Looking Up...

When I saw this weeks assignment for the 52 Photos Project, I was very excited!!  This is something I do ALL the time.  I am constantly in awe of the immense space that exists above us...and so often is ignored.  Unfortunately, I seldom have my camera, so I rarely capture the images that entrance me.  However, I have been lucky on an occasion or two to have my camera handy.  This is the one I picked.  Hope you find it as lovely as I did!

This Moment

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"{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words [cheating a little here] - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."

Courage...

Learning...

Let me just say right out of the gate that I don’t home school and I’m not very familiar with the ins and outs of it.  I understand the basic concept, but I cannot speak to it with any type of authority.  My kids have always gone to a traditional brick and mortar school.  I also have only recently (through many blogs posted by you all out there) come to know the term “unschooling,” and although the concept fascinates me the unstructured-ness quality of it leaves me with many unanswered questions.

That being said, there are some things that I am, and that is a mother who loves her children and wants to see them grow to be smart and successful adults.   So, when I went to my 2^nd graders parent conference last week, I was naturally very verbal, asking a lot of questions and doing a lot of explaining about the things we do at home to supplement what’s being taught in school.  My daughter’s teacher was very receptive to my questions and encouraging in regards to continuing to work with Bella at home.  She said to my husband and me, “You can always tell which are the children who spend a lot of time with their parents, doing things with their parents, and she is definitely one of them.”  Well, this made me feel a little sad for the kids that don’t have parents at home that spend the kind of time we do with our kids, doing the kinds of things we do in order to ensure that they are learning and developing appropriately.  However, it also made me realize that all along I have been doing the thing I thought I wasn’t by sending my kids to a public school – homeschooling.

My very first job as a teen was as an after-school aide in a preschool.  I loved working with the kids on projects and I always thought I would go into teaching.  Alas, things don’t always turn out as you expect them to and I became a Sociologist instead, but the love of teaching is at the very core of who I am.  Fortunately for me, I have been able to pursue that love with my children.  Even at nineteen, with a new baby and no idea how to raise a child, I have always instilled a love of learning in my children.

With Julian, it started with books.  Both my husband and I love books, and so naturally we wanted our son to love them as well.  When I was pregnant with Julian, Luis and I would sit in bed at night and take turn reading Grimm’s Fairy Tales to my belly.  As soon as Julian was able to open his eyes and stay focused for prolonged periods of time, we continued “reading” to him by showing him picture books and talking about the pictures.  At seven months, my son spoke his first word and by one year he was speaking in clear and complete sentences.  At nine years old he was reading book five of the Harry Potter series on his own and by twelve the favorite was Dan Brown’s The DaVinci Code.  He has always also excelled in math and science and has an amazing ability to remember complex concepts at a very detailed level.

When Isabella came along, I thought, “Ok, this one is going to be my ‘normal’ child.”  We followed the same pattern with her, reading from infancy and encouraging exploration and learning every day.  However, when at one year she had the typical repertoire of 10 or so words, which is probably developmentally ok, I began to panic.  Of course, my only comparison was Julian, my brain child.  I had to continually remind myself that she was developing just fine and that I really needed to stop comparing her to her brother.

The toddler years brought on may fun days of painting, coloring, cutting, and pasting.  Talking about letters and numbers and colors and shapes.  Because we are working parents, we tried to maximize the time we have to expose our children to as much learning as we can.  I let go of the comparisons and relished in having another little one through whose eyes I could re-experience the world.  Then, when Bella turned four, something happened.  Something clicked in her little brain and in six short months, she went from reciting her ABCs to reading If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.

Once she started kindergarten, it became instantly apparent that I needed to step up my game a t home because the school curriculum was simply not going to cut it.  We began reading more at home, doing more spelling and writing activities, and practicing some simple addition (“If I have 5 apples and I eat 2, how many do I have left?”).  Now, my daughter is in second grade doing third grade math and reading at an almost fourth grade level.  She probably could have skipped kindergarten altogether.  I still panic that whatever clicked in her brain at four years old will click back someday and she will fall behind; so I relentlessly continue to push her to her limits at home.  I love the social environment that she is exposed to at school and so does she.  She loves going to school and I would never take that away from her.  However, I also know that school is not enough…that I need to use my time at home to fill in gaps and continue to create an environment for her where she can feel challenged.

