Hope

Sometimes I seek inspiration in words and tonight I sought it in a poem. I found Emily Dickinson and I'll link to the Poetry Foundation site because I don't want to be violating any copyright laws:

"Hope" is the thing with feathers-

So Far Away

What do you do when you're far away from people that you love and they're hurt?
Or sick?
How do you hug long-distance?
How do you hold a hand?
How do you share a cry?

One of my dad's sisters has cancer and it has come out of remission.

What do I do? What do I do?

I pick up the phone and call because it's all I can do right now.

What else? What do I do?

Packing and Other Lists

Leave at home:

1. DVD player
2. iPod
3. computer
4. work
5. tent (we're staying in a tent cabin, after all)

Bring for sure:

1. camera
2. underwear and socks
3. sleeping bags
4. fleeces and rainshells
5. sunblock
6. water bottles
7. first aid kit
8. kids
9. snacks
10. caps

Not really looking forward to:

1. "Are we there yet?"
2. "He's touching me!"
3. "Well, he touched me first!"
4. "I need to go potty." (at the most inopportune moment)

Looking forward to:

1. hiking
2. stargazing
3. seeing Half Dome, El Capitan and Yosemite Falls
4. first 'camping' trip with our little boys

Going to Yosemite!

Guess what? For Mother's Day and our wedding anniversary, my family is headed to Yosemite National Park to celebrate. Yippee! I've been wanting to go to Yosemite for ages now. Imagine, I've lived in the Bay Area for six years now and still haven't made it out there.

I've heard others rave about the beauty in the mountains, the hikes, the majesty of the peaks and the peacefulness in the views. Now we're going to see them for ourselves. I hope the kids appreciate it, I know that I will.

Just Call Him 60 Cent

Sunday afternoon drama in our house:

I'm in the bathroom and hear a commotion outside. I come out to see D in tears, M looking really concerned and P choking, trying to stick his fingers in his mouth to make himself throw up. I hear M curse and I spring into action, pick up my little boy, turn him upside down and whack him in the middle of his back, hard. Ching, ching, ching. What comes out?

Two quarters and a dime.

Good Lord! We could have lost my little boy. Then I held him while he cried and coughed and then proceeded to throw up on my shoulder. But he's alive, so all is ok. He's alive and all is ok. Turns out that Big Brother PUT the coins in Little Brother's mouth. Why? Heaven knows. They do know that they're NEVER, NEVER to do that again. Scary. Very scary.

But he's alive, so all is ok.

Gap

Gosh, has it really been three weeks since I last blogged? Time flies.

Getting ready for work trip and presentation.
Interviewing and hiring new colleague.
Sorting out D's summer camp for all 10 weeks of summer.
Work trip and presentation.
Visiting and training at an aikido dojo while on the road (!).
Breaking cooktop on stove and having to order a new one.
Coming home to my three guys and getting right back into the routine.
Running, on the road and back at home.
Getting unexpectedly high credit card bill and realizing that last month's bill went missing and therefore it's now two months worth of charges and ...

Today I get to go back to my regular aikido class.

Keep It Simple

Doran Sensei's class this week focused on kata dori nikyo, breaking it down into all the little pieces that go into the technique. Stepping off the line of attack, atemi to the face, drawing out the arm on the grabbed side, lowering your center, scooping in, taking the elbow, going for the third point to take uke's center.

It's a lot to remember. Where do my feet go? Where do my hands go? How do I not get clocked by uke?

Then he summed it up in two steps:

1. Take uke's balance.
2. Take uke's balance.

And, when in doubt, refer to step 3:

Don't lose your own balance.