You Get What You Give: A Note of Thanks and Some Advice

I am one lucky person.  Well maybe not that lucky.  I am at a point in my life where a lot of things are starting to click.  Big changes are about to happen and for the first time in my life that I can remember, I feel really good about where life is headed.  If you read my last post, you'll know that after twenty years in my house, I have decided to sell.  It's one of the biggest decisions I've ever made and as the days have passed since that post, I'm actually starting to get excited...but that's not what I wanted to talk about...

When I posted It's Happening the other night, it was late.  I pretty much hit the 'publish' button and called it a night.  Well, I woke up the next morning to almost 500 page views, 80 likes and 50-plus comments on Facebook, as well as several texts and messages, all entirely supportive of my decision.  I was literally overwhelmed with emotion from it all.  I even heard from people I hardly connect with much anymore, and it just got me to thinking of how lucky, yet not so lucky I am.

I'm lucky because I have a support system of incredible people around me...friends, family, colleagues, and even simple acquaintances.  I don't always remember that until something like this comes along and boom, even the simplest of gestures gives me a feeling like no other.  I am humbled and feel very blessed. 

Once the house had been put up just yesterday and I posted the pictures my friend and realtor Ricardo had taken, the love and support flooded me all over again.  Lol, I don't know if it's the gay or the Italian in me, but I shed tears several times from all the compassion.  I just want to say here and now thank you to each and every person who reached out to me over the past several days.  Having every single one of you in my life is a blessing that I cherish!

That being said, I am a firm believer that this isn't all luck, and thus this teacher's advice to any of you reading.  You always get back what you give, and I like to think that the love and support that I give to anyone in my life is what I am feeling back right now.  I'm not saying I'm perfect, but I think I'm someone who's heart is always in the right place and, well I think I'm a fun person to be around, too, so...

So please take heed this little whatever you might call it.  If you're genuine and kind you're going to find that that it will come back to you tenfold.  I am proof of that.  If you don't behave this way, well, karma can be a bitch.  There's not nearly enough kindness in the world, so if you want to feel the love like I have these past few days, then you've got to give it!   

 

It's Happening!

I just spent the past five hours packing.  Not packing for a trip, but really for the unknown.  You see, I've been making these tentative plans in my head for about the last two years and I really still don't know what the heck I'm doing, but I do know it looks like I am selling my house. 

I've been avoiding this decision for a long time now, but with summer winding down and a new school year ahead, it is time to dive in and just do it.  To be honest, I am scared and sad all at the same time.  I'm scared because I have no idea what to expect, no idea where I'll be going, and I dread whatever headaches will be coming my way in the process...

But most of all, I am really sad.  As I take pictures off the walls, put my belongings in boxes and organize them into a staging area for moving in my basement, it all seems so real.  This is really happening and it's hard to believe.  Just a couple of weeks ago, I hit the twenty year mark of living in this house, the longest I've ever lived in one place.

Back in 1998, my ex Joe and I bought this place together after having rented for about seven years.  I remember at first, I didn't like it.  I preferred another house a few miles from here, but Joe, who was an interior designer by trade, saw the character and potential in this place, and convinced me.  And I've loved living here from the day we first moved in. 

He and I spent both a wonderful and tumultuous ten years together here, and when our relationship ended, I really thought the house would be sold in the aftermath.  Little did I know, I made an emotional decision to buy the house from him and in the ten years since, I've created a new life for myself and have had wonderful times here. This is what I know.

The house is perfect for one person.  It's small enough to take care of and it's big enough for entertaining friends.  But it has become too much for me to take care of, both physically and financially and I know that I have to do this.  The real estate guy is coming Friday and I would imagine after that there'll be no turning back.  Sigh!  Stay tuned....

I❤️amsterdam, Part II: Canals, Red Lights and Coffee Shops

This post is not meant to be a review of the city of Amsterdam, but an overview of the things I saw and did while I was there.  Hopefully the photos I've included will entice you to visit this marvelous little metropolis.

Amsterdam is such a lively, compact and beautiful European city.   Amongst the quaint and uniquely Dutch edifices that make up the city itself, you experience the whizzing of thousands of bicyclers peddling their way to one place or another, trams carrying the masses to and from work, and of course, the canals.  At any given moment, while walking around, you may come upon one of a myriad of these picturesque waterways for which the city is partly famous.

    

Canals

Here are some photos I snapped of some pretty beautiful canals, both big and small:

Red Lights and Coffee Houses

Amsterdam is also known for being a very liberal city, perhaps one of the most liberal in the world.  Between the infamous red light district to the legalized cannabis, people who enjoy participating in the more risque things in life flock to the city to partake in the world's oldest profession and the world's most popular drug.  Wherever you find a coffee house, you will find the almighty weed, and whether or not a visitor chooses to partake in either of these things, you can't help but notice...

So, for what it's worth, I enjoyed every moment of my three days in Amsterdam.  To learn more about the city, check out iamsterdam for everything from soup to nuts, and in the meantime, stay tuned for the rest of the story of Europe 2018.

Also check out I❤️amsterdam, Part I: The City & Architecture & I Was On a Paris Train

I❤️amsterdam, Part I: The City & Architecture

Amsterdam is one of my favorite cities in Europe, and when I had the opportunity to spend the first three days of my vacation anywhere, I chose to come here.  I'd been to Amsterdam before, twice on school trips, but never on my own, and I was excited at the prospect of seeing the beautiful city in more of its entirety.  I wasn't disappointed.

