Dear Friends,
This morning, at 7:25, Complacency woke us up from across the room.
"We lost 8 oz!"
Body and Mind smiled at each other, "It doesn't take much to excite her," they whispered.
Complacency took charge of the day, naturally!
9:00 - 20 laps in the pool
9:50 - 1 cup of dandelion tea and 1 hard-boiled egg, 4 Brazil nuts (high in mood boosting selenium)
11:00 - 1 whole, organic chicken, rubbed down with ginger and turmeric, sitting pretty in one finger water, surrounded by sliced onions, garlic, zucchinis and carrots — in the oven.
12:30 - Bon Appetit!
13:30 - Body was finally allowed to take a nap.
14:45 - right shoulder and arm did not wake up happy. I can't win with Body. She moves, she's in pain; she doesn't move, she's in pain! Although we are all against it, she still might persuade me to take the cortisone shots.
16:15 - Complacency was on the roll. She took us out for a walk. Although the flippant side of Mind hesitated in front of the ice cream and liquor stores, Complacency marched right past them, without a sigh.
17:10 - right hand made the left hand carry home our cauliflower, parsley, tomatoes, avocados and coffee.
18:30 - following a recipe in a health magazine, we enjoyed a "nouvelle cuisine" tabbouleh (shredded cauliflower, finely chopped mint, parsley and onion, topped with cubed skinless tomatoes, drizzled with freshly squeezed lemon juice and 1 tsp olive oil).
20:00 - while Complacency wasn't watching, we gobbled down 3 squares of dark chocolate.
Since Complacency can't wait to get on that scale again tomorrow morning, she is turning off the lights at 22:00 hours!
2 savoured, 64 left to delight in.........
Sunday, 30 June 2013
Saturday, 29 June 2013
Honour Thy Body - Renaissance Project - Complacency
Dear Friends,
This morning, precisely at 7am, I overheard my mind urging my body to get up and welcome the first day of the rest of our healthy life.
Mind: Get up!
Body: Can't! I'm in pain!
Mind: Get up, I said! You have to remain active.
Body: Don't wanna!
Mind: Have to!
Body: Leave me alone!
Since I had promised Body to listen to her, I gave her two painkillers and put her in front of TV.
9:00 - the uncompromising Mind came back knocking, dragging Conscience behind her.
9:20 - reluctantly, Body entered the swimming pool, flapped her wings for a while. Almost fell asleep in the steam room.
9:52 - I gave Body a cup of dandelion tea and two hard-boiled eggs; planted her back in front of the box and told both Mind and Conscience to shut up for a while!
11:30 - the phone rang. The screen showed mom's number. No one moved.
12:15 - the phone rang again. The screen showed the "holidaying" son's number. Regardless of hunger pains, still, no one moved.
14:00 - the phone rang once again. The "in-town" son insisted to be taken out for beer and calamari. Both Mind and Body made excuses, but Guilt won.
15:30 - Body was rewarded with a hour-long massage. Jason told the Body to stop moaning and groaning; it embarrassed him!
19:08 - a large salad and two glasses of lemon water later, Mind manipulated son to walk us home, carrying two "healthy"grocery bags.
21:10 - contemplating an array of colourful fruits and vegetables, Body promised to be more cooperative tomorrow.
22:00 - As I, Mind and Body are getting ready to go to bed, Complacency pokes its head out and yells, "Good Job, Everyone!"
1 savoured, 65 left to delight in...
This morning, precisely at 7am, I overheard my mind urging my body to get up and welcome the first day of the rest of our healthy life.
Mind: Get up!
Body: Can't! I'm in pain!
Mind: Get up, I said! You have to remain active.
Body: Don't wanna!
Mind: Have to!
Body: Leave me alone!
Since I had promised Body to listen to her, I gave her two painkillers and put her in front of TV.
9:00 - the uncompromising Mind came back knocking, dragging Conscience behind her.
9:20 - reluctantly, Body entered the swimming pool, flapped her wings for a while. Almost fell asleep in the steam room.
11:30 - the phone rang. The screen showed mom's number. No one moved.
12:15 - the phone rang again. The screen showed the "holidaying" son's number. Regardless of hunger pains, still, no one moved.
14:00 - the phone rang once again. The "in-town" son insisted to be taken out for beer and calamari. Both Mind and Body made excuses, but Guilt won.
15:30 - Body was rewarded with a hour-long massage. Jason told the Body to stop moaning and groaning; it embarrassed him!
19:08 - a large salad and two glasses of lemon water later, Mind manipulated son to walk us home, carrying two "healthy"grocery bags.
