Timing

Sometimes, the stars are aligned just right and timing of thinks works perfectly. Some explain such things with religion, some with karma, some with pure circumstantial luck. Whatever it is, I'm glad it was in my favor recently.

For some time, the light on my back porch has not worked. I tried several new bulbs, but it wasn't the bulb. Still, it wasn't on the top of my list as an issue. I had another light over the back patio, so the porch light wasn't a big deal.

But last week when I took my 30-day notice to my property management company, DW, I remembered to mention the light. And they said they'd get an electrician out.

On Wednesday, the electrician came to repair the light. And it just so happens that I'd just put a load of clothes in the dryer. That was a very good thing.

See, as he walked out to the back porch--where the light didn't work--he also looked up at the breaker boxes. One of them had a bright glow inside. He said, "That's not good."

Indeed---a bright, hot, glowing source inside your breaker box is not good.

After a lot of investigation, he figured out that breaker (it was separate from the others) was the 220 for the dryer. It seems it's not grounded, and it was trying to ground itself to the box--or something like that. essentially, though, it was a fire just waiting to happen. And to think, if I'd not had the clothes drying, he'd not have seen it. Whew.

He capped off that wire, shutting down that breaker, and he bid the job with DW. As of now, thought, I'm still waiting on DW to get approval from the house owners to get the rewiring done, which means I'm without a dryer. But that's okay. He found the problem, and it wasn't a fire inspector who had to figure it out among a lot of rubble.

Clothes drying. Timing. Indeed.

Howard: That (too smart) Fink!

For a couple of weeks now, I've noticed something new about Howard. Seems he's been working on how to trick me.

Howard has a habit of investigating things in the pantry. Sometimes he'll try to open to garbage can lid, investigating anything on top, and on the rare occasion, pulling the garbage can over to get a better idea of the contents.

Other times, Howard simply wants to help me sort the paper recyclables. See, all paper for recycling must be in a separate paper sack, so I typically have one set up in the pantry on the floor next to the regular garbage can. Howard will sort through, pulling certain items out to tear on the floor in the kitchen. (I think Howard is convinced we cannot recycle envelopes with windows, but we can!)

And still other times, Howard will pull out other fun things--plastic grocery sacks (stuffed in a basket under the shelf to recycle by using for the cat box), boxes on the floor, etc.

Of course, Howard is not supposed to do these things. So usually when I hear him, I come back to the kitchen, he sees me, hangs his head low, and slinks out of the pantry. Until recently.

Lately, I've heard the same sounds, telling me that Howard's in the pantry. And so off I walk toward the kitchen. But when I get there, Howard is chomping down on mouth full of dog food. He looks up at me, as if saying, "Hi there. Good dinner tonight. Want to join me?" The first few times, I've bought it, thinking whatever I heard must have been him eating. Then, within about five minutes, the unmistakable sound of a dog in the pantry returns.

That fink. He's been trying to fake me out. He's been getting in he pantry, snooping around, then when he hears me coming, he actually abandons the pantry then pretends to be eating dinner, going back to the pantry "once the coast is clear." That fink. ;-)

Of course, what he really wants is the attention. And he initially found a way to get it without getting told "No" about being in the pantry then me closing the pantry door. Because what is especially interesting here is that Howard never snoops in the pantry when I'm not home!

Total attention seeker.

And fink.

:-)

Memorial Day, 2008

As I write, I'm busy getting ready to host part of a BBQ at my house this evening. I'm having the neighbors to the south over, and my neighbors to the north are having folks over too. Christina and I have coordinated salads too, so I'll make enough pasta salad for my and her guests, and she'll make enough Greek salad for hers and mine. And since our driveways are nearly shared, we'll just keep the gates open for kids and even grown ups to wander back and forth. I suspect we'll mostly hang out on the two drives.

I'm looking forward to it, and I have a lot to do (having just moved the patio chairs in the garage when the rain came; here's hoping it's gone by 5!), but I am reminded why we all have today off.