So, I guess I have come to the realization that education does not need to be a one or the other type of approach.  There is really no such thing as traditional school v.s. homeschooling.  I argue that you can have both.  You can’t really pigeon-hole kids and judge the decisions that parents make regarding the children’s education.  There is no right answer for everyone, there is only the right answer for your child right now.  My kids?  Yeah, they go to public school…but they have also been homeschooled all of their lives by two loving parents who feel that learning happens every moment of everyday, whether you’re sitting at desk in front of a chalk board or sitting on mommy or daddy’s lap reading a book.  Learning doesn’t start and stop…it is a continuum…and we are all students as well as teachers.

Lucky

Taken from Microsoft Word Clipart

We all (often) ruminate about our lives…and how we feel.  I’m sure there are many times when you say, “I’m so busy” or “I’m so tired.”  Or maybe sometimes you look at the bright side and say, “I’m so happy” or “I feel so loved.”  But do you ever stop to think about how lucky you are?  I do.  A lot.

I think it’s inevitable to dwell on the bad sometimes.  There are days when we are feeling down and nothing seems to go right.  You know the days.  When you wake up and stub your toe on your way to the bathroom and think, “It’s gonna be one of those days.”

Then there are the days when life couldn’t be better.  When happiness and joy consumes us, and the love we feel for others and others feel for us, fills up our heart to almost bursting.  These are great days, and most of us try to make sure that these days far outweigh the bad ones.

But what I mean when I say lucky is not happiness or joy or love.  I’m talking about something else…something outside of ourselves that sets in motion outcomes and results that affect our lives in a myriad of ways.

Luck – a combination of circumstances or events that, by chance, shape other circumstances or events.  Could be good or could be bad…but when we say lucky, we usually mean good.

I know what you're thinking...there's nothing lucky about stubing your toe first thing in the morning and watching the rest of your day go downhill from there, Gail.  And your right.  Sometimes life gets sucky, and it seems that no matter what we do, it only gets worse.  Sometimes when we are feeling crappy, happiness and joy eludes us, and despair takes over no matter how hard we try to the contrary.  However, it doesn't have to be all gloom, all the time.

You see, sometimes…when I’m having one of those days…I start thinking.  I think about the events in my life that have shaped who I am.  I think about the people I’ve met and the relationships I’ve forged.  I think about where I’ve been, where I’m going, and how far I’ve come.  I think about all of the decisions I’ve made right, and all of the things I’ve learned from the ones I’ve made wrong.  I think about all the ways in which my life is whole and healthy and good.  And I feel…lucky!  Lucky because in my thirty-five years on Earth there have been many circumstances and events that have led me down many paths.  And, although those paths have not always been smooth, and I’ve had to back-track a few times, they have always led me to a good place.  

And sometimes these are things we need to think about when we are having one of those days, so we can clear out gray clouds and make room for the happiness and the joy and the love to find it's way back into our lives and our hearts.

A big thank you to all those that visit, and leave me happy notes.  They truly make my day, as they are proof that someone is reading this stuff :)  I’m very lucky to have such wonderful blog-friends!  Wishing you a very lucky weekend!


This post is dedicated to my beautiful mother, who's having one of those days.   Love you, Mom <3

This Moment

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"{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words [cheating a little here] - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."

Resourcefulness...

When God gives you pork shoulder, chicken stock, green beans, carrots, green onions, ginger, soy sauce, and Top Ramen noodles...you make your own version of an asian noodle soup and call it dinner!

Happy Friday!!

Visitors

The other day, the wind, the cold, and the rain came for a visit.

I wasn’t exactly expecting them, but more like hoping they would stop by soon.

It was splendid. 

When they showed up at my door, I was ready with my favorite jacket and scarf, to welcome them in.

Since they stayed through the day and into the evening, I also dug out the fuzzy socks – you know the ones.

We had a wonderful time, the wind, the cold, the rain, and I.

