The opening

 

Love is not a door

That you can close or open
It is not a castle 

Or a fortress
To protect yourself in
Love is a ruin
Worn down by rain and hail
A wreck from which you see
The whole damn sky

-rm

(Image source: Pixabay)

Now or never

 Metric

I am having such a nice day!

My birthday present from Ed and the girls was this beautiful table with lemon design cushions. I am loving so much how cheerful it looks and I know that I will love it even more when my porch is covered in flowers as it is every year, and I can sit there reading and writing poetry.

The girls and I had a little trip to a nice cafe, where we got some drinks and treats (which we enjoyed in the car, per covid protocol), then we went to an Albanian store in Rocky Hill, that has a lot of great Romanian foods as well as other foods from eastern Europe, Greece, Turkey and that area of the world. Here are my beautiful girls just before we left the house, and I don't mean beautiful in just a superficial way, I mean it as far as who they really are. I really love hanging out with them, eating, talking, telling them stories from my life, some of them funny, some sad, and so on.

And here is a little post from Sena's instagram story this morning, that made me feel so good. You know when someone compliments you on things that actually mean a lot to you, and you feel seen and recognized? That's how I felt reading her post. The picture was taken just about a year ago, pre covid, when Sena, Aiyana and I hung out in New Haven at the Atticus book store cafe, which is a great place.

This evening, we are having Indian food for my birthday, and then we will have a zoom call with my parents and my sister and her family. It's a great day!

Peace

Holding on to this music in these times of stress

 "Something brought you back

To the kid that you were
For a couple days
Everything you lacked
You possessed
It was yours"

- "Risk" from the amazing Canadian band Metric

Yeah, things have been very stressful, but also exciting. I am now teaching 4 Physics classes, and also going through my Practicum evaluation for my teaching certificate. That means I am constantly evaluated with people observing my classes and grading me on all kinds of standards and criteria. I'm doing well with it, but it's a lot. Fortunately, it should all be over by May, and I should have my official teaching certificate at that point.

Hopefully once the stress is gone I'll be left with just the thrill of teaching Physics. Speaking of the thrill, just this past week, I was very excited to incorporate a little bit from my favorite physicist, Richard Feynman's famous Caltech lectures in my AP Physics class. We did a part on conservation of energy. Also another part that was exciting this week was that I found out that next year I will be teaching a college level class to the students in the school I'm at right now, so that should be fun as well.

Anyway, back to Metric, this music has been providing some respite from the stress. I hope you enjoy it.

Peace

Hey, look who's sitting in our field! Plus a podcast featuring Sena

Who's that guy?

Bernie!!! We love all the Bernie memes that have come out since the inauguration, so we thought we'd put him in our field. He fits right in, don't you think?

And here's a recent podcast featuring Sena: The young curious capitalist

Peace

Happy Birthday to my Mom!!!

 Happy Birthday to my wonderful mom who did everything for us and still is! I hope she enjoys her day and look forward to seeing her and my dad on Zoom tonight!

Peace

Welcoming 2021 in openness!

Welcome 2021 and thank you 2020 for your tough lessons. Going into 2021 with open mind and open heart. Show me!

Look at my beautiful Hibi, how it opened today, almost as if it were telling us to trust and welcome whatever comes!

I wish you peace, health and beauty in the new year and beyond!

Christmas family photo, 2020 style

Sadly, due to Covid, this year we were unable to go see my parents in Canada for the holidays... But thank goodness for Zoom.

Merry Christmas, peace and joy!

 Merry Christmas, peace and health to you!

Peace

Happy 17th Birthday to our wonderful Sena!!!

How can I describe Sena?  Environmental and social justice activist; junior in college; second degree black belt; these flat words don't even come close to encompassing the beautiful, caring, complex person she is.

May all her days be as bright and beautiful as she is.

Happy Birthday Sena!

That time

 

A wounded bird takes flight

My heart 

That time under the Christmas tree 

When I believed 

-rm

All we have within us. Or. Disturbance in the field of being.

 

There is no question that you will create a

Disturbance
The only question is
What kind of disturbance
Will that be

-rm

(Picture is of a mural I love at my school)

Peace

A field of birds

A ray lights up the dark

A field of birds take flight

A burst of joy

Renewed belief 

I am

-rm

(Image: Pixabay)

Lucy's note!!!

 I love this note so much. My little niece, Lucy, who is 7-years-old, sent it to me yesterday.

Peace

Moved to reflect on this

I've been moved to ask and reflect on this question below, by my recent experience getting certified as a teacher.

Some of us may never have had anyone who truly saw us; some of us may have had several people.

But regardless, WE can be someone who sees others and allows them to bring out and contribute their best. WE can give that to ourselves and to each other. 

For those of us who feel that we have no reason to be, what other reason do we need?

Peace

Once upon a time in Romania

 A picture of a picture that my mom sent me. I was 6. The shirt and skirt are traditional dress from Arges county. 

I feel like I've lived so many lives.

Peace

The fragility of hope

Not holding on

Nor letting go

I am in love

With the fragility

Of hope

-rm

Happy Thanksgiving!

What are you grateful for?

It's been a tough year for many people. Still, I have a lot of things to be grateful for, including the obvious: that we are healthy and we have what we need, and that we have hope again after Biden was elected.

Two other things I wanted to mention:

I'm grateful that I was able to transition into yet another field of work in my life, and that I am getting to teach a subject I love.

And I'm grateful that my mom is healthier and found a way to help herself through diet and exercise. She lost over 10kg (22lbs)! And is feeling better with her depression, her energy level, her blood sugar and everything. She has inspired me and all of us - after all these years of doctors and trying everything, she found something that works for her and is motivated to stick with it!

I really do have a lot more that I'm grateful for, but it all boils down to just being here to experience whatever life brings, and to be able to share it with others.

Peace and Happy Thanksgiving!

What really saves us

What really saves us is this:

the fact

that at any point in our lives,

despite what came before,

despite where we are now,

despite the randomness and unfairness of life,

we can choose to do good.

Peace

Aiyana's Amazing Creative Outpouring

Aiyana has been in a major creative phase over the past few months. I think that being home due to Covid has allowed her to express herself in a way that she wasn't able to before.

She has been crocheing and opened her own etsy shop. She made me a sweater that I wore at school, and got compliments on, and when I said that my daughter made it, people could not believe it.

She has been cooking for us (and basically took over from me cooking now that I am so busy and involved with my school work), making delicious things like pizza from scratch, stuffed peppers, Romanian meat balls (chiftele), butternut squash soup, etc.

And she has been drawing. Here is some of her work:

Peace