They work hard for me.

My feet work hard. As an Aikidoka and a woman without a car, these babies put up with a lot. Sometimes I forget how thankful I am to have a good, healthy body.

But it is not my feet that are working hard these days. My heart, my mind and my spirit have been putting in overtime, it seems. Explosive growth, yes. I am expanding to fill the spaces of the woman that I have always dreamed of being, and in fact, know that I am. She is there, unfurling new tendrils, little by little, stretching toward the light. I can feel it. It is there, just on the horizon...

Faith is forward motion.

Thank you, Jen for passing this along.

A trip I took.

To see more, go here.

In Response to...

This post:

Five things that have made me wag my tail in the past 24 hours:

1. Meeting a friend whom I have not seen in 10 years. (How is 10 years even possible? How does it go by so fast?) She is every bit as confident, lovely, kind and radiant as I remember her. Oh, how proud I am of you, Amber. You go girl.

2. After a week of rain, the sun is out again. Montreal is every bit as lovely in the spring as they say it is. I feel drunk off the sun, the flowers, the magic...I just want to hop on my bike and ride and ride and ride...

3. A sugar cone, two scoops: the first, strawberry-black pepper. The second, mango masai. Party in my mouth. Even better? Sharing with a friend (cassis, masala chai). Seriously, folks, Havre aux glaces could make (or ruin) my summer.

4. Being complimented that I have marked improvement in my ukemi (the "receiving" end of Aikido). I have been working very hard on this, and sometimes it is hard for me to see that it is paying off. Class last night was really, really fun.

5. A lovely walk home from the dojo with my favorite person in the whole world, stopping to pick up goodies for snacking and running into an impromptu block party. I was having such a good time, in fact, that I forgot that I had my bike with me and accidentally left it at the store. Luckily, it was still locked up there this morning...

What is making you happy these days?

16 Mai 2009

5 things that make me happy (for this rainy thursday).

1. The penetrating scent of caramel, caffeine and smoke that descends on my neighborhood most afternoons around 1 p.m. when Santropol is roasting coffee. It almost makes me fall off my bike.

2. Speaking of bikes...Lovely, lovely spring weather + zippy red bike + Montreal's kick-ass bike lanes = yes. I bike to school, to the market, to the dojo, to just about anywhere. I heart Montreal.

3. Kitty face pressed against the glass in the front door in anticipation of my home coming. It is particularly cute when it is Rosie's face, but hey, I won't discriminate against the Miles either. Trust me, this one melts my heart.

4. Fiddleheads, morels, asparagus at the market. That spring that the rest of you have been talking about for months now? Its here. (Finally). We may start late, but we come out kicking.

5. Being able to order at a restaurant or function at the market in French without seizing into one terrified, tongue-tied mess of an anglophone. Merci to the YMCA for helping a sista out. Why did I wait so long?

I didn't really NEED to stop at 5, but I have been seeing these cute little "pick-me-up" happiness lists on various blogs lately and just had to get in on all the fun. Want to tell me what makes you happy right now?

The way home.

Grey/Pink.

Be careful with it. (It is fragile.)

Where have I been?

Slowly but surely warming my bones.
Baking. A lot. Cupcakes out my ears.
Falling asleep early at my own birthday party.
Riding my bike all over this town.
Apprendre le Francais. (and not being able to type the cedille or accent marks)
Hurting a bit.
Laughing a bit.
Crying a bit.
Connecting with that wise woman that lives somewhere between my prefrontal cortex and my limbic brain.
Making new friends.
Re-connecting with old ones.
Montreal Dinner Party.
Naps.
Flipping around the mat like nobody's business.
Being in a state of perpetual kitchen-cleaning (see above).
Drinking beer.
Watching the market explode with new produce.
(Gingerly) taking photos again.
Feeling a lack of motivation half the days, and half of those, giving in to the urge to do nothing, the other half, kicking my butt into gear and just getting over it.
Being centered when I thought I could not possibly be.
Losing it when I really didn't want to.
Doing yoga, but not enough.
Taking advantage of my steam shower before it gets too hot to use it.
Breaking out the sandals and skirts, then abruptly putting them away again.
Missing my parents.
Rocking out.