So the 2016-2017 school year is the past tense. I should be happy and content and my body should start to feel more relaxed. This weekend A already has left the house to spend his annual first week of Summer at the seaside with his grandparents and cousins. So this then means that I get to spend some time on my own and trying to detox. When it comes down to this I know so well the signs of withdrawal. On Friday evening I was still ordering professional reading material with promising titles such as ‘How to Use Questioning in the Classroom’ or ‘Visible Learning for Teachers’. After all I will never imply that I already know everything that there is to know about teaching. Also my biological clock is still in school-modus what means that around 6 in the morning my body is already awakening and my mind is up and about running wild.
It will take some time to get used to not having to get up and start worrying about many typical work- and school related things. Yesterday P and I just went out in the rain and walked to our favorite fresh market and we ordered some pre-dinner finger food and one glass of cider. It was then for the first time since Friday that I truly relaxed. Outside the weather was rather Autumn like and my shoes were wet but I felt relief. That the place was almost empty and the lounge like music that filled up the space might have added up to my state of mind but still… I sat there and my mind was blank and I just loved sitting there and living&enjoying the moment.
So I am granting myself just one more look over my shoulders before embarking on my summer that hopefully will bring bountiful moments filled up with sweet and bliss. Yes, airplane tickets and hotel reservations have been made and we know mostly where we are heading for but I am tremendously looking forward to just enjoying the stress free and ‘no-deadline-to-get’-time. After all it has not been a very easy going year. There have been those moments that I had lost the will to live. Moments that I was not allright and felt out of tune.
In case you are wondering:the educational amputated state I still sense. After all I have been asked to give up something that I tremendously love and cherish. Nothing has changed on that side of mind. The past year was in many ways rather a different story than the ones before and I had some very dark and emotional moments that made me feel rather empty and useless. Stallie knows so well that she takes a lot of things way too personal and takes many things to heart that perhaps many would consider not that important. Yes, I still aim for perfection in my job. And believe me, also my very driven coworker is.
My office/classroom looked at times like a battlefield and did depict my state of mind. Yes, deep inside I am a rebel when it comes in teacher. After all I have got this Han Solo figurine standing in a corner of my office. It is a constant reminder of who I am deep inside. Not that you will see me a lot acting like a die hard rebel or doing daring things that go against the stream. It is more in the inside that I am about to act like this Star Wars character. But still… for instance I don’t believe in one set of teaching strategies when it comes down to learning and teaching languages. One of my teaching mantras is:’It can never hurt to try.’
Yes, I have managed to try out new things with my students and I had the pleasure to embark this past school year with someone who is also very focused, passionate and driven. So we did manage for sure to change a few things and we also tried out many new ways of teaching. In many ways we both have tried to get the massage across how important we consider learning a foreign language. And not just Dutch but any language. Yes, we both take it very serious and have got very high expectations of our students. But also of ourselves.
I am fully aware that I am not the most easy person to work with. I take my time and yes, I not worry about a bit of chaos in cupboards or beyond. It is like I wish to point out that in my work space I am constantly moving around and that there is not time to be wasted. Still I have tried very hard not to change my classroom/office space into a mess. On Friday I even took along home our two colorful orchids to spend the summer with me at home. Last year I had forgotten about it and when I returned in September I faced a withered plant. It stood there and it looked like a rather bad omen that I did try to ignore it but you know me that I am little bit to much into superstition to do so. That not one but two made it to the end of the school year and stand her now on the windowsill and are both embraced by my 7 other orchids is surely an accomplishment!
Yes, I am rather happy that there have also been some educational accomplishments. Some of which I did consider rather mission impossible at the start of the year. I have been cursing many times at my computer screen or just slamming doors due to frustration, having lost my patience with people, situations or IT-issues. It has not always been all right. There were my notorious morning moods who without the help of George Clooney coffee, colorful coffee cups by Blond and patience I would have not been able to overcome. Plus baked goods and Haribo have helped me in cases of an emergency. Luckily my coworker U had figured that one out soon!
It has been a good year. Not my best ever but then I am very likely never ever to call a year my very best year ever due to me always finding something that could have been done differently or never ever would have planned in the first place. Trial and error is still part of my daily job. Still I am just very happy that I got to the end of the school year in one piece. That I managed to tick all the administrative boxes and that I made all the deadlines that were set by the management or by myself.
A school year is always unpredicted and in most cases it is a bit like that one box of chocolates mentioned by Forest Gump. September is always a gigantic question mark and by the end of October I wondered if I was ever are going to get the hang of it. November is the month in which I just tend to lose it all together and wonder if there will ever come an end to my worrisome state of mind and when I will feel content and satisfied in a class room. Once I started wrapping Christmas presents I even started to panic when looking at my term planning. Timing often is not on your side when it comes down to teaching and planning. January is the month where I tend to loose my voice and having to battle cold germs. When February showed up I felt rather like the groundhog who has decided that a deep hole is the best place to hide out in. March was the month in which I just wonder if the sun is every going to come back and if students are aware that it is still a long time to go till the end of the school year. In April I already started to write report card comments. In May I took deep breaths at the Dutch sea side and got sun burned due have forgotten certain aspects of the sun. And there was June where it suddenly hit me once more between the eyes…
June is were all the months come together where I can look over my shoulder and have to write that ISE document (a very lengthy self evaluation document that I honestly do like to write. Yeah believe sometimes those documents do make sense!) in which you have to reflect about your set goals and priorities I set myself. It is then I stare at my computer screen and can suddenly go very quiet and reflect about my past school year. Fair to say that there is always room for improvement and next year there are surely a few things that I wish to do differently. Professional and academic wise I can tick most of the boxes and call myself satisfied. Unfortunately when it comes down to my personal well being and state of health I think I did fail big time this year.
Yes, I have the last 10 months not taken good care of myself. I have lost myself amongst all the planning, worrying and never ever calming down the moment I walked into work. My brain has gone in over time more than once and I hardly ever felt rested. All my good intentions about going back to ballet or at least test out the classy gym at work none I actually ended up doing. My body and mind have barely survived this year and to be honest it is not something that I wish to repeat. The mindfulness button seemed to be in the permanent pause state. Not happy about that and there is no real excuse to justify what I have done to myself and my body.
Okay work sucks up a lot of my time and and energy. My time table is not completely filled up but I seem to have felt obliged to spend as much time as possible at work to get the work done and to stay on top of everything. In the short run this approach works but honestly it won’t work in the long run. Yes, as you can guess have I made some pledges to some people and myself when it comes down to this. We will see how I can keep these up. Still it is worth a try. In return I will get so much more. I have done it before and know that it is the best way forward but still I will need some reminding.
