Practice Makes Perfect

For Christmas my parents gave me a Beginners' Knitting Kit.  All I need to learn how to knit in one convenient package!  I have been looking through all the materials and the book, but it seems I am supposed to supply not only the yarn but the patience to learn this new skill as well.  Maybe it's just because I was a little distracted when I tried to teach myself yesterday, but I decided that I'm going to see if some of my friends here might be willing to help me get started with the basics.  Many times in my life this is how I get started on different things.  I have an idea about something I want to try, figure out the basics of how to try it, but then decide it might be better to seek the knowledge of someone who actually knows what they are doing.  My mom has always said I'm a mimic.  She could apparently tell who I hung out with on the monkey bars on any given day based on my speech patterns (or attitude choices) when I was home later that day.  My goal is to balance a life of authentic experiences of my own while not reinventing the wheel every time a new opportunity presents itself.  Through watching my friends and family, watching fun movies, reading inspiring text, and learning from my past experiences - both negative and positive - I am starting to believe that I have a good idea of where to go, what to do, and how to behave in the next few chapters, or maybe just sentences, in my life.

A little insight to my basic principles of how I try to live my life: do unto others what I would want done to me; take time to look around and appreciate and internalize the beauty surrounding me regardless of my actual physical surroundings; give love freely; find deep, actual gratitude for the small things that bring much joy into our lives; do what I can, where I am, with what I have.  I mention this because I have to remind myself of these things on a daily basis.  Today I was walking in the outdoor art gallery in Port Angeles and was so immersed in the stealthy art pieces in the tree branches that I almost missed a simple, but comforting, piece under my feet.  A small stone with waves on it fortunately caught my eye and I was indeed reminded to take the time to look around.

I have a few days left of winter break, and as refreshing and rejuvenating this time has been I feel like I am ready to be back to work.  The four months that I have been living and working in Port Angeles and surrounding areas has only made it even more clear to me that I deeply desire to be working with students, especially those who may not have all the support or resources or love that they should from their home lives. In addition to working with the students I have very much enjoyed working on projects that benefit members of the community that I am living in, as well as working and playing in natural areas of this beautiful part of the Earth.  Feeling the dirt between my fingers and taking deep, exhilarating, exciting and relaxing breaths of fresh, salty air makes me remember why I take those seemingly small and insignificant measures to reduce my impact on Earth's natural resources and ecosystems.

That being said, there are so many times when I have very little or no patience with myself for not getting things "right" in regards to my work or personal life.  SO many times I think about a better way to explain something to one of my students or a better response to the various people I interact with or what I wish I might have done in the past so that maybe, maybe, I could be living an "adult" life right now complete with higher rent, a possible car payment, enough money that I could actually buy those super cute heels, and the time and resources to actually start traveling.  Then I realize that none of those would be a given if I my job and life were different right now.  And I also realize that I do frequently look to the teachers around me for ideas about how to explain words or concepts to the students, and that this in turn helps me prepare for the next time a student asks me for help on something that I have not explained before.  Mimicking at its finest?

I know I'll continue to work on living out my ideals I wrote above.  As long as I have an idea about how I want to live my life I feel like I at least have a somewhat cleared path to meander along.  And when I take the time to look up and notice the beauty around me I might be pleasantly surprised by sights like this view that I saw on ly walk in the art today:

When I looked closely and intently, I could see the snow capped mountains of Vancouver Island.  As for the knitting, when I told one friend about the "learning to knit" kit I was given he replied "Oh, so everyone will be getting scarves for Christmas next year?"  I looked at him with a smile and replied "No way!  Hats, sweaters, shawls, mittens!  I'm gonna practice and practice and practice and get good at this new hobby!"  Hopefully I'll be lucky and have some guidance from some friends so I actually can practice to make perfect (gifts).

Happy New Year!  May 2011 find you happy, healthy and peaceful!
 

What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been

For the past few years the Winter Solstice has felt more like the beginning of a new year to me then January 1st on the calendar year.  Here are some of my favorite memories from this year with some visual aides to help illustrate these memories.  Cheers to this next year and all it may bring!

Really don't think I had ever laughed so hard (or ever eaten Chinese food!) on Christmas before!  Celebrated the fact we learned we were going to be Aunties and Uncles!  Congrats to Paul and Erin!

A few days later Kath and I were off to NYC!  Subway rides, art exhibits, New Year's Eve in Time's Square, making friends from all over the place, seeing family, SISTER TIME, snow fall.  It was a successful trip in every meaning of the word.

Surprise visit from a fantastic friend.  The talks in that short weekend helped me refocus some of my energy to where I really wanted it to be.

Began my last semester of undergraduate school.  Thought I knew right where I'd be when I was done with the semester; funny how much changes in a mere 16 weeks.

Friend-en-tine, rather than Valentine.  Worked perfectly for me and the place my head was this February 14th.  So much coffee and learning chess.  Those Friday mornings were the highlights of my spring.  It was a time of growth, of myself, of friendship, and of some serious chess skills!  :)

Decided I would NOT start a teaching credential program after graduation.  Well, NOW WHAT?  ...but I couldn't have made that decision without some serious parental love and support.

Graduation!  Moved that tassel (that was worth the hassle) to the left side of the cap; celebrated with family and friends on one of the first sunny, warm days of summertime.  Almost time to start a new life even though I still didn't know what that was going to be.

Yuba time!  Going to the sunny river, becoming pink mermaids, meeting Byaobob, reading Chic Lit and fashion magazines.  Perfect days.  