We drank lots of tea and even some hot cocoa.

We snuggled under blankets to read.

We rejoiced in finally being together again.

Alas, with the dawning of the new day, I awoke to find that sometime during the night as I lay sleeping, the wind, the cold, and the rain had taken their leave once again. 

I was devastated, as I thought they had come to stay for a while.

I wasn’t expecting them to leave so soon.

I’m hoping they will be back, the wind, the cold, and the rain – my best friends.

This Moment

Joining SouleMama...

"{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."

Bridging...

October

October has arrived and I have to say that, although I was very excited about the coming of Fall (as I posted here), it has been a very slow start indeed.  I wouldn’t say I am uninspired or feeling gloomy as much as I am just very busy.  With everyone back in school, it has been a challenge this year to get into our groove.  Julian’s junior year is proving to be action packed from the word go.  Trying to fit in his evening review sessions, extra after school APUSH classes, and his new responsibilities as co-president and youth council member of GSA, along with Bella’s Taekwondo and Brownies, has my head spinning…and we have barely finished month one!!
 

There have been consequences, as so often there are.  I have dropped the ball on packed lunches and home cooked meals and find myself taking the kids to eat out more than I should.  I have not been giving the attention I should to my “Uncovering Happiness” project (last month was hit and miss).  The blogging has slowed way down.   I realize that I haven’t finished posting the pics from our Seattle trip, and my camera has been conspicuously empty lately and the words these days come out as lists of things I can’t forget to do.  We have not made it apple picking yet this season, and at the rate we are going we probably won’t.  The unraveling feeling is creeping up…and try as I might to gather the threads, it seems like I almost grab a hold of one and another slips through my fingers.

However, through all of this, there are some glimmers of wonderfulness…

Text messages that start “OMG MERCIFUL HEAVENS…” from my high schooler when assignments and exams get pushed back unexpectedly…never fails to make me smile, that boy.

Feelings of pride as my mini one gives her all during her sparring matches…her attitude of no fear is amazing and humbling.

Bittersweet feelings of excitement and sadness as I watch my son get ready for the first dance of the year…the teen energy as we drive them to the event is infectious and reminds me of times long ago.

Watching Bella bridge over to Brownies with her girl scout sisters…and realizing the bonds that have been forged amongst the girls and also amongst the moms.

Knowing my weekday evening will be that much easier cuz my better half made dinner last night and all I have to do tonight is warm it up!

Not sure if the threads will ever come together for me this year.  Not sure if I will ever get my blogging rhythm back or if I will have to resort to sporadic updates and occasional pictures.  Not sure how much happiness I will uncover or how many takeout pizzas we will end up consuming.  However, one thing is abundantly clear.  This year I will be very busy living…and isn’t that the best of all?

Amazing Things

Amazing things happen when you run down hills.  The wind blows your hair back and you can’t help but laugh at loud at the feeling of absolute freedom that soars through you. 

Amazing things happen when you find yourself surrounded by hundreds of neon yellow plastic strips.  Your heart lightens with the joy of being a kid and having a child’s imagination that can create entire worlds inside these long plastic straws.

Amazing things happen when immerse yourself in the creations of others.  You find inspiration for your own creative spirit.

Amazing things happen when you take time just be.  You often find yourself and find the joy of sharing simple moments with those you most care about.

Amazing things happen when you take something simple and multiply it, creating a mosaic of simplicity that is startling in its beauty.

Amazing things happen when you spend a day teaching your children to respect and admire the wondrous creations that amazingly talented individuals have created.  The beauty of what they have seen will shine through in their smile.

What amazing things have you experienced?

Inspired by our recent trip to the Los Angeles Museum of Art.

The Beginning

I have been thinking about this post for a while.  The words have been flitting through my mind for weeks, but I haven’t been able to get a handle on them.  I thought they would come when the kids started school or over Labor Day weekend when all of the Fall decorations came out of storage and my home its metamorphosis into shades of red, orange, yellow, and brown.  But the days were still hot and sticky, and the nights stifling.  It wasn’t time yet. 