The only thing that is unlikely to change ever is having to deal with having to say goodbye every single school year. Having mentioned this before as being one of the less fun things of working at an international educational hotspot I know that June is the month in which I am forced to let go many people. Not only students and believe me there are many who I am going to miss next year in my classroom. Some are off to some very exciting places and will have to start from scratch when it comes down to finding their way around in a new school, getting used to many new rules and having to try to make new friends. All of this is not easy peasy and so in the international school world friendships are looked at from a different perspective. Also when you are a teacher.
Over the last 5 years I have already ‘lost’ a few extremely passionate, driven, creative, wise, daring, rebellious, IT inspired and child centered colleagues/heads/principals. Some of them I got to respect and they did learn me a few things about teaching that I will never forget. There are even a few ones that I dare to call friends and those I still miss daily. So the rather teary emotional state I end up in the last week of school I will never get used to. This week many top notch teachers & one head have said goodbye and momentarily I can not see the silver lining in this. But then you can only wish them the very best. It is their decision and their life not mine. The memories I created with most of them I will cherish for the rest of my educational career.
When I on Friday closed my door of my office and walked towards my car I felt relieved but at the same time I felt sadness. Driving home is then trying to put things in the right perspective and coming to terms and that in September I will meet up with new student and coworkers who are are also very anxious. Most of them also hope that this place will bring what they are searching for when it comes down to teaching and education. So I can’t wait to meet up with these new educational souls after all what Jo Cox said about diversity counts also in the world of education. We do have more in common than what divides us otherwise you not last a long time in this profession.
As you might can tell by now has it been a mixed school year when it comes down to many things . It has not been always easy and so it has not been the easy ride. Still I am still breathing and and knew what I need to do in order to breath easier and find more energy. So for now I am going to dive into some lighter reading and trying to tackle Outlander book 4 and reading up on Stockholm where I am heading for in a few weeks with A. Hereby I wish all my fellow educators the best summer break they are after and that they will be able to take in a lot of vitamin D and feel refreshed by the time the new school year is showing up on the calendar. Keep breathing you all great educators you just wrapped up an other memorable school year.
Last weekend I even walked around like a zombie and blame myself for kind of messing up things when it comes down to hanging around the friendship frontier. It seems I hardly hang around there anymore. I just don’t find the time… not good and now please believe me, I don’t do it on purpose. IT JUST HAPPENED AND STILL HAPPENS AND WILL KEEP ON HAPPENING! You might wonder why I get so worked up about it and why I just don’t let it go…well sorry, this I just can not sugar coat with the lovely Frozen song. Sorry, I need to get it out of my system. So here we go…
Working in the educational hotspot is a very challenging and takes up a lot of energy. I love it and I still give that place more time than what I am expected by my time table. It is very hard to resist when you aim for perfection or always will find something that can be improved. Now, there is nobody who tells me to come earlier on my free morning or stay longer but I have noticed if I do not put enough time into my job that I then feel rather ‘empty’ and feel not as satisfied. There are other factors involved as well but it does basically come down to the fact that Stallie does not mind to spend more time at work than her contract states. But then there are the side effects due to my personal work ethics.
As a result I am rather tired at the end of the work week. Plus that I recently seem to need more time to reload my batteries. I have now more ‘boring’ weekend than very adventurous&exciting ones. Not that I would not love to hang out with my family and friends but I just seem to not handle my time that well to fit in everything that I have to do and wish to do. The to-do-list I most of the time seem to be able to handle. The wish-list on the other hand only seems to grow longer and longer. So many things I really would love to do and just do not seem to get done. Just because I first need to do the groceries, ride my A from A to B and then from B to C, get lunch ready, do some cleaning, check my mails, do the laundry and ironing, do some bank transfers, mow the lawn with a lawn mower that almost is about the break down, face the weekend traffic (yes, I live in area where traffic can ruin my mood even on a weekend!), stop by the post office to pick up those packages that do not fit in our mailbox, come up with some awesome new lesson plans and creating differentiated worksheets, I can go on and on…. This is my life over the weekends and that is what I call a normal one… by the end of such a weekend I am tired…believe it or believe it not…
If I manage to fit in seeing some friends then this is a very nice extra. Stallie takes friendship very serious and I have got my own expectations about it. The last 5 years lots of things have changed and I seem have less an less time for my friends. Many have moved away even further and their life seems so much more exciting from my point of view. They post lovely things on Facebook and seem to fit in those things that I fail at. Plus they seem to succeed at what I do not succeed at. Now do no start me about jealousy and all other negative feelings. It is not about that…it is about something totally different and it is more complex.
Now some of these humans are very structured and very organized people. They seem to be able to be awesome at time management and they can plan months ahead. These are the friends that I have got lots of respect for. Their agenda is well planned and they can tell you ahead of time when they will be available or when it is no go. So they can already tell me in January that seeing them over the summer might not work out due to an already filled up to brim agenda. WOW! Well, what can I say good job! It does not seem to work with me that way and believe me I have tried but it did not work out. At contrary...
A few days ago someone told me that I should then try to make more time for my friends. I could not deny that this person was not right to state this. The issue is that my ordinary life more and more seems to take up more time. The moment that I plan something out of the ordinary I seem jinxed. Or my mailbox is filled up with urgent work mails that need to be taken care before the weekend is, my lawn mower is falling apart while I am not even half way tackling our green pastures, the line at the bakery is getting every morning longer and longer (not to mention how annoyed I get that most of the ‘locals’ still not seem to be able to tackle Dutch words such ‘chocoladebroodje, 'boerenbrood', 'stokbrood', 'rond', 'lang' and 'de cijfers van 1 tot 20'), the lovely people at the local Foodlion whose cart is always in the way of mine and who seem to stalk me from the entrance to the cash till, A his home work that also demands some attention of me and he also has a weekend social/sport/youth club/art school agenda (momentarily I am learning a lot about the river the Demer for Geography and the fascinating history of the Mughals also keeps my brain fit) , the chilly and rather rainy weather that I try to survive with an umbrella that never seems strong enough, people who think that parking on the sidewalk (so tempting to plaster myself to their front window to proof my point but I resist) is the best spot while you walk home with two filled up grocery bags and then still give you the ‘evil eye’ when they get into their car and you happen to walk by, P whose private consultations will always go over time unless he needs to be somewhere else than home, the laundry basket that never seems to be empty and resembles an ‘never ending story’, traffic jams that are so much out of proportions (believe me that even if you would ask me over on a Saturday and Sunday that chances are very likely that I will stand still for about half an hour to and from your house) etc…
Yes, I have canceled lately ‘fun’ things due the above and I do not feel okay about but all these things are momentarily ‘my ordinary life’. And there is this other thing that a bit annoys me. The thing is that when I do manage to see my friends that I wish to spend time with them alone and that seems not that obvious. We all grew older, have now families and some of these modern and 21st century families are not that straight forward either. Some of them have got their own complex planning and priorities and guess what it seems that when I have got time that many of those people do have other things at hand. No grudges towards anyone out there.