21:10 - contemplating an array of colourful fruits and vegetables, Body promised to be more cooperative tomorrow.
22:00 - As I, Mind and Body are getting ready to go to bed, Complacency pokes its head out and yells, "Good Job, Everyone!"
1 savoured, 65 left to delight in...
Tuesday, 25 June 2013
Honour Thy Body!
Dear Friends,
Am I glad this school year is almost over! Not so much because it was a hard, cold year, which it was, but because I was not as strong as I wished to be. The last box that I kicked across my classroom today, rubber stamped my invalidism!
Although pushing fifty-nine, singlehandedly, in a ruthless cosmopolitan city is exercise enough, I’m dedicating my summer to fitness, not to look good, but to become sturdy again.
Although pushing fifty-nine, singlehandedly, in a ruthless cosmopolitan city is exercise enough, I’m dedicating my summer to fitness, not to look good, but to become sturdy again.
Last summer, hunched over a
sofa table I call desk, chained to one of the most decorative, but
uncomfortable chairs in the universe, tapping away eight hours a day, with one hand, I paid for my memoirs with my spine, shoulder, neck and arm. However, I will not succumb
to anti-inflammatories and muscle-relaxants. I’m going to put this Humpty Dumpty back
together the old fashioned way, with exercise, diet, a lot of positive attitude, some spirituality and a bit of common sense. I'll start listening to my body's wisdom, which includes not tapping away with one hand. However, since it would be
next to impossible to ask my mind to remain quiet during my renaissance project, I'll blog my triumphs and challenges. Maybe my short and simple postings will inspire you to
take better care of your health too, or perhaps they will encourage you to appreciate it more. If nothing else, my restoration journal might make you realize how lucky your are, not to be me!
This is the summer of honouring my body! Accepted and filed! Till the next time we meet, what are you planning to accept and file?
Thursday, 20 June 2013
Vive The Joyous Naivety!
Dear Friends,
As the de-cluttering epidemic has spread from my classroom to my home, tonight, I came across an unread issue of Scientific American Mind. Two headlines grabbed my dispersed attention.
According to one article, Age Brings Happiness, by Karen Schrock Simring, research has shown that, "Well-being increases over everyone's lifetime." I had to laugh out loud! Obviously, the study that claims, "We can all look forward to feeling more content as we age," didn't include people like me, my mother or sister!
The other article, by Melinda Wenner Moyer, explains, "Why Older Adults Are Too Trusting." Apparently, as activity in the aging brain's "anterior insula" drops, we become naive. Once again, the study was conducted without my family's participation.
Since both, resentment and scepticism, run deep in me, clearly, I have to accept and file that, although only fourteen months short of six decades, I'm far from being old! How sweet it is the contentment that comes with gullibility! What have you accepted and filed today?
As the de-cluttering epidemic has spread from my classroom to my home, tonight, I came across an unread issue of Scientific American Mind. Two headlines grabbed my dispersed attention.
According to one article, Age Brings Happiness, by Karen Schrock Simring, research has shown that, "Well-being increases over everyone's lifetime." I had to laugh out loud! Obviously, the study that claims, "We can all look forward to feeling more content as we age," didn't include people like me, my mother or sister!
The other article, by Melinda Wenner Moyer, explains, "Why Older Adults Are Too Trusting." Apparently, as activity in the aging brain's "anterior insula" drops, we become naive. Once again, the study was conducted without my family's participation.
Since both, resentment and scepticism, run deep in me, clearly, I have to accept and file that, although only fourteen months short of six decades, I'm far from being old! How sweet it is the contentment that comes with gullibility! What have you accepted and filed today?
Saturday, 15 June 2013
Enjoy While You Can!
Dear Friends,
In the past few months, I
haven't been able to raise my left arm or bend my knees, without saying a
prayer first. With ten working days to the
Finish Line (nine with students, one, packing and moving boxes), all I can think
about is booking appointments with health care practitioners and filling my prescriptions
at the drugstore.
Today, with no report
cards or granddaughters in the horizon, I had no excuses to neglect myself. Regardless of my asthmatic cough, both laughter and allergy-induced, for which I cannot take my
puffer because my locked jaw (one nacho too many last week) doesn’t open wide
enough, I reacquainted myself with the swimming pool and the steam room. Although initially, my body,
now 13 pounds overweight, horrified my sight, I was proud of her, ploughing through
water like a stubborn old mule.
At this moment, a wing away from Chicken Masala, (I put a turmeric and ginger paste on my inflamed neck and shoulders), I only have one advice to give. ENJOY WHILE YOU CAN! There is no such a thing as it’s never too late. It seems that everything has its season, even laughter, popcorn and nachos! Accepted and filed! What have you accepted and filed today?
