture on the right is vintage Martins. Back when we treated our bulldogs like kids because we didn’t have any yet. Although, if we’re honest, they still get treated like our kids.

We are also blessed to have a dedicated “playroom” in our house, and I tried to make most of the artwork fun and colorful. You know, kid stuff. Here is a quick shot for reference. Again, this took major clean up during nap time. It is usually a hot mess. Toddlers are not known for their tidiness. And unfortunately, neither am I.

 

Here is the art on the right hand side. The top left is a chalkboard that, don’t worry, is sure to hold lots of quotes for my kids as time goes one. You know, once they can actually read them. And can you spot another piece of Katie Daisy artwork? If not, you probably really struggled with Where’s Waldo as a kid.

Anyways, I recently added this quote as a reminder for myself. They are words by an author I admire greatly, Mr. C. S. Lewis himself.  The man who had me checking the back of wardrobes for longer than I’m willing to admit. His words are some that convict my heart daily as I find myself longing for nap time as I read the same story for the twelfth time in a row.

“Children are not a distraction from more important work. They are the most important work. ”  -C. S. Lewis

These words remind me daily that these moments are fleeting. They won’t be here forever. Someday I’ll have all the time in the world to write, and my daughter will be too busy to hang out with her mom. Sniff. Okay enough of that.

While I was in the playroom, I noticed a quote I’d almost forgotten about. For years, this lived in my classroom. It was one of the things I made as a first year teacher, and I brought it home on the sad day I cleaned out my room for good. I thought it was too cute not to use somewhere so to the playroom it went. I know it’s hard to read on the vase, but it says:

“Don’t let the weeds grow around your dreams.”
-Anonymous.
I told you, I preached dream chasing like it was my job. Because, really, it was.

I also have a few key quotes that have impacted my writing life and gave me a much need kick-in-the-pants to write a novel already. I wanted to share them  in the hopes that they might impact you as well. Maybe they will inspire you to go after that thing that you’ve ALWAYS wanted to do… or become… or accomplish. You know, the thing that eats at your insides and won’t let you sleep at night. The thing you catch yourself daydreaming about?
Yes.
That thing.
Here’s hoping these inspire you to chase it down.

This next one isn’t a quote, it’s a poem. I know, I tricked you. But I’m counting it as a quote anyways.

And this one is just so powerful I feel it in my bones.

Infographic originally from here

What a thought! Put a deadline on a dream, and it because something completely reachable. Not something you just think about, or wish about, or complain that you never accomplished. Deadlines work. I am a firm believer in the deadline.

And just for fun, I thought I’d share this one. In this selfie day and age, where photoshopped models beam from the covers of magazines, it is refreshingly frank. I’m more than guilty of “screening” photos before sending them out into the world.  But gosh, sometimes my face just looks that bad, and I need to just suck it up and deal. Thank’s Honest Abe.

Infographic originally from here

And finally, this guy.  Because isn’t that the truth. Have a great week guys.

You can buy this gem here.  I’ve been more than tempted.