Learning

I got so enthusiastic about Peter returning to school that I let other stuff slip. It's been great though - a boot camp for the brain. Now he's back in the groove of learning and I can reclaim my life. It was such a thrill to have access to an academic library again. That's my idea of a vacation - research, research, research. Research is such a thrill for me that eons ago when access was dialup, I once got a letter from msn saying I was in the top 10% of internet users. As St. Clair only allows its books out for 1 week, I'll probably pick whatever day is Peter's longest to work in the library. As Peter has to write about what he learns, he's watching me and saying "stop researching and start writing". So that's what I'm going to do. My friend Iris has been telling me the same thing for 15 years but I only truly listen to my kids because, let's face it, you're not starkly known until there are adults roaming the earth you raised yourself. Actually the book club selection for this month is about a daughter obsessed with what's happening in her mother's life. It's called "Midwives" and is about a midwife standing trial for doing a C-section on a woman with no pulse and respirations but there's a possibility that she might have still been alive when the knife was inserted. The midwife kept a journal and the story is written from the perspective of a young girl observing events unfolding around her while desperately hoping the jury won't convict her mother. I think my children have that same kind of loyalty and observation power.

Reviewing the Basics

The Rev. Dr. Maurice Boyd said that people working with words should read a grammar text yearly. Well Peter is taking a refresher grammar and math course and I'm taking an interest in the texts. To be honest math and grammar were always a big snooze to me and I'm definitely coming to the conclusion that I did a lot of daydreaming in class when I was young. Surprisingly knowing each step of the building blocks of mathematics and grammary feels like exercising with 3 lb weights. It's simple enough that it doesn't feel like anything is happening but the synapses of the brain are enjoying themselves. Dr. Ryuta Kawashima's Train the Brain program is built around basic addition/multiplication facts, memorizing word lists and stroop tests (if the word "red" is printed in green ink, your eyes see red but the correct response is green). The North American mind with it's addiction to novelty isn't going to stick with a Kumon model. However, there is something to be said for refreshing the basics. The movie "Prime" talks about our being at our mathematical prime during our twenties. At the time I thought that was ridiculous but perhaps nimbleness of mind has more in common with nimbleness of the body than I thought. At 20, everything is a gift. After 50 - well you're not 20 anymore - so schedule in a workout.

Took a Summer Break

Decided to give myself the month of August to regroup. I've been working through the toolstolife program and finished Day 44 today. Peter is starting College on Tuesday and that will be a big change for me as I'm planning to do research in the College library while Peter is in class. I don't take College courses myself any more as I'm so ancient that I've already taken everything I'm even remotely interested in. I am however over the moon about having access to academic journals on neurodevelopment and neurodegeneration. My first academic love was English literature and I still love words, music, art, dance the best. I suppose it only follows that I have a fascination with the working of the human brain. It doesn't matter whether love of art leads to interest in science or whether love of science leads to an interest in the arts - they really are two sides of the same coin.

Re: Brandi & Kenny's Wedding

Peter was one of the ushers at Kenny and Brandi's wedding this weekend. He did great and I had the time of my life. The wedding was in Windsor so Stephen had to leave fairly early as he doesn't like to be tired for Sunday. I had agreed to be a designated driver so I was committed to staying until the very end. I thought after Stephen left, I'd be an old lady sitting in a chair in the corner for the rest of the night. Well it didn't turn out that way at all. My children and their friends kept me on the dance floor all night long. I wasn't the clergy wife for this occasion and got to capture that feeling of being young and carefree again. Well actually it was better than being young because I was so proud of the people they had all developed into.

Organizing videos, dvds

The local video store is selling its inventory of video tapes. Fortunately for me, I didn't realize that until 3 weeks into the sale. It didn't make that much difference as my taste in movies is pretty low demand. Basically I've bought movies we've owned and loaned never to be returned, finished sets - usually we owned the first movie but were missing some sequels, and bought some chick flicks to achieve a bit of balance (the guys buy way more movies than the gals in this family plus they outnumber us). The first day, I looked for movies with interesting scenery - set in places that would be interesting to travel to if I were at all interested in travelling. The second day, I looked for movies that were about being in situations that require one to be a little more courageous, a little more noble than one might otherwise choose to be. And then I had to get busy figuring out the best way to organize things. So I thought, if I were going to pig out on movies, which would make sense to view as a group and then let my imagination run wild on all the various ways to do that - by subject, actor, genre, setting, movies I really hate, and movies I love but the men in the family hate. Think westerns/war movies for my hate pile and any human being having more emotional range than John Wayne for their hate pile.

Fiddler on the Roof

My oldest son thinks I'm Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof. I have an ongoing dialogue with God where I Kvitch about every day stuff too boring for human ears. I suppose it's a sign of someone with existential aloneness. There's lots of really good, caring, involved people in my life but the closest relationship is the God/I one. It was that way as far back as I can possibly remember. My mom didn't like me bothering my dad because he had high blood pressure and she was terrified any stress might cause a heart attack or stroke and he was just as protective of her. My grandparents lived next door to us but they were more great-grandparent age and couldn't be upset about anything either. So basically I shared all my little girl problems with dogs and kittens and dolls and paperdolls. And, of course, there was always tv and sugary foods and dreaming to cheer oneself up. If everyone had to be protected from my little preschool problems, I suppose it's no wonder that when I need to talk, it's God I talk to. With all the big things happening in the world, nothing tragic is going to happen from anything I might say to God.

Learning from Movies

In response to:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6260548.stm which basically says:
The four consultants, Francesco Bogliari, Sergio Di Giorgi, Marco Lombardi and Piero Trupia say that executives learn little from books.
High-quality films, though, can offer lessons about problem-solving and teamwork as well as focusing on issues such as globalisation and diversity, Mr Bogliari said.

So here are some movies I've learned from:

The Dish which is about broadcasting Neil Armstrong's first steps on the moon from a relay station in Australia. Although I'll never be the head of a team, I hope I'd be like Sam Neill's part in this movie. No one in the movie is without his/her personality quirks but he just accepts everyone exactly as they are and somehow pulls off a great achievement without judging or hurting anyone. This is the opposite of an American action hero movie. I really liked every single person in this movie and how often can you say that?

Unconditional Love tells you pretty much all you need to know about where I stand on the homosexuality issue. Some people encourage you to be just a little braver and some people don't. Either I bloom or I fade around people and sexual orientation has nothing to do with who is an encourager and who is a discourager of the middle-aged (or past middle-aged) housewife.

Outbreak which starts with an ebola outbreak in Africa. The response team promised help and everyone was cheering when the planes approached and dropped medical supplies until they realized that the package wasn't medical supplies but an explosive device to eradicate the village. It doesn't matter how highly educated you are or how many resources are at your disposable or how great your personality is, it's no substitute for right actions.