Not alone

I had one of those moments today in which I remembered that I am not alone. In all of life's awkwardness and idiosyncracy, I am not an island of clumsy accidents. For this reminder, I would like to thank the stranger on her bicycle at the stoplight in the rain today.

Let me explain: Often in Germany, bikers ride up to stoplights slowly and grab onto the pole in order to stay upright on their bikes. As this woman approached the stoplight, she leaned .... annnd.... fell off her bike. Basically in slow motion. In the rain. She did not hurt herself (it was very very slow) but did not exactly pull off what you would call a graceful save. With flailing arms, she stuck the landing with the front tire facing the wrong way and a sheepish grin on her face. I grinned conspiratorily at her as we crossed the street going opposite directions. I have done this. We are not alone. ~love~

The corner table

I have a spot. A routine. Usually, I like to mix things up a bit to keep the creative juices flowing. Change libraries, coffee shops, times, music. But I have this place I keep going back to. A long table in the corner of the first floor of a library. Next to floor to ceiling windows. Under a very large lamp.

Here is the thing. I think I am allergic to the library in the old city. Like, cool - our library is one of the oldest in Germany and a tourist attraction, but - maybe its not so healthy to breathe the same dust as Mark Twain, Helmut Kohl, Philipp Melanchthon, Robert Wilhelm Bunsen, etc for long periods of time. Just a thought.

So here I am. In another library. In the corner, under the lamp, where I can almost feel the spring breeze passing me by as I write. and write. and write. ~love~

Florence Henderson's twin

I saw her. On the tram. She had all of the shape and glow of the real Florence Henderson, without the expensive clothes and tight skin. She made me smile and think about silly things, like how the Florence Henderson would never ride on a streetcar in Heidelberg with a bag of groceries and a run in her hose. And that really, riding in streetcars reminds me that we are a bigger group of people moving - sometimes in the same direction, sometimes not. In the privacy of my own car, I tend to think it is just that, private. I sing as loud as I want to, I chew gum, talk loudly, and pay attention to me and my car and my life. Public transportation changes the game. It takes the people from all of the cars on I-25 and puts them in the same vehicle. Maybe Florence Henderson has another twin - we'll just never know. Journey on. ~love~

Looking to cure those winter blues?

Me too.

May I suggest the following:

1. Flowers. You can never go wrong with flowers. Buy them for yourself. Convince someone else to buy them for you. Potted plants, fresh cut, secretly snipped from a neighborhood garden, however you get them, just do it. They are a perfectly good antidote to the winter doldrums. I bought myself a blue hyacinth and now my room smells like the botanical gardens. Unfortunately, I think this winter grey is getting to Penelope (the hyacinth) as well. I woke up this morning and noticed that one half was completely drooped floor-wards. I had to intervene with some string. I stand by my thought, though, that flowers help.

2. Chocolate. Milka chocolate is on sale this week. I bought 2 bars. Delicious. The danger here is of course eating too much chocolate and gaining a little bit too much padding for the winter cold. I'm willing to risk it though.

3. Good, peppy music. I'm enjoying Regina Spektor's "on the radio" for dancing-around-getting-ready times, and a great mix of instrumental music from movie soundtracks for oh-my-goodness-my-presentation/exam/class/meeting/work-is-in-20-minutes times.

4. Cleaning. Every day I am a bit more my mother's daughter. I am ready to embrace it. A clean room is a happy room. Organization kicks back against the chaos that robs joy (and is so often onset by that freezing cold grey just outside the window) This also ties directly to the whole music thing...dancing with a mop = anti-winter blues

5. Candles. Thats all I have to say about that.

6. Coffee. The sustinance of life. Goes well with chocolate.

Alright, back to work. ~love~

2011

a new year, a new resolve to rekindle my blogging (hi mom, i don't think anyone checks in anymore!)

there are many big things that i could talk about/update right now - coldest december in probably forever, flooding, exams, stress, learning spanish (ahem...kind of) - but i just don't think i'm up to that task tonight.

these big things shape my life, but honestly its the little things, the daily waking up, making coffee, grocery shopping things that define the tone and feel - the topography of my life.

as things started back up last week, i was incredibly thankful to go back to teaching. i love the challenge and diversity of my job! working with preschoolers, giving them their very first encounter with english through books, songs and games - to working with high school students, reading short stories, working on grammar, improving test scores. i love it all!

in my preschool class, we always start by singing a "hello song" and then i ask them how they are. i have been with most of these kids since may or june, and one little girl answers (without fail) "bad" every.single.week. its the same over and over again.

me: "how are you?"

little girl: (thumbs down) "bad. ich habe schnupfen und husten." (she has a stuffy nose and a cough)

a broken record. until last week. for the first time, she just smiled and said "good". i couldn't believe my ears! "really? no stuffy nose? no cough?" "no. i'm good."

it was a good day. ~love~

Solar Power

I am a Colorado girl for many, many reasons. One of those reasons is that I am a child of the sunshine.

Some people love those meloncholy (oh so meloncholy) gray days. The drops of rain write inspiration on window panes and the splash of water exudes life and joy. I am not one of those people. I am solar powered.

I feel every cell in my being jump to life, jump for joy, when the sun shows its shy face. No matter what time of year, the sun to me is life. Right now, sun means unbelievably blue skies and crisp air that is mirrored in the crunch of an apple and the dry shuttering of paper leaves as they fall...It shines on rosy-cheeked children as we read about pumpkin soup and play jack-o-lantern bingo. ("what do we say again, mingo?") Sunny days like today fill me with gratitude and love. ~love~

Not particularly informative or important...just funny

Yesterday, as I rode my bike to the library in search of internet access (oh man, don't ask!), I heard a very strange noise. Think peacock, only shriller. The source of this noise was around the next corner and was coming at regular intervals. Like a car alarm. A peacock car alarm.

As I rounded said corner, I was startled to see a short little kid (maybe 3 years old) in a bike helmet standing outside a coffee shop. Yelling Yelling Yelling Yelling Yelling... Probably at the woman standing about 3 feet away, looking aghast and slightly apologetic. Yell....Yell....Yell...Yell. As the people at the tables continued their conversations as if they were not punctuated by this rhythmic outrage.

I laughed and rode on. ~love~