There is also the fact that I do not live close by to some of the individuals I consider my friends. I have up till not mastered the art of making new friends in this corner of the country. Some of my friends live now in other parts of the world. There are even those I only see once in every decade. There quite a few I hardly see anymore and I feel so bad and sad about it momentarily. Even Trump gets in the way. Yes, I do not plan to visit my second home for the moment because the idea that a border patrol officer will demand access to my social media and will read my blog and then consider me a national security safety threat freaks me out. Believe me I now not even dare to post certain things on Facebook and Twitter because of this.
Still, it does mean that when I wish to see some of my friends I need to make major travel arrangements and these also cost money. Not that I mind but to be honest some of my friends have moved to very exotic spots in the world that come with a very nice price tag. I am willingly to save money to get there. It is worth every single coin. The memories I create with them over there are priceless. No, Skype and FaceTime just do not make up for this. I want a real conversation. Not just a five minute chat while in the background your toddler is about to turn the kitchen in a war zone and you really only have got five minutes. Sorry to break that news to you.. and do not take it personal. Your child’s safety is more important than having to hear how I am holding up in my life. We will hopefully find then an other more safe moment soon to catch up. Not sure when that will be but I then will not pressure you to tell me exactly when you plan to call me back.
And you know why? Because I can not give you any guarantees that I will find very soon the right moment to call you back either. The moment I put down my phone life goes on… I don’t bear any grudges towards anyone of you when it comes down to last minute cancelled dinners or meeting up (kids get sick and then there is that teacher that suddenly thinks that Monday is the best moment to have a science or math test) or when you have to reshedule due to other more urgent and perhaps even more or less fun things. That is fair and this is fine…that is how life works… or at least that is the impression I have got.
Plus sometimes I do not feel welcome.. I don’t… and do not take this personal...please…it just happens that my radar then picks up vibes that seem to creep into my brain and make it shift into a certain paradox that I can not seem to shake off. I then over analyze every single text message or telephone conversation we ever had or shared and then I take off…crash and burn as a result…. that is how I work and I then wait very patiently for you to extend your invitation to visit or to make me feel welcome… for some of you it then seems the end of the friendship… what is fair enough..but be aware that it hurts and will cause me pain and even sleepless nights for a while… You know me well enough to know what I do function like…don’t pretend you don’t…
Oh yes, I know I do cancel sometimes arrangements but that is mostly linked to that the planning of my beloved men is suddenly and unannounced, colliding with my personal arrangements. In a way I even expect that my planning will not work out and that something will get in the way. When P is late then I suddenly feel a bit more obliged to do mow the lawn (on Sunday you are not allowed to do this anyway) so I better then get the mower out the garage. Next I try to untangle the very long cable that goes along with it. I can tell you that the battle that then goes on in our garage depicts in a way what I feel like… you would crack up but I am about to crack into million pieces. To settle the score and calm down after this whole garden adventure I need chocolate and a good cup of George Clooney coffee or a gigantic glass of Italian lemonade.
Still, I feel lonely lately… it happens a lot around this time of
the year… May Day is always this time that the past seems to catch up
with me… then I dive into a dark pool where there is not much to see
besides all the things that I wished for but never will be… sorry, I
still miss him and that will never change…just saying…it will never pass but
it is not easy and I will never be able to totally let go. I have tried
but it seems that there is this scar that will never totally fade.
The last few months have not been easy in many ways and it seems that many are rather a bit disappointed in me. I have said sorry and I mean this from my bottom of my heart it but I just can not offer you the guarantee that things will change in the near future… some of you have also kind of made choices and decisions that now kind of influence your planning. Sorry if this not seems enough and that you had different expectations about our friendship but then in my life I try to live with the word unconditional when it comes down to friendship…
PS: Once again sorry for this rant and I promise that it won’t happen that much out here but the thing is that I wish to make a point about how I work when it comes down to friendship…because with some of you I do not manage to meet up in person anymore or even have a long and private heart to heart over the phone.. The thing is that this week even Sean Spicer did hide out in the bushes when he was afraid to face his ‘friends’ of the press to break certain news. And today in the national newspapers there is this article that many teachers constantly flirt with burn out and have a very hard time to balance family and work life… what can I say??? The Aperol Spritz is chilling and the weekend is here… Big hug.. you lovely readers…you lovely friends.. I miss many of you.. believe me that many have given me so much I cherish...hold very dear...very grateful... but it does not exclude now and then feeling lonely and dissapointed....so must you feel like now and then as well...
So finally it is Spring break and today we celebrate Easter. For those who do know me up, close and personal do know there is something about faith connected to my personality. Not that I will openly scream out my love for the saviour but I have been raised by parents who have given me the freedom to discover my own personal faith. Yes, today I do take the message of peace and hope very seriously. That the world out there at the moment seems to be rather tupsy turvey and that some world leaders have the tendency to be brain twisted and show their muscles I just at this point try to put into perspective.
This morning I put out on display all the delicously smelling and delightful looking Easter chocolate and P suddenly demonstrated this youthful smile. I even walked to a bakery to pick up some hot cross buns what surely added some more colour to our Easter breakfast. Stallie is in Spring modus and yes I do now and then still cross over to the dark side. P lately advises me to even cancel my Facebook account so that I can calm down. Yes, in a way he surely is right about that. Social media sometimes messes up my mind and can get me into the fringe. Still....
Now don't worry I am not going to dive once more into my brain that lately is constantly under attack. For the moment I am counting my blessing and I am fully aware that what I have already been given is so much worth than the things that all those things that are beyond my control. The last few weeks I have tried to zoom in rather than zooming out. As a result I at the present I am heading to the spot where zen does make sense. Oh yes, it does help that this weekend the newest trailer of the new Star Wars has been released. Yip, they killed my favorite character and I do daily mourn for him by staring with a nostalgic smile at the pop doll that is standing close to my office desk. That tiny doll helps me get through the most grey, rainy and dull days but also reminds me that at the end of ride we all end up in the same spot.
