Hello, Welcome. I’m Renée Valentina and this is Musing Interruptus. Listen to Musing Interruptus if you like stories and learning idiomatic phrases in different contexts. You can read along; just click on continue reading in the description to open a Google Doc with the transcription of this episode. The idiomatic expressions are in italics. Try to get the meaning from the context and then look them up to see if you were right. If you like it, subscribe, follow, and share, but more importantly, continue the conversation. Drop a comment with your answers to today’s questions! Inquiring minds want to know!

Why Do It?

That’s a decent question. It begs to be asked and sometimes gets ignored.

How many things do we do on autopilot?

Thankfully, there are many. That means you don’t have to remember.

Breathing, swallowing saliva (I forget how to do this sometimes, and cough up a storm). It still embarrasses me. There are many biological processes that happen on their own. They are called autonomic or homeostatic processes. I’m glad, because recently I’ve realized that I get more distracted than I used to. I leave little unfinished surprises around the house, a laundry basket with folded clothing that is half put away. Last Sunday, I uploaded an episode of Musing Interruptus to YouTube and then left the it in Spotify as a draft. How odd. That little surprise woke me at 4 am on Monday. One click later, I was back in bed and asleep. Odd. That must be an autonomic process, my body waking up if I don’t finish something, closing the process. I’m glad I don’t have to remember to breathe or tell my heart to pump.

Then there are the things one does because that is the way they have been done for a while. Breakfast time, how you butter your toast (if you still do that), the way you lace up your shoes, the place you part your hair and how many times you brush each tooth in the morning, after lunch, and before bed. Ok, sometimes I forget to brush after lunch. Have you noticed the way you towel yourself off after you take a shower? Do you ever wonder if you follow the same patterns as your parents when they wrapped the towel around you as a child? Being gentle is a tribute to their care.

Things become a bit less automatic when it comes to our jobs. If you have a say in it, then you might work in something you like, that interests you, or maybe something you are passionate about. That isn’t always the case. Sometimes we do jobs that pay the bills, nothing more, nothing less. When asked, What is your dream job? Some people quite honestly say: I don’t dream about working.

Truth be told, it is difficult to find remunerated activities that cause high levels of emotional rewards. Difficult, but not impossible. Continue Reading

Hello, Welcome. I’m Renée Valentina and this is Musing Interruptus. Listen to Musing Interruptus if you like stories and learning idiomatic phrases in different contexts. You can read along; just click on continue reading in the description to open a Google Doc with the transcription of this episode. The idiomatic expressions are in italics. Try to get the meaning from the context and then look them up to see if you were right. If you like it, subscribe, follow, and share, but more importantly, continue the conversation. Drop a comment with your answers to today’s questions! I love hearing from you!

Why do you do what you do?

This is a question that might plague you on restless nights.

Why did I do that? Why did I respond that way? Why didn’t I say this or that?

Oh, if only I had said this, things would have gone differently.

Those pesky hypotheticals that take up your time, thoughts, and energy. All of which should be focused on sugar plums, jumping sheep, the monster under the bed, or Mr. Sandman. I wonder if there is a Ms. Sandman by now. These are thoughts and energy well used before sleep, which should take us to a good place in our dreams.

However, the would haves of the day or worse, life, can and will keep you up at night, if you don’t put them on a leash. That’s right, you’ve gotta tether those thoughts, rein ‘em in, just like a cowboy does with cattle.

I loved watching TV when I was a kid, almost as much as I loved diving into my fantasy world. Sometimes, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on my dolls for their next dialogues and adventures. Whenever I write, I visit that place. Whenever I’m invited to play, even if it is just for a moment, I get transported there. That was the magic of teaching children for me. We played, and I had to oscillate between keeping the peace and being the guardian of the rules. Not as difficult at you might think. When I was in a classroom, my height helped. However, when I became a high school teacher. I went back to being short. It’s all relative, you know?

Teaching is a very safe place for me, I need it as much as my students need it. And I love that. (I’m glad you can’t see me as I write this. There’s blubbering.) Teaching is a love language and a huge responsibility. Sometimes we have the opportunity to make up for other teachers’ shortcomings, and I pray that other teachers are able to do the same for mine. I’ve been thinking a lot about this recently because a student talked about feeling safe. That made me think about all the mistakes I have made. I hate them. Mostly because I hope they didn’t affect my students. Teaching is an awesome responsibility.

Learning is not always easy. We have to face hurdles sometimes.

Hurdles like explaining that water, although considered tasteless and odorless, is not all the same.

But wait. Isn’t it two hydrogens and one oxygen? I mean, that’s it, chemically speaking.

It’s true, but there is more truth than meets the eye.

So I’ll tell you a story

https://tinyurl.com/mwk7psr2