Starting over a new leaf today. I am devoting time to working with children who are learning English as a second language, and I am really enjoying it. Kids don't care what mistakes you have made in the past, or whether or not your hair is dyed or your clothes fashionable. They live in the moment. They are honest. They are appreciative. When a child grabs your hand, and wants you to be homework buddy day after day, you know you have done something right. I don't do their work for them, I try to support their efforts, encourage them, and give praise when they do well. It seems to be working, and this is giving me a lot of pleasure.
Live in the moment. Do not indulge in past mistakes, rather, strike off again, and redirect all energy towards positive ends. ( I took the above photo in Madrid, Spain last month in the city garden. There were a lot of feral cats there, and I wondered how they found food. They seemed wary and alert, and did not allow humans or dogs to get too close.)
There is a problem in Paris. A lot of people do not take care of their dogs. People walk them, and even in some of the most elegant quarters, one has to take care where one steps due to the piles of you know what. There is also a huge stigma in France, they just think it is somehow wrong to spay or neuter their pets. So, just as there is a problem with feral dogs and cats here, there is one also in France. So the city of Paris is trying to get people to change their ways, and be responsible for their furry friends. I loved these small billboards, and the Eiffel Tower on the dog's head. Too cute. But I can tell you that on residential side streets people are just not picking up the piles. It was pretty disgusting. Imagine trying to look up at all the architecture and at the same time dodge piles of stink. I think that they are going to have to start giving out tickets to make people start feeling the pinch in their wallets. A program for school children wouldn't be a bad idea also.
