Day 362 - Knitter

Thought of the day: Jasmine had been practicing piano duets for an upcoming multi-piano festival. Her teacher made a CD with all her songs so she could practice with the music at home. One song was particularly challenging for her and she had been struggling with it for days. Today she finally got it through without making a single mistake. She was ecstatic! It was certainly a good thing that she could finally play this song as her audition was coming up soon. But a more important lesson she learned was that with persistent effort she could improve and achieve what might seem impossible just a moment ago. It was a lesson worth learning at any age.

Photo of the day:

I ran into a group of women outside of a cafe knitting and chatting under the sun. Apparently they do this every week. What a wonderful tradition to have! They all seemed to be pretty good at knitting - I guess it is one of those things you get better at with a lot of practice too.

Day 337 - Making Music

Thought of the day: I have missed a few excellent photo opportunities today. I missed a shot of two very dear dogs of my friend when I had coffee in her house this morning. They really snuggled up on me and made me feel all warm and fuzzy. I missed a shot of autumn light when I ran on a trail later in the morning. The light gave everything a soft, delicate and airy touch. In the afternoon, when I was at Jasmine's school to pick her up, I saw a woman and a dog waiting patiently outside for a child to show up. Inexplicably, I didn't have a camera with me again so I could only frame a picture in my mind but didn't actually take a shot. A photographer friend of mine once said that the shots he missed were the best ones and they lived in his mind forever. Perhaps that was not a bad thing - if he had actually taken those shots, they might not have turned out as he had expected and they might have been quickly forgotten. Instead, now he had a reservoir of beautiful and interesting images in his mind. Perhaps, those "missing" images made him the photographer that he was as much as the images he actually took made him. So, I do regret but do not feel bad about missing all those shots today. The important thing is to open my eyes and my mind to see and behold amazing images I encounter every day - at least I have done that today.

Photo of the day:

I finally got to take a few photos when it was already dark outside. Here Lila was "playing" piano for our house guests after dinner. She was not really playing a tune yet but her passion for forcing some interesting sounds out of these black and white keys were both cute and admirable.

Day 327 - Climbing

Thought of the day: Jasmine has recently started doing her piano practices in the morning instead of in the evening.  It's amazing how much difference such a small change in her schedule makes.  Practicing piano in the evening had always been a bit of a struggle for us because she was already pretty tired after a day of school and was really not eager to do more stuff. Now that there's no more piano practice after dinner, everybody can relax and rewind during the quiet time in the evening. Of course, getting up early every morning to help Jasmine with her practice is by no means an easy task for a night owl like me, but it's a small price to pay for more peace and harmony in the house. Change is not always good, but sometimes it can be. In fact, I believe that not being afraid of making changes is a secret ingredient for happiness and the change of Jasmine's practice time proved it!

Photo of the day:

Lila in the climbing gym getting her first climbing lesson today. Jasmine didn't start climbing until she was quite a bit older, but we are doing it differently for Lila because I think she is ready for it. I hope this change will work out well.

Day 301 - Nap

Thought of the day: This morning I brought Lila to the second open house event of her new preschool.  I knew most of the teachers there already and I met and talked to a few parents today.  Everybody was open, warm and friendly. It felt as if we were having a big family reunion. I am confident this is a safe, loving and nurturing environment for Lila where she would learn to share and enjoy the world with the others.  We are all eagerly anticipating her first day in this preschool tomorrow.

Photo of the day:

Lila napping in a cafe after her preschool open house event and lunch.  She was excited and exhausted and fell into sleep during the bike ride home.