At this moment, a wing away from Chicken Masala, (I put a turmeric and ginger paste on my inflamed neck and shoulders), I only have one advice to give. ENJOY WHILE YOU CAN! There is no such a thing as it’s never too late. It seems that everything has its season, even laughter, popcorn and nachos! Accepted and filed! What have you accepted and filed today?
Wednesday, 12 June 2013
Too Much For One Heart!
Dear Friends,
Sometimes, the most meaningful, philosophical lines come out of ordinary chick flicks!
Tonight, I understood what Beverly Clark in "Shall We Dance?" meant, when she declared, "We need a witness to our lives."
Today was a very emotional day for me. My grade one and two students performed for their parents. They brought to life a play that I wrote years ago, for another set of grade two students.
When I realized five members of the original cast, now in grade ten, were sitting in the audience, I couldn't stop the tears from running down my cheeks, even if I wanted to.
Hugs, reminiscences, tears, and then, more hugs, and some more remembrances!
My present students' flawless performance combined with the loyalty of the former ones, turned into an emotional bundle, too big for one heart to handle. There is only so much of your colleagues' time you can take up for personal gloat. And, since everyone with whom I would've wanted to have a drink and talk, was unavailable, I headed towards the familiar porch of the Pancake House, where Shannon knows my name.
While washing down Wednesday's Special (fish and chips) with a second glass of cheap white wine, I realized why people stay in unhappy marriages or dead-end relationships.
On days like today, we all need a witness or two. I just needed one more person to listen to me. So, I called my ex-husband. At times, something, anything is better than nothing. Accepted and filed! What have you accepted and filed today?
Sometimes, the most meaningful, philosophical lines come out of ordinary chick flicks!
Tonight, I understood what Beverly Clark in "Shall We Dance?" meant, when she declared, "We need a witness to our lives."
Today was a very emotional day for me. My grade one and two students performed for their parents. They brought to life a play that I wrote years ago, for another set of grade two students.
When I realized five members of the original cast, now in grade ten, were sitting in the audience, I couldn't stop the tears from running down my cheeks, even if I wanted to.
Hugs, reminiscences, tears, and then, more hugs, and some more remembrances!
My present students' flawless performance combined with the loyalty of the former ones, turned into an emotional bundle, too big for one heart to handle. There is only so much of your colleagues' time you can take up for personal gloat. And, since everyone with whom I would've wanted to have a drink and talk, was unavailable, I headed towards the familiar porch of the Pancake House, where Shannon knows my name.
While washing down Wednesday's Special (fish and chips) with a second glass of cheap white wine, I realized why people stay in unhappy marriages or dead-end relationships.
On days like today, we all need a witness or two. I just needed one more person to listen to me. So, I called my ex-husband. At times, something, anything is better than nothing. Accepted and filed! What have you accepted and filed today?
Sunday, 9 June 2013
Was I? Did I?
Dear Friends,
Although I dotted my last i's and crossed my last t's in my report cards, I don't feel relieved at all. A teacher's mind is never at peace. The last days of the school year, smiling from afar, are accompanied by the stomping self-doubt. An array of questions rush in to my head. You would think they have become more original with time, but no, the same old nagging questions return, year after year. It's Auntie Mame's song number sixteen, IF HE WALKED INTO MY LIFE!
Did I reach everyone? Was I fair, supportive? Did I give them what they needed, or did I teach them what I wanted? Did I make a difference? Was I effective, inspiring enough?
Of course, there is always something I could've done more of, or less of. But overall, considering the fact that it was a hard year for all Ontario teachers, did I do my best, or did I let politics and Bill 115 affect my judgement and performance?
Fortunately, the answer isn't always in me, but most often in the eyes of happy students, grateful parents and approving colleagues.
As I've already started taking down students' work, packing the supplies and throwing out whatever I haven't used in two years, I realize my classroom looks sadder by the hour. But, I know that passion, dedication and creativity are perennial, just like the stomping self-doubt.
Writing the last batch of report cards is like reviewing the year in motion. As I reread my handiwork attentively, still deliberating over the "B-" I gave little Johnny, I can see how each and every one of my students grew and changed, right in front of my eyes, truthfully, a couple for the worse than the better. I believe what Obama said about his presidency, holds true for teachers as well, "One thing you learn in this job is that even if something's not your fault, you're still responsible. And that's how it should be." Accepted and filed! What have you accepted and filed today?