The last months I was forced to focus a bit more where I come from and this is always confrontating. Last Wednesday I did travel to the ancestral house of my family. Not sure how many people who can state that they can have a pint of lager in the place where once their grandparents raised his/her parents. My family is a very colorful collection of individuals and yes they are very honest with me when it comes down to my personality. 'You are not normal...', one of my beloved cousins told me and you know what I did not deny it. I did sip of my bitter lemon and did smile and felt at ease by what this person had just told me. That the whole place hangs full of memorabilia that even relate to my family did ofcourse made it even more intense. Many of the faces in the pics are not amongst us anymore but there smiles they showed in these smiles are a very strong reminder that the carpe diem spirit is a very strong in this family. The negative luggage that I carry aldong in my genes
Two days ago I did walk on the beach of Scheveningen while above my head there were seagulls were having a blast, the sound of waves sounded like the most wonderful concerto that Mozart composed, the air felt so fresh and the wind did lift up my hair. A was also having his time of his life by jumping up and down on a trampeline with in the background the sound of splashing waves of the North sea. I did sit there and my mind was completely blank and I was fully embracing all what I was given. Yes, I still miss certain people&thinggs and I still have specific dreams&wishes.
I am a restless soul and chances are very unlikely that I will end up in that one zone that Budhist rave about. The last few weeks I have been also concentrating on some music, art and books that have added some color to my grey and dull life. And because I am in a very genrous mode I am going to share a few things and artists with you that have added some magic to my life. At this moment I am calling them my happy bunny moments and for the sake of Easter I am very willingly sharing them with you the joy,the laughs, the happiness, the fun and much more happy moments I had while enjoying them.
1. Lindsey Sterling: a few weeks ago I did go all by myself to a concert of this fierce and very passionate violinst/dancer. The girl whose parents could only afford a 15 minute violin lesson and who could not make up her mind between playing this instrument or dancing ballet. She stays an enigma to me even after that concert. The passion, the drive and the sincerity she demonstrates while being on stage vibrates all over the place. Nope, she did not bring alond a whole orchestra or a troop of dancers. This lady manages to keep it rather low profile on stage but communicates everything by using an instrument and moving along on her own music. You envy her for that because it is the pover of music that she manages to live by. In case you wonder who I am talking about check her out.
2. Totoro: sounds a bit weird that word, doesn't it. Well, I first I did encounter him on my trip in Japan. We met up in a shop and I was so intrigued by him. I am talking about an animation character created by the renomated Hayao Miyazak. Unlikely that name will ring a bell but believe me it is such a delight to watch this movie. Not going to spoil it all for you by giving away too much details. Still this a gem when it comes down to animated movies. The story line is simple and very straightforward. I ordered the DVD online to make sure that I did not have to get my Japanese dictionary out constantly. It is certianly added some color to a very and rainy Friday evening and I now constantly rave about Hayao Miyazak who is a true master of Japanase story telling by images. If you do wonder and wish to find out more:
3. Binch watching Once Upon a Time: yeah I know, Netflix is so much more than DVD boxes but I still stick to bying them and I do get them out when I need to tackle wrinkled blue shirts! Being a big fan of fairy tales of all kinds I just do not get enough of the inhabitants of Storybrooke. Yes, I cheer on Hook that he will finaly be able to tame Emma who thinks that the happily efter can and will never be the ending of her own story. At the moment I am into season 4 where ice princesses and queens seem to have taken over the village. Certainly enough action to heaten up my iron. I still miss the sheriff/the huntsman Graham for some obvious and less obvious reasons.
4. La La Land: I loved the movie...I just loved every single second of it. Yes, some people did not admit very openly it was just not there thing but it certainly is my thing. Yes, I am a very big fan of the two actor who star in it. Every since I saw the movie Crazy Stupid Love I was graving for Gosling and Stoone reunited on the big white screen. The soundtrack is also a hit right between the eyes. That they did and then a few seconds did not got the Oscar for best picture made the news big time. For those who do wonder why I do cheer on Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling this short clip and I do hope that I then get the message across.
5. Liefde Voor Muziek: now this is a series on Belgian/Flemish television that puts 8 musicians together for a about a week and they have to perform each others song. In the beginning I had my serious doubts about the the whole concepts but then last year did a certain young adolescent by the name of Ian Thomas 'covered' a song by Dana Winner. I got goosebumps all over and I had to change my opinion about both artists because of that program. Last week the program kicked off for a new season and it already happened again. Isabelle A who I do not have such a high opinion of when it comes down to singing did last week something extra ordinary. She sang a very quiet version of a power song by Natalia that I scream along in the car when I need some girl power. What she pulled of is very impressive!
6. Classical music in general. And today I was blown away by Mahler. It happens more than once that music manages to do this this composer I don't consier that easy to listen to. There is even a certain modus operanti necessary to get my head around his notes. Seems that Easter Sunday is the perfect day to get into Mahler. Not that I had not tried to listen before to his compositions. Today while cleaning up the last crumbs of our Easter breakfast they were playing it over the radio. It was like I did discover something completely new. The composition itself is so interesting. In my ears I did hear so many things at the same time. Like I was walking through the mountains and came across green fields where mountain goats where enjoying the grass and then got to enjoy the imposing view from the top, then ran down hil to face gigantic waterfalls, and then ran into dancing people in long dresses at a royal court... guess my imagination can take me anywhere in the company of Mahler. Nothing more fitting to listen to on Easter Sunday that music that later on got named 'The Ressurection'!
I had even some more great happy bunny moments and there is one that I plan to write my next blog entry about. For now I wish you all a lovely Easter Sunday. In case you celebrate the day that Jezus left the dark side to show us the way to the light I wish you day filled up with hope! And to all those who do not share this belief I hope that the egg hunts or runs were very successful and that you did fill up your baskets with delicious and fun memories.
PS:In case you wonder what the picture is about and where you can find these then you might want to check out the folowing website (one of our favorite chocolate spots in Brussels and around Easter his shop is filled up with lovely creations) https://be.marcolini.com/?___from_store=be_fr&___store=be_en
'AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!'
'Give me a break, please give me break!'
'Not now, please not now..'
'For crying out loud....'
'WTF!!!!!' (pardon my French but it is necessary evil at this stage)
.......
Getting the picture? Yeah, Stallie is in an total overdrive momentarily and I have the last weeks being not the most optimistic person to be around with. Not that I am not trying to fight back. For those who know me they do know me well enough that I do not crawl into a corner and cry till someone comes and gets me out of it. I am not like that but it are challenging times and momentarily I am counting my blessings...big time...
I have those days that I do wonder why I am even around on this globe. The 'Moeder, waarom leven we?'-attitude all over my face and not a sparkle of joy to be found in my bones. I feel rather like Kylo Ren running a marathon on the Death Star and ready to get out his light saber! Totaly ignoring the tiny Han Solo figurine I have in my office to remind me of the fact that some rebel attitude and a few good jokes can save the day.
