One Year Ago Today...

 …I started this blog.  I wasn’t sure what I wanted it to become.  I had been saying I wanted to write a book and my husband asked if I ‘had a book in me’.  I was not sure how to take that, but I thought I would start with a blog and see if I could keep up with the demands that it entailed while carrying on with my already over-booked life. 

I started out posting one entry a day. I thought of Julie in the movie Julie and Julia.  She cooked a total of 524 recipes in 365 days from Julia Child’s cookbook and posted about the meals each day.  I loved that movie but felt her stress.  Not only did she have to work each day, but she also had to come home and cook a new meal and then write about it.  Even though that was a fictitious story, I was up for the blog challenge and felt the need to finish up a full year of blogging.

At first, one entry a day was not a problem at all because I had so many stories bursting out of my head. I didn’t want my blog to be about one specific subject with a narrow audience.  This was appealing to me because I could write about anything I wanted, trying out different topics.  After a few months though, I slowed down to one post a week.  Life was busy and although I loved writing, it was getting stressful putting the pressure of one entry a day on my plate.  Being an English teacher, I don’t just write.  I write, edit, let it sit, re-read it, edit more, let it sit again …etc. until finally I post.  This all takes time.

So what did I learn in a year?  Looking back at my first entry, I learned not to shop at the outlet stores on the day after Christmas.  I learned that some topics elicit strong emotions (gun control) and others bring out similar childhood memories for my readers as they do for me.  I discovered that my immediate and extended family love reading my posts and I enjoy passing on what I think of as a public diary of events and thoughts, as I remember them. 

The most popular posts with readers were:

1. Twas the Day After Christmas (my first post): http://mytwocentsct.blogspot.com/2011/12/twas-day-after-christmas.html

2. The Dalai Lama’s visit:  http://mytwocentsct.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-dalai-lamas-visit.html

3. 12-14-12 (last week’s post): http://mytwocentsct.blogspot.com/2012/12/12-14-12.html

4.  The Neighborhood Show: http://mytwocentsct.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-neighborhood-show.html

5.  Finders Keepers:  http://mytwocentsct.blogspot.com/2012/08/finders-keepers.html

The least read entries were:

1. Visiting a Navajo School: http://mytwocentsct.blogspot.com/2012/01/visiting-navajo-school.html

       2. The Barbary Apes in Gibraltar: http://mytwocentsct.blogspot.com/2012/01/barbary-apes-in-gibraltar.html

      3. The Earthquake I lived through: http://mytwocentsct.blogspot.com/2012/01/earthquake-i-lived-through.html

       4. Slides: http://mytwocentsct.blogspot.com/2012/02/slides.html

       5. The sense of smell: http://mytwocentsct.blogspot.com/2012/02/importance-of-sense-of-smell.html

       6. Learning a second language: http://mytwocentsct.blogspot.com/2012/02/learning-second-language.html

       7. The Sistine Chapel: http://mytwocentsct.blogspot.com/2012/01/sistine-chapel.html

It makes me feel good when I run into someone who mentions they enjoy reading my blog.  I also like seeing one of my posts shared on Facebook by a reader.  I enjoy reading comments that people post on my entries too.  

So do I have it in me to continue?  As long as I have readers, I will continue to write.  When I don’t have anything to say, I promise I won’t just post a junky entry for the sake of posting something.

As we approach 2013, here are the top 11 things I look forward to, in no particular order.  I anticipate some of them working their way into future posts.

       1. Our younger son’s graduation from Berklee College of Music (no more tuition payments!) 

       2. Leading my 5th student trip to Europe in June for 10 days to Prague, Vienna, Budapest, and Munich.

       3. Going on our second annual girls weekend to LBI with the girls in my family.

       4. Hosting my 4^th annual high school reunion party in September.

       5. Reaching my one-year anniversary for my new knee in March.

       6. Learning more Italian so my oral speaking skills get even better.

       7. Making more time for photography in my life.

       8. Continuing to lead RMAC (Ridgefield Music and Arts Center) in my 7^th year as its president, but looking for a replacement soon.

       9. Going to Sedona for Spring Break      

     10. Spending quality time with my family.

     11. Teaching my students…I am fortunate to love the work I do.

Happy New Year!

12-14-12

There really are no words for the horrific tragedy that happened yesterday in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, a beautiful, close-knit community two towns over from ours. 

As news began to seep into our school yesterday, teachers and administrators tried to find confirmed information, hoping that our worst fears would not be met.  My prep period was in the morning.  I spent it frantically searching the Internet and making phone calls to friends who could shed light on the ‘unconfirmed reports’ that were flying around. 

What started out as one dead gunman and one adult shot in the foot, shot to 27 dead, including 18 children.   A fellow teacher came into my classroom, which was filled with 11-year olds writing poetry. She was the one who delivered the news of the escalated count of those who died, confirmed by an official in Danbury.  I held her hand and we tried our hardest to hold back our tears. 

