Joyful Alignment

September 6, 2026 – Nothing tastes better than crab

Gosh… I remember as a young child growing up in Prince Rupert of eating crab at the coffee table. I’m not sure how the crab was acquired. I think my mom new a lot of people from working in the cannery who my have gifted or sold the crab to my mom and dad for a very reasonable price. There is no question in my mind that I am a crab-person through and through, and not a lobster-person. Seafood, living near the ocean, and being in a small town is very much in my DNA (aka., my identity). I am reading a book now about identity, or at least the first part of the book, and I was struck by how one’s identity is fluid, negotiated, and context-based. Today, I don’t live near the ocean and in a place that’s at least 10-times bigger than the two places where I have lived for an extended period of time. And yes, I get crab, that’s frozen, from a person who transports it from the place I used to live as a child. So, having this half-crab for dinner was a delight.

I just love the idea that one’s identity can change. I feel that. I’ve been undergoing many changes over the last few decades (LOL) and it almost feels like I’m returning home lately. I’m not sure if it’s because I have less distractors in my life, or that I have made great efforts to exist in my bubble, or the combination of both ways of being. I am finding my way back home… returning to my-SELF and feeling very aligned to who I am and who I want to be. For example, I am working with a former colleague right now to write a chapter for a book. We are looking back almost 20-years ago on a project we collaborated on. We have been meeting every Sunday to collaborate and discuss ideas, and it’s been very heart-filling and cognitively-nourishing having these conversations. We just decided today to possibly work on a manuscript after the chapter because the amount of work and memories we are going through would merit a second (or third) publication.

I am also grateful for a research team I am leading. There are two faculty members who are associate professors and two graduate research students who are PhD candidates. I feel so honoured to be leading and learning from this group. I always feel awestruck, honoured, and humbled to lead this group, and my colleagues feel the same way. Although I am the Principal Investigator, we are all equal members of this team. WE ARE A TEAM. I feel mentored at the same time as being a co-contributor and leader. We are not in a competing with one another or trying to make an impression, but rather we are doing the work together. Each of takes a lead in different ways, and each of us support one another in the work that we do. We can also see the potential in the work that we are doing and look forward to the new year and where we will go with this project. Data is collected and analysis almost complete. This year will be knowledge mobilization.

I am also grateful for another research team that I am a part of and learning as I am doing within that group. The subject matter can be somewhat out-of-field for me, so I like to focus on what I am able to learn and what aligns to the work that I currently do. I am also grateful for another group of former teacher candidates and the work we had done as we attempt to write a chapter for a book. I am learning so much with this crew and it’s incredible how much they are willing to do and give back to the field and profession. Finally, I was also fortunate to work with some current teacher candidates where they were able to publish their own work, and we co-presented the journey at a recent conference. I should strongly consider writing about my inquiry and the THIRD SPACES that are created for teacher candidates to flourish as undergraduate scholars and maybe consider graduate studies in the future. In the meantime, I learned so much from them.

THIS is what joyful-alignment feels like. I am swamped with gratitude, and I have only mentioned a few recent opportunities and relationships I was gratefully to be a part of. There are so many more… and when you are in alignment, joy and happiness soon follow. It feels like a plate of steamed dungeness crab… LOL… for dinner. Lots of memories, tastes great, and I am riddled with gratitude. This knowing (in addition to the counter-examples experienced that serendipitously affirm my direction and way of being) helps me to decide what’s next. For example, I am going to go to the BC Association of Mathematics Teachers PSA Fall Conference in October. I want to learn more about math and math education. I want to reconnect with “my people.” And, I want to learn something new. I know that math and math education gets me jacked up, and I’m trying to get my doctoral work published. So, getting excited about math is important to me.

I need to stay focused on what’s important and what I love to do. STAY ALIGNED.