About Heena Modi

My name’s Heena Modi & I’m a primary school teacher. I write about things that I think will serve you in one way or another. My posts may range from money saving tips, holidays that I’d recommend, ways to develop yourself, how to make things like recycling easier, making moving home smoother and more.

If there’s anything that I’ve not written about, which you think will serve the readers, please do get in touch and share your idea/content with me.

How I got into blogging

So how did I get into blogging? Funnily enough, my hubby, Suraj Shah gave me this website for my birthday a couple of years ago. I didn’t really know about blogging then so I didn’t know what it was for or what I needed to do with it! One night, we got talking about something that I was feeling passionate about and he said “You know you can write about that on your website.” That was it! I started and haven’t really stopped since! :)

What else can I tell you about me?

  • I love the sun!
  • I like wearing bright colours.
  • I adore wearing saris!
  • I like letting people know about helpful things that I’ve found out e.g. how to stop getting junk mail in your name OR anyone else’s, via the post, text, fax or phone.

Extra curricular activity! :)

I’ve been a committee member of some sort every year for the last 10 years or so. Here are some of the committees that I’ve been involved with:

Helping other teachers

I’ve been active in the National Union of Teachers since July 2007 when I became the NUT School representative at the school I work in.

My desire to become more involved in Union work grew and my career had a bit of a transformation in September 2010 when I became the Assistant Divisional Secretary for the National Union of Teachers. I carry out that role for half a day each week.

It changed a little more in January 2011 when I took on the title of the Union Learning Representative (ULR) for Harrow. I have one day every week to make things happen as the ULR for Harrow!

My journey

My journey! What can I tell you? I guess they can be summed up in these posts:

The loss of my father

My father passed away soon after we sold the family business and moved home in May 2000. I wrote a poem exploring my feelings around my father’s death and how life changed afterwards. I did a lot of that then. Writing poems helped me understand & clarify things and often move on too.

When it was about to be 10 years since my father passed away, I wrote a post about how the last decade had been. This made me realise how ‘full’ those ten years had been!

Inspired by how well mum coped

My immediate family was composed of my mum, dad and myself. Death can be difficult in any circumstance. However, I think it was particularly hard on my mum for a number of reasons; one of them being that my dad managed the money in ever way! He signed cheques, went to the bank, managed the accounts, savings etc.

Mum had never done any of that stuff and she had to learn all these things,  as well as, manage everything else that went with losing your partner, becoming a single parent and more. I’m proud of her for managing so well.

Taking steps to start the professional training that I discussed with my dad before he passed away.

My career in Education began at the Sybil Elgar School where I was a learning assistant for children and young adults with Autism. After a couple of years I decided to do the PGCE as become a teacher.

Dad and I spoke about it but he passed before I began the course. I was determined to start it as soon as possible. I did the PGCE at the University of East London and have been teaching for a few years now.

Getting married but it didn’t last a lifetime

I got married a year after my father passed away. It didn’t work out for a number of reasons but I can gladly say I have no regrets. We weren’t good for each other and deciding to lead separate lives was the best thing for both of us. However, on the day of our wedding reception, I was overcome with sadness when I saw my mum dancing with her brother. This poem explains why.

Meeting Suraj

Meeting Suraj was unplanned, unexpected but positive. We met by chance when I went out with some friends from work. He happened to know one of my friends so he came to say hi and that was it! We ended up spending most of the night together. We clicked. Talking about anything and everything came naturally. We kept in touch and we got closer. More about that later! :)

My love for animals

I have always loved animals but I got Brutus, my first pet when I was about 26 years old. He was a ‘wild’ cat.

There’s a huge void in rescuing ‘older’ cats. They often get left behind!

After Brutus passed away I was devastated but after a year or so I rescued a pair of cats. They were mother and daughter. Unfortunately Small, the mother, becamse unwell and could not be saved. I then cherished the daughter, Biggie. However, I re-homed Biggie because I knew it would be better for her & it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

I still think of her. I still miss her. However, I know that she was happy with us and better still, she was looked after in a way we couldn’t manage during her final days. :)

Going vegan

Suraj and I went to an event called Mahavir Janma Kalyanak in April 2008. At this event we saw a video about the inhumane treatment of cows. It was all about supplying us with dairy products. This was a huge turning point for us. We changed our diet from vegetarian to vegan. I’ve not looked back! I feel healthier in my mind and conscience and that is very important to me. :)

Getting active within the Union

In 2008 there was strike by Unison members. Schools had to close because the health and safety officers were on strike, learning assistants weren’t there to support specific children, support staff who cover classes weren’t in etc. This is when I was asked to do the duties of a learning assistant. For many reasons, it was wrong! I blogged about and I think that was the beginning of my increased interest in supporting the Union.

Marrying Suraj

Suraj and I got married! We had a very unusual wedding. We wanted to be minimalist, we wanted to put the money which could have gone into our wedding into our future instead and more…It all turned out well in the end! :)

Work life balance

I began to question whether working full time, which was the culture I’d been brought up with, was something that I had to/wanted to, continue! For many reasons, including a few whiplash injuries, I started working 4 days a week and I wrote a post discussing why. My quality of life is better. I feel less stressed and sick leave due to my back health has reduced dramatically.

On the path to quenching my thirst for spirituality

For some years I’d craved going to events in which I could receive spiritual guidance to make daily living smoother, more harmonious & more peaceful. During the early part of 2009 I saw the key to my spiritual progress and I accepted it! It’s been a great journey ever since!

How to get in touch

To contact me, please fill out the form below, email me at heena [at] heenamodi [dot] com or tweet me @heenamodi.

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