Then, when I began my “Uncovering Happiness” project, and started on my first resolution of restoring order to house and home, I thought, “Now the words will settle and allow themselves to be written.”  But this new project has been met with some resistance.  Not by me, but by the time I can’t seem to find in the 24-hour cycle of the rising and setting of the sun.  The only words available were words of frustration and annoyance…and those words have no place here.

I was starting to lose hope.  I was beginning to think that Fall has lost its magic.  That perhaps I was falling into the same melancholy state that gripped me at the beginning of summer.  I was becoming anxious and restless and was prepared to write off the whole season before it began. 

Then today I woke up and the sun wasn’t shinning.  The morning was cool and crisp and overcast.  And by midafternoon, when I still hadn’t had to turn on the AC, I thought, it’s finally here…and the words stopped and sighed with relief.  You see, Fall is my favorite season.  And I don’t just mean like purple is my favorite color…no, Fall is my season. 

Spring tends to be the season many associate with “The Beginning”.  After the cold bleakness of Winter, Spring, and all its glorious colors warm us…flowers bloom, winged friends busily begin to spreading life, and the sun breaks through the clouds warming our hearts and our lives.  But for me the true beginning begins when August gives way to September and the leaves start changing and falling.  I literally feel the Earth cleansing itself and making room for the new, and so, I also begin cleansing and making room for the new.  September sets the tone for the rest of the year.  There is another round of birthdays to plan, the holidays to divvy up among friends and family, and the new school year.  I beginning planning for breaks – Christmas, Spring Break, and Summer – so that budgets are established and time off work can be arranged.  It is a busy time, but it fills me with hope and anticipation for the year ahead.  My season.  The one I look forward to all year long.

I know it’s technically not Fall yet, but today I feel it in the air.  Today I feel the magic of this wonderful season, and I can see clearly all the good that awaits us this year.  Today I am at the beginning…and it is glorious indeed!  I hope yours is too!

This Moment

Better late than never :)

Joining SouleMama...

"{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."

Urban beauty...

This Moment

Joining SouleMama...

"{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."

Achievements...

Happy Friday!!

Erasing the Days

Early this year, in my attempt to organize my family, I bought this calendar...

It hangs in a space right in front of the refridgerator, between the kitchen and the laundry room.  Every month I post all of our activities, appointments, events, etc. Some times my family posts things too...but mostly it's me doing the planning.  


Anyhow...with the end of August upon us and the beginning of school looming in the immediate future, I took some time Saturday morning to update the calendar to September.  As I erased the old month away, I noticed myself hesitating and reading each entry before wiping it clean.  As I removed one day after another, sending August into the past, I realized two things.  


First, I realized how much we actually did.  Doctor appointments, birthdays, dog sitting, rides to the airport, days off from work, dinners, taekwondo practice, and daisy meetings.  I know we live very active, busy lives.  I can feel the busyness throughout the days and weeks as I juggle and negotiate schedules.  However, there is a sense of accomplishment one feels when reviewing all that one actually did in a given month or week.  


The second thing I realized was that this ritual, of revisiting the days past right before wiping them away to make room for the new, is one more way of embracing the now.  Those moments spent erasing the days really puts into perspective all that came before and all that is to come.  In that moment, I feel grounded in the present, feeling a sense of accomplishment and a bit of nostalgia...while at the same time experiencing the wonderful anticipation that comes with knowing you have a whole month stretched before you, ripe with the possibilities of new experiences.  It is during these "now" moments that I feel most blessed that I have life, health, and love.

This Moment

Last night, after a full day of work dealing with attorneys, rushing home to run to the tailors to pick up Bella's Taekwondo uniform, feeding Bella before Daisy meeting, going to Daisy meeting, and getting home at 8pm (still in slacks and heels), I found this:

Grant it, my son had warned me that he had not done the dishes prior to locking himself out of the house, but that didn't stop the annoyance and frustration from overtaking me.  


However, through the haze of anger, I remembered a blog post I had read earlier in the day over at Inner Bliss.  I could allow the anger to consume me and ruin the rest of my evening, or I could reframe it and embrace it.  


