February 2022
Dear Friends,
While for many of you, winter is still ever present and COLD, for others (like myself in Sacramento) blossoming is already happening and garden beds are being prepared! And, of course, for our dear friends in the southern hemisphere you are leaving summer and headed into autumn!
Thank you all for your patience in anticipating our Winter Newsletter. As with so many loved ones we know, our dear Michaeleen, LifeWays newsletter editor, and her family have been going through the winter illness of our times. Thus, the delay. We are cheering her on and invite all of you to send out love and well wishes.
Although, this is a much shorter newsletter than usual, the articles, photos and videos are so lovely and inspiring. Many thanks to our contributors. Veronica and Catherine offer the delight of experiencing their programs with their little ones and how much joy and discovery can be found in the winter landscapes, while Suzanne and Lynn share from their storehouse of magical stories and movement games. We think many of our readers can incorporate these inspirations right away, and others can anticipate sharing them with their children when next winter rolls around. We are also happy to feature Paradise Farm in West Bend, Wisconsin as one of our Representative Sites. Thank you, Mary, for sharing this wonderful program with us. I hope it will inspire others to consider developing similar parent-child programs with the full spectrum of ages. Truly, families need our support perhaps now more than ever.
As always, we encourage you to check out all of our activities and offerings via our website. Big excitement that we will be back “in-person” again with two new Certificate Trainings in Boulder, Colorado starting in April and Marin, California starting in August, and two new Fundamentals Course groups starting in August near Salt Lake City, Utah and Milwaukee, Wisconsin! AND we are blessed by grant funds from the Waldorf Education Foundation and our recent winter fund raiser to be able to help students with financial needs. If you (or someone you know) have been considering enrolling in any of these programs, now is the time to contact us. Some of the funds must be distributed within the next two weeks!
Happy to say that all is well in the Aldinger family right now as our children are preparing a summer gathering to celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary of my dear Michael and me! Wowzers! Back to winter, though, I also want to note that this was indeed one of my favorite winters ever, and I am a little sad to see it go! So much richness with our grandchildren and the unfolding of our winter festivals. I have tucked the memories deep within my heart and gratefully pull one or another out now and then to relish in the vitality of it all. May it also be so for you and those you love.
With gratitude and warm wishes,
Cynthia