Yesterday I did think that I had turned the tables on Kylo Ren and had given his father the benefit of doubt to run my emotional household once again. But unfortunately, it was rather a mirage! Yes, I have been in the mountains lately and I did manage to bring back primary children in one piece. The mountain air, the snow, the speed, the sun light and the sounds the birds produced on slope 10 in Pila were my vitamin booster. But this time I came less refreshed home. That I did sleep that well as I usually do in Dolce Italy must have been one of the reasons why things from that moment only seemed to go down hill.
I did stare at the picture of that school journey rather feeling numb. That A had been last minute been detained of joining me on that special trip has surely not made it any eassier. Fortunately there was a surprise visit to the sweet Lindt shop included in this one. But still momentarily my mind seems to be over analysing every single detail. The reasons are complex and I am trying to come to terms that I am going to be the grey goose in the room for a while. The world around me seems to have a great time. Including that one specific person in Washington DC who yesterday did feel the need to give Bundeskanzler Angela Merkel a hand shake.
Not that it came to a surprise to me. Still, the fact that she had even dare to ask for one but then got ignored made me stare at the screen with a certain uncomfortable feeling. Yes, I do wonder if this is the new cool. If this is okay? If we just can create our own standards and facts to life by. The press has been publishing many new words that are now daily business. Nope, I am not having an easy time to digest them to give them air time they deserve. Unfortunately many seem to copy&paste this attitude and even create havoc close by.
The list of news that made me turn into Kylo Ren is a long one. In case you wonder why I have been holding back? Well, to be honest the idea that a border control officer will demand my smart phone and will check out my Twitter TL and Facebook posts is not a very promising prospect. We even put our plans to travel to the US this year into the freezer. Yes, I have been holding back of giving comments on what certain individuals have been posting about many national and international issues. In a way I did (and still do) think that Facebook and Twitter are not the ultimate tool to create a good debate. I am rather the person who has got the Dan Draper attitude and will only open up when you buy me a nice drink and sit with me in a dark spot or on a bench in the park.
I don't believe in the instant outburst of emotional language because there is this moment that it comes back to you. And the speed with which those emotions can be slapped into your face can be lehal. Whatever goes around comes around! Many seem to be able to ignore the elephant in the room and I know I tend to be a person who sometimes creates an elephant when there is not a real need to create one. Still momentarily many around are not living up to my expectations. No, don't you worry many of you still do.
The problem is that I daily face the world and not those where I feel most at ease with, where I am able to be 100% myself with and even dare to goof around with. Yes,Stallie can goof around and even can do some daring things but I lately have not been in the mood or found the time to do so. I do feel numb when an other mortal soul decides that highjacking a truck is the best way to get his message across. That these humans find justification in their deeds just makes me furious. Nope, I do not agree with policy makers who think that can get a grib at the situation by sending out so F16 or some war ships who then drop some explosives on airfields that then also land on civilians and even hospitals. No, I do not agree with what some of the elected humans say loud and clear in the press. I just at this stage not know what will 'help' to make it better. But still,.....
Last night my 13 year old son did wonder why so many people need to suffer in countries where now so many children die of starvation. He stared at the television screen and when P&I did try to explain to him that in these nation are war zones he did reply in a very simplistic manner:'Well, then they should stop making war...' Neither P or I were able to add something sensible to the conversation.
Yes, I am a bit tired of the everlasting battles that seem to go on and on. That people like Asad, Putin, Trump, Erdogan and other major and even minor politicians seem to be high jacking many things to justify their cause I am a bit tired of. For months I have not written a blog entry because I even felt guilty if I would describe how happy I can be when I see my son enjoying himself and shows up with a good science test. Or when I enjoy that cup of George Clooney coffee with a great tasting croissant of the local bakery. The intense moment that you read a good book and love each word that the author managed to come up to tell the story he or she wishes to tell. Walking around in Brussels with a friend that you have not seen for a long time and running into a protest march that just leaves you numb but you do know that the person sitting next to you knows why you feel so hurt by such an act.
Simplicity seems very hard to justify. Everything is so complex and I do wonder once in a while when and where I can put my fences down. Yes, there are people out there who I can confide in who I feel comfortable around but it is the outside world that seems to be having a very hard to time to get their act together. Newspapers are rather collections of news that can get the worst out of a human. Okay, fair enough, their mission is to report back to us why someone thinks we need to close down slaughter houses, why we should use less a car, what makes us sick, how many travel back and forth from Syria, what politicans have screwed up once more, there is still a pay gap between men and women, article 59 is now reality, why one victory does not make the difference.... I could go on and on... many of these things have hold me back of writing or taking a stand.
Yes, I am very busy with my job, running a household (that btw still not comes close to ones that I come across in those glossy magazines), beating morning traffic (A knows how my morning mood turns for the worse in a car), planning lessons (and still think that you have not delivered),trying to find the perfect holiday destination (A&I are heading this summer to a place that I had on my bucket list for already quite some time), missing many whose life seems so much excited than mine (the grass is always greener at the other end), waking up in the middle of night and wondering why your body decided that 4 am is the best time for turning into a zombie,....the list is very long....
I am not a happy bunny momentarily if it comes down to current affairs local and globally but today I did decide that I do not need justification to enjoy the very tiny joys that life offers me. Suffering, death and hardship will not leave my mindset but then there was this one little macarons I had with one of my great coworkers in the sunshine while she told me how blessed I am, how cool my life is, how many people do love me and how lucky I am in many ways that was perhaps the best moment of my day, any day. My life is momentarily a bit like a macarons: hard from the outside but from the inside it does taste so good that it will melt on your tongue. The thing is that I will only open my box of tiny delights while sitting in the shadow where I do not need to justify myself why I am enjoying myself and for a split second just life the moment and forget every thing else? Capisce?
For those who celebrate soon Easter enjoy the holiday. For those who don't just one message: chocolate eggs don't need any justification in order to be consumed. Just enjoy, just let go and just treat the egg for what it is... just a chocolate egg... (you see here I go again...) Run run Stallie...fill up that box of macarons! Yes, I still refuse to bite the dust....
So Advent is amongst us…the first Christmas trees are popping up and the first cups of Glühwein are consumed on a Christmas market near you or far away from you. In these heck of the woods Sinterklaas is wandering around in the company of a white horse and his friend who I will not name out her because that will cause outrageous. And across the ocean many already did digest millions of turkeys and survived Black Friday! So the holiday season is at our doorstep
A loves this time of the year and he anticipated lots of things still with the same enthusiasm as when he was a toddler. This year he even wished for rather practical things to be found in his shoe that Sinterklaas is reminded daily to fill up. The magic of Sinterklaas en Santa Claus he still appreciates and I have to be honest that I am very happy that he never hold a grunge against me or anyone else when a few magical bubbles were bursted. He is aware how it works but he still embraces everything.
