See you in September!

Hello Friends,

It’s back to school time!

I’m looking forward to my first day with the boys and girls tomorrow. This year, I will have 25 second graders in my morning class and 24 in my afternoon class. I already met some of them last Friday, and they are just as eager as I am to start school. 🙂

I’ll be back in mid or late September.

Have a wonderful day!

With gratitude,

Elaine

Celebrating Nandini

Today’s post is dedicated to my baby girl, Nandi!

On Monday, August 8^th, we watched with pride and joy as our youngest walked across the graduation stage at Florida International University. She earned the prestigious title of: Doctor of Physical Therapy.

I bet you can imagine how my heart is bursting with happiness! I am so grateful for Nandi’s accomplishment.

Here is an excerpt from her Facebook post:

I’ve been a part of the FIU family for 9 years. NINE! Two years of preschool at FIU’s Children Learning Center. Two years of dual enrollment at FIU’s Academy for Advanced Academics. Two years of my remaining undergrad years before obtaining my Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. And finally… 3 years of grad school for my Doctor of Physical Therapy degree. 9 years- DONE. I couldn’t have done it without the support from all of my loved ones, friends, and classmates. WE did it. I’ve been in school since I was 5. Now at age 23, I can finally, finallllly, FINALLY say that I am done. Yeyyyyyyyy!! I’m excited for the journey that lies ahead.

 

National Coloring Book Day

Today is National Coloring Book Day – August 2^nd is the day set aside to have fun with your colors and patterns. Nowadays, it seems that everywhere you turn, you see coloring books, and not just for the little ones, but for grown-ups too. This adult coloring trend is rapidly growing across our nation and who knows if it will stick around or would fade, as in the case of some other trends.

As a child, I didn’t have coloring books. I’m sure some children had them, but we didn’t have extra dollars for such luxuries. Instead, we made and colored our own drawings. As a result, I don’t have any particular inclination toward coloring books. I’m sharing this bit of information because I was surprised when I decided to start coloring bits and pieces of Nandi’s coloring book (Nandi is my baby, my last grown-up, 23 year old child).

Last week, I decided to color an entire page in Nandi’s book, instead of one or two drawings. I must say that it was very relaxing. I hear a lot about practicing mindfulness, but I did not expect to experience such inner quiet while my Crayola pencils glided slowly along the curves of the flower pattern and across the page.

There was no rush with the coloring – I took my time to audition the colors for each flower and once I got started, the minutes just rolled away and lulled me into a state of calm and peace. I was wrapped up in my quiet thoughts in the world of coloring. 

It was a good decision when I picked up Nandi’s coloring book and her colored pencils! Little did I know that I would enjoy coloring so much, or it would have given me the opportunity to write a blog post. I now have a deeper appreciation for adult coloring books!

Have you done any coloring recently?

Here is picture of my coloring.

Celebrating National Coloring Book Day!

Narrow: The Washington Monument

In mid July, we took a family trip to Maryland for Roshini’s  graduation and we seized the opportunity to do some sightseeing in Washington, D.C.  In response to the photo challenge, Narrow, I’ve elected to interpret this challenge by sharing two shots of the Washington Monument. I snapped both photos with my cell phone. Scroll to the end for a photo of the graduate:)

Here are some facts about the monument:

1. The Washington Monument is the nation’s foremost memorial to George Washington, the first president of the United States.
2. The 555 foot tall obelisk is the tallest building in the District of Columbia and by law, no other building in Washington D.C. is allowed to be taller.
3. Inside the Washington Monument are an elevator and a 897-step stairway.
4. The outer walls are made of white marble blocks from Maryland and The obelisk is also made of granite, and sandstone.
5. The interior walls contain 193 memorial stones installed on its east and west interior walls. The memorial stones start at the 30-foot level and continue to the 450-foot level.
6. It is the world’s tallest stone structure and the world’s tallest obelisk.

Content taken from this website: http://www.american-historama.org/1881-1913-maturation-era/washington-monument.htm

The Proud Graduate!

Perspective from Nature’s Vivid Colors

In April of this year, I stopped to gaze at the compelling beauty of nature’s vivid colors and I decided to take a few photos. In response to this week’s photo challenge, Look Up, I’m sharing two shots of the same tree. As you may notice, I took one photo looking up from under the tree.

Through the lens of my camera, I got a different view of the tree. As with these photos, I have to remind myself to stop and look at situations from different angles, with a fresh set of eyes to gain other perspectives. 

