beyond words

On the horizon

I love living near mountains. The multitude of ways they present themselves throughout the year never fails to amaze me.

Waiting for Relief

It has been a hot September here in Japan. While I think that is pretty typical, this September seems to be worse than years past. The irritation that this has caused me reminds of the point you sometimes reach in young relationships where you spend too much time together and all the things that once charmed you begin to drive you crazy.

PC

Being a teacher, especially a teacher of English in a foreign country, the older I get, the more confusing it becomes to know what is and is not acceptable to say these days. Not only that, but finding words and expressions to replace those that I grew up with, and then remember to use them at appropriate times, for me, takes time.

Weaving in Humor

With crickets being as loud as they are (or are they just louder in Japan?), I think it’s funny that we sometimes describe moments of quiet with the expression Crickets. In this haiku, I’m working with a pun, not only is it nice to wake to the sound of crickets in early autumn, but it’s also nice to wake up to silence, as opposed to the chaos that young children sometimes bring to a person’s morning routine (or lack thereof).

Memories

Seeing some of the long-haired caterpillars in Japan, I think back to being a kid and hearing the adults make comments about upcoming winters.

Hustle

It’s something that you just can’t teach. People either have it or they don’t. My son just doesn’t have it, not at the moment anyway. I sure wish he did, and maybe he’ll figure it out someday, but for the time being, the only thing I can do is remind myself that my days on the field are done.

Dim the lighting

I usually like bright houses with big windows, but I have a soft spot for that strange dampened lighting that storms sometimes bring with them.