And so I write the same thing I did last year: Sure, we enjoy a day off, BBQing, having fun, and sharing good times. But let us take at least a moment in all that to also remember what today is about: it's a day to remember. It's a day to honor.

Soldier, rest! Thy warfare o'er,

Sleep the sleep that knows not breaking,

Dream of battled fields no more.

Days of danger, nights of waking.

-Sir Walter Scott

Welcome James & Anthony!

WooHoo! My friends Anthony and James paid me a visit from Fort Worth this weekend. We made it to a few new places I'd been wanting to go to and hit some of my favorites.


They arrived Friday afternoon, timing it to get here just in time for the Cellerman drawing at Boscos. You might recall that last August, I won the drawing for the cellerman on my birthday, and I got to tap the cask-conditioned keg that afternoon.

And whaddaya know---this time, James won! :-) Okay, okay, yes, James asked me repeatedly if I'd had anything to do with that. I'll just tell you what I told him: He saw the drawing, and did it look like it was fixed? Nope. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. (And Keith the bartender is getting a major tip next time I'm in.)

Friday night we went back to the house and enjoyed dinner there and catching up--staying up much too late. But it was all fun and a great time.

Up relatively early Saturday, we enjoyed a nice breakfast at home then headed . . . to Graceland!


I'd been wanting to go once while I was here, but I'd waited until I had guests in who also wanted to go. Sure, it was a little cheesy, and sure, it was everything I'd heard, but I'm really glad I went.

Here are some highlights (pictures had to be taken without a flash, so this is the best I could get) that include the front living room, the dining room, a view upstairs, Elvis's parents' bedroom, the Jungle Room, a view of the back, and the pool. (click on any picture to see a larger version)







We also did the tour of the car museum, and there my favorite was the Pink Cadillac.




Saturday afternoon, we enjoyed some Memphis BBQ at, of course, Interstate BBQ---my favorite place for ribs (and BBQ Nachos---yummy!) After that, we, naturally, had to stop off at the Flying Saucer in Memphis (recall, James is my Saucer buddy from Fort Worth). We then just enjoyed a laid-back evening at the house.

On Sunday, we were up early. We did breakfast at Brother Juniper's--a fantastic spot near campus. I had an open-face omelet with a chipotle avocado spread on top topped with black beans, sauteed tomatoes, and cheese. Just divine. (Anthony had an omelet with spinach, feta, and tomatoes.) We then headed over to Sun Studio, one of the favorite places from when my sister was here. We did the tour, finishing up, of course, with a photo opp. at the most famous microphone in rock and roll---the one at 706 Union Avenue, where rock and roll was born!

They headed back to Texas after that. We'd had a fabulous weekend---great visiting, great sites, and fun times in all. I'll be in Fort Worth in just about five weeks, and James and I already have plans one night!

Of course, I was tired from the weekend, and this afternoon, and I enjoyed a quiet afternoon with a few movies and a nap. :-) Then I hung out next door for a while. But I'll be up early tomorrow, readying for a BBQ here with the neighbors!

Take Me to the River

Last weekend Howard and I headed back to the park along the Mississippi. As the pictures show, the water level was much different.

First, a recap of the picture from last month:


















And here's a shot in nearly the same spot (except, of course, I'm standing where it used to be under water):

Dog + Car = EEEEKKK!

I was up early Saturday, getting ready for my long trip. Because it was a long drive twice within three days, I decided not to take Howard along. But the day before, I had a bright idea of taking as many of my plants as I could to my mother's house. See, I won't be able to get them to Jax; they cannot live on the moving truck for that long. So as I was loading up my car with my plants, I was in the middle of getting one out the door, when Howard thought he should go too.

It's been ages since he tried to slip out the door while I was in the doorway. But something about Saturday, and he did. My neighbor had been helping me with the car and getting the plants in, and he almost caught Howard as Howard flew off the front porch, but alas, Howard slipped right past. And Howard was off---with a clear heading to the house across the street where he'd heard dogs the day before and he and I had seen a cat fight while on a walk the evening before.

