Monday, December 31, 2012

Mommy by Agnaldo Timoteo

She is the owner of everything,
she is the queen of the home
She's worth more to me
Than the sky, the land and the sea

She is the most beautiful word that one day the poet wrote
She is the treasure that the poor received from the hands of The Lord

Mommy, Mommy, Mommy
You're the reason of my days
You are made of love and hope

Ai, ai, ai Mommy
I grew up, I lost my way
I Get back to you and feel like a child

Mommy, Mommy, Mommy
I remember the slipper in hand
The apron all dirty with eggs
If I could I would, one more time, Mommy,
Start it all all over again

Sunday, December 30, 2012

I wish, I wish with all my heart

... That I could hibernate from November to May.

It's cold out there. It is really cold. The thermometer reads 26 F. In my brain, that sounds kind of like this:
26 F! That's below zero in normal degrees!

By normal degrees I mean Celcius, the scale in which my mind was taught to think. In the scale my mind was taught to think anything below 25 (80F)  is too cold. In the scale my mind was taught to think, zero (32F) means the armagedon. Now 26 F? That's below zero! What comes after armagedon? the Mayan apocalypse? The end of the world? Fire and brimstone? .... no... no, fire and brimstone actually sounds better that what is outside right now.

That's when I think of bears. Bears are so smart! They don't have to deal with this whole mess! They go into their little lair and hibernate. I wish I could hibernate like they do.

Why? Because the simple thought of leaving my house is so terrifying that start to cry. No, I am not using figure of speech, I actually cry every time I have to leave the house this time of year.

As if the idea that I can't just put on a spagetthi strapped shirt and a pair of shorts and slip into flip-flops whenever I want to leave the house wasn't terrifying enough, there's the fact that, no matter what I put on, I will be too cold!

If I could leave the house in my cozy jammies, wrapped in my sleeping bag, which would be stuffed with cozy blankets, and I could keep my head buried in it at all times, maybe I would be fine. But I actually have to get dressed. And guess what! Every single piece of clothes I put on seems to have been pulled out of a freezer! Not to mention the fact that anywhere other than under my bed covers is way - way - way colder than the cut-off temperature at which I would even be allowed to play outside when I was a kid. So basically going outside at such horrific temperatures is going against everything I was taught to be the right thing to do.

Now put your brain inside my brain and tell me - would you not cry like a baby as well?


Wednesday, December 26, 2012

From a Proud Brazilian to Americans

I don't understand today's America. I'm originally from Brazil. My home country has been a mess for as long as I can remember. But it was ok to be proud of being Brazilian. The one thing we had to be proud of was soccer. We were proud of it. I'm still proud of being a Brazilian. I always will be. Just bc that is the place that made me who I am. The place where I'm from. The place where I've learned to be a person. It might not be the best place in the world, it might not be perfect. But I'm proud of it. We don't accept people coming to our country and saying our flag and our traditions offend them. So why is it not cool for Americans to be proud of their country? Americans, silly Americans, who said you're supposed to be ashamed of who you are? Who said your country isn't worth it. This is a great country. People from all over the world want to be here. To make it here. Be proud of being American. It's ok to be proud of your country. It's ok to love your country above all else. Even if you weren't that great. But you are. Look how much your countrymen have done through the years. Look how much they've brought to the world. It's ok to be proud of that. I'm am American today, but I know I will never have as much love for this country as those of you who were born and raised here. This place taught you to be who you are. So be proud. Be obnoxiously proud. It's your country.

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

what if you only had a day left?

