On the Spot? Just Keep Breathing

Got to be the demo uke today during aikido class. It's always fun and a little stressful. Even more stressful is when you realize that Sensei is giving you 'that' look followed by: "Please demonstrate shomenuchi ikkyo omote and ura with R as your uke."

Demonstrate what again? OK, that means...

Talk about performance anxiety. Nothing like a stealth demo request.

Took a deep breath. Reminded myself that this is one of the first techniques I learned and I've been doing it for well over a year now. Went for it. Got it mostly right.

Just kept breathing.

And To My Children, I Leave...

Have you seen that ad? I don't know who pays for those billboards but it's left an impression on me. We've got to do something, our little bit to try and stem global warming and pollution and environmental damage.


We have:
-changed all of our lightbulbs from incandescent to compact fluorescent.
-set the thermostat of our water heater to the lower setting.
-set the sprinkler system to water early in the morning and for the minimum amount of time. necessary to prevent the brown death.
-taught our kids to 'reduce, reuse, recycle.'
-always walked to school, when classes are in session.


As much as possible, we try to:
-dry our laundry on the laundry line instead of in the dryer.
-reuse grocery bags and use reusable cloth bags.
-carpool (M only).
-combine errands/trips by car.
-drive the car that gets better gas mileage when commuting for work.


We still need to:
-take shorter showers.
-try the No Power for a Day experiment.
-stop buying bottled water.
-buy more food that is grown locally.
-(insert other good stuff to do here).

Every little bit counts.

Daddy's Home!

Usually, it's the boys that are shouting this when M gets home. But, this week, from Thursday till Sunday, I get to say it too because my dad is visiting us. On Sunday evening, he heads back home to Manila and I know I will be sad. But in the meantime, I'm just enjoying having him here, watching him and his grandsons have a grand old time together. It's a time to treasure. Right now, we're a three laptop household. Me blogging, M surfing and doing accounting stuff and Papa sifting through his hundreds (literally!) of pictures of the last month and a half vacation with us and my brother and his family, picking out the lucky few to send on to relatives. Ah, modern times.

Keeping Me Honest

Just when I think I'm getting the hang of things in aikido, stuff happens to remind me that I still have a long way to go. Like landing on my head instead of rolling out of a fall cleanly. It was kind of a kerthunk, roll, plop. No ill aftereffects, thank goodness. It was a good reminder that I really need to work on my ukemi.

Got to keep practicing, got to keep learning. Hmmmm, that applies to a lot of things, doesn't it? And it keeps life interesting.

Is Summer Really Almost Over?

Eek. Two and a half more weeks to go and school starts up again. D is headed for second grade. Back to homework, having to sit still in class, and having to pay attention to the teacher. This year is going to be better. We will think positively. I will not let myself get suckered into too much parent volunteering, I will not feel guilty if I don't sign up for every field trip/party/potluck/activity.

Ready or not, here we come.

Swim Therapy

I was tired when I was driving to the pool tonight. Somehow, I knew that once I got in the water, it would all be ok. I don't know how far I swam, I was in the water for something like an hour. Breaststroke, free, a teeny bit of back. Concentrating on my breathing, then my arms, then on kicking. Clearing my mind and just trying to swim as quietly as I could. Don't make a sound. Try not to splash. Be one with the water. Just like in aikido - blend. Channeling Dory from 'Finding Nemo': "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming. Swimming, swimming, swimming, swimming. What do we do, we swim!" Come on, lungs! Come on, legs! It's just me against myself. The minutes flew by even though I'm really not a fast swimmer.

I looked up and it was time to get out, get dressed and head home.

The Wish That Wasn't

There I was, watching the night sky, trying to catch a glimpse of a shooting star or two. Having heard the hype about the meteor shower, we looked northeast at just past 10. Opened up my eyes wide, harnessed the peripheral vision, and tried to be part of the sky.

Was that one? There! That brief flash of light that cut across the sky like a paintbrush on fire?

Should I wish? If so, what should I wish for? World peace, while an admirable wish, is just a little too, I don't know, out there. A chocolate bar? Too trivial. What else? Something good but not too impossible, something just a little bit crazy.

Who am I kidding? I'm not going to come up with a decent wish when my eyelids are about to slam shut. I'm really just trying to stay awake, stare at the sky, and convince myself that I'm seeing chunks of stone and ice whizzing across my field of vision.

Then I saw another flash. I think that one was for real.

I didn't wish.