Me, Cole, and Michelle all had the same experience, feeling our heart stop momentarily, as when Howard ran toward that other house, a fast-moving SUV was coming down the street. Howard never even acknowledged the SUV; he just ran forward, toward the street.

I called "Howard!" and my neighbor yelled something. The SUV never even slowed, and Howard missed the back tire by about four inches.

I felt as though I couldn't breathe.

Then Cole and I both jumped into action, him after Howard to keep an eye on exactly where he went, and me grabbing my keys to lure Howard into my car.

Eventually, Cole grabbed Howard and brought him home.

For the rest of the day, I couldn't shake the horrible feeling deep in the pit of me. I even called Cole that afternoon and asked for an update. He called back and told me, of course, that Howard was fine. Howard seemed to have nothing to say for himself and the scare he gave us all.

Sigh. Pets.

Surprise, Mom!

I couldn't blog about my plans for last weekend; they were a surprise to my most loyal reader, after all. ;-)

A few months ago, I emailed my sister and asked if she and her family would be heading to our mother's house for Mother's Day this year. See, in years past when I've gone to Mom's (which is most except for a few I've spent with my grandmother in North Texas), problems frequently occurred that prevented my sister and her gang from being there. One year a daughter was terribly ill with a stomach bug (no, really, please, stay home!), another year or two, her husband had agreed to play in the band for church that weekend, etc. I was hoping by starting this communication in March, we'd catch Dave before he committed to the band.

And indeed, we did! Originally, the plan was for me to fly to Houston then ride to Mom's (about 90 minutes) with my sister's crew---and as a total surprise to my mother. But as we kept planning, more things came to be, air prices were outrageous (capitalizing, no doubt, on it being Mother's Day), and the timing was just not working out well.

Duh! I'm still, being in Memphis, only an eight-hour drive away. Sure, gasoline is expensive, but the cost of driving is the same as a fabulous sale on an airline ticket. So I decided to drive.

By this time, my brother agreed to be at Mom's too; he'd made other plans originally. He may not have totally "gotten" the issue of a surprise, but he did arrange his plans to be there with us, so he got it as much as was necessary.

I was going to drive in on Friday, but Mom was not expecting anyone until Saturday. Hmmmm. After a lot of thought, I left myself open to Friday, but decided the most likely plan would be for Saturday---planning to arrive around the same time as others.

(Turns out it was a great thing I was able to hold off until Saturday. I had a personal goal of grading my exams before Mother's Day weekend, and I needed that extra day to get finished.)

Anyway, I made it there about ten minutes after my sister's family. I called my sister to give her the heads up and let her know my plan. Then I pulled up in Mom's drive, trying not to be visible from the kitchen window. And I honked.

Inside, my sister said, "Mom, there's somebody honking in your driveway." My mother said or thought something like, "Who would be honking in my driveway? No one would do that." And she came outside.

By then, I had stepped out of the car, and when Mom came around the corner from the front, I said, "Surprise!" Mom screamed. And screamed. And sorta jumped up and down. And cried. And I gave her a huge hug.

She screamed and cried a little more, and I kept hugging. She kept saying something like, "I never dreamed you would be here!"

It was great.

The stars were all aligned this year for this to work. Most years, graduations occur on Mom's Day weekend. Future weekends might find me needing to do graduation things with my students. Being thirteen instead of eight hours away by car also will have an impact on spontaneity in the future. But this year, it worked beautifully.

Anyway, I got to see Mom's gorgeous remodeled deck---complete with high ceiling, with fans, and beautiful furniture. We spent most all of the weekend outside on the deck, barely doing anything in the house other than sleeping.

On Saturday, we just enjoyed visiting. Charla handled burgers for dinner, and my brother and his girlfriend arrived not too late, and we went ahead and gave mom her Mother's Day gift.