I often hear people say, "live each day as if it were your last". With the whole end of the world hype that we had last week, a lot of people gave that thought a lot of consideration.
I did too. And I came to the conclusion that, if I were to live each day as if it were my last I'd be fat and unemployed. I mean, why would I hold back on chocolate and other yummy things if tomorrow i'd be gone from this body?And why would I wake up early and go to work and put up with everything one must put up with at work in order to keep being allowed to come back the next day? Someone answer me, please? Why?
"Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall die." That would be my philosophy.
Why should I live a life of responsibilities? Responsibility is all about the future. I will do A, B and C because if I don't I won't have a roof over my head, I won't have teeth, I won't have health, I won't have clothes, and I will need all of those things if I want to keep on living a few more years.
A care free life is not a life of happiness. Quite simply put, a care free life is an irresponsible life. Living for today ignoring the existence of a tomorrow is the stupidest thing anyone can do. Just about as stupid as a life that ignores that very real possibility of death.
I know I might die tomorrow. There is a very good chance that happens. But I also know there is a very good chance I might live a long life, and I don't want to live each day of a long life putting up with the consequences of living each day s if it were my last.
If I knew the world was going to end on 12-21-12, I would have quite my job. I would max out my credit card buying anything I wanted to buy, I would eat all the treats I typically control. Because I would know for a fact that there would be no pink slip, no bills, no extra pounds - none of that at the end of the month.
If you are a Christian, you know we'd be in heaven. If you're not a believer of any sort, that means we would all just be dead. So it doesn't even matter what you believe it would happen, one way or the other the consequences of all those wild actions would not be there.
Part of the reason why we lead responsible lives is that we know the consequences of an irresponsible, self-gratifying life.
Please, if you want to live a long life without getting yourself into all sorts of trouble, don't live each day as if it was your last. That's just stupid. Just live each day knowing there's a 50/50 chance you might live another 100 years, as well as you might be gone tomorrow. Prepare for both.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Scary dream

So, going to bed late isn't enough, I have to wake up half way through my close-to-nothing hours of sleep with a scary dream.
It was a confusing dream to start with. It was all one building - the school, my house, the mall, a dining lounge of a hotel with a swimming pool downstairs... And it seemed like the place was haunted. It had an aura like the one of that Tower of Terror ride from Disney Holywood Studios. First I was scolding some students for getting themselves in trouble. Next I was in this dinding lounge. For a minute there it seamed like I was in a train's dining lounge. Well, since it was haunted, there were monsters and ghosts around. By the end of the day, I was at home with my husband in the computer. Then we heard steps coming into the computer room. It felt normal. When it's night time, people are supposed to be arriving in the house. And, in our house, when someone arrives they walk into the room where there are other people. What didn't occurr to my dreaming mind was that , the only person that should be arriving in my house and walking into my computer room should be my husband. My husband, however, was sitting right at the computer with me. So we heard the steps and waited for a familiar face to show up at the door as if it were the most common thing in the world that someone else arrived at our house. Dad walked in and looked at us. No, the fact that dad passed away last year did not freak me out. It is common for children to be home and dad to arrive from work at night. That was all I had in my mind.
But here's when I freaked out:
"hi, dad," I smiled.
No answer. Just a blank stare. That was when it occurred to me, maybe dad was a zombie. He just stared.
"dad, for real, you're freaking me out. It seems like you're a zombie. ... Dad, just say something. .... ... D-Dad, quit the blank stare and say something. You're really scaring me. ... Dad? ... Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" That's when I realized he was some sort of zombie and that we had no place to run, considering we were on the second floor and the only thing dad wasn't blocking was a window. That's when I heard Dean's voice, "Sweetie,wake up! You're having a scary dream."
I had woken him up with my heavy breathing, and it was still a while before I was able to calm down.
And then he wonders why I freak out when he does zombie sounds!

Monday, December 17, 2012

Don't politicize this

From the beginning I and several others have been asking people to avoid politicizing this tragedy and make it about gun control. Many people strongly believe one way or the other. I do too. And I have been trying hard to avoid making political statements. I have even deleted a repost after thinking it might be too political. Is it the time for that kind of discussion? Lives were lost and families are mourning. Should we use their pain to serve our agenda, instead of simply joining them on their mourning? They are not statistics. They are not a parable. They are real people in real unthinkable pain. They need comfort and sympathy. Something any of us would want at a time like this.
Unfortunately the president of this country has already set the bad example with his speech yesterday. I wish for once, he could give a speech of comfort and didn't try to push an agenda. When you are elected by a divided nation, you should try to bring people together, not put them up in arms (forgive the unfortunate figure of speech) against each other. I'm very disappointed at how that which started a beautiful speech ended as a political statement. He missed a good chance to bring his nation together. Instead, he used others' pain to introduce his plan. How unworthy. Never let a good crisis go to waste, eh, Mr. President.
But I still hope other people will allow families to mourn before they start with the we should/not have guns discussion.