I do not know how I taught the last three periods of the day.  We are culminating a fun, light poetry unit with a celebration planned next week with parents.  The poems they shared today were recipe poems.  They were so proud as they shared them with the class, practicing their oral speaking skills.  The writing was so light and cute.  I held back my emotions as I listened to their innocence, which would be compromised when they got home and heard the news from their families.   

I had flashbacks of September 11, 2001.  When our principal delivered that numbing news to me shortly after 9:00, I was in my fifth grade classroom.  I had over twenty 10-year olds in my room for the whole day.  I was told to carry on and not tell the kids.  Not tell them what?  I could hardly grasp the concept myself.  That day I, as well as the world, tried to access the Internet, to try to comprehend what was happening.

Several teachers in our school live in Newtown.  One had children in Sandy Hook Elementary School.  The physical therapist that skillfully and wonderfully cared for me for three weeks after my knee replacement this past spring had her children in that school too.  Thankfully they were not among the fallen angels, but their lives will never be the same.  Neither will the lives of any of the children who were in that school yesterday.

The principal and other teachers and administrators who fell yesterday are among our heroes.  When you work with children and a disaster happens, you protect them before yourself.  That is our job and also our instinct.  Our professional community and the community at large mourn for their loss just as deeply. 

Our school happened to have had a lock down drill earlier this week.  Although this drill is no longer new to the children, it is still a little scary for them.  I scooped up an older student out of the hallway before locking my door.  As they sat silently on the floor in the corner of my room, I whispered to reassure them that it was a practice drill.  I had no knowledge of the drill, which is truly a drill for us as well, but I knew from our training that it was a drill. 

Afterwards, one student asked why we have the drills.  When they are younger one explanation is that if a wild animal accidentally got into the building, we would want to keep everyone safe.  As we all absorbed the dark news incessantly yesterday in disbelief, one innocent child said the same thing.  He thought a wild animal maybe got into his school; how right he was.   As the children grow older and hear more news, they are introduced to worse possibilities. 

Our school went into a modified lock-down yesterday, as did many of the communities near Newtown, until it was deemed all the perpetrators were apprehended.  Our building was locked, and no children went outside for recess.  In addition, a police officer was present in our building.  But I still felt better with my classroom door closed. 

The numbness is still with us all today.  As we grieve with our friends and neighbors, our coworkers and our families, let us all keep the little fallen angels and their families and friends in our thoughts and prayers.  Let us keep their six heroes in a special place in our hearts too. Nothing I write here can come close to the words needed for their comfort because this atrocity is beyond words.  Our hearts join in collective grief.  

Real or Fake?

Get your head out of the gutter…I am talking about Christmas trees.  If you decorate your house with a tree, where do you stand on the issue of real verses artificial ones?  Here’s my story. 

My parents used to set up a real tree on Christmas Eve, assemble the toys, and fall into bed exhausted, only to be woken by the pitter-patter of our little feet, not too long after they collapsed.  They wanted us to have the magic of Christmas, including the excitement of the tree, on Christmas morning.  

Clearly, we did not care if the tree was real or not...

I was more interested in my sister's underwear and my new doll.

For fun...recognize any of the toys?

When my parents moved our family from Yonkers to Yorktown, I was six years old  They made the decision to start using an artificial tree.  They could set it up earlier and reduce their Christmas Eve work to toy assembly only.  My mother admits they could have set up the real tree earlier, but with the new house, it seemed easier to set up an artificial one earlier in the month. 

One green tree was set up downstairs with colored lights and a variety of ornaments, including the precious ones we made in school.  This is the tree Santa visited without fail.  Upstairs in our living room, a white tree with only red lights and ornaments was concurrently set up.  This one was for ‘show’ and looked very pretty in a room that already had a red, white, and black theme going on.  I loved our trees and never felt slighted or deprived that the trees were not real.  My only memories are of the artificial ones.

My husband’s family always bought real trees.  Their tradition was to wait until a few days before Christmas to purchase the tree and then decorate it on Christmas Eve.  They didn’t move to a new house like we did and change their traditions.

When my husband and I started dating in the fall of 1984, little did we know we had different 'tree backgrounds'.  We decided to get a tree together for my apartment, which was a little bigger than his and could fit it better. He wanted to get a real one and I was totally up for the new experience.  I ran a 10 K race that morning in Venice Beach, and afterward we planned to find a place to purchased a tree. We had our close friends over that night for a tree trimming party.  I would have parties for just about any occasion, so why not to decorate a tree?

The first real tree that I remember.

Four years later, after our first son was born, we advanced to the chop-your-own stage. We drove 45 minutes north of Los Angeles to Valencia to a Christmas tree farm.  It was the beginning of a tradition for our son and for our family.  I was now hooked on the fresh smell of the pine and the silky feel of the bristles; I was completely in.

The funny thing about chopping down a Christmas tree in California is that you are NOT wearing coats and boots, nor is it snowy or cold.

