the kinders are so proud of what they have built together. they say it is ‘the biggest thing in the world!’
Whatever good things we build end up building us. –Jim Rohn
Feb7
Tag Archives: observation
Dec13
performance anxiety?
when i was 7, i finally had a chance to meet one of my idols, spiderman, who happened to be at the montgomery wards store at our local mall, at the same time as i was. i saw this as fate, and i could not have been more excited, as he had been one of my idols for as long as i could remember.
waiting in line, anxious, worked up, hopping with joy, i finally made my way up to the front to meet him. i was shy, but i was motivated, and so, i asked him to ‘shoot his webs’ for me, one of my favorite superpowers i’d seen him do on tv many times, enabling him to fly from building to building, saving people, and meting out justice on the bad guys.
i will never forget his reaction in response to my quiet, but earnest request. he first just looked at me for a moment, smiled, held up his wrists, the place where the webs originated from, and then – nothing happened. it was my turn to stare at him then, and i put my head down and felt bad for him, and for me, said thank you, and just walked away, back to my family, lost in the mall crowd once again.
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Wisdom comes by disillusionment. – George Santayana
Dec7
be the wonder
with my class, discovering a small bit of the world, so huge and all new to them, on a beautiful fall day
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The process of scientific discovery is, in effect, a continual flight from wonder. – Albert Einstein
Nov16
sometimes two halves do not equal a whole
from the time i was born, my older middle sister and i grew up sharing a room. this led to a love/less than love, on and off again, room sharing, relationship. on one of those ‘less than love’ days, she came up with what i thought was a brilliant idea.
we would get the roll of duck/duct tape from the garage and make a line right down the middle of our room, dividing it in half. we’d then each have our own ‘private’ half, and the other would not be allowed to cross over the border unless invited in and given special permission from the one on the the other side. we worked hard to make it perfectly divided in half, each including the area with our own beds and near our own sides of our closet.
when the job was done, we each sat on our beds, contained within our halves, and i thought smugly, ‘ha! i got the extra window on my side, what does she know, being the older one? she may be a year older, but i must be the one who is smarter, much more clever!’
my private ego party was however, very short-lived, as she soon stood up and announced with a smile that she was going out to play. she promptly exited through the door to our room which was now only on her side.
It’s easy to focus on the things that divide us. Sometimes too easy – Dan Miller
Jun8
one of those lazy, crazy, mazey days of summer
somehow, once again, i found myself trapped and wandering through the rat maze that is ikea, and with my incredible lack of anything even resembling a vague sense of direction, it took on a whole new level.
it’s definitely an extreme sports experience in itself, and after following the trail around and around, and eating a horse meat-laced meatball or two, and collecting lots of odd colorful plastic springsprongthingamajigs and blonde wood-ish items, i was left wondering what they were and what were meant to do.
i chose the items i did simply because they looked cool and really no other reason. and the fact that i felt like i had to get something so that i would be allowed to find my way out again. now that the olympic committee has dumped some of it’s current sports events, i’m considering proposing this whole experience to them for their consideration as an indoor winter sport. maybe a better match for the x-games though?
along the way, i swear i saw people nervously look over their shoulders and skitter through what looked like secret shortcuts and potential passageways out, only to never return. possible slides right to the checkout line or the parking lot?
whew – i need a swedish cocktail, if only i could figure out if that glass thing i put in my giant blue plastic bag was meant to be used as a cup or oil change pan?
skoal!!!!!!
Worry compounds the futility of being trapped on a dead-end street. Thinking opens new avenues.
Jun6
life in the key of z
another walk down the hall with my kindergarten class.
another answer to a question much bigger than i ever imagined.
‘hey z, what does that key around your neck open?’
‘it opens everything in the world,’ says z.
I didn't have my glasses on.... 