A Day In The Life

People, Places, Nature, LIFE!

01/18/2016
DailyMusings

28 comments

I Have A Dream

Today  in the United States we recognize the life of Martin Luther King Jr. and his major contributions to the Civil Rights movement. Last week in my first grade class we spent a good deal of time learning about Martin Luther King Jr. We read a few books about him, we watched a youtube video that talked about his life and also contained real footage from Dr. King’s speeches and marches. We did a writing project using words to describe Dr. King’s character and traits. We talked about emulating what he taught about equality and freedom. How he preached freedom by use of non violent means.

As we started telling the students about the changes in freedom and equality that Dr. King made, I was struck by the questions the students asked. They were dumbfounded that Blacks and Whites were not treated equally. They could not even fathom the concept. They could not understand how there could be separate water fountains, bathrooms, they asked “but how did people know which to use??” and then became more mystified when we told them they had been marked “Colored” (the term used then for Blacks) only, or Whites only”

I was very young in the 1960’s and only really learned about Dr. King after the riots and speeches and marches had taken place. I grew up in the first town in the United States to voluntarily integrate its schools, so was made aware of the changes Dr. King had brought first hand. For six year olds today though, the concept of segregation is unfathomable. It was during these discussions in the classroom that I realized how far we really have come. They don’t see color, and can’t even believe that people could be treated differently because of it.

To bring the point home we did an experiment in class. One brown egg and one white egg. We cracked them open to reveal that both yolks were exactly the same, despite their different color on the outside. Just like people- we may look different on the outside, but we are all the same on the inside.

We talked about the dream Dr. King had, the words he shared about that dream, which are important to remember when we struggle through times of racial tension throughout the country.

Our students wrote about their dreams, here are some of them

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01/15/2016
DailyMusings

25 comments

Cee’s Black & White Challenge: Lights

My husband and I made a short overnight stay in beautiful Ocean Grove NJ last month. It is a small town on the New Jersey shore with many beautiful Victorian period homes. Many homes were lit up at night with lights, some out on the front porches of the homes. A beautiful sight.118

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1873 is not the address of this home but rather the date it was built123

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01/11/2016
DailyMusings

14 comments

Sky Surprises: Rainbows and Clouds

Yesterday we had pouring rain showers most of the day. Every now and then the sun would break through, but then the rain would come again, and the sky would turn gray. My husband and I had an hours drive to a wedding, and just as we left the house the skies opened once again with a torrential downpour. As we ran to the car we noticed an amazing rainbow arching across the sky. The rain was too heavy to stop for a photo, but once we were on the highway and the rain had let up, I rolled down the window and attempted to capture it. It was not as close as it had been from the vantage point of our driveway, but I could still see it.rainbow1

here it is close uprainbow2

It arched way up into the sky, unfortunately obscured by the clouds in these photos. Which brings me to the clouds we saw as we drove along the Parkway. They were like mountains in the sky. They filled the entire skyline ahead of us.20160110_162044

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The sun began to set as we continued our drive, and I captured more wonderful clouds from the vantage point of  a bridge overlooking a river. I have not altered any of the photos – the colors are what I actually saw.

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01/08/2016
DailyMusings

10 comments

Cee’s Black & White Challenge: Buildings

Buildings abound in New York City. When stepping out of The Port Authority Bus Terminal the facade of The New York Times Building greets you from across the street, it’s grid work unlike anything found on other buildings.004 (2)

Head South and what once was the tallest building in the world, The Empire State building’s spire stands outempirestatebw

The view from a friend’s 21st floor apartment gives perspective on just how many buildings there are in NYC20141222_123750

And there is nothing like seeing NYC from the New Jersey side, so many buildings!

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01/08/2016
DailyMusings

20 comments

Beginning & End Of Day

I pulled into the parking lot at work yesterday, the temperature a mere 21 degrees, and was met by the sound of birds gathering in an apple tree, munching on those that were left. It was early and the sky still not fully light, the tree standing out in silhouette. birdstreeynj

My day turned out to be less than perfect let’s say, and I drove home noticing the sun had not quite yet set, even though it was after 5 pm. Daylight is lingering longer once again. Instead of going straight home I stopped by my favorite pond, to find it glazed over with a thin sheet of ice. It was cold out, but I relished the sting on my face as I caught the last glimpse of the glow of the setting sun reflecting off the pond. Nature greeted me at the start of my day, and helped refresh me at its close.sunsetwinter

01/03/2016
DailyMusings

15 comments

Daily Prompt: Fads & Fashionistas-NOT

The Daily Prompt says: 

Ah, sweet youth. No matter whether you grew up sporting a fedora, penny loafers, poodle skirts, bell-bottoms, leg-warmers, skinny jeans, Madonna-inspired net shirts and rosaries, goth garb, a spikey mohawk, or even a wave that would put the Bieber to shame, you made a fashion statement, unique to you. Describe your favorite fashions from days of yore or current trends you think are stylin’.