A while back, while talking to mom about her deck remodeling, I asked about ceiling fans, and she had them. I asked about something else, and she had it. Then I asked about outdoor speakers. And she said, "Ooooh. that'd be so great to have." So my brother and I enlisted my sister and her hubby to find good speakers. And they did. They're Sharper Image outdoor wireless speakers. A thing plugs into Mom's TV, and she can get the satellite music channels on her back deck! And the sound of the speakers is wonderful.

Sunday, most of us slept a little late. (especially my sister and me; we'd stayed up visiting until after 3. (par for our course)) My nieces and Mom handled putting together a great breakfast spread on the deck---set up to encourage grazing and getting a bite as you wanted. we again just hung out on the deck, visiting, etc.

Later in the day, we played some games, and even did a little silly dancing. All the while, Mom had her hands (and lap) full with three cute little dogs---two of my sister's and one of my brother's. (My brother brought the large dog too, but he didn't exactly make a home in Grandma's lap.)

Then finally, it was time to make dinner! (Well, it was supposed to be lunch, but, oh well.) My brother had brought crabs, and we had a grand crab boil. The poor crabs, of course. It looks as if these two are quite perturbed with their predicament. I see the one on the left as just darned angry at the other one, and the one on the right is either threatening the one who will dare to cook him or pleading for mercy. You decide. ;-) Regardless, whatever pleading the crab tried, it didn't work. Charla did at least wave adios as he took a hot bath.

Thought Provoking

Line from Grey's Anatomy tonight:

Don't wonder why people go crazy.

Wonder why they don't.

Um Hmmm.

Mom Rocks

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms or like-moms out there.

Admittedly, I'm a sap when it comes to holiday commercials. But this one really spoke to my heart (and totally induced tears). Not one before it has hit the umph of "Mom" as much as this one did. Love it, and love my mom.

A Supreme Argument

I am not a regular viewer of Boston Legal, even though I've always been entertained by the show. I guess it's just not one that I ever felt required continual watching, so I catch it when I can. But I missed this particular one last month.

The show recently stepped into the United States Supreme Court--at least that as portrayed on the show. But the show did an amazing job at finding good look-alike actors for the roles of the Justices, even if they did give Justice Thomas a line. (he very rarely speaks.)

Aside: Earlier this semester, I had my Remedies students read the argument from a day before. (it's amazing that you can get a transcript of a US Supreme Court argument the afternoon that it occurs.) The case was the Exxon Valdez case on punitive damages (yes, that long ago and it was just argued this spring.) (interestingly, James Spader's character references that case in the show.) My students were studying the prior case about excessive punitives, and I was able to have them play the roles of attorneys presenting the arguments and the justices so they could see the real arguments as made. It was really cool, if I do say so myself. Anyway, we all chuckled when we realized that indeed, Justice Thomas had no "lines" in the transcript/script.

Back to the show . . . The character, Alan Shore, makes an argument to the Supreme Court, arguing a case interestingly similar to an actual US Sup. Ct. case that was argued April 16 this year, Kennedy v. Louisiana. Now, for show purposes, Shore is quite dramatic. ANd I cannot imagine an attorney before the Court ever saying some of the thing that he says. But man, what an argument! For the times I don't so eloquently state why I care about who our next president is, a lot of this comes up in his argument. It's long, though---about 10 minutes or so.

(And for anyone who had no idea about appellate arguments before and were so confused about my life before teaching, while yes, this is dramatic and the content of the political aspect of what he says is far-fetched, still, it's a pretty good idea of an appellate argument in the sense of what goes on (not what is said). You have one attorney speaking to many justices, begin interrupted on the spot with questions, discussions, etc. It's when the justices and attorney should be able to have a conversation about the issues. At least that's what I tell my moot court students.)

A Dog's Day(care) Afternoon

After the hot wing festival, Howard and I headed to our real destination for the afternoon: the Dogs Rule party.



