I'm a committed-to-aging-well, unable-to-do-anything-in-25 words-or-less, ruby-slipper-wearing eternal optimist, attempting to figure out the circuitous journey I call my life: where I've been, where I am, where I'm going and who will be my traveling companions, continued or new. In my 5+ decades on this planet, I've realized that change is not necessarily worse, just different; I've learned that saying "I don't know" has become incredibly liberating; I've intuited that there is no such thing as perfection (whether it's another person or a seashell); I have become less demanding and more forgiving/flexible by the relaxation of my guidelines; and I've figured out that, even though I'll always be an Instant Gratification Leo, sometimes delaying the reward can heighten the pleasure, too. I am more discerning to minimize the negative influences in my daily dealings (while still understanding the importance of moral obligations), and attempt to surround myself with people, activities and things that bring me joy - I want to make every glorious moment count... and I'm committed to making this world a better place, one day at a time...Recent posts are listed as
"Let me tell you about all of my mommies!" said my five-year-old son one day as we sat in our kitchen. He began counting: "There's my first mother in Korea, then Mrs. Cho (his foster mother), and then you - you're my third mom!"So begins the tales you can find at Third Mom where Margie writes:
I'm Margie, mom of two amazing Korean teens, wife of 30+ years. Third Mom is where I think out loud about Korean adoption, which has profoundly changed the lives of my children, their families, and my life, too. All points of view are welcome.And where she realizes:
I've been getting a lot of questions recently like these: "So how does it feel to have P away at college?" "What's the biggest difference you notice now that he's away?" "Have your family's dynamics changed?"Read the remainder of Margie's post here.
There are so many levels I can answer these on - the personal, the emotional, the mundane, for a start. And yes, adoption.
The personal - I just plain miss him. It's hard, REALLY hard, to accept that his wings are unfurled, and once in flight, he may end up far away from us. It's life, it's a good thing, it's the way it should be - but it's really hard for me to accept.
A membership organization for anyone 50 and older, presenting programs of intellectual stimulation and fellowship.A variety of postings like Sticks and Stones:
A fresh alphabet spells success
Jera and Brad Deal turned an inventive letter-hunting game with their daughter into a multimillion-dollar business. Sean Cole paid them a visit and did some alphabet searching.
Doug Krizner: The TV show Sesame Street's known for creative ways of introducing the alphabet to kids. One of my favorites was the Beetles singing, "Letter B." Then there was the muppet in the back alley with letters in his coat jacket: "Psst, wanna buy an O?"
Marketplace's Sean Cole actually stumbled onto a business that's kinda doing the same thing.
Read the remainder of the post here.
Benjamin Franklin once said, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." What would this founding father think about our nation's current health care system, where the focus is on disease care rather than health, on paying bills and shifting costs rather than on preventing disease and dealing with the chronic conditions that are affecting more and more of our nation's population? Where insurance will pay for quadruple bypass heart surgery but not to encourage healthy behaviors that could prevent heart disease?Read the full insightful post from the AARP on health care here.
Figure of Speech: analogy (an-AL-o-gy), the figure of parallel cases. From the Greek, meaning “proportion.” Read more here
Figure of Speech: syncrisis (SIN-crih-sis), the not- that- but- this figure. From the Greek, meaning “to compare.” Read more here
Figure of Speech: synonymia (sin-o-NIM-ia), the word pile-on. From the Greek, meaning “similar name.” Read more here
Written with humor and insights... easy to read.
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or add this site to your RSS Reader of choice and have some fun learning a figure of speech or two.
On Saturday, I listened to this AMAZING interview with Stuart Brown, founder and head of the National Institute for Play, on the importance of play in the development of humans and in daily life. I found it moving and inspiring. Dr. Brown said that if he doesn't get at least 3 hours of play--that is something that he enjoys and loses time in--by dinnertime he is not doing so well. I thought, what a GREAT philosophy--and it's something that I have already been researching in my ideas about creativity and the workplace. In any case, I've been feeling A LOT of pressure lately on various projects and Dr. Brown's interview reminded me that I need to play. So, for no reason, other than fun I dressed up like Frida Kahlo and used photo booth. It was literally just what the doctor ordered.Click through to see the full post and photos!
Now that I've updated you on the gory details of wedding excitement and honeymoon relaxation, I can now get on to MORE PRESSING matters. Like the fact that a certain squirrel moved into our tree a week before we left and proceeded to fixate on our window and fire escape, tormenting the cats, peeing into the window, and trying to build a nest under the towel we left out to dry. I call him Jojo.Read more of JoJo's exploits
Education either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate the integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity to it, or it becomes the 'practice of freedom', the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world."
- Richard Shaull
And another quote:
"Being vulnerable doesn't have to be threatening. Just have the courage to be sincere, open and honest. This opens the door to deeper communication all around. It creates self-empowerment and the kind of connections with others we all want in life. Speaking from the heart frees us from the secrets that burden us. These secrets are what make us sick or fearful. Speaking truth helps you get clarity on your real heart directives."
Sara Paddison, The Hidden Power of the Heart
Anne writes about herself:
Consider adding this site to your RSS Reader of choice.I am passionate about coaching and facilitating individuals and groups to tap dormant creativity which can help produce deep insights, decisions and actions.
My private practice include high performance leaders & individuals who want to take some part of their life or business to the next level. I act as their guide to support and plan these actions.
I am a seasoned business strategist and facilitator with corporate clients over the last 20 years. I previously served in leadership roles with early round start ups and with an edgy think tank in Palo Alto, California.
Greetings, and welcome to my new site. The latest entries of my blog can be found immediately below. If you want to wade through older posts, follow the archive link in the header. Or for a hand picked selection of entries that I thought were better than the rest, click the articles link above. For more information about me, visit the bio page, where you can find links to all the avenues of the internet I run through, as well as contact info, should you wish to drop me a line.From his intro to the new template:
I made the decision to switch to the new version of Movable Type after some major issues with both installs of WordPress. This, combined with the decision to unite my blog and my front page, will mean little to you, dear reader. But I will explain the few differences anyway. The first difference is that there is no longer a front page and a blog, instead both are now a part of the main site. There is still a shortened version of the linkroll and my latest Twitter post are in the sidebar (and both are still pulled into my tumblelog, along with whatever random crap I run across on the net). The most recent blog posts are listed in truncated form on the front page.
Thanks to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, I now have a terrific “teachable moment” when I start school on Tuesday. When my students ask me what I did on my summer vacation I can tell them I was accused of violating copyright and learned all about the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the SFWA and counter-notifications. I can tell them the reading list I just handed them is Internet contraband. I can tell them the president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America personally apologized to me on my blog.
I’ve been teaching my students about copyright for years, but now I have a personal experience to help make it real.
Read the complete post here.
Nick writes in his About page:
Consider adding this site to your RSS Reader!Nick has been teaching literature since 1990, and in 2001 he was named Distinguished Teacher of the Year by the National Catholic Education Association. He is a husband, father of four, Catholic school teacher and vice principal, and author of ROMAN Reading: 5 Practical Skills for Transforming Your Life through Literature.
He currently teaches eighth grade at All Saints Catholic School in Spokane, Washington, where he has worked since 1991. He is available for workshops, seminars and consultation.
