Category: musings on life

Stop the World I Want to get Off!

Stop the World I Want to Get Off!

How many times in our busy, busy lives do we say this?  I know I have and now we have the perfect moment in time right here at our doorstep to do just that.   So take advantage of it!

Listen to this viral video going around right now of an Italian city, Siena, where one person begins a song and the rest of the neighbors from their own balconies join in and sing along with him.  Would this have happened months ago – maybe not because we WERE TOO BUSY TO STOP and listen and join in to something so simple and beautiful as that song.

The song, entitled “Canto della Verbena” (Song of the Verbena) — also known as “E mentre Siena dorme” (While Siena Sleeps) — is sung to show local pride in Siena.

Below are the lyrics translated to English:

Verbena is born in Piazza del Campo

Long live our Siena, long live our Siena

Verbena is born in Piazza del Campo

Long live our Siena, the most beautiful city!

 

This event, this pandemic, happening in our world right now is something a majority of the us have never experienced.  I will admit to being a bit fearful for myself but I tried to push that aside and kept on living a normal life the last few weeks.  I have only changed my habits because it has gotten apparent that to control this outbreak we must isolate ourselves to avoid a rapid spread of this virus so we do not overload the healthcare system.  I have spent most of my time at home, but I still will go out to shop if I need something.  I sit at home and hear the news (of which I turn off after I get the headlines) I think on how this might change our world a bit.

 

As a retired teacher I have dealt with families who are stretched for time and money and watched as the children suffer from the anxiety expressed by their parents.

Parents and children – maybe this is your wakeup call to reconnect with your children.   Take this opportunity to get to know your children again.   There are so many learning opportunities available on the internet spend some time with your children as they do their lessons. Then, take them on virtual field trips – go to the Louvre in France on a virtual tour and teach them about history, art, music.  Show them that the world is smaller than we think and that what happens in China really does affect us here in the US.

I know, finances will be hard especially those parents who work an hourly job.  Take advantage of the help you can get from the government but do not forget the help you can get from your neighbors.  Personally, we know such families and have offered help to them in anyway they will need it.

To the world out there – take care, take it slow and take advantage of how the world as stopped and you can SLOW down.

Celebrate! I’m Retired

Celebrate!!!!

 

“I don’t want to work, I want to bang on the drum all day”

(well I am a band director!)

My first day or retirement

 

Well, actually last Monday was my first day of retirement but I was sick and so I spent most of the week in bed and on the couch.   Monday morning I woke up coughing and choking and couldn’t catch my breath and my husbands’ first words were “you need to go to the doctor” and his second thought was “wait, you need to call your boss and ask permission to be sick and sign into Aesop to get a sub and did you leave lesson plans?”   Of course, the second thought was humor but I was so busy coughing I didn’t laugh.  Yes, I did go to the doctor and she loaded me up on steroids and antibiotics.

 

And, so I really count today as my first day of retirement (without being sick).  It feels strange, I do not have the check the clock,  I do not have to account to someone else of my where abouts or call in to school to get a sub or make lesson plans.  But what does it really feel like?

 

YIPPEE!!!!!

 

Why did I retire? It was time.  I have spent 36 years in the classroom teaching as best I could, reviewing my teaching to get better, doing self assessments to get better then then reviewing my plans again to get better – because there is no perfection in teaching.  These days teachers are evaluated on a 40 minute snap shot of their teaching in the classroom and let’s face it no one can do it all in 40 minutes so the elusive reward of a great evaluation is always out there – and the famous words are “keep trying you are not “accomplished yet”.

 

My subject area is one I deeply love and I could not have lasted in education as long as I did without teaching something that I love.  I have taught in many different settings, from elementary school general music and band to high school band with the bulk of my years in the middle school band setting – which actually has been my favorite.  I also did some teaching at the college level as a private flute instructor and general music instructor to non-music majors.

It has been very rewarding – but it is time.

 

I keep saying that – it is time – time for what?

 

That is the question I will begin to explore and answer.  What do I do next?

 

Do I just relax? Do I find another job?  Do I fill my time with activities and volunteering?  The list is endless and it seems overwhelming to me at times.  I will spend the next few months trying to find out what it is “time” for.  I wish my days to make me feel fulfilled and happy in what I choose to do every day.

 

So today I Celebrate!!!!!

 

 

(This is your celebration)
(This is your celebration)
Celebrate good times, come on (Let’s celebrate)
Celebrate good times, come on (Let’s celebrate)

[Verse 1]
There’s a party goin’ on right here
A celebration to last throughout the years
So bring your good times and your laughter too
We gonna celebrate your party with you
Come on now

[Hook]
(Celebration) Let’s all celebrate and have a good time
(Celebration) We gon’ celebrate and have a good time

[Bridge 1]
It’s time to come together
It’s up to you, what’s your pleasure?
(Everyone around the world come on)

[Pre-Hook]
(Yahoo) It’s a celebration
(Yahoo)

I don’t want to work
I want to bang on the drum all day

Is there a Perfect Christmas?

Merry Christmas!

 

It is December 23rd and I have been out and about today.  Aerobics class was fun we exercised to Christmas music.  As I ran a few errands after the gym I got the feeling that everyone was stressed out.  The drivers were aggressive and speeding to get to their destination, the checkout people were not as friendly as usual, the people shopping were not as polite as usual and I wondered why today was so different from the last few weeks where people were smiling and saying Happy Holidays.  I came home after completing my errands, glad to be home out of the traffic and ready to relax for the holiday but thoughts about the lyrics of this some came to my head.

