Happy Birthday to Sam the Man!

With it officially still being his birthday, I'd like to devote this blog entry to Samo. Sam the Man.

So Sam, it's finally your turn! Hard to believe that 15 years have gone by since you joined our family. Sometimes you lament the fact that by the time you got in on the act, the family had slowed down its pace as far as those restless traveling years. This may be true, but on the other hand, when you think about it, you've been lucky to have so many older sibs who doted on you from the moment you came into the world. You've been carried around in so many loving arms, you've had more support than any of your older sibs - which I realize could also be seen as more people trying to tell you what to do!

But look how you've come out of it, now that you're a high school student: here you are, with more criteria and a broader understanding about life and human nature than many I'll bet, since you've had examples of all types of personalities, and attitudes, as well as a variety of human strengths and weaknesses to examine during your growing years. It's made you a very discerning person, someone who can see things others miss because they're usually focused on only one dimension, whereas you have a sort of 3-dimensional way of looking at things - in, on, and around!

Of course that could be partly due to the fact that you're a Libra - a sign which fits you perfectly. Balance - that's what you're all about!

And you know, that goes for the physical (the way you're a "natural" at any sport you take on) as well as the mental and emotional levels. I know we sometimes get on your back when you react too feverishly about something ("la vena! la vena!" remember?), but most of the time, you're the one who keeps the rest of us in line!! How many times have two or more of us been in an intense debate over an issue accelerating to the level of potential explosion, only to be brought back to earth with one of your perfectly centered observations. You are blessed with insight and irrefutable logic and those are two wonderful things to have!

When you were younger, I remember writing you a birthday message in which I likened you to a private detective. You would find things others believed lost, or you knew where something was when someone was looking for it - even if there was no reason why you should have known. You just seemed to always observe the order of things and file it all away in your mind so that when others needed information pertaining to one thing or another, you would have it! Over the years, you've developed that asset even more and have stepped in to become someone Car and I truly count on. We love knowing that our "baby" is a go-getter and always ready to help when needed.

Happy Birthday, dearest son of mine! Thank you for filling my life with all your zest and energy and letting me be part of your explorations... by bike, through music, with English; you've shown me that you can persevere through it all... do you realize how far you've come?

Now all you've got to do is be ever ready and willing to reach for your goals as they appear! That's my wish for you.

By the way, if you're thinking that one of those goals is driving, please take pity on me and be gentle... At least you get to start up the engines and warm them up! We've got a whole year to get to the point of solo driving, right?

Birthday for a dreamer

Today's Lu's birthday. He isn't here to celebrate it with us, but I'm sure he's celebrating the event in his most preferred style - at the beach, windsurfing, hanging out with some very special people all day, perhaps making and sharing shrimp cocktails or some such seafood delight while listening to some great music in his combi. That's how I envision him anyway. From what he said when he called last night, the weather has been cooperating where he is, seemingly to be able to give him his true birthday wish! And if such is not to be, he'll be OKAY with whatever does happen.

So Happy Birthday Lu Len. This one's for you:

I remember when you were conceived, can you believe that? Yep, we were in Texas and had just gotten over a separation. Your dad played a trick on me and it worked and I had to return to him and the next thing I knew it was the xmas season and we were back together, though shakily, and then I was pregnant, and your dad was dubious about the wisdom of having another kid, until I told him after a couple of days that I knew it was a boy. From then on, he was all for the pregnancy, believing me in my total certainty that you were going to be a boy!

I know your name came out kind of strange - your first and middle name make up such a turbo-charged combo. They're each packed with history and significance - and maybe together, they have had some influence in turning you into the person you've become. Let's analyze this.

Your first name is for the first name of your paternal grandfather - though when you think about it, that wasn't really his first name at all! But he adopted it, just as he adopted the whole being behind the name. So you're carrying that in your personal history and maybe it's had something to do with the way you have tried on different personalities, ideas, styles, etc. throughout your life so far.

But let's not forget your middle name - after the person who's life and work made such a difference in the world as we know it today. The creativity of his overwhelming, wide-sweeping musical approach had much to do with the 60's consciousness-raising intentions to save the world! Could being his namesake make you prone to absorbing his philosophy, musical awareness, anarchistic disregard for convention, and total immersion in love?

Whatever the reasons that have come together to make you who you are, the fact of the matter remains that you are one unique individual, someone who lives on the outskirts of the norm, poised at the edge of reality, submerged in the "what if?" of Life's possibilities, attuned to both the blatant and the subtle elements of music, art, and taste buds, ever-attentive to the fine line between inflexibility and possibility when it comes to questions of mechanics, electricity, and the sciences.

On first sight, many have noted a physical likeness to Jesus of Nazareth. Others simply find you attractive, though "hippy-ish". Your sibs criticize you for your lack of interest in grooming and choice of apparel. But underneath your clothes (as Shakira would say) you are quite a man. Maybe later on, you'll develop self-pride in your physical appearance; at any rate, who am I to fault you on your complete disinterest in the subject when you probably got it from me?!

Throughout your school years, you were boy wonder. Yesterday, I was looking for a paper I needed, and I found a whole folder of your certificates and diplomas, and marveled at some of them: Award for 'Student of the Year' in kindergarten! First in the city in an electronics project in Jr. High, first in the zone in science, best average of your grade, etc., etc. Somewhere along the way, you became disillusioned with school... maybe it was the year that you went to that parochial school.