Yes, say what you want, but Howard and I went to a party at his daycare. They held a Spring Fling party---complete with a band, snacks, beer (yes, beer! (no, not for the pups), and supervised play for the dogs. Howard played and sniffed, and I enjoyed chatting with other dog owners and chilling out wiht a couple of cold beverages.



They even had a costume party, with the winner getting TEN free days of daycare! (Had I known, Howard would have been in that contest!) (Lily the bulldog (see hot wing entry for who Lily is) got free passes as gifts for Christmas. Yes, Hope is single too and Lily has a grandma who dotes on the four-legged one. Howard gets the good life too from his extended family. But no daycare passes. Hmmmmmm..... ;-) )

And yes, of course, I've already researched some doggie daycares in Jax. I've going to have to visit Camp Bow Wow and Pets Paradise and maybe The BarkingLot, and luckily, thr first two are pretty near the law school! The nice thing about these, of course, is that they each offer overnight boarding too, so if we're not blessed with neighbors as fabulous as I have now, we can have a place for Howard to hang out overnight when I head to Texas in August.

Regardless, I know we'll find another daycare. It's just too much of a good thing for my Howard Dean.

Southern Hot Wing Festival

A couple of weekends ago, it was a beautiful Saturday, so I put the top down, and Howard and I headed downtown to check the Southern Hot Wing festival.



The festival was held on South Main---around the South Main Arts District. The cost was $1 or a can of food donated for admission; the festival was held to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House.



About fifteen teams had entered, all trying for the honor of being named best wing. Each team had a spot set up--often with a team name and logo, team t-shirts, and lots of grills and fryers. (turns out, though, that no deep-fried wing has ever won best wing.)

As soon as Howard and I walked in, we saw my friends Hope and Rachel who I know from the gym; Hope's also got a dog who attends Dogs Rule (Lily, the bulldog). So we hung out there a while, chatted with a few folks, then walked around. Poor Howard, though. It was awfully tough as too many people had dropped chicken wing bones on the ground, and Howard really wanted those!

Here's Rachael, Hope, and me---and Howard. :-) (posting this---I sure am glad I got a haircut last week!)



It was a fun way to spend an hour or so on a gorgeous day. But Howard and I couldn't stay too long; we had a party to get too!

Making Me Laugh

I just saw a commercial that I hadn't seen in a while, and even though I'd seen it before, I giggled again. And now that I've learned how, and you tube has made it so easy to, here it is! (so you can giggle too!) :-)

New Book

We finally finished reading Wicked, and it was a lot of fun---reading it together and discussing it every so often.

The book was, um, well, interesting. It was not at all what I expected. In some ways, it ventured too far from what I had in my head from the movie, The Wizard of Oz. But in other ways, I loved the insight and depth it had as related to people and groups and issues and feelings. And that's what made reading it with friends so good; we were able to discuss all of those things and gather even greater depth from the book.

A problem, though, was that for me, we took much too long to read it. This last segment I didn't read the book at all for about four weeks because I didn't want to finish it so far in advance of when we'd discuss it---too much time would have passed for me to recall in detail things to discuss. To read something with the necessary attention to be able to discuss it, setting it aside for four weeks was too much. And admittedly, I got a little frustrated when my reading buddies read ahead; one even finished the entire book when we were only set to be two-thirds through. At first thought, it would seem that would be "no big deal," right? Yes . . . except that when big things happen in the last third of the book, when secrets are revealed, when the plot thickens, when questions are answered, it makes it hard to discuss it without giving away too much and with being able to discuss it with the same curiosity the other two of us had.

Still, over all, it was a good thing to do. And so we've chosen our next book. this time, though, we're going to read the whole thing. It's a shorter book and so it shouldn't take too long; we've give ourselves six weeks. Even though it's grading time for us all, we have six weeks and so we have the flexibility of that time to read around grading . . . or as an escape from it.