Yesterday he did point out that he can’t wait to travel to his grandmother for the Christmas festivities and meeting up with his cousins and the rest of the family. He did not mention the presents that will be awaiting for him. It seems the older he gets the more the materialistic advantages are replaced of something that is so much more complex and magical. It is something that is in the air… I bet that most of you know what I am trying to explain to you. And there might be some amongst my readers who do not celebrate Christmas then I do still think what I mean. That one sensation that you experience when there is something in the air that makes evaporate all those other feelings that take up so much of your time.
Myself I had magical Christmas celebrations as a child. My parents went the distance when it came down to trees,decorations, presents and food. There was abundance in so many ways and my dad who sometimes was on call on the Holy Night even then would put on the open fire and bake some sausages and he would faithfully put on that one record that I will for the rest of my life connect with the Christmas spirit. The house did fill up with cinnamon and vanilla. Our cat did hang out around the tree where she did decided one day that the manager was the best spot for her to take a nap. Who was I to blame her?
There are so many happy memories I can link up with the holiday season and I still create my own memories. It only seems a bit harder than it used to be. Lately many (global) issues have made it a bit harder to be positive. In a way it even seems that the holiday season is rather escapism instead of a time of celebration of peace and hope. Two main ingredients of the world I do wish my own son to grow up in and find his way around.
Being over 40 qualifies me to already being aware that gingerbread not always tastes that good as you wish for. The last 3 years I even wonder if I am allowed wandering around on a Christmas market and feeling festive while there is a terror alert that is unlikely to change in the near future. The government even warns us that it not be the best spots to hang out at due to those people that wish to ‘kill’ and spread terror. They have taken hostage that one feeling that I do consider so ultimate important in society and this is the cement and glue in our society and that is TRUST.
I have never felt so empty the last 6 months when it comes down to that sensation. It is still lingering around in the back of my mind and conscience but it is having a very hard time. Nobody seems to grant me a break and even dare to be hopeful anymore. The last few weeks have been rather down to earth when it came down to trying to find the positive and hopeful spirit I so much need to keep my faith going in mankind.
Do now now expect me to start about a certain entrepreneur or about a guy who makes jokes about the Russian borders. Nope, not this time I came across some things that just blew me of my feet and that made me wonder why I still even try. Not going into depth wat exactly happened but ever since my trip to Japan I do wonder sometimes why so many people have got trust issues. Yes, I had to trust some strangers on my trip and I had to let go. You might have noticed that I have not posted a post yet about my trip and that is due to the fact that for once I can not find enough words to describe what happened to me while being over there.
My mother predicted that it would be the best trip ever and that anxiety of having to face a nation whose language I will never understand fully would vanish quite soon. People have asked me what I liked best about it and even that is not a question that I can answer easily. What I experienced on the trip comes very close to the sensation I have during the holidays. That is how deep it travelled into my heart and mind. It touched me in unexpected ways and it made me feel hopeful. Totally zen and only living in the present. Facing only opportunity where one moment before was only obstacles to overcome.
That it did happen in Japan of all places I do consider a blessing. I had hoped I would experience it in that spot but there is no guarantee you will encounter it. Yes, meditation helps and it has saved me in the last few years to find a safe harbor in the very wild ‘mind’-storm. What you get return of going back to your own center and trying to find your balance is sometimes very hard to define.
So what did happen then exactly? I have tried to explain to my mother what happened to me when I walked out of that one temple so many people wish to see when they are in Japan. It is one of those spots in the land of the rising sun that speaks to the imagination of many: Kinkaku-ji . Enlightment and Budha are very much intertwined at this place. It is one of those temples that most guide books rave about and by the time you visit wonder if most travel book authors have been given gift vouchers to comment on in positive wording.
I had decided to keep myself low profile expectation wise. That sweat was running down my spine when I entered the place and my water bottle was already less cool made it a bit less appealing. The line of tourist is endless...so wonder I did wonder if would manage to even get to see the Kinkaku-ji temple visit so many talk about. Well? It did start very promising by the view of that one amazing looking Golden Pavilion. Even tough it is rather overcrowded in many ways my camera managed to capture the building itself in one of those images that I cherish for the rest of my life.
At that stage of that visit I was content and did I made a stop at one of these typical kiosks where they sell prayer cards in little wallets made of fabric. Yes, I had my doubts about spending precious yens in such places. In the land of Hello Kitty I rather felt tempted to spend money on a cat than a card with calligraphy that I was not even able to read once I got home. But hey, the big number of local tourists who lined up at this one did convince me that such a card might come in an handy on a rainy day. So I left the place with a few Yen less and a nice looking prayer card that I can not read. While heading for the exit I was already trying to find out how to get to the closest buss stop and then it happened…
I did walk into a magnetic field of positivism and I can only describe it as a mind blowing experience. Not a single word was exchanged at that moment. It happened unexpectedly and blew me almost of my feet. It filled up with warmth but also gave me goosebumps. It still haunts me on those days that I do wonder if it is still worth to keep trying and if I can trust strangers or even the people close to me. I was empty but at the same time so full of energy. My knees were about to give away and at the same time I was so much alive that fireworks went of.
Yes, I know it must sound like a lot of hocus-pocus. Nope, I don’t expect you to believe me. You were not there with me when it happened. I was all by myself and I was not able to share the moment with anyone else. In a way it filled me up with sadness that I was traveling all by myself. It has been my most intense travel experience ever mental wise. It is a very unique moment that I will never able to copy. All I can state that I was fully aware that all my senses were optimal at work in that state of mind.
Yes, I did try to stay as long as possible in that moment but you know what? That is exactly the mos challenging about it because it was due to an other human being that I experienced it in the first place. We were with two when it happened…. someone else seemed to have passed on this force field. It was in the most simple ways ever… and I still do not get my head around it… Getting the picture? It did not happen when I did look up to one of the biggest statues or washed my hands in once of the numerous water sources to cleanse my soul. Nope nothing of that sort.
I knew at that moment that I would snap out of it when the person would have lost eye contact with me and walked away… It did fill up me up with sadness and I wanted to scream out that I wished to stay one second longer in this paradise of serenity… but sadly it does not work that way. The status of zen expects practice and patience. So I had to let go… the only thing that I can now state is that from that moment on my trip even became more adventurous.