And then, you entered the university, full of fascination for philosophy. What turned you against it? Was it really the fact that there was nowhere to go with such a degree, or that the faculty and the student body kept shrinking semester after semester? Or were you afraid of having to actually decide on and write a thesis? I can understand that - it must be mind-boggling to have to write a thesis on something related to philosophy!!! I mean, philosophizing on paper over philosophical questions has got to be one of the scariest prospects imaginable, in terms of theses. It could lead to an interminable amount of writing!!!

So you didn't finish school - you opted for deep reading on your own time, while looking for something else to do as your main activity. And you never lacked for projects!! Remember the windsurf board that you studied about, engineered, built and used? Remember the photography phase, where you took some incredible shots around these parts, and of people you knew, and then studied them and tried to get to a more professional level? Most of all, remember all the projects you carried out around the house and on the different vehicles?

Speaking of vehicles, this latest project of yours - your Lety dream-van - really took it out of you. I couldn't believe it when you brought her home for the first time - a totally useless old combi that would need more work than anyone would ever want to have to do to make her serviceable again. But you were adamant, and you actually did end up driving her!!! You worked like a slave or like a blind worshipper over her, and before you left, she was running!

So what do I wish for you LuLen? I wish you a life that is always filled with ideas and projects and dreams; I wish for you good talks, good wine, good deeds and good vibes among good friends. I wish for you a new insight into what you yourself want for the future. Most of all, I'm just grateful that I've gotten to have you in my life these past 26 years. Loving you and having your love have made the day-to-day something extraordinary and not to be taken lightly.

Before I close: some special LuLen moments:
One of your first words - when you were only 2 years old, being able to recognize and separate the VW Bug from any other car and denominating it: the "Tíjilil".
Following Car around whenever he was doing engine work and learning how to handle tools (one of which you dropped down the patio drain) when you were 3.
Running around the house EVERY DAY between 4 and 5 in the afternoon, making motor sounds and rambling on and on with a whole spiel about: "La mesa es la novia del Meso", "El Plátano es el novio de la Plátana", etc. etc....
Making that film documentary (spoof?) of our household that had us all practically peeing in our pants, especially when you opened the door to CLo's room!
The time you fixed the carburator on the drive up from Yucatán with the help of a Trucker I flagged down (I think you were about 11).
Learning how to drive so that you could be Car's driver at age 14.
Making all those weird noises - animal farm style - and being able to quote any line at random from any movie you've seen.
I could go on and on, but I'll save some stuff for next birthday.

Have a happy birthday LU and many many more!

Decision by Intuition - how does that feel?

Yesterday morning at the Language School, the subject turned to decision-making. I was doing this particular dynamic with one of my tutorials: a business-related maze in which the student organizes an event on the basis of decisions made from beginning to end of the planning process, and the resulting success/failure of the event is determined by points scored from each decision made along the way. I had already done the same dynamic in about 5 or 6 other classes, and in each case, the student in question had their own reasoning process for coming to their conclusions, which inevitably created some differences in the options they chose and the scores they got at the end.

This particular student, a young woman named Emma, really impressed me with the way she made her decisions. She would read the four options for resolving each dilemma, think for a moment and then quickly say "A" or "C" without explanation. So of course, this being an English class, I would ask her why she chose that option, and each time, her analysis of the situation included a new slant on what others had stated in their analyses. In one particular case, the reasoning behind the option she had chosen, which was one that most of the others also chose, was completely unique and downright exciting to see.

Suffice it to say that she ended up racking up the most points I'd ever seen and the results showed her to be excellently skilled at pulling off an extremely successful event. So I asked her how she came to her decisions and she answered, haltingly (because she still needs more confidence and help with the correct grammatical structures to express herself well) but in very comprehendible terms, "I have learned over time to listen to my intuition when I need to take a decision."

"Intuition? What's that?" I asked. "Well I feel it right here," she pointed to the area of her diaphragm, "a kind of ... inside" (she made spidery movements with her fingers against her diaphragm). My eyes opened wide and I said, "I don't have that!! I've never had that feeling. I've never understood what intuition is, although my husband is always talking about his power of intuition."

At this point, she explained that, according to her understanding of the human brain, left-hemisphere-dominant people (like this student and my husband) are usually more prone to planning and keeping things scheduled and in order, while right-hemisphere-dominant people (like me) are more spontaneous (prone to chaos??). That's why left-brain people can usually feel their intuition coming into play.

"Oh, so that's why I don't have any intuition," I lamented sadly. "Not necessarily," she said, eyes sparkling (she really is a beautiful woman). "Maybe it's simply that we left-brainers have to stop to listen to our intuition, while you right-brainers live by your intuition. That's why you don't feel it kicking in. It's a permanent fixture!"

"WOW!" I said, and was speechless with all the new input. In fact, I'm still contemplating the whole idea! Guess it depends on what you believe as far as right/left hemisphere traits, the dominance of one or the other in people, the concept of 'intuition', etc. All I can say for sure is that, when it comes to making decisions, I always try the different tricks I've learned to help me through the process, and none of those tricks include intuition. My one aim is not to regret whatever I decide, though I've got to admit that there are some decisions that I do end up regretting (and that's a topic for another blog entry)!

Maybe I just need to understand the concept of intuition better!