An Argument for Mornings

#15 Most people are asleep, so you can imagine the world is all yours for the taking.
#14 The quiet allows your mind to rest and recuperate.
#13 Breakfast foods are yummy (real maple syrup on crispy french toast. I rest my case).
#12 Writing happens often when you're fresh. Your brain is juiced up for creativity after a good night sleep.
#11 It's cooler in the morning, which makes me happy, which makes all right with the world. It also makes me want to write.
#10 No one is arguing and you don't have to say "no" to any child's request.
#9 You are the first to see the news and find out what is happening in the world.
#8 The day is a clean slate. You can forget yesterday and make it what you want.
#7 You are rested after a long sleep (usually).
#6 More babies are born between 8 and 9 a.m. than any other time!
#5 The minutes of morning may actually last longer.
#4 The pressures of the day haven't yet started.  
#3 The birds are eager to sing.
#2 It's the beginning of something, not the end.
#1 A rich, creamy coffee. Maybe the best reason.

Myanmar Revisited

Found these from our trip to Myanmar...

A Thanksgiving

 I imagine everyone back home, scurrying from one family to another to be together in that poignant Norman Rockwell way (was he a curse on our expectations of American holidays?), helping themselves to pie (hopefully pumpkin) and slabs of pale turkey meat (possibly juicy). 

Our Thanksgivings here in Malaysia are unorthodox, often celebrated with other faculty in a cafeteria complete with tablecloths, turkey provided by our principals, and Charlie Brown Thanksgiving playing in a classroom for the kiddos. It's an experience we love.

BUT this year we've been invited to the home of non-teacher friends. What a treat it was to enjoy the "adult table" and sit on couches beforehand, enjoy interesting conversation about insurance costs and past Thanksgivings while eating homemade green bean casserole.

But it's over for another year and I'll be fasting from carved turkey for a while, having eaten more than my share of that and sweet potatoes, so adieu, Thanksgiving, adieu. It's been grand.

I hope anyone listening, your Thanksgiving is good in that Rockwell way--family members or friends present, turkey golden brown, everyone in Sunday best or maybe just best frame of mind with the most comfy seat. There's nothing quite like it.

Pieces of Me

Vietnam is a magical place, with hauntings and whispering of past tragedy, of future hope, of present compassion and joy. I spent 8 days with 15 high school students, 1 other teacher (hi Will!), and three, sometimes four guides. Those days were exhilarating and challenging.

We helped build some outhouse toilets for a remote village school on an island. The children were absolutely the cutest children ever seen by humans. Smiles galore playing tag, 'cops and robbers' (go figure! in Vietnam!) and more. But most of our time was pretending to be serious construction workers. Our guides were from Phat Tire (hi guys! you're awesome!), a fantastic adventure outfit based out of Hoi An and Dalat. The toilets it took us a day to build would take two men three days, so the school saved  a bit of money by having 15 freshmen do the work.

Our time spent in Hue was eye-opening, talking about the Tet Offensive, the use of the Citadel as a battleground, the monk who set himself on fire to protest the war (he supported the North). It was an interesting look into a past that sits hazy in my mind, with my weak knowledge really based on what I've heard of the protests in the U.S. and the heroics and dangers faced by the U.S. soldiers.

This picture was taken by a student. Vietnam was beautiful, haunting, and the people kind and warm, so open to meeting strangers. I've been there before but somehow it meant more this time.

I hope to go back sometime soon, to taste the magic for another moment. A piece of me seems to still be there now, maybe waiting for me to come back and get it.

Top 10 Books

It's difficult--nigh impossible-- to come up with a top ten list of books. That's like saying, "Who's your favorite people ever?" How could you possibly decide? You like some people for their humor, how fun they are, admire others for their kindness and sensitivity, you love your mother because of her love, and of course your children are completely adorable because--well, frankly, they're like you, so how could you not think so?

But I threw caution to the wind and decided if I HAD to pick a top ten list of books, if I was strapped to a chair and denied food and water until I gave it up, this is what I'd come up with.

Not that anyone cares, but here it is all the same, in no particular order:

Jane Eyre

Pride and Prejudice

A Tale of Two Cities

All the Light We Cannot See

Middlemarch

The Bible

Unbroken

A Room of One's Own

Station Eleven
Anna Karenina