Everyone must leave something behind when he dies, my grandfather said. A child or a book or a painting or a house or a wall built or a pair of shoes made. Or a garden planted. Something your hand touched some way so your soul has somewhere to go when you die, and when people look at that tree or that flower you planted, you’re there.

- Ray Bradbury

carpe diem.

One of my best friends, Risa, posted this link on my facebook wall because she said it reminded her of me. When I first started reading it, the part about kissing, I was like Um...what? I don't get it. I haven't even kissed that many people.

Then I read some more. Ok, something about living dangerously and being daring. Who, me?

Honestly, it was probably the last line that made her lovingly think of me - the line about just eating "the damn red velvet cupcake because life is too short not to." I'm a sucker for red velvet cupcakes. All cupcakes, really. Cookies, too. And I never say no to them.

Anyway.

Whatever the reason Risa decided to share this with me, here is the reason I'm sharing this link with you:

"I might not look very brave, but given a cape and a nice pair of heels, I think I could probably save the world."

This line doesn't describe me. But I wish it did. And this is how I would like to feel every day: that it would take merely nothing to make me feel like I'm on top of the world and that I can conquer whatever I dream of conquering.

Here's to initiating kisses, packing up and changing our lives, chasing after our hearts, and just eating the damn cupcake.

Carpe diem.

“Shall we make a new rule of life from tonight? Always try to be a little kinder than necessary.” - J. M. Barrie.

(via)

classroom philosophy of mine.

kids say the darndest things.

As a nanny, I was often in a position where in a split second, the child I was with could set me off in a fit of giggles. This in turn usually made them giggle too and together, we would have a gigglefest.

In kindergarten, when I witness something that would normally trigger such a giggle, I usually (but not always) have to suppress it whether it's because the student is doing something he/she shouldn't be, because it would distract the group from the topic at hand, or because the student might think I am laughing at him/her.

Nonetheless, I still collect these funny moments because they help me see my experience beyond the ABCs and 123s. These are the very first students I have ever worked with in an actual teaching capacity and for that reason, I will remember them always. Some of these moments may fall under the "you had to be there" category but in any case, I'm just documenting them for myself. These little kiddos are clever, witty, endearing, and oh-so-adorable and this is how I want to remember them. (For some of these, you just have to remember that they are five-years-old to see the humor)

After school one day, in the hallway,
Ms. F: "M, why are you still here?"
boy M: (rolls eyes) "Because, Ms. F., I'm waiting for my ride to come. I'm going to a rooftop party at the Y tonight with all my friends, didn't you know?"

During a reading workshop,
Ms. A: "This part of the book is about hot versus cold things. Let's go around and say what our favorite hot food or hot drink is."
girl O: "Spaghetti."
girl S: "Rice."
boy M: "HOT CHOCOLATE FROM THE POLAR EXPRESS, OH MY GOSH, IT'S SOOOOO GOOD. You have to try it."

Dance teacher, during a dance class where the parents were invited to come in and watch,
A: "Ok, parents, so we've been learning all about a special musician. T, can you tell the parents who I am talking about?"
girl T: "Stevie Wonder!"
A: "Yes! Ok, and what are some of the things that we have learned about Stevie Wonder in this class? D?"
boy D: "Um...he used to be a baby."

During reading workshop, after she and I modeled "partner work",
Ms. F: "Ok, so now it's your turn. You'll pick out a page in your book that you really like or have a question about and talk to each other about it. You can ask questions, you can notice something, you can say "I agree" or "I disagree"....ok? Go ahead and start reading."
(boy S raises hand)
Ms. F: "Yes, S?"
boy S: "I disagree."

After attempting a quick summary of what Veteran's Day meant,
Ms. A: "Does anyone here have someone in their family that maybe fought in a war at one point? Someone who was a soldier or is a soldier?"
boy D: "My dad is strong."
Ms. F: "Was...your dad a soldier?"
boy D: "My dad is as strong as a soldier."

Me: "N, can you write an 'eight' on the board?"
(he writes an 'H')
Me: "Oh, my mistake, I must not have been clear. Can you write the number eight?"
boy N: (stares at the 'H' and shakes his head) "Oh my goodness. What was I thinking?!"


