When this pandemic got real and heavy social distancing measures were put in place, I was having flashbacks of how life was after my father suddenly passed away. I felt like the world stopped (in this case, it literally did) and I wanted to take a moment to just reprioritize and rethink what life was … Continue reading Pandemic and Productivity
Author: Gila Daman
Dream Dad
Yesterday I had a dream about my father. It’s been a while since this happened. My mom was hosting a memorial for him at my childhood home. I was on the driveway as the guests began to leave for their cars. As many people were leaving the house, my mom mentioned a young boy I … Continue reading Dream Dad
I Run on Adrenaline and Passion
This morning when I was at the dentist (not to be taken for granted—they reopened for check-ups just this week!) the dental hygienist asked if I drink coffee or tea. I told her no. “I run on adrenaline and passion!” I said. Providing virtual preschool lessons and building my virtual nutrition private practice has been … Continue reading I Run on Adrenaline and Passion
Your Inner Reserve
This afternoon I dropped off items to the students whom I am virtually teaching. It was a bag filled with items they had stored in their school cubby. It happened to be that one of my students birthdays is today, and I joked to myself, “Happy Birthday, here’s something you already own!” Obviously this wasn’t … Continue reading Your Inner Reserve
My Grandma Passed Away
Today an era ended—Grandma Edie passed away. She was my step grandmother, but having married my grandfather in the 1970s, she was my grandma my whole life. Grandma Edie was strong—physically: she loved to dance, she took Martha Graham dance classes and actually received a masters from Teachers College in physical education in the 1930s. … Continue reading My Grandma Passed Away
“Limited Choices is Better than Endless Choices”
To help my aforementioned anxiety, I started to break down my large goals into smaller ones. For example, instead of “reformat all 25 handouts for 5 sessions.” I wrote, “make an outline of handout titles; then reformat handouts from one session per day.” I felt much better after committing to this since it was much … Continue reading “Limited Choices is Better than Endless Choices”
Mental Unrest: Work-from-Home Entrepreneur
Working from home for my preschool job these past few weeks has been challenging as well as fun. I miss my students but also enjoy coming up with virtual ways to connect with and educate them. Being at home, I have also begun to focus more on developing my virtual nutrition private practice. I’ve always … Continue reading Mental Unrest: Work-from-Home Entrepreneur
3-Legged Table
A few years after my father passed away, I remember feeling like my mom, brother, and I were like a 3-legged table. We had been a 4-legged table, then one leg got removed and things were shaky/unknown, but then over time I felt like we were a balanced, stable 3-legged table. We adapted. We created … Continue reading 3-Legged Table
Power Outage: A Gratitude Reminder
This past Friday morning we had a power outage. This wasn't a typical Friday. It was the second day of a 3-day yuntif—when a two-day holiday (aka yom tov) is immediately followed by Shabbat. Some who lost power wondered if it would come back on in time for them to make food for Shabbat (one … Continue reading Power Outage: A Gratitude Reminder
Birds Chirping
One morning this weekend, I listened to the chirping of the birds outside my house for 30 minutes as the sun rose. I recalled the trip my mom took my brother and me on to South America where we watched birds flying in their natural habitat in the outskirts of the Amazon rainforest and even … Continue reading Birds Chirping