Our next book is Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodriguez and Kristin Ohlson. It's the story of an American woman who went to Afghanistan after the Taliban had been driven out to train Afghan women. From the New York Times review:

“Kabul Beauty School” is the rollicking story of one of the strangest
foreign-aid projects ever conceived, the creation of an academy to train Afghan beauticians. A surprisingly successful venture, it gives Afghan women practical training convertible into cold cash and personal power, a radical idea in a country where women have the approximate status of dirt.

I loved The Kite Runner and the glimpse it gave me to the inside of Afghanistan, so I'm really looking forward to another book that will open those doors. And I look forward also to reading this and discussing this book and all of the issues it addresses with my friends.

Sprite in a Fancy Glass

The day I got the offer for the tenure-track spot, I knew I wanted to celebrate the news. And I wanted to celebrate it with some specific people.

See, when I landed the first teaching spot, I toasted it with my sister, who happened to be visiting me that weekend. That, of course, was the first big step to the career I had figured out was the direction I'd been moving in, and I was so happy to be able to celebrate it with my sister.

This time, of course, I was here and she was there. But with a little planning, and the help of a wonderful brother-in-law, I still not only got to toast with my sister, but I also got to, again, surprise her. (It was a big surprise to her three years ago.)

My neighbors had been through all of this with me too, taking care of the critters during trips out of town in pursuit of my position, listening to me fret and rant and go on about all the stress and worries that I've been through over the last many months, and being encouraging and supportive throughout. And so, I wanted them in on the celebration too.

Thus, after I got the offer (and danced a mini jig in my office), I emailed my neighbor Michelle and asked if they were free to come over for a drink that evening. She replied that they'd be over. I also contacted my brother-in-law, and he gave me the timeline of their oh-so-busy schedule. We synchronized the plan, and he sat out to have a chilled bottle of bubbly ready at the right time.

So that evening, Michelle and Morgan came over a bit after 6 (Cole was running late), and I called Charla. (Actually, I called her hubby first, then hung up and called Charla about two minutes later---giving him time to grab the bubbly.) And so, I was able to tell them all and toast with them all at the same time! It was great! Not too long thereafter, Cole got here, and we all enjoyed a nice visit as I grinned ear-to-ear.

Of course, Morgan is only eight, so no champagne for her. But she's taken care of the critters too and is such a dear, so I wanted to be sure she was in on the celebration too. (A good aunt remembers the kids and has things for them too.) And of course, I had some chilled Sprite, and I poured her a glass in one of my champagne flutes. So she got to toast with us too!

What's interesting, of course, is how things we do have an impact on kids---things we never think will have as much of an impact as they do in the end. Turns out, this was one of those things. She'd never had anything in a champagne flute, and the way the Sprite bubbled just like our champagne was magical in her eyes. This apparently created quite an impression.

See, I learned today that last week, Morgan told her mother, "I think we might need to go over to Jana's house and drink Sprite in a fancy glass." She brought it up again over the weekend. Too cute! Thankfully, though, she never actually made it over (her mother told her she needed to be invited--not invite herself) because I don't have Sprite in the house!

Of course, it's already been added to this week's grocery list.

As I told Michelle this afternoon though, Morgan's learned what we all need to remember. Sometimes you just need some Sprite in a fancy glass. Use that fancy glass. Eat off your good china on a regular day sometimes. Treat an otherwise ordinary day as extraordinary---because they all are special days in some way or another. After all, they're each a gift. And gifts are always worth a little something fancy.

We shouldn't wait for an excuse to celebrate; life is worth celebrating!

In Case You Missed It . . .

Top Ten Surprising Things about Barack Obama (from David Letterman on May 1)

#8---too funny! :-)



But now I feel a little need to remind anyone that this was on late night television! I have a colleague who apparently took everything Michelle Obama said on Steven Colbert as absolute truth. Oh dear, that's almost (almost) as bad as a relative of mine spouting off about Barack Obama's religion---having heard falsities on the radio.