There are so many things about Amsterdam that I love, the architecture, the scenery, the people, the openness and the quaintness of it all, and of course the canals.  Here are some photos and comments on this wonderful Dutch city that you should surely visit at least once in your lifetime.  Check it out...

Amsterdam is a small enough city to navigate (though admittedly I did get lost on more than one occasion, lol.)  The one thing to remember is that Amsterdam Centraal, the main train station in the city, is pretty much central to everything.  Whenever I did get lost, all I had to do was look for signs that pointed to the beautiful edifice at the center of it all and I could easily find where I wanted to go.

Architecture

The city of Amsterdam and The Netherlands in general is famous for its architecture, and there are plenty of beautiful edifices throughout the city.  The Dutch style is very uniquely geometric, and very pleasing to the eye.  Here are some examples:

This style of architecture is not the only style found in this beautiful city.  There are plenty of other beautiful buildings and sites all around town that give you the feel of being in a European city.  Check out these pictures:

Rembrandt Square

Well I'm realizing that Amsterdam is too special a city to cover in just one post, so I'm going to leave it here for now.  Stay tuned for many more beautiful photos and commentary on this wonderful place...

See also I Was on a Paris Train

  

Lost

outsidethebeltway

In another piece written by one of my students, a young teenage girl from Guatemala writes about her harrowing journey from Central America to the United States. Freshly arrived, she wrote this as an essay in Spanish and translated it via Google translate.  As I read through the piece in my editing stage, I thought it read more like a poem.  To me, it captures the inner struggle that these children must face and the constant fear they endure during their voyage.  Check out Lost...

I am a Guatemalan with dreams of overcoming my problems

My trip started on December 4, 2017

With a prayer to God to take care of me on the way

There I left my childhood, my family

To come to this new place

With a lump in my throat, I said goodbye

Time progressed and with each moment

I was moving farther way from them

Two days by bus, we reached the border with Mexico

We crossed at night, in fear, ,among so many strangers

We arrived, locked away for two days until finally they came for us

A truck, ready to start crossing the desert

They dropped us at 3 A.M., 

with nothing but backpacks, water and a garbage bag

To protect us from the cold and the rain

In the morning, we were separated into three groups

Told to look for the famous line with guides who "knew where we were"

By the fourth day, we were all supposed to meet again

Unfortunately it was not meant to be

What happened to the rest of the group, I do not know

The guide went back for the rest, leaving us

On our own, to get to that line

I know he feared something would happen to us too

But he left us anyway, to walk through the desert on our own

Two days, no water, and the fatigue was surely fatal

The only thing we had was to ask God

To give us the strength to follow on

I don't know whatever happened to my travel companions

But I wish them the best since their decisions weren't easy either

As always, thanks for reading.  Stay tuned for more...

I Was on a Paris Train

The sadness first hit me as time wore on towards the end of another wonderful day in Paris.  It was Saturday, and anytime I made any sort of mention of the end, Amy wouldn't have it.  Goodbyes are always hard, and I'm sure they've been especially difficult for her in the nine years since she'd moved to Switzerland.  I understood that, and I tried my best not to bring it up, but then Sunday came too fast and suddenly I was packing to go home and the reality that the end was near really started to settle in once David started explaining how I would get to the airport on the train.

My trip to Europe was one of those special times I will always remember.  Almost all vacations are good, of course, but in the grand scheme of things there are certain ones that just stand out, and this was definitely one of them.

I'd started my trip in Amsterdam, a city that I always wanted to explore on my own (I'd only been there before on school trips with lots of kids.), and I loved it.  The rest of the time was spent with Amy and her husband David in Lausanne, Switzerland and then Paris.  Amy and I graduated from Stony Brook together (She teaches ESL, too!) and though our interactions since graduation had been sparse, when we do, she and I always connect like the old friends we are.

I'd last seen Amy back in April, when I visited Lucerne, Switzerland on a school trip.  Like before, she invited me to come visit on my own in the summertime and that's just what I did.  I'd never met David before, and when I arrived, I shouldn't have been surprised that he was as genuine a person as Amy was, very warm and welcoming.

For the last ten days of my stay in Europe, the three of us got on so well.  Amy became my tour guide to the Lake Geneva area while David worked, and the three of us spent lovely evenings together just chatting and enjoying each other's company.  Once we'd reached Thursday, David was officially on vacation and the three of us headed off to Paris, where for four days we spent a magically spontaneous, adventurous time.  And then there was Sunday...

David and Amy accompanied me about three quarters of the train ride to Orly Airport in Paris.  David carried my heavy luggage up and down stairs through the Paris subways, one last act of total sweetness.  We switched trains in Chatelet and on the RER we were going to part ways about four stops before my destination.  As we stood there in the crowded car, getting closer to their stop, none of us really looked at each other, avoiding the sadness of parting.  Soon, it was time for the two of them to disembark.  The train stopped and each of them gave me a knowing hug and kiss goodbye and then they stepped off the train.  Once the doors closed and they were out of sight, the tears finally came.

I want to take a moment to thank both Amy and David for their hospitality, their time, and most of all their friendship.  I will take the memories of this wonderful time with me as long as I have time on this Earth.  I am sure that after this trip I will see them both again sooner rather than later.  I love you both! 

Stay tuned for some European vacation stories and pictures...