In Japan I suddenly was forced to do let go and keep calm when I was about loose it all together. I had no choice and I had to trust many times that I would get there. Yes, at a certain point I even had to trust total strangers. In Japan ethics are different than in many Western nations. Nothing is what it seems and you sometimes are forced to slow down and keep zen to get to the bottom of certain things. My friends and locals warned me that going back to where I came from would be harder than any trip I had to come back from.
Yes, they were and are so right. I now get even more annoyed but certain things that in Japan not seem to be an issue or are questioned. Not that this nation is perfect it does faces also big challenges and it is also fully aware that in the 21st century lots of things they take for granted are under attack. It are tiny things that make such a big difference. The nicest memories I have from my trip are not related to very exciting or adventurous things. More than once I found something in simplicity that I might have forgotten about while trying to stay ahead of the game at work and home.
Japan has caused a mind shift and I now face daily that the western world in which I try to function seems to have lost some of it’s moral compass. Last weekend even somebody told me that ethics is not essential anymore. Not kidding! While sipping from pink bubbles I was told by a very educated forty something that many values and principles do not stand a chance anymore. Now I am not 100% sure he was pulling my leg. Stallie does take everybody serious who she talks to and this person did not give me the impression that he/she was pulling my leg. Nope, it was like one of us had too much alcohol into our system either. The sensation that then filled up my body I can only describe as fear and anxiety. Shivers went to down my spine and I went very silent.
Hey, Stallie is fully aware that she might not sound as upbeat out here as I used to. Not that I do not try to find the silver lining in many issues and challenges. Many people now scream that they are fed up and wish to be taken serious. That they feel forgotten and left out. Like mentioned in my previous post I UNDERSTAND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU BUT…. and here comes now what I wish to get out of the open. Do you ever feel tired when you keep trying to understand everyone and wonder if you are even taken serious… Now do not start me that society does not work like that. Duh? Excuse me? Societies are made up by people. Diversity and multi culturalism have changed many nations and I still rather wish to consider this is a blessing rather than a curse.
Let me try to say in poetry what I mean and experience mentally:
You told me that it was useless
That the sun would only shine behind the dark clouds
That there is only destruction and rage to be found in ashes
That hope is an empty promise
That borders will consist of walls that go up high into the grey sky
That what your faith is is not mine and will divide us even more
That what I call a promise turns out to be lie or a disappointment
That love is hollow and will never last
That prejudice and pride have taken over from compassion and sincerity
That happiness is only a box filled up with chocolates
That safety needs guns, knives and soldiers in order to be guaranteed
That the minority needs to scream and shout to be heard by the majority
That to expect kindness and gratitude in return is naive
That trust is non existing and only exists when black on white
That running behind paper that blows in the wind is useless
That a smile is never what seems at first sight
That ethics are over due and old school
That facts are sometimes fairy tales
That religion justifies destructions and death
……
I have been told many things by others but still….
Light
Hope
Faith
Patience
Love
Bravery
Empathy
Compassion
Passion
are my powers that I wish to use wisely
you were not there with me at Kinkaku-ji
but I was and someone else was with me
a total stranger, a human being, a kind person
who showed me the way to that one place that
I will never wish to leave….
The imprint it left on my heart will never be erased by any fierce storm.
Kinkaku-ji and I are now ‘lovers’
Every single cold rain shower and waterfall will remind me of this...
...Promise!
In case I won’t find that much time over the next few weeks… have a great Holiday Season. I love you all and I believe in all of you.
Thank you Japan and all the people I met on this trip for reminding me that it does take so much more to keep the faith but that it does start with a verys simple gesture and act: a smile!
C and J a big hug especially to you!!! Believe me you made this a trip of a life time. Even tempted to state the best one ever… I will never return home from it…
So the wake up call of Stallie on Wednesday morning was P with the words:’Het is Trump.’ My response was :’I know… I have always known…’ Since Brexit I know in what moral disorientated world we seem to be living and that nothing is what it seems at frist sight. I then got up, brushed my teeth and got dressed. I did look into mirror and kept telling myself very bravely:’You can do this, Stallie! It is going to be okay! The children are going to help you through the day and in the next four to eight years!’ (nope, I don’t think that Trump will be gone after 4 years! The Trumps are putting a dynasty in place! Not that there are any facts to be found on the internet or in a high quality (what ever this means!) newspaper to support my prediction! My son his priceless comment, while I was throwing our work and school bags into the car, was very promising:’Damn, I would have preferred George Clooney.’ P did respond to this rather playful comment to that by saying:’Oh, that might have worked…’ Yes, let us try to convince George Clooney to run for office in the 2020 race. That one race that now for once seems year lights away.
By the time my colleague U arrived ,I was still smiling and telling myself over and over that everything was going to be okay…in the end. That today the earth was still turning and that I still had a job and that my family is in good health,…. I then did sip of my George Clooney coffee, took deep breaths and tried to focus on what is my daily responsibility:’Educating and inspiring young minds.’ I charged up my batteries with many positive thoughts and then dove into my daily routine.
At the beginning it seemed to go smoothly. The day passed by like nothing much has changed and most children smiled and laughed on the play ground. I did secretly think:’I am going to get through this day differently than when Brexit polls were spit out to the world! Seems I have found an emotional harnas that will protect me in the long long long 4 years to come and beyond. Well done, Stallie!’ I then took a deep breath and peeled a juicy tangerine in a rather calm mind setting.
Well, you all know what sometimes happens if you think you have covered all bases. Yip, and that is what exactly happened on that day. I am not going to describe what exactly went on in my class room but the result of what happened was a teacher who felt like a fail. That is the only word I can come up with to describe what I did feel by the time that I got home. Talking to my lovely and rather down to earth mother did not help either. ‘Have you seen Hillary her speech? I have to say a good one and I guess she is having a hard time…’ It all did not help and for a while not much will help.
We have now tons of people that are telling us that they had seen it coming. Deep down I also did (read my previous post) and I do think that over the last 20 years many people feel like they are left out. No, not all people who have voted Trump into the White House are racists and will grab a woman by the pussy, believe that aliens have constructed the pyramids and that women can not have control over their own bodies and mind, that climate change is a hoax, that Obamacare sucks (sorry not apologizing for the language I am using), want to get out of NATO, have a gun in the house and will shoot randomly people with it,….. You are getting my point here, I do hope if not that then you do have got a real issue.
As a teacher you are constantly confronted with fear and anger. Yeah, it is not all peace and honey in the classroom and children do reflect about world issues. Children are not the whole time happy bunnies and not constantly jump around high on a sugar rush. We all know that you can not keep reality away from them. All young minds have aspirations, hopes and dreams. Over the last 20 years I have seen many dreams come true and some of the most doubtful ‘cases’ have amazed me in very surprising ways. Benefit of the doubt has been my closest ally in my classroom and on the play ground and beyond.