Sigh.

Can we not find our sense of humor . . . and sensibilities?

My Good Fortune

Two weeks ago brought Secretary's Day---or Administrative Professional's Day---to us. (The last three places I've been, the position is still titled secretary.) I have to say that in my life, I've been blessed with the most wonderful administrative help.

My colleagues who've provided administrative support in my professional life have been stellar. And for the most part, I even still stay in contact with them. (The first who comes to mind, I hope to see in California in January when I'm out there for a visit. (What's really odd is that our joke---from ten years ago---was that she'd always be 42 to me. Hmmmmm. ten years later, and I'm turning 40. Ah, heck, we can both be in our early 40s. Who cares if she has a daughter who's close to 30.))

Anyway, in a belated celebration (she had other lunch plans the prior week), a few of us took Linda, my current secretary, out to lunch last week. We had a lovely time. And today, Linda joined me and a few others for lunch to celebrate Cinco de Mayo (any good excuse for a margarita, si? (don't worry---I didn't go back to the office afterward). As we sat there visiting afterwards, we brought up my leaving, and Linda told me to be sure those folks in Florida knew I left here breaking my secretary's heart for having left.

How sweet is that!?

Truly, she's been my champion throughout the year, and I've been lucky to have had the pleasure of working with her. And sorry if I am breaking her heart. ;-)

Flailing or Perspective?

A couple of weeks ago, in one of my advanced yoga classes, we were practicing headstands. I've written before, I think, on headstand prep poses. Essentially, you begin in downward-facing dog pose and lower your forearms to the floor, clasping your hands together. Thus, your feet are about a few feet from your forearms, and your head is moving forward a bit. Your hands being clasped creates a sort of triangle. You place the crown of your head in that triangle before slowing walking your feet toward your arms. As your feet get closer, you begin to walk on your toes. Finally, you start bringing your knees in toward your body. This had been as far as I'd gotten so far.

My instructor had said, time and time again, you'll know when you're ready. Your feet will just come of the ground, lifting from your core.

And they did.

I was amazed. I quietly said, "Lea Ann," calling my instructor over to me. She exclaimed, "That's it!" and came over to my mat. She spotted my back, giving me the slightest support. (She prefers we not practice headstand prep against the wall---relying too much, then, on the wall and not our core for support.)

And then my feet were back down. But I was so excited!

I kept trying. By then, my instructor had moved to spot someone else, and my feet popped back up off the floor. I did as I should have, and I pulled them in toward my body. Then I felt my body lean the wrong direction.

And I was afraid.

In hindsight (ah, hindsight), I should have tucked my chin and rolled forward---something I'd done plenty of as a child in gymnastics. But instead, I, well, I freaked out. :-) (I have qiute a history with falling, after all!)

I suppose I was trying to fling my body back the direction it had come from. In doing so, I let out a loud yelp and, from my fellow yogis' reports, ran with my feet in mid air, flailing my feet around. Finally, I leaned toward the left, and actually landed on my feet.

My instructor at first (and she even used this as a story in our next class---with my permission) thought that I had tried too soon to straighten my legs. No, I was plenty happy to be in the state where I was, with my feet off the ground and my knees pulled in. I was simply falling.

But that's okay. I know now the support to ask for (not support on my back, but just someone to be there in case I do fall forward). I also now have a plan of what to do if again I have my feet up and begin to fall forward (tuck and roll!).

And isn't that the thing with learning new things, pushing ourselves, deepening our confidence in ourselves and our bodies--having a plan for when those challenges bring surprises? I think so. I'm once again finding myself happily content with how much I learn about life and my approach to it through my yoga practice. At first I was flailing, but that gave me perspective. And I really could have written that about my headstand or things deeper and more personal to me.

And one day, I also have confidence that I'll find the strength I need in that final prepatory pose, and my feet will glide straight up into the air.