Growing up I followed the crowd and wore what was “in”- bell bottoms, hukapoo shirts, shirts made of 100% polyester with animals all over them in different colors

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and a middle part in my hair like everyone else. Venturing out to find my own style was not something I was comfortable doing.

Once in my twenties and working, my wardrobe consisted of classic styles, plaid and solid skirts, blouses, pretty boring, but wearable for a few years as the style was always in.

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The older I got, I seemed to be drawn to classic clothes and lace. Lace seems never to go out of style and the last few years has been all the rage. Fashionista? No. Comfortable in what I am wearing? Yes. Not really trying to make a statement, just being who I am.

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01/01/2016
DailyMusings

17 comments

Daily Prompt: Welcome 2016

Daily Prompt: Stroke of Midnight: Where were you last night at midnight? Would you have wanted to be somewhere else?

I have not been awake at midnight on New Year’s Eve in over 10 years I would guess. Usually my husband and I watch a movie and are asleep by 11:00 or earlier. This year we joined some friends whose invitation read: “Join us from 6:30-9:30 – you can be home in your jammies by 10:00.” My kind of people. And so we did, and so we were.

New Year’s Day my BFF usually has an open house during the afternoon which we attend, and today was no exception. We have been sharing New Year’s Eves since we were teenagers when we did stay up until well after midnight, and as of late New Year’s Day. Nothing better than that, no place I’d rather be.

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12/28/2015
DailyMusings

15 comments

Keep on Keeping On

Daily Prompt: What are your thoughts on aging? How will you stay young at heart as you get older?

I think I stopped thinking there was a connection between my actual chronological age and how old I really felt when I was in my late 30′s. I still felt like I was in my 20′s, and didn’t really see what that number had to do with anything. Yes I enjoyed the benefit of my car insurance rates dropping when I hit 30, but beyond that it pretty much meant nothing. I was still hanging out with a lot of the friends I had grown up with, who I also still perceived to be in their 20′s. We all were keeping up (or trying to) with the changes in the world, technology, music, we vowed there would not be a “generation gap” between us and our kids (or in my case nieces and nephews) Then came 50 and I had a hard time believing the number….50 was as old as my parents- how could I possibly be 50??? I think it was at that point that I really started ignoring the number. Everyone was saying that 50 was the new 30 anyway. I went to the gym everyday, stayed out of the sun, had continued to try to keep up with technology and music, and still didn’t feel any different than I had 30 years ago.

When I started working in a school, assisting in a classroom of first graders it was disconcerting to realize I was as old as some of the students’ grandparents. The head teacher is 42. In my head I am the same age as she is. That was until she told me recently that she wants to “aspire” to be like me. That in 16 years (thanks very much) she wants to still be fit, to have a young attitude, to be present in the current world of what is going on, to have a positive outlook and take things on with relish. What a compliment, what a beautiful thing to say- but what a mind blower at the same time. The words “in 16 years” were still ringing in my head. I see myself as a peer, a contemporary, maybe even the same age, but the reality is I am 16 years older, and as much as she sees me as young, there is a part of her that still sees me as 58. It may just be a number in my head, but it is still a real number.

I have learned to ignore the number. Despite the actual year of my birth, despite the medicine I take for osteoporosis, despite the wrinkles that have formed around my eyes, it really is a “state of mind.” If I think 30, I can be 30. The age spots continue to sprout on my hands, the same ones I remember seeing on my grandmother’s hands when I was a child. Sure the spots and wrinkles may give away my age, their emergence signifies I may be “of a certain age”- but does it matter? No. Staying young at heart is what counts to me. Keeping my “spirit” young.. and to just keep on keeping on.

lisafinish

12/27/2015
DailyMusings

7 comments

Bench Series

For the month of December Jude says: choose any bench you like. This is the last in the series- it has been such fun!

I say goodbye with these benches shrouded in early morning fog along the boardwalk in Ocean Grove, NJfoggybenches

12/25/2015
DailyMusings

24 comments

It’s All Good-Words to Live By

It seems I am always writing about death and grief, but what better place than my blog to “get it out of my system”- so I hope you will bear with me. I lost a friend last night, unexpectedly and out of the blue. She was not old, only 67. We became friendly about 2 years ago, but more recently had become closer, seeing each other once a week for coffee, and keeping in touch throughout the week in between our visits. Wednesday night she sent me a text telling me she had a great story to share with me this coming Saturday over coffee- I should remind her to tell me. She died Thursday night.

Her name was Tova- which in Hebrew means “good” and that is truly what she was. A more positive person I have never known. She was thankful everyday for the good in her life, though her life had not been easy many times over the years. Cancer when she was in her 40s, Osteoporosis that left her with spontaneous breaks here and there, a benign brain tumor 2 years ago, and this past October she suffered a fall that left  her with three broken vertebrae in her neck, a broken elbow and pelvis. Her motto in life was simply to focus on the positive in a bad situation and move forward. “Thank God it wasn’t worse” she would tell me as she walked me to the elevator in the rehab with her cane and healing hip and the screws in her neck. And she meant it. The words were not just some mantra she was trying to convince herself of, she really meant it. She was grateful she could walk. She pushed herself onward, back to the life she loved, the husband she had met and married at age 50- her first marriage.

