My 13 year old daughter and I are leaving tonight for a week in D.C. I’m still practicing “simplistic living” (subtract, subtract, subtract (!)) and my goal is to pack as little as possible.
I’m not checking a bag and everything fits in two my carry on bags. A small, nagging voice is wondering if I have everything I need, but I know I do. With little to worry about, we’re ready for a great time!
A group of Taiwanese elementary school students came to visit our school today. They wanted to play music for us and see how Americans learn in school. Because our students learn some Mandarin, they were able to communicate – a little bit – with each other. It was a wonderful cultural exchange.
One thing we learned is that these Taiwanese students dedicate some time in their week – every week- to clean their school!
Other schools clean up after themselves too. Here is an article about Japanese schools that dedicate time to housekeeping.
“The practice, which starts when students are in first grade and continues right through high school, involves floor dusting, furniture moving and cleaning the hallways.”
Mic.com
The rationale makes sense: if students are personally obligated to keeping their school clean, they will treat it with more respect all day, every day.
I wish our public schools did this. I see students scuff walls with their shoes and our custodians complain that students urinate on the floors on purpose!
I am about to chaperone an 8th grade Close-Up trip. It will be hard work: a red eye flight and then lots of walking, talking, learning, and teaching for 6 entire days (and nights). BUT, I will not have to:
teach all day and then…
This trip ought to be an R&R of sorts!
A co-worker of mine constantly tells me she needs to make a change in her life. She tells me she needs to exercise and lose weight because she has children and she needs to be a good role model. I just listen. She’s been saying this all year. I know she will take action when she’s ready.
By “ready,” I mean, “fed up.” Isn’t that really how you get motivated? You take action and make changes when you’re “fed up” with how you’ve been living.
She made a good point, though. Her life is not just hers. She affects her children enormously. Her health and well-being necessarily influence them. If she’s at her best, she can give more.
Research shows that your physical health is optimum when you are satisfied in all of the following areas:
Identifying our “weak” area can lead to the most effective goal setting.
Our daughter played in a symphonic concert tonight. She’s almost 14 and is very active in several orchestras at the moment. The symphonic group she played in tonight celebrated their 50th anniversary this year. This group is a district group, including all the kids in the city who audition and make it. The kids then come to three different rehearsals of 2 hours each. They perform in the local Ikeda Theater for parents and friends. Admission is free.
Wayne Roederer started this program 50 years ago. He has conducted and started many programs and just retired two years ago. He conducted one of the groups and spoke to the parents, his voice breaking with emotion. “It was a joyous experience for me,” he said, “to work with your children. It was well worth missing Judge Judy for several days.” We all laughed.
The kids played with pride. They moved to the music.
Afterwards, we spoke with him. We congratulated him and told him how we appreciate his work. He said that he has worked with children who grew up to be adults who started orchestra programs of their own and now those kids have grown and are starting programs…
What might appear to be his legacy at first glance: the kids he worked with directly…is much more than that. This man has literally influenced thousands of people.
One man. An idea. And many helpful hands, parent volunteers and eager students. That’s all it took.
You are one person. You have an idea. Start building it…people will help you.
My lower back has been hurting lately – and, the cancer survivor in me jumps straight to fear. It’s a tumor, it’s come back, I assume. I fight the urge to Google it. Believe me, nothing good comes from Googling “pain” + “cancer”!
Of course, after thinking about it, I realized that my plantar fasciitis has returned and I’m walking in a different way to compensate for it. Consequently, my posture and walk has been thrown off kilter and voila (!) back pain.
Have you ever had headaches and/or dizziness and realized that your shoulders are super tight?
Everything is connected.
Doing a body scan on a daily basis has become effective for me. Try this: When lying down to sleep, do a scan. Start with the top of your head, down to your temples, your shoulders, your arms and so on. Check in with your body. Relax each part as you settle in to sleep.
It can be informative. You’ll be able to relax tight muscles and maybe put to rest any worries you have.
I walked.
I noticed a giant centipede, walking on the garage floor. I swept him away (their bite can hurt a lot).
I walked.
I noticed several rabbits. A groundsnake slithered in front of me. My dog had scared it.
I walked some more.
And the sun went down.
Animals and Zen masters are the most peaceful living creatures. They don’t judge.
I’ve noticed that I’m a lot more judgmental than I’d like to be. And this tendency is a formidable block to inner peace.
I’m on a self-imposed challenge: stop judging people. First, I must be aware of when I judge. It’s strongest when I’m driving. Wow! Do I have very negative thoughts! The good news is that it’s completely impersonal. I don’t know these people. But still…
Will you join me? Next time you’re in the company of one or more other people, notice your thoughts. Are you judging? Be aware. And then let it go. Don’t try to fight it. Just let it go. Just say to yourself, isn’t that interesting? My mind is judging.
As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him.
Gandhi
When you change, your world will change.
I finally received my proof for Esther, Mia and The Stars today!
It looks really good. It’s not perfect. But it’s a labor of love and I’m going to publish it. Two illustrations need to be replaced and I have to figure out how to center the ISBN code on the inner cover…but that’s it!
My friend, Sierra, translated the English to Spanish and told me it was a very fun process and that she learned a lot. I felt the same way. The process was extremely satisfying. My daughters loved making the illustrations at first, but then became self-conscious and self-critical. I hope the fact that I encouraged them to complete it will impress upon them the importance of crossing the finish line.
I was tapped with the Mystery Blogger Award today. I like the premise of this idea, which is to highlight other blogs. Shamim Sobhani of My World named Kismet among her recommended blogs. Thank you Shamim! Go to her blog. She has some mind-blowing stories!
This award was originally created by Okoto Enigma of https://okotoenigmasblog.com/my-greatest-creation-yet/. Okoto is a very energetic writer. Check her out!
1. Put the award logo/image on your blog post.
2. List the rules.
3. Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
4. Mention the creator of the award and provide a link.
5. Tell readers 3 things about yourself.
6. Answer the questions the blogger gave to you .
7. Nominate 10-20 people.
8. Notify your nominees by commenting on their blog.
9. Ask nominees 5 questions of your choice (one weird/funny question).
10. Share link to your best post(s).
1. Writing is my world. I write and I teach writing.
2. I am the child of Korean immigrants to the United States.
3. I am grateful for my family and friends. I have the highest quality sister and brother. My parents sacrificed so much for me. My friendships are fiercely loyal – I will do anything for my friends and they for me.
1. What’s one of the most helpful tips you can offer, whether it’s about motivation, living as an expat, or about life in general? Live in presence, in the light of gratitude and grace.
2. What’s one positive thing about my blog and one thing I can improve on? So many great things about your blog! But I the first that comes to mind is your writing voice. Your personality is so strong and consistent throughout your site. Improve on? I don’t know…maybe change your calendar to something else more personal?
3. Have you ever been caught in an emergency before? If so, what happened? If not, what’s something funny or awkward that’s happened to you? Emergency: a week after giving birth to my daugher, I bled profusely due to a blood clot. I almost died. I was brought to San Francisco Emergency and all the patients waiting to be seen as I was hurriedly carried in said out loud, “Wow, she’s really pale.” They removed the clot and gave me blood and I was fine.
4. What motivates you to wake up the hour you wake up and get through the day? I wake up at 5am to work out to Jillian Michaels workouts. It makes me feel strong and alert all day.
5. If you were given the option to choose one country in the world to live in, which would it be? Hmmm. Hard to say. Country? I love my country, despite our current administration. I’d love to live in South Korea for a year, but I wouldn’t want to live there permanently. I think maybe England. 🙂
Thank you all! I love my WordPress community.
Kismet 