As line partners get ready to head out for recess,
boy S: "Ms. Griffin, can I hold M's hand today?"
Me: "No, your line partner is always E. Why do you want to hold M's hand?"
boy S: "He has a cute voice."

During free play, from across the room,
boy M: "MS. GRIFFIN, Z IS KISSING ME! IT'S VERY NICE BUT YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO KISS IN SCHOOL!"

On a field trip, watching ducks in Turtle Pond,
boy M: "Oh my gosh, I just saw a duck poop! Yes, it definitely pooped. It pooped and then I saw sparkles, like, coming out of its butt in the water."

(via)

the elegance of the hedgehog.

Finally finished this book by Muriel Barbery. It was beautifully written but very hard for me to follow - lots of profound thoughts that I wanted to appreciate but maybe couldn't quite grasp in entirety. I still enjoyed it though, and was able to appreciate some moments of wit and humor, the depth of character development, and some particular passages that gave me those special moments we all look for in books:


"When tea becomes ritual, it takes its place at the heart of our ability to see greatness in small things. Where is beauty to be found? In great things that, like everything else, are doomed to die, or in small things that aspire to nothing, yet know how to set a jewel of infinity in a single moment?"

"When something is bothering me, I seek refuge. No need to travel far; a trip to the realm of literary memory will suffice. For where can one find more noble distraction, more entertaining company, more delightful enchantment than in literature?" 

"There's so much humanity in a love of trees, so much nostalgia for our first sense of wonder, so much power in just feeling our own insignificance when we are surrounded by nature...yes, that's it: just thinking about trees and their indifferent majesty and our love for them teaches us how ridicuous we are - vile parasites squirming on the surface of the earth - and at the same time how deserving of life we can be, when we can honor this beauty that owes us nothing."  

"'They didn't recognize me,' I say.
I come to a halt in the middle of the sidewalk, completely flabbergasted.
'They didn't recognize me,' I repeat.
He stops in turn, my hand still on his arm.
'It is because they have never seen you,' he says. 'I would recognize you anywhere.'"

daily thought.

(via)

"Life was a swarm of accidents waiting in the treetops, descending upon any living thing that passed, ready to eat them alive. You swam in a river of chance and coincidence. You clung to the happiest accidents – the rest you let float by… You looked around and discovered the most unusual thing in the world sitting there looking at you. Some things were certain – they had already happened – but the future could not be divined" (457). 

- from The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

(via Real Simple magazine)

"Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?"

- Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

from Real Simple's daily quote:

This one is hard for me sometimes. I'm working on it.

"Somedays are just the worst. Somedays you find yourself mourning for people across the world and you can do very little. Somedays you feel sorry for yourself and somedays you feel sorry for others. Recognize those feelings, allow yourself to be sad but don’t forget the happy. Because even on the worst of days, there is always happy to be found." -Melanie

Find the happy in small moments, every day.

whatever you already are.

“Don’t try to use what you learn from Buddhism to be a Buddhist; use it to be a better whatever-you-already-are.”

Mom sent this to me via text (she has a phone app which sends her daily Dalai Lama quotes!). I thought it was a gem. It also applies to a more general idea of not striving for the ultimate end point all the time - just do the best you can. Don't worry about solving all of your problems, just be open minded and conscious of your life in a way that allows you to continue improving on a never-ending basis.

hafiz.

I've seen tidbits from this ancient poet quite a few times, and this one here has always been one of my faves. Simple, beautiful, and a good reminder not to obsess over getting every dollar you lend back, every gesture you make reciprocated, and every favor you give returned. Give, love, and share for the beauty of it, and if nothing is expected in return, it will shine brighter.

so true.

No regrets about shying away from my degree in English. No regrets about staying an extra year in Burlington and figuring out what I want to do with my life. No regrets about moving home for awhile. No regrets about deferring graduate school for a semester. No regrets about picking the most expensive city in the world to call home. No regrets, no regrets.

stop watching ourselves live.

From RealSimple, again. This so applies to me right now. The contemplation part anyway.