             There is something soothing about coming home to a quiet house; especially after a full day of raucous teens milling around the classroom. Upon arrival, I go about my simple rituals: brewing a cup of de-caf; preheating the handcrafted mug bought at a Renaissance Faire (Coffee seems to taste better when the mug …
Christmas Came Early this Year!
           Yesterday was a hard day for writing after coming down from my "creative high." Having pushed several projects forward, the inevitable plummeting into a slump had to do with the unpleasant stuff: paying the bills, finishing manuscript edits, and sending for use permission—all tedious and uncreative. By afternoon, I was depressed. Add to this, mismanagement …
Jungle Fear
           Most days I do alright with my daughter, Elya, traveling throughout Southeast Asia. The panic resulting from not being able to pick up the phone and hear her voice somewhat kept at bay. But yesterday was quite a different story. I had not heard from her for days and the worry began to torment …
The Glass of Refreshment
           Going public through blogging is far more difficult than imagined. I have not posted for over a week and struggle to decide what to share. I rationalize that life goes into closets at times, when one seeks retreating from public viewing. Like the intermittent pooling of a rushing mountain stream, I draw away from …
Filling Big Shoes
          When my two children were young, they used to shuffle around the floor in their father's shoes. Shuffle being the appropriate word for the only forward movement made was by sliding slowly in short jerky motions. Lifting up their tiny feet and trying to step resulted in coming right out of those big shoes. …
Ethos
Ethos There are moments in a mother's life when you see your child's past, present, and future flash before your eyes. Recently, this happened to me when I saw the following article about my daughter, Elya, on the front page of the UCLA International Institute webpage. Senior Writer Kevin Matthew astutely captured the essence of …
Balloons and Balance
Lately I have been thinking about how to maintain a balanced life; holding the balloon strings of whom and what I love carefully threaded through only ten fingers. Deciding which to add, which to grasp tightly, and which to let go. Some even lift me up and carry me when I cannot walk any longer. …
Dinner Anyone?
Elya's Cambodian Adventure  I thought this excerpt from my daughter Elya's email would be interesting to pass on to those following the story. Her reflections of Battambang, Cambodia are priceless and take away my self-pity resulting from having her so far away. After reading the email, I went to teach those "spoiled American students." What …
What more could any mother want?
What more could any mother want? Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Yesterday afternoon around 4:00 pm the phone call finally came: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â "Mom, can your hear me? Can you hear me? Can you hear me?" Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Skype calls from long distances tend to echo. The call was broken and scratchy but I was able to extract all of …
JoDee Luna Art 