In addition, you don't mind lying on the ground with your saw.

A tradition is born and he seems to approve.

Over the years we have maintained the real tree tradition, although we have alternated between cutting it and letting someone else do that part.  I do love the smell and the magic of the real tree.  Over the last few years however, I have had thoughts of an artificial tree.  But in the end, we still get the real deal.  Interestingly, my siblings all have artificial trees.

I was at the Christmas Tree Shop yesterday and spent $75 on Christmas decorations, none of which we needed.  One purchase was a 3-foot white artificial tree.  This should not be confused with a Charlie Brown tree.  It is actually quite pretty and will be even prettier when it is decorated.  I set it up on our black kitchen table.  The plan is to decorate it today with red ornaments, mimicking the black, white, red color scheme that I loved to much in my parents’ house. 

I feel excited about and content with my $5 tree, and it has allowed me to let my thoughts abandon the real or fake conversation for a while.  As we get older and more nostalgic, sometimes I feel like we tend to go back to the ways of our childhood or childhood upbringing. So what will the tree tradition look like for us in 10 years?  Decorating an artificial tree on Christmas Eve?  Or will our boys, who have been brought up only with real trees, sway the vote to maintain the pure pine?  Only time will tell.

The unevenness of the branches is one sure sign of a real tree...Wait...are you really looking at the tree, or the two cute kids under it?

How Music Can Affect You

There are many things in life that can have an effect on your mood.  The actions of other people rank right up there with the ability to impact you either positively or negatively.  Your health or the health of a person close to you can also influence how you feel.  Bad decisions, the stress of employment or lack thereof, bad drivers, and a lack of chocolate in your life can all have a bearing on your mood.  But today’s post is not going to be that deep.  Whether you realize it or not, music can definitely alter your mood.  Many people take music for granted, especially young people.  You don't even realize how often music is playing in the background until it isn't.

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How many times have you found yourself in your car alone, and a song came on the radio that made you either belt out the lyrics or even just tap your feet?  Perhaps it brought you back to another time…your high school or college years, a special event where that song was played, or in your own room playing that song over and over again?  You love that song for whatever reason and you react to it, physically and emotionally. There are many songs that snap me to action.  My hands start drumming the steering wheel, my feet tap the floorboard, and my voice tries to mimic the singer’s.  Of course if you are conservative like I am, you might reign in your rocking body when you get to a stop light with another car by your side.  And let's not even go to holding fake microphones or shower singing...

Let’s face it, there are some tedious tasks that we all must do.  Take cleaning the house.  It’s just one of those things that has to be done.  Most times I plow through the chore as my mind organizes my day or I just talk to myself.  However, it always seems to amaze me when I come home to my husband doing some mundane job like organizing the basement, clearing off the deck, or even raking leaves.  He takes the time to pipe some music to where he is to make it more enjoyable.  I love this idea, but never seem to take the time to do it when I do my tasks.

This got me thinking about Melanie Griffith in the movie Working Girl.  Do you remember the famous scene where she was vacuuming?  Music was blasting as she cleaned the rug, in a way only she could pull off.   Let’s leave it at that.

Music is so integrated into your daily lives.  You rely on music to relax and stay happy.  You use it to make a long commute enjoyable.  Some of you go as far as assuring you have your music ready to play on your phone or ipod.   You want to be in a certain frame of mind and having your set playlist facilitates this goal.  Music helps regulate your mood.

Think of the times you have heard live music.  It may have been a large concert at Madison Square Garden or a small concert at your child’s school.  Either one probably, or at least usually, resulted in a positive experience for you.  Seeing your favorite band in person is a fantastic experience.  Hearing the songs live while watching the actual musicians performing is exponentially better than any CD recording.  And for those of us who have sat through the annual third grade concert with the same recorder songs presented year after year, we were still filled with pride and joy at another child participating in the experience.  Music brightens the soul, sets the mood, and creates anchors for future memories.

Last night, our town held its annual Holiday Stroll.  RMAC, the non-profit organization that I head, provided live music by local students in the heart of downtown Ridgefield.  The sound of the music drew passersby to the tent.  Their smiles and tapping feet definitely showed how much they enjoyed the music and how it affected their mood in a positive way.

Her smiling face says it all, as she performed live for RMAC last night.

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Music can make you sad too.  Certain songs bring back nostalgic or just bad memories.  When that happens to me, I quickly change the station.  I don’t try to let music bring me down.  Music has this extraordinary force that can impact our spirit. 

Although there will be lots of holiday music playing on the radio this week which can be repetitive, try to focus on music for the next few days and see what it can do to your feelings and attitude toward your daily life.  Go ahead and tap away, screech out the tune, rock your head from side to side, and enjoy!

Watching these two grow up (the one on the left is mine; the one on the right a former student), develop as musicians, proceed to Berklee College of Music, and perform at many venues, has been an experience that has kept a smile on my face.