girl guild

may is traditionally for mothers. and while i honor the mothers of the world, this month for joy project extends beyond maternal influence. i want to think about the generations that came before our own mothers. i want to honor the elders.

i asked my students (6-9 year olds) why our elders are important. there was a range of responses which, being that they are still young, stayed close to our societal notion of old people as grandparents. or sick people. or dead people.

what ever happened to the old-wise-man-character-who-has-all-answers? oh, wait, is that just a native american thing? or an asian thing?

at the same time, my students’ responses were still hilarious, sweet, loving–all things little ones do naturally. i then asked them what they would say to someone who is older to bring them joy. those answers were so lovely, they have become the joy project for may.

throughout the month, other teacher-friends of mine who are joining the project this month will be doing the same with their students.

the result will be a large patchwork tree that is full of leaves that say something joyful. we will deliver that final image to a local retirement community. we hope it will bring them lasting joy.

stay tuned, kate

last month turned out ok, right? things wrapped up pretty well and march slipped away quietly, modestly saying to april, “go ahead, take the credit for spring, it’s what you’re meant to do.”

so here we are. and i wonder how everyone is doing out there in the world. i can’t help but think, when all is going right in my own world, about other people’s suffering. how privileged am i to sit at a cafe and blog about my tiny art project while others carry around burdens that are hard? and heavy.

this month’s work at joyproject is to help, albeit a tiny gesture, by recognizing other people’s sorrow. while it doesn’t have the nicest ring-to-it, it’s important to let people know we are thinking of them…and hoping for the best.

this entire month we will visit the ronald mcdonald house. and no, it’s not where the clown lives. and they don’t serve chicken mcnuggets there, either. i’m embarrassed to say that i didn’t know about their mission until about a year ago. because i guess i did think it was a funhouse.

but it’s far from that.

for those of you who aren’t familiar, they house families who have a child going through some sort of serious illness that requires them to live at a hospital. so, for families that are from out-of-town, seeking medical help for their children, it’s a place for them to stay while their child is treated. and i imagine these families need encouragement and to know others wish them hope, love, healing.

so that’s what we’ll do. and if you are a person needing encouragement this month, please know we are thinking of you, because us human beings should stick together when times are tough.

be brave, kate

what a perfect day to deliver some joy! i stopped by coffee emporium today to drop off the first installment of march’s joy-cash and i’m so happy i did. the employees there are lovely and i have to say, it’s one of the best places in cincinnati to come for a little bit of happy. oh, and some great coffee. thank you to coffee emporium for participating in the joy project this month!

if you are one of the lucky recipients of this week’s joy cash, i hope it made your day. i sincerely wish you the best.

other joyful things that happened today? the sun is shining and i get an extra hour of it until october AND this morning i saw an old friend whom i haven’t seen in a while. i love it when that happens…

stay tuned until next week when i continue my pursuit to lift march 2012′s reputation to “most joyful march in the history of marches”.

warmly, kate

march! i know it’s not your fault, but things have not started as nice as we’d hoped. deadly tornadoes, dreary globalism and bleak economic news has me down…

…though not out!! i have hope for you, dear 3^rd month, and i want your 2012 mark in history to end up on a good note. so, i’ve decided to help you out and go back to the basics with this month’s joy project. 

money. yep, dolla-dolla bills, y’all. so read on… 

this month, i am giving away money. no, not a lot, because most people (the 99% of us, wink) don’t have a lot to give away. but this month, i have committed myself to doing just that. that’s right, i want to buy you something, because chances are, if i got to know you, i’d like something about you. and that is a great thing. 

i’m not telling where i’ll be this month, but if you happen to get some joy-cash, i hope it makes your day a little happier. you deserve it. 

cha-ching, kate

whether or not they liked it, fabricate in northside was smacked with a joy delivery yesterday. this store is, for sure, a place to find joy in large and small doses. there are so many handmades to feast your eyes upon, that you leave feeling inspired by all the talent represented in one small place. we sincerely hope fabricate is having the best 2012 ever.

we thank you for being in the world…

we also thank them for helping us blast more people with joy. if all goes as planned, you, too, can participate by supporting fabricate (on hamilton avenue in northside), seeing all the lovely objects there and getting your own valentine, brought to you by the joy project.

thank you to melissa culyer for contributing to the joy project this month. your valentines are delicate and lovely. your time and willingness to spread joy for this month’s project is appreciated.

and, of course, if you happen to find a valentine this month from us, please know it was made especially for you…with the sincere intention to bring you a tiny moment of happiness. enjoy.

warmly, kate

thank you ohio revolutionary memorial commission. you are responsible for reminding that where i stand has a long history. so many feet have crossed this very path–some footsteps of military crossroads, or a mother holding her child’s hand across a busy street, me freezing my ass off in the cold rain…

as i walked to coffee emporium, i trailed behind a group of three people and of course, was eavesdropping. i heard the man say to the woman on his right, “i’m really glad you could visit this weekend” and he put his arm on her shoulder and gave it a loving squeeze. i thought that was the nicest moment. i ‘m glad she got to visit, too.

another joyful thing that happened? i was standing in line and caught a woman’s eye. we both smiled big as we silently wished the other a nice day. i love it when that happens. 

i sincerely wish the recipient of this week’s january cardinals a happy 2012, full of appreciation for small, joyful moments.

please stay tuned for february’s valentine take-away at a local northside shop. all will be revealed next week.

stay warm, kate

this morning on the way into spring grove there were dozens of canadian geese out, together, flying this way and that, yelping about how much they love this weather…

other joyful things? as i was standing on cedar lake footbridge a bell at a nearby chapel started to ring. it sounded really nice.

another thing–the lake is frozen! just like that! how often do we see a frozen lake around here? well, i don’t see them enough…

today’s joy delivery made me think of a poem by mary oliver:

 wild geese

you do not have to be good.

you do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.

you only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

tell me about despair, yours, and i will tell you mine.

meanwhile the world goes on.

 meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

 are moving across the landscapes,

 over the prairies and the deep trees,

 the mountains and the rivers.

 meanwhile the geese, high in the clean blue air,

 are heading home again.

 whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

 the world offers itself to your imagination,

 calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting

 over and over announcing your place

 in the family of things.

if you are the recipient of today’s january bluebirds, i wish you a 2012 full of happiness and imagination.

don’t forget that next week, on sunday jan. 22, joyproject will deliver another janus to central parkway, the border between downtown and OTR.

simple directions: find a historical marker on the median at central and main…learn something about cincy history and find some joy!

with joy and sincerity, kate

what do pugs, coffee and the ohio river have in common? joy, of course!

my friend, katie, and i took the pugs and some sidewinder coffee down to the mighty ohio to deliver some joy. it was a crisp, sunny morning and we couldn’t have had a better time! thanks, katie for joining me to inaugurate joy project 2012.

congratulations to the lucky recipient of january robin. we hope your 2012 will be filled with love and goodness…   

________________________________________________________________________

next stop for the joy project?

cincinnati’s own spring grove cemetery.

sunday, january 15 (correction from saturday, january 14)

read on for directions:

 *enter through main entrance

*go straight, under the stone archway

*walk/drive about ¼ of a mile

*look left! there you will see a pretty pond with a stone footbridge

*cross the bridge and find some joy