There is an expression in Hebrew “Simchas ha Chaim” which means Joy of Life, and that is what Tova personified. She taught in the school where I work, and to see her smile in the hall coming towards you was always a gift. She spread her good nature, and if you were smart you grabbed it up and followed her lead, and looked at the bright side of things.

Of course she had her dark moments, her accident in October was frustrating for her as she had intended to begin working on a steady basis this year and this was a set back. No driving for months, spending 6 weeks in rehab, but she would not dwell on it, she would acknowledge that it was unfortunate, but she could not change what happened, and so instead would focus and do her best to work hard to recover.

She was to come back to work next Monday, and had come into school to see the Principal on Wednesday of this week- on her own- she had not been asked to come in. She popped in to say hello and tell him how much she was looking forward to returning. Thursday evening he received a call from her husband she had had a heart attack and most likely would not recover. She did not.

The school sent out an email this morning, which most of us read after we were already in school, which you can imagine made it a hard morning. One of the teachers who also knew Tova well said she felt sorry for the people who did not really know her, those who had never experienced her warmth and cheer and positive attitude. It was a gift to know her, to interact with her, and to be her friend.

She will be remembered by everyone for her good nature, her kind words, her ever present smile, her cup always not half full, but full.

Her voice still in my head telling me “it’s all good”- we’re here aren’t we?” Yes, we are Tova, but it will not be the same here without you.

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12/23/2015
DailyMusings

13 comments

One Word Photo Challenge: Attic

The attic in the house I grew up in was up a long and narrow staircase, the eaves of the house making it hard to stand up straight, and the only light from a single bulb hanging from the ceiling. It held some old chairs that had been left by the previous owner, and some boxes of photographs that I would sneak up to go through. Faces I didn’t know, that later I would learn were my great grandparents, and other relatives, my grandparents young and unrecognizable to me, my own parents too. Me as a child with a great aunt I had always loved to visit as she was a tap dance teacher and would always try to teach me how. My mother’s wedding gown was in a long brown box and folded and wrapped in tissue. What became of it I don’t know. I found a box filled with papers my mother had saved from her high school days, where I came to learn she had been the Valedictorian and wrote poetry. The secrets the attic held of past lives.

My Grandmother’s parents
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My great Aunt, my Grandmother’s sister

One Word Photo Challenge

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12/22/2015
DailyMusings

15 comments

End of Day

School let out early today, which allowed me almost an hour of daylight I don’t normally get in the afternoon! Even though it is December, the temperature was 61 and it was raining- thankfully way too warm for snow to make an appearance. Undeterred by the light drizzle I headed straight to my favorite pond for a quick walk and to breath in the fresh air. 005 The trees all bare now, were pretty against the very gray sky, close to sunset.025I heard a flock of geese overhead and lifted my camera to the sky, not having time to focus, but caught them in flight006The bushes along the trail brown and straw like003Raindrops glistening like lights on the branches and berries018and making patterns on the water010Though no sun to be seen setting, the light began to change and I headed home, happy to have caught the light before night set in.023

12/21/2015
DailyMusings

14 comments

Laughter Growing Old

I had dinner with my BFF the other night, and we were talking once again, about how disconcerting it is to think about how our chronological age does not match our mental age. Mental age being how old we think we are, which we both still think is about 25. Having known each other since we were 12 years old, we are able to allow this myth of age to continue. We’re still listening to Eric Clapton, Mountain, Deep Purple and Bruce Springsteen and singing at the top of our lungs in the car when we’re alone. We’re still active and out there, albeit we’d rather be in pajamas at 7pm watching TV on the sofa then partying it up, but we can still rise to the occasion when necessary.

She said one of the things she thinks has changed with age is the amount of laughter we experience. I stopped and thought for a moment and realized she was right. Not laughing as in having a chuckle over something or finding something funny that you laugh out loud from, but really laughing, as in you can’t catch your breath hysterical, your eyes watering, and every time you attempt to pull it together you start all over. She and I have shared many of those types of laughs over the years, but I would agree that the uncontrollable laughter of youth seems to have dissipated, only happening infrequently. Is it that there is less to laugh about as we grow older? Or that everything when one is young seems funny or we are better able to find humor in any given situation? Is life less funny because we have lived through more and experienced the seriousness of life which changes our perspective? Every now and then we revert to the 15 year olds we once were, finding humor in something so nonsensical it sends us into spasms of laughter, the kind that you can only share with someone who understands everything without having to say a word, who you never have to hide anything from, who shares your soul.

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An attempt to get down from  a wall I chose to pose on in Quebec in 1986 led to quite an outburst of laughing

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going on a ride at one of those traveling summer carnivals another great moment in laughter history 1984

Our Polaroid camera selfie, turning the camera around we thought was a genius move, and hysterically  funny… who knew we were trendsetters back in 1983?laughs

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