Independence

I didn't mean for my last entry to land on the 4th of July, i.e. Independence Day. However, after opening an email this morning with the following message, I reconsidered.

The message was from some of my Ukrainian colleagues:
Happy Birthday of your great country! In many ways independence is one of the most important and symbolic things for what the USA is all about. For us, Ukrainians, it is very important to learn about independence (from our American friends and colleagues, too,) and experience real independence here in Ukraine! May your home and your heart shine with the warm light of freedom.

It moved me a bit to see "independence" from this angle. I also choose to see "independence" on a personal level. I vow to maintain my desire to "create my own reality" independent of what kind of social pressures my country presents. On our international flight, on the headphones, I heard a Stevie Wonder song: "Don't you worry 'bout a thing. . . ". I found myself bopping and rocking in the plane seat (with my seatbelt fastened, of course!). I realized that I hadn't done that for a while . . . and it felt good to have the freedom to do so. I am now listening to "oldies" on the radio - it is great to hear them again and they seem to represent the kind of freedom I like - the freedom to express and feel good about it.

Ukraine did have its effects on me. There, I felt like people could really see who I am; I can't really describe it, but I really felt free being myself and training teachers with my personality full-throttle (well almost). It gave me such perspective on who I am and who I want to continue to be. I have been back in the US for less than a week and I find myself still digging in my purse to find exact change for shop clerks, standing in line closely behind the person in front of me, reprimanding myself for not bringing my own bag to the grocery store, and rolling through stop signs . . . little things I became familiar with in my previous life :)

Now in New Mexico, Joe and I have eaten at the Frontier Restaurant twice, we've loaded up on our favorite food items at Trader Joe's, and we've already hit a couple of garage sales (I bought a shirt for fifty cents!). I've run into a gal I used to work with when I waited tables way-back-when, and yesterday I found myself driving on the freeway right along side of my friend Carol (waving at her madly through the tinted windows of my mom's car - duh! No wonder she couldn't recognize us at first!). Also, when my mom and I were buying cosmetics (the Dr. Hauschka ones I've been craving) we saw Ali MacGraw (remember the actress from 1970's Love Story?). She was buying some products at the register, and my mom started up a conversation about me being freshly back from Ukraine. Ali said, "Oh did you get any facials while you were over there? I hear they are WON-der-ful!" I said "no", but then I rambled on about how my friend Melissa used to get great massages in Ukraine. Speaking of rambling . . . how am I doing? Not bad, I'll bet. Happy travels and keep in touch!

"Everybody's got a thing . . . But some don't know how to handle it . . .
Everybody needs a change . . . A chance to check out the new . . ." - Stevie Wonder