Although I dotted my last i's and crossed my last t's in my report cards, I don't feel relieved at all. A teacher's mind is never at peace. The last days of the school year, smiling from afar, are accompanied by the stomping self-doubt. An array of questions rush in to my head. You would think they have become more original with time, but no, the same old nagging questions return, year after year. It's Auntie Mame's song number sixteen, IF HE WALKED INTO MY LIFE!
Did I reach everyone? Was I fair, supportive? Did I give them what they needed, or did I teach them what I wanted? Did I make a difference? Was I effective, inspiring enough?
Of course, there is always something I could've done more of, or less of. But overall, considering the fact that it was a hard year for all Ontario teachers, did I do my best, or did I let politics and Bill 115 affect my judgement and performance?
Fortunately, the answer isn't always in me, but most often in the eyes of happy students, grateful parents and approving colleagues.
As I've already started taking down students' work, packing the supplies and throwing out whatever I haven't used in two years, I realize my classroom looks sadder by the hour. But, I know that passion, dedication and creativity are perennial, just like the stomping self-doubt.
Writing the last batch of report cards is like reviewing the year in motion. As I reread my handiwork attentively, still deliberating over the "B-" I gave little Johnny, I can see how each and every one of my students grew and changed, right in front of my eyes, truthfully, a couple for the worse than the better. I believe what Obama said about his presidency, holds true for teachers as well, "One thing you learn in this job is that even if something's not your fault, you're still responsible. And that's how it should be." Accepted and filed! What have you accepted and filed today?
Sunday, 2 June 2013
Green Pride
Dear Friends,
I had almost persuaded myself to welcome my premature initiation into Senior's Club ( A Lost Battle, May 31), when I heard my ex-husband's sister, who at 62 doesn't look a day older than 40, is walking down the aisle, on the arm of her childhood sweetheart who also happens to be a well-to-do doctor, in the sunny Texas.
Since green is one of the most popular colours of the season, I decided to wear it, with pride, not feeling a bit bad about feeling envious.
This bride-to-be, always gets what she wants! Not only she knows where she wants to go, but she also possesses the most comprehensive road maps. I, on the other hand, keep drifting in and out of life's episodes, mostly depending on other people's sense of direction.
As the saying goes, when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. Martha Beck's article, The Grass Ain't Greener (Oprah's Magazine, June 2013) appeared at the most opportune time. The renowned life coach's claim that some of us suffer from Fear Of Missing Out, didn't resonate with me. I don't have fear of missing out, I know I've missed out! However, I took the title and the gist of the message to heart.
First, I took a close look at my lusts: youth, celebrity status and money. Next, I discovered I won't consider plastic surgery, go anywhere near Botox, or even dye my hair! Then I realized, as much as I like to have a "certain lifestyle," I don't particularly like to commit, compromise, or to give up control. I know, I'm as unreasonable as few of my seven year-old students, who expect solutions to fall off the ceiling, right into their laps, without having to lift a finger.
Although I'm puzzled as to why, in this high tech era, no one has invented a wishing machine yet, reluctantly, I accept and file that for now, I'm stuck with an independently managed, low-maintenance, pale green floating lawn. What have you accepted and filed today?
I had almost persuaded myself to welcome my premature initiation into Senior's Club ( A Lost Battle, May 31), when I heard my ex-husband's sister, who at 62 doesn't look a day older than 40, is walking down the aisle, on the arm of her childhood sweetheart who also happens to be a well-to-do doctor, in the sunny Texas.
Since green is one of the most popular colours of the season, I decided to wear it, with pride, not feeling a bit bad about feeling envious.
This bride-to-be, always gets what she wants! Not only she knows where she wants to go, but she also possesses the most comprehensive road maps. I, on the other hand, keep drifting in and out of life's episodes, mostly depending on other people's sense of direction.
As the saying goes, when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. Martha Beck's article, The Grass Ain't Greener (Oprah's Magazine, June 2013) appeared at the most opportune time. The renowned life coach's claim that some of us suffer from Fear Of Missing Out, didn't resonate with me. I don't have fear of missing out, I know I've missed out! However, I took the title and the gist of the message to heart.
First, I took a close look at my lusts: youth, celebrity status and money. Next, I discovered I won't consider plastic surgery, go anywhere near Botox, or even dye my hair! Then I realized, as much as I like to have a "certain lifestyle," I don't particularly like to commit, compromise, or to give up control. I know, I'm as unreasonable as few of my seven year-old students, who expect solutions to fall off the ceiling, right into their laps, without having to lift a finger.
Although I'm puzzled as to why, in this high tech era, no one has invented a wishing machine yet, reluctantly, I accept and file that for now, I'm stuck with an independently managed, low-maintenance, pale green floating lawn. What have you accepted and filed today?
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