My folks are talking about moving out here after my mom retires in a couple of years and I’m really excited. I know some aspects of that will be difficult but if they time it right, they’ll be here for my kids’ teenage years and my mom is really great with teens (she’s a high school counselor). I need all the help I can get!

I don’t know what’ll happen with My Gift re: living close or far away. I just want her to live in places she loves, as I always have. I spent my college years in Boston and Cambridge, my grad years in NYC, and a number of years in the Bay Area. Loved ‘em all. Whatever makes her happy is okay with me. If she’s close, great. If she wants to be far away, that’s okay, too. That may be kind of easy for me to say because I like technology, as does My Gift — we text or email a few times a day, so it’s like we always have a conversation going on, no matter where we are physically located.

RE: parents nearby, what do you think The Gift’s views will be of living near you? My fingers are crossed that Principessa and MTB will wind up near us, but it seems the American thing is to seek to flee far from your parents. With my parents, I couldn’t wait to move to college, then flee Michigan; but we found ourselves back here wanting to be near them ten years later, when the kids hit school age. The relationship is very different now. Complicated, complicated.

ps sorry for the late comment; I’m just catching up

YM: Yes, not saying critical things was my first thought — and here I am now, dealing with the thoughts! It’s kind of interesting, as if making critical comments helps let some of the steam out of the feelings. I’m hoping that less expression will eventually mean fewer judgements and critical thoughts. It seems to make sense. If the mind’s habit is to be critical, and you give it fewer and fewer opportunities, then the habit should diminish… (I hope!)

To clarify: I decided to give up *saying* critical things about others (Phase One). I am still having plenty of critical thoughts and judgments!! But I’m more willing, as you said, to watch them arise and then pass away…I wonder if they will start to diminish as I continue to not express them.

I always say if I had known what I was getting into when I enrolled in my first “Hatha Yoga” (actually intro to primary series, but I didn’t know that) I never would have done it! Poor guy!

I have a total love/annoyance relationship with my parents, who live in Scottsdale. We have food issues with each other. Because of these issues, which mean that my husband, son and I don’t get enoigh to eat when we visit, I want to stay in a hotel. But we can’t, because my elderly parents would be so upset.

Yogis that hate their jobs: perhaps they are just the ones blogging. I love my job.

I feel for that guy in class…I would have chortled out loud.
But you know, my first experience with ashtanga was full led primary.
Competitive freak I am, it totally inspired me.