Time Magazine: Why should you take a 10-minute walk? I am going to try it 🙂
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Continue reading “Time Magazine: 10-minute walk”Month: March 2026
Do You Have To Struggle To Succeed?
This blog post, authored by someone I know professionally and personally, provoked many thoughts in me. While I completely agree with the idea that life shapes us and that the ability to overcome challenges builds character, I can’t fully agree with the statement that without necessity there is no drive and without struggle there is no “self.”
In fact, I repeatedly come across research showing that children from more privileged, more financially secure families have a greater chance of excelling academically and later in the workplace. That’s because their parents can provide them with opportunities for development, support their natural curiosity, and expose them to a variety of experiences. Granted, it’s not enough to have the means to support your children’s development; parents should have the right focus and right priorities. However, when money is tight, you are indeed focused on survival, and have no cycles to even think about children’s extracurricular activities, even if there are options of signing them up for free.
Financial stability is not the same as stagnation. Yes, a person might be aimless, have no goals in life, and pursue no interests when they “have everything.” But I strongly believe it’s not because they “have everything,” but because their curiosity was not encouraged and they were not challenged to reach out to the stars.
My children attended YMCA summer camps for several summers. These camps cost a fortune, especially multiplied by three. During our first summer in the US, I applied for financial assistance, and we were given 50% off. It was still way more than I could afford, and I borrowed money from people who cared about me and wanted to support me. I paid off my debt in six months. Next year, I will be better off and able to afford the camp without going into debt. Regardless of whether it was a struggle, my children benefited greatly from this opportunity.
I do not think life should be a struggle. Suffering does not make us better. Challenges do. And one more thought: when people ask me what the secret of my success is, and where I find the energy to do everything I am doing, I am always saying: I do only things I want to do, and never the things that I do not want but “have to do.” Although I often say that I had to teach my kids to be independent, walk and bike to their activities, cook and wash their clothes “because I didn’t have a choice,” this was still a choice :). The necessity was coming from wanting to do something else :), both for my kids and me.
On My Way To Helsinki
Actually, I already arrived and bought the most important thing:
Morning Biking, Season 6
This is going to be my sixth summer in Rogers Park. On May 9, it will be five years since I moved here, and six years since I discovered biking along Lake Michigan. That being said, even though it’s not even five years just yet, it’s definitely season six 🙂
Madama Butterfly At Lyric
OMG, what a beautiful performance it was! I read all about it before coming (except for reviews, of course), so I knew that it is set like Pinkerton being a modern life gamer, and he plays the story in virtual reality. And when he gets to the next level, he has to choose whether he is staying with his American wife or with Chio-Chio-san, and he chooses the former, and then the tragedy unfolds.
It’s so beautifully done! Everyone is so real! My neighbor said it’s the best she’s ever seen at Lyrics. She says this often :), but the performance was great, indeed.
ODS Dinner
This time, it was less than two months ago, but I still felt that it had been a long time since I was at ODS. Also, this whole week, I felt really tired to the point I started to question whether my energy resources are indeed endless.
There were a lot of good moments: we had three giant salmon halves, so there was enough fish for everyone, and more, and everyone was ecstatic. J. acquired new lemon/pepper seasoning, which was absolutely perfect for salmon, and we used it, and I want to get a similar one for myself. By now, J. knows all the steps and does not wait for my directions; I told her that soon I will just observe and let her do the rest.
I peeled the whole bag of potatoes and made mashed potatoes, and it was all consumed! Now I am wondering, how much will be too much, and whether there will even be too much.
Still, I couldn’t stay longer because of how tired I was, which produced slight disappointment. Usually, it goes like this: first, the residents eat, thank you, and you think that’s it, and after a while, they turn to conversation. I learned not to run out twenty minutes after dinner is ready, but on Tuesday, I just couldn’t stay longer, so I apologized and said I would be back in two weeks.
We are going to decorate Easter eggs next time, and this activity can be a huge success or a huge miss, and I had both. I ordered more dinosaur decorating sets and more “faces” sets, so I hope it will be exciting 🙂
Prairie Postgres March Meetup
The Weather
It’s not only that the temperature jumps up and down, not only that we have snowfalls and thunderstorms within a couple of hours, but it’s also something in the atmosphere that affects people’s minds and moods.
I felt completely dysfunctional both on Monday and today. Well, today I was mostly tired for no good reason (I mean, there was no more reason to be tired today than on any other day of the week), but Monday felt really bad.
There was an accident on the Red line, and the trains were rerouted, and I only realized it after I stayed on the platform at Lake for more than ten minutes. I knew I had to visit my mom as well and be back for a yoga class, so, without any ETA for this transportation crisis, I called Uber during rush hour, which I never do!
My mom was also quite emotionally disturbed for no good reason, which made me think it was something “in the air,” but nevertheless, I did not feel like my usual self, and was tired like a normal person 😀.
Also, I felt like I was getting a cold, which I didn’t get after all (maybe, just “so far”). It was exceptionally cold on Tuesday, and it was supposed to get better today, so then I got out of the house this morning and saw it was snowing again, I was ready to cry. It’s started to warm up by the afternoon, but now I do not trust this weather 🙂
A Piano Recital At The Fine Arts Building
I was there on Sunday, because my friend Y started to take piano lessons there, and she really wanted me to come, and I promised her I would.
To say I was impressed with her teacher is not enough. She works with such a diverse student body and has so much patience and love, and offers endless encouragement and support. And all this in that amazing building, where the walls speak of history and great artists of the past!
I deeply regretted that I couldn’t stay after the recital for a small reception, but that weekend, my time didn’t belong to me; I had way too many things to complete. Even today, I feel very bad that I had to leave, because this teacher is doing God’s work, and I should have told her that in person, not through my friend Y.
I will definitely come to the next recital, and I already told Y that she should stay with this teacher and never quit 🙂
Orchids
I know, I know.. I promised I would never have more than three orchids, and I already have four :). My excuses are that the new one is mini (on the left), and that the oldest one (on the back) is not in great shape. When Lena visited, she helped me nurture this one, cut the burned leaves and unhealthy roots, and I just replanted it in a more comfortable pot. Still, Lena thinks it won’t bloom this season, and if it doesn’t bloom next year, I will probably say goodbye to it.
Until that – let it be three and a half!
Hettie's Reflections 