March 17th, 2013 → 6:18 am
“Time’s the king of men;
he’s both their parent, and he is their grave,
and gives them what he will, not what they crave.” – Pericles
I never seem to have enough time. Enough said.
Filed under: Blog & Self/My Life
March 13th, 2013 → 5:17 am
“The barge she sat in, like a burnished throne
Burned on the water; the poop was beaten gold.” – Antony and Cleopatra
A former student came to see me in my office yesterday. Within five minutes she was crying, spilling the story of her breakup with her boyfriend, segueing into the heartache of the death of her father… I started to wonder why she’d come to see me of all people, when she suddenly explained that when her life was a mess, she liked to seek out people who had their shit together. This time, she thought of me and coming to hang out with me. It was a huge complement, of course, though rather surprising. My seat is not a burnished throne, and my poop most certainly is not gold. But if I can talk to someone for forty-five minutes and make them feel even a little bit better about life, well, that’s an awesome thing.
Filed under: Blog & Self/My Life
March 9th, 2013 → 6:16 am
“‘Tis one thing to be tempted, Escalus,
Another thing to fall.” – Measure for Measure
Ways in which I am tempted: junk food, extra sleep, denigrating idiots, spoiling my baby, blaming my husband, ignoring the laundry, hating my enemies
Ways in which I fall: junk food (often), extra sleep (rarely), denigrating idiots (sometimes), spoiling my baby (all the time), blaming my husband (now and again), ignoring the laundry (not enough), hating my enemies (too obsessively)
That’s not the worst track record, is it?
Filed under: Blog & Self/My Life
February 25th, 2013 → 5:17 am
“He’s all my exercise, my mirth, my matter;
Now my sworn friend, and then mine enemy;
My parasite, my soldier, my statesman, all.
He makes a July’s day short as December,
And with his varying childness cures in me
Thoughts that would thick my blood.” – The Winter’s Tale
It was a weekend of fun with my son, Vincent! We had birthday parties to go to, Magic Houses to visit, Purim carnivals to attend. Phew! We even built two snowmen in the back yard – one more of a snow monster, but that’s ok, he only scared away the rabbits.
Filed under: Blog & Self/My Life
February 16th, 2013 → 8:41 am
“My heart
Leaps to be gone into my mother’s bosom.” – Pericles
Today is my mother’s birthday and, 14 years after her death, I still wake up thinking about her on this day. She would have been 64 years old today. Happy Birthday Mom! Sometimes, when I am cuddling my son in the early hours of the morning and he has his warm, sleepy face pressed into my breast, I imagine he is me and I am you and we are clasped in a loving embrace like I remember, and treasure, from many, many years ago…
Filed under: Blog & Self/My Life
January 30th, 2013 → 8:01 am
“Honor, riches, marriage blessing,
Long continuance, and increasing
Hourly joys be still upon you!” – The Tempest
My niece just got engaged and is getting married in less than four short months! Congratulations Jackie, we’re all looking forward to the May wedding!
Filed under: Blog & Other & Self/My Life
January 28th, 2013 → 8:22 am
“What is a man, if his chief good and market of his time be but to sleep and feed? a beast, no more. – Hamlet
My life feels so busy, as though all I do is sleep, feed, work, and take care of my family. I haven’t found time to write in ages… Is such a life beastly? Devoid of higher purpose? If so, I imagine most of humanity is indeed rather beastly…
Filed under: Blog & Other & Self/My Life
January 26th, 2013 → 8:38 am
“Since I received command to do this business
I have not slept one wink.” – Cymbeline
My son is going through another one of his not-sleep-through-the-night-at-all phases and it’s exhausting. 1:30 am, 2:30 am, 4:30 am cries, and then 5:30 am he’s up for good. My husband and I feel like we haven’t had a good night’s sleep in two and a half years, and, because we’ve never pawned him off on anybody for a long weekend, that’s probably true. Oye, the joys of parenthood!
Filed under: Blog & Other & Self/My Life
January 10th, 2013 → 6:09 am
“I’ll put a girdle round about the earth
In forty minutes.” – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
I get on a plane today to return to St. Louis. I wish the plane ride home only lasted forty minutes; instead, with a two-year old, it’s probably going to seem like forty days. Ach, wish us luck!
Filed under: Blog & Self/My Life
January 8th, 2013 → 6:18 am
“Close up his eyes and draw the curtain close;
And let us all to meditation.” – Henry VI, Part II
I’m not all that good at relaxing, so for the holidays I was given a book on meditation. I’ve read the first few chapters and mostly it seems to recommend closing your eyes, drawing the metaphorical curtain shut, and breathing deeply. I don’t know if it will work to help me let go of my worries and angst, but it’s worth a try. Here’s to meditation, and not just after a death (as in the quote above)!
Filed under: Blog & Other & Self/My Life