So, the pile of dishes has become my moment that I want to cherish and savor today because, one day in the not too distant future, there will no longer be piles of dirty dishes in the sink.  After a full days work, no errands, and no Daisy meetings (as those will be long forgotten), I will come home to two coffee mugs...and that will mean my babies have grown up and moved on...and I will miss the pile of dirty dishes that were the symbol of a full house.


Linking with SouleMama.

Summer

We are officially in the final stretch of summer. 


The school supplies have been purchased.  The high-schooler has his junior (Yikes!) year schedule.  The MA student is enrolled and the books have come in the mail.  One week from today the Araujo household will once again be in the grips of another school year. 


But until then...we have a few more days of summer to enjoy. 

So for the next week we will be:

• Enjoying evenings free of homework...
• Spending as much time as possible in shorts, tanks, and flip flops...
• Celebrating late summer birthdays...
• Eating LOTS of ice cream...
• Grilling, grilling, grilling...
• Spending pressure-free time with friends...
• Getting wet...
• Going for evening walks (in our flip flops)...
• Soaking in the sun...

How will you be spending these last days of summer?

Time

Today I felt time move.  
It was a tangible feeling...like a small whisper of a breeze blowing on an otherwise windless day.
It was there...and then it wasn't.
It was an awesome thing, this feeling of time passing.
Scary...but awesome.  
It was like living in the past, the present, and the future, all at the same time.
Not just thinking about these states of being, but really being.


We always talk about living in the moment and how short life is, but until today, when I physically experienced the movement of time as it passed through me, I didn't really understand the significance of these words. 
I realized in that moment what it means when we say that time cannot be slowed down, detained, or made to wait.  


Time is it's own.


We can pretend to control time with calendars and watches and schedules, but in reality, no matter what is penciled in on the calendar or what time our watch reads, time will pass...whether we are doing many things...or nothing at all.  
Everyday is precious, yes...but so is every hour, every minute, and every second.  Every thought, feeling, idea, moment, and breath is carried away, second by second, minute by minute, and hour by hour, by the palpable stream of time that runs through us, and around us, everyday.


Seems obvious doesn't it?  So why do we so often lose sense of time, even when we take time to slow down and live in the moment?  


I think today I discovered that, at least for me, it is the physical aspect of time that I have been missing.  To know something in your mind is good...but to feel it in your heart, body, and soul is to experience it to its fullest capacity. That is truly living in the moment...to experience time...this time, the last time, and next time with our entire being.  




Linking this photo to the 52 Photos Project.

Photo Journal Day 5: Olympia Farmer's Market and Pioneer Square

Photo Journal Day 5:  On our 5th day we headed to the capital, Olympia, to visit another Farmer's Market (noticing a theme here...planes and food).  It is much smaller the Pike, but oh my, the fruit was amazing.  Peaches and apricots like nothing I have ever tasted before.  There is a band playing music and several places that serve breakfast and lunch.  Luis ate the biggest burrito I have ever seen!  After Olympia, we headed back to Seattle and Pioneer Square (check out the socks on the trees!) to take the Underground Tour.  This was too awesome for words.  Basically, Seattle was first built below sea level and after "The Great Fire" in 1889, they rebuilt the city on top of the existing city.  The underground was used for many years as like a city under the city.  Fascinating!  This is a must do for anyone visiting Seattle.  The tour guides are great storytellers and the history is super cool.

Photo Journal Day 4: Pacific Science Center

Photo Journal Day 4:  On day four, we headed back out to Seattle Center.  There was a big foodie fest going on.  We were a little unprepared for the size of the event.  It seemed that every Seattleite was there, enjoy the bands and the food.  We grabbed some hot dogs and headed over to the Pacific Science Center, our destination for the day.  Bella had fun with the hands on exhibits...especially touching the sea anemones.  My goofball son had fun too :)  The best part of the museum was the Butterfly Walk.  They have a solarium full of beautiful flowering plants and trees and hundreds of butterflies!  You have to be very careful not to step on them or take them out by accident on your clothes.  Bella and I were absolutely enchanted.  In the evening, we bought tickets for the Lady Gaga Laser show in the Laser Dome.  Bella and I laid on the floor (the boys were too cool for school and sat in the uncomfortable seats) and enjoyed an hour of Lady Gaga favorites and psychedelic lights.  It was a Gaga-rific ending to a great day!!

