Listing Through Life 3
May 3, 2009 by GradingGirl
Filed under Listing through Life, TLC Speaks
On this beautiful Sunday morning, I’m in the mood to create one of my infamous TLC lists.
Why It’s Great to be a Human
(no special order)
1. better developed brains to work with (although do we always do a better job of using them more efficiently?!?)
2. more capacity to share our love (we really need to take more advantage of this!)
3. more advanced language
4. written language
5. ability to create tools that extend our senses and advance our skills . . . we can improve the way we fly with planes, the way we see with telescopes, the way we communicate with phones . . . this point is endless
6. poseable thumbs
7. our invention of clothes, shoes, handbags, makeup (need I say more)
8. all of the institutions we’ve created . . . education, marriage, family, careers, etc. . .
9. art and music
It’s great to be human on this beautiful planet!
Do any of you have any to add to this list????
Smells that Make me Scream
April 13, 2009 by GradingGirl
Filed under Listing through Life, TLC Speaks
They say that the sense of smell holds the strongest memory of all five senses. It is first sense that is activated when we’re born. It is deeply connected to our emotions and, according to Marie Wright in the Mar/Apr issue of Psychology Today, people who lose their sense of smell can even lose their will to live. This strong sense took me back tonight as I was in one of my “throw away” moods. I came across an old bottle of perfume spray and took a whiff, instantly taken back to an occasion I attended wearing that scent. Weird! It’s no wonder that car salesmen pop popcorn to elevate shoppers’ moods (hmmm . . . I’m not sure I completely understand that one). Growing up, my brother teasingly nicknamed me “the sniffer” due to my old tendency to enjoy the scent of my dinner nearly as much as the taste. This naturally spawns an idea for my latest list. Go ahead, scribe this list yourself; GG guarantees you’ll be tickled.
All the smells that make me scream:
1. That very kind old Mrs. Harry who used to work in my grade school library and who wore way too much perfume ~ my nose still aches
2. Cigar smoke in an enclosed dorm room ~ I had one particularly crazy neighbor
3. Wet dog ~ not good; the more hair, the worse!
4. Skunk!!!
5. School bus exhaust fumes ~ cancer!!
6. The book room at school that houses books from three decades ago and God knows how many dead mice in the walls
7. Brand spankin’ new books ~ flip open the pages and get a whiff
8. A just-out-of-the-dryer fluffy bath towel ~ hmmmmmm
9. Banana bread in the oven ~ nothing screams home more loudly!
10. Sprinkles cupcake shop with just baked red velvet cupcakes out of the oven ~ take me there now!!!!!
What I’m Thinking Before I Fall Asleep . . .
April 6, 2009 by GradingGirl
Filed under Listing through Life, TLC Speaks
I’m a perpetual listmaker. “Write it down, write it down” ~ there’s something magical about writing. Tasks have a much better chance of completion, obstacles become less frustrating, and goals are easier to attain. I make grocery lists, resolution lists, wish lists, holiday shopping lists, workout lists, work to-do lists, home improvement lists . . . the lists go on.
I recently assigned my students “25 Random Things about Me” ala the viral Facebook letter. Surprisingly, even though the majority have Facebook, only two of the 25 students already completed this task. My chance to grace them with a lesson in self-awareness!
The responses ranged from the grammatically goofy:
“I get seasonal allergies which are so bad . . . .I’m also allergic to cats and apples . . . but only when I bite into them.”
to the unbelievable:
“I drink more water than any human reasonably should – over 2 gallons a day.”
to the silly:
“I seem to see the number 14 more than 20 times every day.”
to the touching:
“I think people are naturally good.”
to the interesting . . . out of the 25 students, six talked about wearing or not wearing socks to bed:
such as . . .
“I HAVE to wear socks to bed and if I don’t I can’t sleep. Also they cannot be white because I have never worn white socks EVER.”
or the opposite . . .
“I cannot wear socks to bed; they drive me nuts.”
After class, quite a few students came up to tell me the assignment was fun and fulfilling – music to my ears as I list through life. So before I end another list-ful day, here’s one more ~
What usually goes through my mind before I fall asleep
1. How quiet the world gets at night
2. Wish that I could get by with just a few hours of sleep
3. What animals are scurrying in the field behind my home
4. What my daughter wishes for
5. Where my daughter will be in 5 years
6. Where I will be in 5 years
7. Hope that my friends and family in crisis will soon find peace
8. Music is going through my head
9. What if everything changed tomorrow
10. What I want to see more of in my life and intention to make it real!!!
