“Momma, how do you spell leprechaun?” My daughter is asking me, again, how to spell yet another word. “L-e-p-r-e-c-h-a-u-n.” I slur the letters a little fast, hoping she won’t take notice. “Momma, you went too fast. Spell it again.” With a focused look, she reminds me of a grade school teacher. She is equipped with a clipboard in one hand and a green pen in another. “I have too much to do. I will spell the words later.” I get [...]
Everyday life
“Ritual maintains the world’s holiness. As in a dream a small object may assume significance, so in a life that is animated by ritual there are no insignificant things.” Thomas Moore Most mornings commence with the same beginnings. My alarm rings at 5:30 a.m. and as I lace up my tennis shoes, there is a layer cake of varying shades of darkness in the horizon. The route I run greets me with familiar sights: the pale-brown rabbits hopping away, the amber-pink-blue [...]
It’s the way her eyes opened up as her gaze fixated on the actors and actresses in the play. That’s what reminded me again. This past week my daughter and I attended a children’s play, a rendition of Alice In Wonderland. My daughter’s first exposure to the theater left her mesmerized. She focused on the colorful costumes, the voice of the Queen of Hearts, and the way the characters sang and dance across the stage. At one point, I thought [...]
It was late afternoon. I picked up my daughter from school and we talked about her day in the car. It was an ordinary conversation about what she is learning in math and science, as well as sprinkles about her adventures on the playground with her friends. As we enter our home, she sheds her uniform and puts on a pair of pants and floral t-shirt. She is singing, “La-la-la, Sing a Happy Song, Smurf your whole day long.” It [...]
I’ve always obsessed about time. This past week I mulled over the concept of the leap day. Almost 10 leap years have passed in my life. But this year, I am particularly sensitive to this extra day. It’s almost like a real life bookmark. A place of reference for us to reflect on where we were in our lives on the previous leap day four years ago. It led me to think about February 29, 2008 and where I [...]
This past Saturday I noticed. Your laugh began somewhere deep as you twirled around with your Daddy. What will you remember about your first Daughter & Daddy dance? Sparkles of goodness, I am certain. We shopped for a special dress with glitter and picked out matching silver shoes. The entire time, you told me, “I can’t wait for the Daughter-Daddy dance.” Because no outfit is complete without pink, you donned a pink headband and matching cardigan. Hand in hand, [...]
May you be filled with lovingkindness May you be peaceful and at ease May you know the beauty of your own true nature May you be happy May you be healed – Buddhist Blessing My word of the year is compassion. The practice of it is a struggle. How do you integrate compassion in your daily life? How do you stop making assumptions and judgments? In the recent weeks, I analyzed my reaction to a particular situation. There is a [...]
This past weekend brought gifts of simple pleasures: laughter of little children, a warm amber fire, reading on a cozy couch and watching the falling white snow. We spent our days in a cabin in a remote forest where the loudest sound was the cadence of your own breath. As we drove toward our destination, our daughter noticed the falling snow and the patches of white that became more frequent as we got closer. “Momma, there is snow!” I can [...]
On Monday afternoon, my husband and I decided to surprise our little girl with a bouquet of balloons as an early Valentine’s Day present. It was an impromptu stop after a quick lunch. As we exited onto the road, I noticed the white tent filled with pink and red flowers, candy bouquets, and large balloons. As we drove over to the tent, I told my husband, “She will be so excited to see her balloon surprise after school. Especially because [...]
“It was a thirty foot cliff. And he dared me to the jump. I was nervous at first, but then this lean and lanky kid jumped. And without hesitation, I jumped. Man, I just took the plunge and jumped.” The woman is sitting about five rows behind me in the airplane, but she has a megaphone voice and almost every person in a one mile vicinity can hear her private conversation. This loud banter makes me nervous. All I can [...]
