life list, continued...

Second Part:

*drive across Canada *learn to sing *write a book *lose 10kg and KEEP IT OFF for at least 10 years *learn to swim "normal" *go bungee jumping *volunteer abroad *visit the Grand Canyon *go to Hawaii *visit Australia *have a 3rd child (really?) *be a stay-at-home mom for a few years *take my kids to Peru *see the Northern Lights *go to Tahiti *visit Auschwitz *do the Camino de Santiago de Compostela *take a drawing and painting course *learn to do pottery *live in the Southern Hemisphere

First Part:

*take a sewing course *learn to play violin *go sky-diving *go to the Maldives *learn German fluently *learn Arabic *learn to water start and windsurf well *go wakeboarding *live in a Spanish-speaking country *get a Master's degree *read War and Peace *go scuba-diving *compete in the Marinera Competition in Peru *learn to surf *swim with dolphins *get a convertible car *take a pottery course *use a pottery wheel *learn to flip my hair when dancing salsa *become an awesome salsa dancer *teach my kids to love themselves *teach my kids to love everyone else

what life is all about

Just read this great quote: "While we try to teach our children all about life, they teach us what life is all about."

I am going to frame that quote and put it in my office. I need to be reminded of this regularly. Little Sebastian and Lucas = simple pleasures, generous smiles, wonder for the tiniest bits of information, and abundant love. Life could potentially stamp that out of them. But my job is to ensure they keep their childhood beauty, without adopting the adult veneer.

First, I must be the person I want them to become.

Nam myoho renge kyo.

children withdrawal

Last week was whirlwind, crazy, a daze, fight-or-flight adrenaline for 5 or 6 days straight. I was away from home for 4 days. When finally I saw Seb and Lucas, I started crying. They were these miracles sitting at the sandbox, peaceful, quiet, sacred. And the tears were despite myself, because I was just excited to see them. I never thought I would be so moved. Edifying to say the least.

mother's day woes

Another year, and another invisible Mother's Day. Well, nanny bought me flowers when I told her it was mother's day. And the next day, I received a Happy Mother's Day email from my sister. But niente from hubby. Actually, negative niente. Because we spent the whole day fighting. What else is new, I suppose? I quit going to spinning to ease the pressure my absence put on him. I am now waiting for my exercise videos to arrive so I can work out at home. The really annoying thing is that even though I overcame my daily fight when Father's Day came around to give him a gift, he didn't even acknowledge Mother's Day with words. And he knows it means a lot to me. That is what taking for granted is, not bothering to care about what the other person cares about.