I was watching a music video by M.I.A. on YouTube so intently that I didn’t notice Paul come in the room and rest his hand on my shoulder. Boy, was I surprised.
If a t.v. is flashing within sight, it’s the same thing. I have awkward conversations.
Music too, I get distracted. I can either listen to […]
Which is worse? Malaria or sickles? Apparently, carrying the sickle gene prevents the chance of dying of malaria. So people who live in areas where malaria is common, more people carry the sickle gene. Having sickles may shorten life expectancy, but malaria can kill you at any age, especially when young. So nature has deemed […]
I was to take the boy out to a museum that’s located in a park, but I couldn’t find parking so I kept driving through the greenery, looking for a patch of land to let him run like mini-Tarzan. I drove farther than I intended. Across the road I saw some kids playing, and it […]
The boy I look after is 17 months. Two words tell me how he is a true American.
The way he says bottle: “BA-LO” and water: “WA-LA”.
(I only talk to him in Japanese).
Long time ago on Valentines, somebody at church (I used to live with a Mormon family) told us to say “I love you” to our parents. I couldn’t bring myself to make a phone call, nobody says “I love you” in Japan, especially to family members, and even with my British father it was odd […]
A scientist friend told me a study she was involved with. In most languages she said, notes are called “high” or “low”, as in you think of “up” when hearing a high note, and “down” when hearing a low note. This is interesting, and quite biazzare, as notes have nothing to do with height, but […]
When I first nannied for them, the eldest girl was 4, the second one 2, and the third one not yet born. Now the girl is 8, the birthday boy 6, and the third one almost 4.
Theirs is a karate family; their father’s chosen path. During my recent visit I saw, just how sophisticated and […]
Yesterday I took a day off to volunteer in a special ed. class room, as part of my coursework. About 15 children from kindergarten to 2nd grade. A wild lot. For a while, I rubbed the tummy of this autistic boy who was elated to meet me. “He’s a physical one” the teacher told me, […]