That I on Wednesday could not sugar coat or deny what they said was my real wake up call. Fact checking was not even necessary. In a way that was very scary and made me fill up with horror. It is that creepy feeling that now lingers around in the back of my mind. It is a sensation that I hate to let come up to surface due to the fact it will paralyze me. Why?
I am now almost 20 years in the teaching profession and many students have passed by. It are those students who have given me hope and nope no fake hope. Young minds were able to open up for perspective and debate. In my classroom deep going debates have been taking place. Very fierce debates and yes, children will run into your classroom being totally pumped up or wondering why things can not go their way if they work hard, do what is expected of them, why nobody asks that one question they wish to answer openly and hope that they won’t be judged for that one specific opinion.
Many time I wish that others would be able to hear what is going on in my classroom. That I am the one to witness and moderate those extra ordinary moments is a privilege but also make me aware of the responsibility I have to carry around on my shoulders. That I on Wednesday was not able to contradict anything my students said about what was happening in the US was in a way perhaps even positive. Still it did in way cut very deep into my heart! It is what it is…and we are going to have to deal with it.
The last few days I have been reading as much as I can and I have to say there is for the moment no silver lining to be noticed. No doubt that many Americans did wake up feeling like the finally got the news out that they are not happy citizens anymore and that they want change…. big change and that they do not wish to be called ‘stupid, ignorant, racist, biased, uneducated, extremist,…’ if nobody seems to have cared for them.
Now I am not going to defend what Donald Trump has all been saying openly and is saying and is predicted to say and what he has been Tweeting. His political transition team is being put in place and he is ‘hiring’ the people he wishes to be close when calling the shots. Some of these individuals are not your ordinary politician from just around the block. The names that are now going to make the news and policies are people coming along with a different kind of luggage and back ground story. After all Trump promised he would clean out DC… well that is what he seems to be doing. Not that it all seems to go smoothly according to some sources but Donald then grabs for his phone and tweets out to the world that all is going well and that he is the only one who knows the finalists. Does it remind you of an episode of ‘The Apprentice’? What did you expect? He is very good at being a builder and businessman. So nothing new under the sun.
The thing is that we are facing now is rather scary and gloomy. Or at least for those who are not at the end of the Trump perspective. People are now waving their hands and pointing fingers at each other. Behind the scenes many are making phone calls to Trump Tower and want to take ride in the golden elevator of the very president elect. Many powerful people are already taking back their words they once said about the man who was given many names and mocked. It seems that many Americans seem to vote rather the underdog into the most powerful office in the world.
Most importantly is that Hillary won the popular vote but that does now not count….in a way it does count but not to get into the White House. Democracy comes in different shades and momentarily it is rather a dark one. But then there are people on the Trump his team who have already made some very deep going comments about democracy and the people that make up that democracy. I am trying to get my head around how ‘pragmatic’ the future POTUS is and you know what? I fail to do so…I even dove into the dictionary to find the meaning of that rather serious sounding word. There are many online dictionaries but the one that gave me the simplest explanation was Merriam-Webster:’dealing with the problems that exist in a specific situation in a reasonable and logical way instead of depending on ideas and theories.’
Okay, now that does not sound like a person who is going to unleash the third world war and I do like logic thinkers. Still, at the present it does just not matches up with what I have seen and read (I read a lot, a great deal and I even have done my fact&source checking and not just randomly clicked on head lines) about Trump (but then I do not live in the Trump-world) is ‘reasonable’. Now me being the European (my continent seems also not that reasonable anymore when it comes down to coming up with good ideas that work for each of us. Many even want jump of the wagon now that they found out that it is so much more hard work and that changing a system from within is not easy peasy) am fully aware that it not that fair to just point the finger at all these people who voted or not voted. Also remember that other specific exit story we are still trying to digest and it causes heartburn in the political system that seems now to be rather worn out. Still, using the word ‘pragmatic’ in the same sentence as the word Trump causes in my case a mental meltdown. But then I might be on the ‘wrong’ side of the spectrum.
If you vote for change people then do have expectations and believe me that I do not think that the outcome of these changes always live up to our dreams and wishes. I have voted too many times in a surrealistic country of which the capital has been described by Trump as being a ‘hellhole’. (Very ‘pragmatic’ use of vocabulary! to be in total denial when it comes down to this. There are people on the Trump transition team who have very outspoken opinion about so many ethical issues. Issues that matter a great deal and have already created global turmoil. The signals that Trump&co are sending out are not very promising when it comes down to environment, immigration, women in general and in the work force, health. The Dream Team that Trump is putting together is a mental tour de force.
Yes, internal when reading many headlines and articles about American and global politics I do scream out frequently:’THAT IS NOT FAIR!’’ and then have to face a total meltdown. My parents have taught me that this is part of growing up and that the world is not a ‘fair’ spot. Tough lesson and being a teacher I am almost daily confronted with young minds who figure it out by themselves. My parents seem to have been trying to get across many times that when something was not going our way. 'What did you expect?', is more then a tag-line in my family. It is very deep going question and I always have been given the opportunity to then admit my faults and learn from my mistakes and prejudice. Pick up the pieces and move on. Life is out there and it won't offer you many chances to get it right. Better hurry up then! Seems that many now think that Trump will pick up the pieces that others have left behind and bring better times.
There other words that I link up with Trump but at this stage I don’t think it is worth to give them any air time. For now I am going to have to let go and sometimes even take a break from social media when I feel like there is no light at the end of the very long dark tunnel…. There is a certain soft drink awaiting me in a chilled status and it kind of screams out ‘what did you expect?’. After all when life gives you lemons, make lemonade! Still I might need some time to try out some recipes before I found the one that will enable to overcome the Trump era. I promise that I will keep you posted and that I hope to share in the near future my successful recipe. Please share yours with me if you come across. None of the above options is what I am after! Cheers!
PS: To make sure we do end this entry on a lighter note then we started out with. Yesterday did P receive a phone call and did someone tell him.’I am American and I wish to tell you that Trump is a good man.’ P did respond by saying:’Hmm, I am not sure what you wish me to respond but how I can I be of any service to you.’ The response was rather mind boggling:’No, I just wanted to say that.’ The phone then went dead! Guess this person wished to use her/his constitutional right and that is freedom of speech. Such a precious one!
* I choose for Sting to go along with this one. Sting was the one who this last week made the Bataclan stage at Paris coming back to life. He is there with me when it is very tough... when there is not a lot of light but you just refuse to give up...