On this night of hope and salvation
One child lies embraced in a dream
Where each man regardless of station
On this night can now be redeemed

Where every man regardless of his nation
Ancestral relations
On this night the past can fly away

And that dream we’ve dreamed most
That every child is held close
On this night that dream won’t be betrayed

All as one
Raise your voices
Raise your voices
All as one on this Christmas day

All rejoice
Raise your voices
Raise your voices
All rejoice, Anno Domine

On this night when no child’s forgotten
No dream sleeps where he cannot see
No man here is misbegotten
And this night’s dreams are still yet to be

Where every man regardless of his nation
Ancestral relations
On this night the past can fly away

And that dream we’ve dreamed most
That every child is held close
On this night that dream won’t be betrayed

All as one
Raise your voices
Raise your voices
All as one on this Christmas day

All rejoice
Raise your voices
Raise your voices
All rejoice, Anno Domine

 

This song stresses to me how the Holiday is about the Savior who cams as man to save us from the imperfect life we live now.

Getting closer to the holiday I believe puts stress on those who are wishing for the “perfect” holiday.  Well, if there is one thing I have learned in this life so far is that “perfect” holiday does not exist.  The decorations do not matter, the food does not matter, the gifts do not matter – the perfection in Christmas comes from within – from the absolute KNOWING without a doubt Jesus Christ was born and became man for me – He is the Savior of the World.  That is my perfection and how I choose to live as a Blessed Child of God.

I love the song I have shared with you – the melody, the voices but mostly the words.  As a public school teacher I have encountered far too many children who will not have a Merry Christmas. On this night of Hope and Salvation…. the dream of every child is to be held close – there will be children out there who are not held close, they are ignored or even hurt by the hands of their own parents.  That is what this song means to me that one day – one day when Jesus comes back each and every child will finally be held close and taken care of.  Jesus came on Christmas to redeem each and every one of us. That dream we have dreamed most every child is held close that dream won’t be betrayed.

My heart breaks as I remember just a few of the children I have had in my classroom these past 36 years.  One child who had finger marks on his wrist and arm from being held too closely by a father.  One child who had a bruise and scratches on her cheek., When I asked her, she told me “Mom did it” I wanted to cry.  Even closer to home a, 3 year old child left alone in an apartment for 2 days because Mom is involved in the drug world.  This Christmas will not be perfect – nothing will ever be perfect – until………..

The Four Agreements

The Four Agreements

By Don Miguel Ruiz

 

1.       Be Impeccable with your word

 

2.       Do not take anything personally

 

3.       Do not make assumptions

 

4.       Always do your best

A few years back this book was recommended to me by a friend Angela.  Every time I read it or think about it I think of her!  I say many of these statements from this book to myself often.   Do I always follow its’ advice – no – but usually when I am angry or frustrated I can look at these four statements and one of them will hit home and put my thinking right again.

1.       Be impeccable with your word

Wow, this one can be tricky.  To me this means say what you mean and mean what you say.  Do not change what you are saying because of the person you are speaking to or the situation you are in.  That means that I try to stop before I voice an opinion and say – I do not know all the facts yet so let me find out.  If you have really searched your mind and believe something with your heart you should not be afraid to say it, if you fear to speak then it is better the be quiet.

When you find someone who has shown to you that they are honest and true the their word.  Hang on to their friendship, it is priceless to be able to talk and open up to someone and know that what they say to you is what they really mean.

 

2.       Do not take anything personally

 

I think  we have become a society guilty of thinking everything is all about “us” and that when we come upon someone with a different outlook we think they must be “out to get us”.  I believe more often than not the other person or persons are just living out their reality and it differs with ours.

It makes me shake my head time and again when I see on facebook the rantings of someone who has felt wronged.  From the checkout girl at the grocery store who bagged the groceries wrong, to the doctor/nurse who didn’t give you the diagnosis or the medicine you believe you should have, to the car that cut you off in traffic – yeah they were out to get you.  REALLY?  It would make your life so much easier if you just realized it might be their story and you just happened by so don’t take it personally.

Even with our own families, how many times have you taken someone else’s bad mood as a reflection of something you have done and they are displeased with you?  It is ok to allow someone to be in a bad mood – it may not be about you at all.  In the same way it is ok to tell those around you that you need just a little time to process your mood before you speak about it.   Think about that the next time you think someone is out to get you – it might be about them not you.

 

3.       Do not make assumptions

This one goes hand in hand with the last one.  Have you ever had an encounter with someone and it was not the friendliest?  It is our natural inclination to make that person out to be mean or they do not like us.  It simply might be just a bad day and if you do not always assume it is about you your life will be so much less stressful.  It can be exhausting to think that all negative encounters are a reflection of yourself.

4.       Always do your best

 

Is this something that we have to learn from childhood?  There is an old wives’ tale – “if something is worth doing it is worth doing well” – but how many people really believe that today?  I think somehow it has changed to “I can get this done with a minimum of effort and still get credit for it or get paid for it”.  I was instilled with the do my best attitude and I tried to instill that to my children.  I hope people realize that when I do a job I try to make it my very best.

 

There is a wealth of info on Don Miguel – just go to his website and read about him, his team and his teachings.  The teachings come from the ancient civilization of the Toltecs who lived in central Mexico.  I can tell you facts but you can look them up for yourself.

 www.miguelruiz.com