Went to my first Pride Parade and saw all the beautiful people.  Gorgeous, sunny day in the city filled with love. <3

Got to share "my" Big Basin Redwoods and favorite Santa Cruz beach, along with Marianne's.  Throw in some amber beer from the mountain brewery and so much laughter in the sand and surf.  What a fantastic way to start my summer.

Birthday in Vancouver.  Hanging out with my ladies!  Fitting the luggage in the trunk was an unexpected jigsaw puzzle to complete.  Giggles, giggles, giggles.  Drinks with some friends from another lifetime.  Learning what living a "koutenay" life means.  Somehow made it onto the ship with 10 minutes to spare!  

Alaska with the family.  Dancing the night away with almost all 17 of us on the dance floor!  Fancy dinners, marine life, sea kayaking, trying escargot with with the cuzzos, first interview, surely some shenanigans thrown in somewhere!  Lucky I have such a great family!

Time to start packing!  Trying to spend time with friends before I move to...somewhere!  Burritos, late nights, boxes, State Fair, dress fittings and dress fittings and dress fittings.  July flew by!

Two days before I moved I got the call!  Port Angeles, here I come!  Got my stuff out of the old house, one last sunburned day at the Yuba.  Bubbles and naps and swirling waters.  Dinner at the worm farm.  Got down to the South Bay just in time...chill time at the house with Argos. 

And then, Lani and Aaron's wedding!  Calmest bride EVER. Fun girly time at the salon.  Best ceremony ever.  Beauty.  Then, dancing dancing dancing!!!  ...and Andre Andre Andre!  Fun times.

Off to the East Coast!  Family time with the "East Coasters."  First drive through Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan. Don't you dare add any salt to ANYTHING! Life is salty enough, after all!  More kayaking, more swimming.  Delicious, really delicious, food too!

Back home with just enough time to end summer with DMB, and then it was time to exit California.  Road trip of sorts with Mom and Dad.  Revisiting memories of previous trips up I-5. Welcome to Port Angeles!  

Meeting the my new housemates was like coming back to a home I didn't know existed.  Our yellow kitchen, idea wall on the fridge, the pear tree, music floating through the house, cooking experiments; love it.

Sharing "inappropriate cheers" and having those giggle fits make life easier when otherwise it would be really difficult.  New friends becoming a family.  

Watching my little sister graduate made me so proud!  She's amazing and super smart and makes the world a better place.  The resulting celebration brought out sides of my family I didn't know were there.  Ha!  Thanks for giving us a reason, Kath!

To end the year, Apollo ate Sirius.  Laying in the driveway of the house that I grew up in while the Earth's shadow covered the moon.  As I looked at the sky I was thinking about the various skies I've looked at this year, the different stages of the moon I've seen while looking up from different patches of Earth, where I've seen the Milky Way and the awe that always ensues.  Happy Solstice to you!  May the new year and returning sun bring you light and love and happiness!

Come On, Take My Hand

The Yuba, the river I love

This summer I was at my favorite "beach" spot at my favorite river with one of my favorite people.  We were lucky that day; the sun was shining, the water was clear and abundant, and the fish were our only competition for swimming space. He and I were discussing life and our frustrations at not being able to do more to help...just in the vaguest, most general sense of the word.  We asked ourselves what could we do to make our world, wherever we are at the moment, a better place?  Our solution: act like a five year old.  My thinking behind this during that discussion was that kids, up to a certain age, generally don't discriminate against one another based on one another's background or personal beliefs or if they do or don't have money.  Sure, kids get upset about someone not sharing a favorite toy or someone cutting them in line or using the eraser they wanted to use "because that color of eraser works the best."  Usually, though, after a few minutes of sulking they are ready to be friends with the offender.  We wondered that day, "What if we all treated each other with the kind of unconditional love and admiration we so often see children exhibit to other children?"

My belief that acting like five year olds would make the world a happier and overall better place has been strengthened in my time thus far while working nine hours a day with elementary age students.  The best times are when they think no adults are watching.  This past week I heard many of the third grade students talking about their classmate who fell and knocked out some of his teeth.  They were worried that he was still in pain late into the afternoon because "hitting your mouth on metal hurts a lot."  Another time I saw two boys who are in the same grade walking down the hall.  One boy was much taller than the other one, but the shorter boy was the one helping the other one down the hall.  The tall boy had a wad of paper towels pressed against his face and the shorter boy had one arm around his classmate helping to steer him in the right direction all the while with the sweetest, and most genuine, look of concern on his face.  Then there was the time in the afterschool program I work in where one child was throwing a temper tantrum about the color of folder he was given.  One of the sweetest girls in the program saw what was going on, came up to him and said "It's ok, you can have my blue folder, and I'll take your orange one."  The fact that she saw the opportunity to make someone's life better by doing a simple, heartfelt action left me with a swell of hope.  One more example: a couple of students I work with daily on math had just received their math test scores.  Both of the students had similar scores, but one did score a little higher than the other one.  Both of the students though congratulated the other one on a job well done and made some comments about how hard they knew they had each worked and that they could always try harder on the next test.  My heart just about burst.

I remind my students of lessons they have learned on a daily basis.  The silent "e" on the end of a word makes the vowel in the word make the long vowel sound.  Borrowing from the tens place requires you to essentially take away one number from the tens place to make it so you actually can subtract eight from three.  But really, my students are the ones who remind me of how to live out a good and happy life - act like a five year old.