As I write this post, I’m reminded of the film, “Dead Poets Society” in which Robin Williams played the role of an English teacher, John Keating. Keating gave his students a valuable lesson on perspective when he stood up on his desk and asked them the reason for him standing there. Keating said,  “I stand upon my desk to remind myself that we must constantly look at things in a different way.”

30 years…

Thirty years ago, on a warm July 4^th, I came to the USA. I am in gratitude for all the experiences and opportunities I’ve had over the past 30 years. I look forward to growing old in this beautiful country, my home, the land of the free, the place where dreams are made possible.

Here is an excerpt from HistoryMiami of my Miami Story that I submitted to the Miami Herald last August. “Miami is my home. I love the cultural, flavorful diversity here. I love it that nobody notices our Guyanese accent! Miami and all those with whom I’ve come in contact have nurtured me into the woman I am today”. Happy July 4^th!

Photo credit: Google Images

Change? Change! Change.

Happy Summer!

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/inevitable/

No shoes, please!

In a recent post, I said that I’ll share some of my childhood stories. See here. Today’s post is about a cultural practice that we brought from Guyana to the U.S. We take off our shoes before entering our home. We never asked our parents why we had to take off our shoes, we just did it. I suppose the main reason is for cleanliness. Think of all the dirt and yucky stuff our shoes touch daily – it is best to leave all those germs outside.

Some floor activities in Guyana:

1. Some families sat on the floor to eat their daily meals (not so common nowadays)
2. The women often sat on the floor to “pick rice” – removing all the black rice or pieces of foreign objects that came with the rice.
3. Some families sat on the floor to cut their vegetables.
4. Everyone sat on the floor for all Hindu and Muslim ceremonies.
5. Guests also sat on the floor to eat the meal that was served after the religious ceremony.
6. Many babies and young children slept on the floor during the day, so moms can keep an eye on them while they did their chores.
7. The floor converted to a bed when guests stayed over.

We still practice some of the activities listed above here in the U.S.

I also want to share with you that worshipers take off their shoes at all mandirs and mosques. No exception.

Here at home, I wear a pair of fluffy slippers 🙂  When I visit someone’s home, I take off my shoes, unless the host asks me to keep them on.

Here is a picture of the shoe rack in our garage (very messy). I keep all my “nice” shoes in boxes in my bedroom.

No Sausage, please!

Okay, today’s post is a bit of a rant.

I don’t like to fuss over the cost of my food, but I think what happened last week was “highway” robbery, or more fittingly, “drive-thru” robbery. I was at a restaurant chain, which will remain unnamed (the Golden Arches) and I was overcharged. Yes, overcharged because their “machine” doesn’t allow them to adjust any prices. I ordered a sausage “golden arches” muffin with egg, but without the sausage. I asked the person who took my order not to charge me for the sausage. She said that it can’t be done because the machine doesn’t allow her to do so. She will have to charge me the full price. Since I was in the drive-thru, and I was aware that folks were behind me, I allowed her to charge me the full price.

What she should have done: ring up the price for an egg, a muffin, and the cheese separately.

I know it is possible because this courtesy was extended to me in the past

Lesson for me: The next time I want to order anything other than coffee, find a parking space, walk into Yellow Arches, and place a face-to face order.

Have a happy Sunday, everyone!

Credit: Google images

The Black Sage Toothbrush

While speaking with a childhood friend yesterday and reminiscing about school days, I realized that I couldn’t remember all of the details that surrounded some of the activities we did in school. This got me thinking of experiences that I’d like to share with my children and grandchildren (I hope to be gifted with some grand-kids later in life). Since I haven’t limited my blog to any particular theme, this is a good vehicle for documenting stories and experiences.

Here in the USA, the basic tool for brushing your teeth is the toothbrush and so my children find it “crazy” that we often used the stem of a plant to clean our teeth in rural Guyana. Yes, we had toothbrushes, but when they were not available, we broke off a stem from the Black Sage shrub, pounded or chewed on one of the ends until it got some bristles, applied some toothpaste, and brushed our teeth. If there was no toothpaste, we simply put some salt on that homemade toothbrush and carried on.

When was a toothbrush not available?  If I spent the night at my aunt’s home or if my toothbrush broke, I won’t have had one. Generally, folks did not have extra toothbrushes in their cupboards – simply a matter of not being able to afford such luxuries. Some families, because of the pressures of poverty, did not have toothbrushes at all.

What is this Black Sage? The scientific name for this shrub is Cordia Curassavica. It has small white flowers and tiny red berries that grow in a cluster at the end of the branches.

Below is a photo of the Black Sage. Credit goes to: https://www.inaturalist.org