The Happiness Project

I was at Target (my favorite store) late last month browsing through the book section, and came across this one.  Now, I have to say that when I read the title I was a little skeptical.  How does one undertake a project to be happier?  Is there even such a thing?  You are either happy or you're not, right?


I left the book behind, but the thought stuck with me all week...so much so, that I ended up getting the book on Kindle.  There were things about the book that I didn't necessarily agree with but the basic premise of the book, I think, is a good one.  It's true, like the author states, that we often make resolutions that we don't keep.  How many of us have made a New Years resolution to lose weight year after year to no avail?  I also think it's true that we often set goals for ourselves that we never achieve.  I don't think our failure to succeed has anything to do with us.  I don't think we are inherently lazy or predisposed to failure.  I think that there are two things at work here that keep us from achieving what we set out to do: 1) We are probably making the wrong resolutions and/or goals, and 2) We phrase our resolutions and/or goals as ideals instead of as concrete actions that can actually be accomplished.


Let's take the first premise...the September issue of Yoga Journal has a great article titled Soul's Desire which is about happiness and how we set out to attain it.  The article talks about how often what we think we need to make us happy is really not what we need at all.  There are so many forces that affect our daily lives - work, home, relationships, health, etc - that we often don't realize how each of those things truly impacts what we do and who we are.  We take them for granted and at face value, and thus fail to see the interconnectedness of our lives.  So sometimes we think if we do X it will make us happy, when in reality what we really need to do is Y.


The second premise has to do with how we frame our resolutions or goals.  It's easy to say. "This year I'm going to make a resolution to lose 20 lbs."  Then we go about our lives as we do everyday and when next year rolls around we are still carrying around 20 lbs (or more) of unwanted weight and not feeling very good about ourselves.  Now, if we said, "This year I'm going to make a effort to eat fresh fruits and vegetables every day" or "This year I'm going to go out for a walk three times a week," then it is more likely that by the end of the year we would have shed those 20 unwanted pounds.  Framing your resolution as a concrete action, something you can actually do, makes it more likely that you will do it, and as a consequence achieve what you want.


So what does this have to do with happiness?  Well, I'm not going to try to explain the whole happiness project here.  I encourage you all to get the book.  It's a fast and easy read.  But I do want to share a cool resource that the author has made available, in order to encourage everyone to start their own happiness projects.  I will be starting mine on September 1st.  I felt it was appropriate to start in the Fall because ,for me, it is really the season for new beginnings.  


I am approaching it as an "Uncovering Happiness" Project.  I truly feel that happiness exists everywhere, everyday and it is up to us to embrace it.  However, sometimes we bury it under our inclinations to rush through life, or it becomes obscured by our worries, anxieties, and fears.  So, for the next 12 months, I hope to "dig out" happiness in every corner of my life, in order for me to live my best day, everyday.  I hope to share what I discover here on occasion, so please come back and visit and let me know you've been here.


To happiness!!

Photo Journal Day 3: Future of Flight Museum and Boeing Factory Tour

Photo Journal Day 3:  One of the reasons we took these trip is because my son, Julian, is a plane geek.  A BIG plane geek.  The kind that wants to be an aerospace engineer when he grows up and design and build planes for a living...preferably for Boeing...preferably in Everette, WA.  So, what better place to really find out if the dream lives up to the reality than by taking the Boeing Factory Tour in, you guessed it, Everette WA!  


We first hung out in the Future of Flight Museum which is at Paine Field and the departure place for the tour.  It was amazing to see the size of the engines up close and some oldie but goodies (I was a big Pan Am fan in the 80s).  


We couldn't actually take pictures on the factory tour for obvious reasons, but we were able to snap some shots of the completed planes waiting for delivery and the buildings where my son my someday make a living.  The best part of this day was watching my son absorb everything and have him reconfirm that this is where he wants to be.  Alas, it is wonderful when the reality turns out to be even better than the dream!!