My father passed away in June.  He lived an active life: playing golf, going fishing, playing “Go” the traditional Japanese board game and walking every morning. … More Living with a trembling heart

In the first Zoom Yoga lesson of 2021, the instructor told us to write down our resolutions on a piece of paper and carry it around for the rest of the year. … More Remember the intentions

My son woke me up by knocking the window of my car.  I was taking a nap while he was in his piano lesson, his first in-person lesson in 18 months.  … More Getting ready for the real world

Right after I finished cooking lunch, the power went out.  This was not a surprise with the recent hurricane, now a tropical storm, arriving in NJ.  My street almost always loses power when a major storm comes through our area.  After four days of cooking in the dark with the background music of multiple generators … More Imagine the life of a social butterfly

I never knew that life could change so quickly until our town was hit by the coronavirus.  School was canceled for deep cleaning on Tuesday, and my daughter came back  from college in California on Wednesday.  Thursday evening, I went to the nearby supermarket for eggs, and heard that there had been a fist fight … More Friendly social distancing

The day before Halloween, I picked up my son and one of his friends from the last outdoor soccer practice.  Soon, the clock would go back to standard time, and we’d lose an hour of sunlight in the evening.  Driving west-ward, I saw the pumpkin colored sunset change to gray.  And then I could no … More High-five or not high-five?

September 11, 2001 drew a clear line in my sky watching habit: before then I’d always hope for blue skies without any clouds; after 9.11 though, I’ve always looked for clouds in the sky.  I can’t forget that blue sky without a spec of a cloud that looked serene and ominous.  So delirious, deceptive, and … More Cloud watching

About fifteen years ago, I met an executive who was deeply concerned about the future.  “I think younger generations will become less patient, as they get used to the Internet search engines.  They crave instant gratification, and they get frustrated when they can’t get what they want immediately.”  I chuckled in my head, as he … More Giving our two cents

As soon as I picked up my son from school, he said, “Mom, it’s going to be a snow day tomorrow.  There’s a 68% possibility of one!” Kids use an app, a snow day calculator, and spice it up with their wishful thinking.  They act as if snow days were their earned right.  In America, … More Snow Day