Nature heals, nature cures. It connects you to your inner world, it connects you to universe. From your eyes to your heart. From your breath to every single cell in your body. From your ears to your childhood memories.

Feb 2016

I saw this beautiful yellow butterfly on the ground after I dropped Denise to school this morning. She had surrendered to the cold weather when I picked her up and put her inside my car hoping for a miracle. I left her there and a few hours later to my surprise, she wasn’t where I had left her. I was worried and excited, looked every where, I was about to lose my hope that I found her close to the back door. I opened the trunk, she was not moving, I touched her to see her reaction, she flew away out of the car to a nearby flower. I screamed yes she is alive.

Dec 2015

I heard a soft knock on the window. Looked outside, yes, there is an opera outside my window inviting me to join the audience. I rushed to my closet and picked a nice dress. I see myself sitting at the edge of my seat, holding a binocular and anxiously waiting for the curtain to go up and the show starts. A show that it’s put together by a million drops of rain. Not much needed to drown myself in their story.
Every single drop had a story to tell, every drop had gone through a journey from the moment that was lifted up to the sky to the moment that fell back on the ground.
I had a lot of questions in my head;
Did it know where it is coming from? Ocean, river, or a sea?
Did it know where it is going to? A forest, a desert, or a city?
Did it know why it is going? To nurture, to please, or to hurt?
Did it know what it will be? Fog, snow, rain, or hale?
Did it know how its story will go? Will it drop on a flower, on a tree, on a rock, or it will find a crack in a roof and enter someone’s house without invitation? Or, will it land on the tongue of a kid who is holding it out to catch a rain drop? Or on a face of a young adult looking up to the sky with closed eyes and falling in love in her heart?
And, did it really need to know the answer to all these questions to enjoy the journey?
Or, did I need to know?
I suddenly realized that this is my story unfolding itself before my eyes. I put down the binocular and looked around myself, I saw all the rain drops sitting beside me. All wondering where they are coming from, why they are here, and where the journey is taking them!!
.
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No matter how the story goes, where… why … and when…, we all together make the world a more beautiful place as does rain in the land of sunshine.

Not with bike, not this school.
Everybody is trying to use their time in best way possible while sheltered at home. I was talking with my friend about how this time might be our best chance to get some online courses and do the things we always wanted but didn’t have the time before.
Well, I did it.
But god said, not so fast Rosie not so fast. I heard you had been skeptical of learning history in 7th grade. So before anything else, let’s fix the past and rewrite your history about history.
Now, I’m in a virtual history classroom with other 7th graders, learning about the Scientific Revolution.


P.S. Zoom in to see who photobombed the picture???

I’m not talking about exposing myself to corona virus, I’m talking about the load of sugar I brought home.

I put on my armor, helmet, mask and my gloves this morning plus my rain coat – did I miss anything?? – and went to Iranian store just because my sweet teeth couldn’t take it anymore. I broke my own record of two months resisting going there.

Not much was left but they had what I missed the most – hallelujah – sohan asali, which is honey something.
Now drinking tea makes more sense.

I might have offended her when I told her about other dogs doing Pilates. Or maybe, she needs some quiet time on the mat.

I woke up this morning not knowing what day it is!!

My inbox is flooded like a Monday. Zoom Zoom Zoom…
I’m counting down for the weekend like a Tuesday.
My virtual schedule is crazy like a Wednesday.
The fridge is empty like a Thursday.
I’m missing my friends like a Friday.
The stove is greasy like a Saturday.
Birds are chirping like a Sunday. .

Can someone tell me what day it is???

Planning, strategizing, rethinking, wondering, calculating or whatever you call it, at the bottom line she is not happy about what happened a few minutes prior to this picture. Let’s go back one hour to see the bigger picture.

A couple of months ago, Denise had a test in Taekwondo and usually breaking the board is a challenging part of the test depending on how the kick or punch should land on the board based on your belt.

Before their final performance, they practice a few times with their instructors to make sure their form is correct and their kick lands on the right spot on the board. To her and her instructor’s surprise she broke the board while practicing and the board was held only by one hand – which makes it harder to break- This gave them both the confidence – over confidence – that she will break the board with no doubt when performing for the master.

You guessed it right – for the very first time in her testing records – she couldn’t break the board and had to sit back and wait for the next round.
I’m sure, from the moment that she sat down until the time that she could go for the second trial was the longest period that she had waited.
And for me, the fact that I couldn’t go up there and break the board myself – presumably I could – and then high-five Denise that yay we did it was the hardest.

This was not a moment that I could help her in that manner or any other how. I couldn’t hug her to comfort her, and I couldn’t give her advice to help her do it better next time.
I had to watch this puzzled and disappointed face and just as an observer see how she finds her way out of this situation.

I wanted to be more than observer but that’s wrong, I wanted to be in the middle of her needs but that’s wrong, I want to be a consultant in all her business but that’s wrong.
I think this is what makes parenting so challenging and hear breaking at some points – Knowing when is wrong to be there for your kids –

Doesn’t matter which it is. Ms. Sophia and I, both got distracted by it.