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Nathan has added a few new things to his blog, check it out: www.natesnarlynews.blogspot.com

Thanks! (P.S. he loves comments)

1st day of school, yay!

First, let me back up to the open house at Mychael's school last night...I am so totally amazed at what a perfect fit this school seems to be for Mychael, there's a tremendous amount of room for being the person you uniquely are, I just love the diversity. We'll see how it holds up academically, their test scores have certainly been high recently (95% this past year), and yet what a relaxed atmosphere! The teachers ask that the students call them by their first name, which may be a bit hard to get used to. I told the science teacher (a kid, a kid, I tell ya!!) that Mychael would probably call him Mr. So-and-So, and he actually confessed that he was more used to that but that the school encouraged this first name basis stuff. I see what they're trying to cultivate, though, sort of a learning partnership with the students. You feel much more like you're at some hip hippie art studio/coffee house than a public school, it's just the neatest place. Then there was the pre-algebra teacher, who when I asked him what the kids needed in terms of supplies pointed over to the white board where he had written "Pre-algebra," and under that was "Welcome." "Pretty much, just that, right now," is what he said. Welcome, oh my. But, apparently, once Mychael actually got him going in class today by suggesting he demonstrate a pre-algebra problem on the board (Mychael said he was sort of stressed and struggling at that point...maybe jet lag from coming here from San Francisco?) that he's really bright and explained things very well. So funny. Oh, and the girls, I think they're noticing Mychael. I need to hurry up and get my black belt so I can show up at school wearing it, sort of like my dad greeting my first date in high school wearing his full karate gi! He really thinks he's going to enjoy it, though. In their environmental science class they're going to have an organic garden out on the terrace, and sell the produce for money for the school. Also, they will do kayaking and hiking instead of the usual PE and sports. Sweet. Well, that's enough about Mychael, and I didn't take a first day of school picture of him because that would be way uncool of me, and him. But I took photos of my at-home students, with my fifth grade class being comprised of Nathan, my second grade class being comprised of Zach, and my kindergarten/first grade class being comprised of Jordan. They're a good looking bunch, I'm looking forward to a great year with them. So far so good.

meditation

I have been reading Eat, Pray, Love for the past few weeks, and it just really resonates with me. It's interesting, but I've also been simultaneously been reading a book about meditation and exploring the practice for myself. This part I read right before I went to bed was so beautiful and powerful, I had to choke back tears. I think it is so awesome and edifying to read someone else's description of their experiences with God, and thinking, "Yep, that's the same God I've experienced." She (the author, Elizabeth Gilbert) has been at an Ashram in India to work on her meditation, and is struggling in her mind with self-condemning thoughts. She describes feeling "frustrated and judgmental about myself, lonely and angry." Her mind was protesting that she's a failure, a loser, and will never amount to anything when "suddenly, it was like a lion was roaring from within my chest, drowning all this claptrap out. A voice bellowed in me like nothing I had ever heard before. It was so internally, eternally loud that I actually clamped my hand over my mouth because I was afraid that if I opened my mouth and let this sound out, it would shake the foundations of buildings as far away as Detroit. And this is what it roared:

'YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW STRONG MY LOVE IS!!!!!!!!!!'

The chattering, negative thoughts in my mind scattered in the wind of this statement like birds and jackrabbits and antelopes--they hightailed it out of there, terrified. Silence followed. An intense, vibrating, awed silence. The lion in the giant savannah of my heart surveyed his newly quiet kingdom with satisfaction. He licked his great chops once, closed his yellow eyes and went back to sleep.

And then, in that regal silence, finally--I began to meditate on (and with) God." (Taken from chapter 50.)

cup feet tall

Jordan Marie finally lost her first tooth! It was such a big deal to her, a real milestone in her little mind, it was so cute. Yesterday (before it fell out, or was pulled out, I should say), I stopped by the bank to get a gold dollar on our way to Costco, which was a good thing since I ended up pulling it out before we got back home! She must have felt that she had grown taller with this whole lost tooth business, because in the bathtub last night she was standing up holding a cup on top of her head (I guess as a measuring guide?) asking me how tall she was. I told her she was "cup feet tall," sending her into one of her contagious fits of laughter...and, of course, we had to repeat the conversation about ten more times. Oh my gosh, and she was just precious last night asking me questions about tooth-under-the-pillow protocol ("Do I leave it in the bag or take it out and put it under my pillow?"), because she didn't want to mess up her first visit from the Tooth Mommy. She came into my room during the wee hours of the morning to show off her gold dollar, then climbed into bed with me and fell back asleep still clutching it in her hand. ~Sigh.~ I just love it.

face paint

The Durham Bulls game was rained out Thursday night when we went for an Arysta sponsored night at the ballpark. It was more like we were in the center of a hurricane, actually, with a spectacular lightning display and torrential rain. We didn't exactly feel safe up on the party deck, but with the right kind of music and plenty of food, beer, and wine, we somehow survived! There was an unbelievably talented face painter that had been hired, and she did an incredible job with the kids' faces (I got a tattoo that says "Jon" over a heart!), so it wasn't a complete wash. Still, Nathan was royally ticked off that he didn't get to see the game, poor guy. I thought Jordan's makeup really brought out her eyes...

Fishing Fun

The kids participated in a 4-H class called Fishing Fun out at a park near us. They had fun, despite not catching anything. Lots of nibbles, though, as the catfish ate the worms right off the hook time after time, after time...

Jordan and Neo

Jordan holding a sleepy Neo...and I am pleased to say that our older cat has finally accepted this little guy, I think she found him as hard to resist as we do. It was interesting watching the whole feline communication thing, too, and how Neo would submit by rolling onto his back and exposing his belly when she would approach him. This morning they were frolicking in the front yard under the dogwoods swatting at each other and rolling around playfully, so much fun to watch! Gee, and it only took a month :-/

Camp Budo 2010

Mychael, Zach, and I attended our second Camp Budo this past weekend. The instructor lineup is sort of a Who's Who in the martial arts world, with some 9th and 10th degree black belts. One of the instructors, whom Mychael really took to, is in his mid 70's and can take his foot and (from a seated position) put it behind his head! I saw an octogenarian effortlessly flip a 300 pound man onto his back, barely breaking his own posture. I told someone I simultaneously find camp encouraging and discouraging- discouraging because I see how far I have to go and what an amateur I am; encouraging because I see the benefits of staying with it for life. Mychael and I both enjoy the "concepts" aspect of martial arts, and really, the spiritual side, as well. We were very much challenged as we learned various Judo and Jujitsu maneuvers (basically, takedowns and holds, including a lot of wrist locks), which doesn't come easily to either of us. Zach, on the other hand, can watch a move done once and then duplicate it without a problem. I have to wonder if it has something to do with his left-handedness, if he has some advantage over us righties! I'll hopefully have some pictures of Zach to post when I get my memory card back from our Sensei, he didn't attend the Saturday afternoon session when most of the pictures were taken. Anyway, thought I'd share a few pictures...oh, and Mychael won the Spirit Award out of all of the students (maybe 50 or so people) since he showed so much interest and asked good questions. So proud of him!