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Cruelty

Cruelty is always an evil thing - against property, against plants, against animals, against people... But cruelty against children is about the worst thing I can think of. Why do people do that?
Shooting a kindergarten class? I know humans are fallen sinners but I keep finding myself amazed as to how low we can fall.
Most of us have children, or younger siblings, or some of us are teachers (according to what I was taught - moms from school). I'm sure we are all crushed by such a horrendous event.

I'm look back at the awful event in Brazil, when carjackers dragged a little 6 year old boy for about 3 miles just bc he had gotten stuck by the seat belting the car they were trying to take. How low can we fall?

How low can a race of sinners fall? The amazing thing though shouldn't be that we can fall that low, but that most of us actually don't. God's mercy still keeps in humans the ability to care for each other.

In this fallen world nothing should surprise us. But it still hurts. Nothing but the assurance that God is greater than all evil and that he is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble (Psalms 46:1 KJV) will keep us from despairing at times like these.

Monday, December 10, 2012

Gems from school

Sometimes we hear funny things from little people. Here's a few select ones from school:

---

Student: This is torture! (after hearing several compliments about her hair)
Me: do you know what that means?
Student: no. It's from I Carly.
Me: it's something bad that someone does to you over and over and over again.
Student: oh, like what Sam does to Freddie?
Me: well, more like when you guys talk non-stop all the time that the teacher is trying to teach. THAT is torture!
Student: oh.

---
I say I don't think it's appropriate to say I love you I a student. I love my family, my friends. I care about my students. Love? No, love is something else. But every now and then words come out without thinking. Introducing Awkward School Moments:
Students running after me after being dropped off in homeroom
Me: What are you doing? Go back to your classroom?
Student: but I love you!
Me: ok, I love you too. Now go back to the classroom.
Student: ok.

---

Student: Mis, witches are real, did you know that?
Me (sarcastic laugh): sweetie, I don't believe in witches.
Student makes crying face: no?
Me: no. But I'm pretty sure they are real.
Student (confused): what?
Other student: She always says that!
Darn! Students are beginning to catch up on my weirdness.

-----

Student(pointing to classmate): Mis, tell him something!
Me: Something!

-----

Student (walks up almost to my face): I have strep throat.
Me (backing up slowly making sure no part of me touches anything that might be touching the student): honey, you're not supposed to be in school. Go to the office and let them know that. .

Wednesday, December 05, 2012

Trade your dog for a homeless child

I watched a video about PETA's wacky demands yesterday. The video mentioned that they were upset because during the aftermath of the storm, people were being saved in detriment of animals! Are you for real?
I always thought of PETA as a good, reasonable animal protection society. However, of this video is true, I guess I was wrong. I had no idea they did wacky things like that.
Now I'm here wondering what PETA would say about this famous Brazilian rock song sang by Eduardo Dusek that goes "trade your dog for a homeless child".
"With people things are different," goes another song. Face the truth, people are more important than animals.
How come fertilized animal eggs are protected as if they were sacred material? Are they more important than fertilized human eggs who can be destroyed in the name of choice?

I love animals too, and I don't think they should be treated with cruelty. But, yes, a homeless child should have precedence over a pet.

I don't think that the rocker guy was saying that we should all just dump our pets. But why spend millions on our dear animals while letting children go hungry in the streets?

Whose side are we on when we care more for the well being of another species than that of our own? Does the word self-preservation mean anything to the human race?

"With people things are different"

Accident in Japan

9 people died in their cars in Japan. How? The roof of a tunnel fell in. They were just driving, on their way to work, to a friend's house, to a vacation, to a special dinner, who knows!
The roof fell in, three cars were smashed and caught on fire. What an awful way to die. And, just like that, nine lives were taken... How many families are crying now?
This just goes to show how fragile our lives are. One minute we are here. The next minute we are gone. How many times a day do we dodge death by a few seconds?
And yet, we live as if our lives are so certain. We are so foolish! Why are we not on our knees everyday, thanking God for another day he spared us? And why don't we live each day as if it were our last? I mean, the best way possible, as if in a second we would have to give an account of our actions to a higher authority, aka God?