A dear childhood friend of mine, who struggled through some very dark periods in his life, used to say that it was his beloved dog, Moe, who kept him moving from one day into the next and not succumbing completely to his addictions.

I couldn’t ever get too drunk because I had to remember to feed Moe. I couldn’t get completely stoned because I had to walk her.

On Mondays (Luna’s Day) we share thoughts and stories about the meaning and value of animals in our lives.

So many of you have written in about how your pets have been anchors in your lives, sources of comfort and motivation and purpose. They are such poignant and beautiful stories, important to share here.

Greer wrote:

In the not so distant past, I was on the verge of homelessness and was going to have to foster my pets to get into transitional housing…the girls to a friend in Reno, the boys to somewhere as a friend was trying to find someone for me. When it came time to meet halfway to drop off the girls, I couldn’t do it. I broke. I was resigned to live in my car with ALL of my pets versus foster them to friends even. They are also what has kept me from killing myself as I have had a very difficult 2 years.

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Hannah graduated from college a week ago, and I’m just now catching up with life-as-usual. (Among other things, I’m trying to get back into the swing of writing a blog post every day).

What a whirlwind of activities and emotions!

I’m the sort of person who processes thoughts and experiences slowly, so that I actually appreciate events more fully after they are over. During a Big Happening, I try and take lots of photos and absorb as much of what’s going on as I can. Then, I sort through it emotionally later on.

A few mornings ago, over my first cup of coffee, I felt good, calm feelings beginning to surface, and so I quickly jotted them down before I could squelch or analyze them. What do I feel now that both of my kids are finished with college?:

This past Sunday, Former President Bill Clinton spoke at Yale University’s Class Day. (I was one of the beaming-with-pride parents in the audience).

One of President Clinton’s  observations was that it’s important to listen to people with different points of view than our own.

“One problem we have in the modern world is, we’ve got access to more information than ever before, but we don’t all listen to the same information,” he said.

He explained that we have so much informational choice available to us, we can select the sources and messages we agree with and ignore the rest. This leads to a polarization of viewpoints, often with oddly distorted results.

“In our media habits, we go to the television sites, we go to the radio talk shows, we go to the blog sites that agree with us, and it can have very bizarre consequences” he said.

I’m an Abrams Brothers fan. Their musicality floors me every time I listen to them.

Here’s a music video which shows off their talents, including James’s amazing rapid-fire fiddling. Check it out!

I asked John Abrams to tell me about his music education:

James and I were 6 and 8 years old when we began playing the violin. It was 1999, and I remember our mom asking us very casually in the car, “Hey, do you guys want to try playing the violin?” We replied very simply “Sure, we’ll give it a try.” That is how it started for us.

In his book, Musicophilia , Oliver Sacks says that:

On Mondays (Luna’s Day) we share thoughts about the value and meaning of animals in our lives.

As I read the wonderful tales you’ve shared about your pets, I have especially enjoyed all the marvelous names!

I can feel the warmth and love radiating out from these sweet, clever, tender monikers you’ve bestowed on your beloved animals.

Reading them always makes me smile, so I collected up a list of your pet-names to make you smile, too!

And please do write in with the names of your own pets and I’ll make the list longer.

Of course I click around on other blogs, on other sites, and I read the comments other readers leave.

I know this sounds biased, but I am convinced that YOU, the readers of Always Learning, are the smartest, most articulate, fairest and most thoughtful readers I have seen anywhere!

I can honestly say that every single comment I’ve ever received has been intelligent, mature and valuable.

And many of you have extraordinary writing skills!

It is always a pleasure for me to read your comments. I wonder how many bloggers can say that?

The following is an analysis, by Erika, of a Tony Hoagland poem I posted a few days ago. I loved Erika’s  insightful message and her artful way with words so much, I had to make sure you see and appreciate this:

Of course this is a hugely important time of year for me, as all my students finish up the school year and many graduate.

This year is extra special, since my own daughter, Hannah, is about to graduate from college.

Yesterday, I called Geico to take Hannah off my automobile insurance, and it was this odd moment (The years of carrying kids on my policy are OVER!) that made the transition real for me. I sure will enjoy those lower monthly payments, but still…

Here’s a lovely, poignant poem which has the same bittersweet feel, of those transition points that make you aware of Life’s flow:

One of the greatest things about my work is that I am constantly exposed to the talents of extraordinary young people.

The Abrams Brothers (John and James, plus cousin Eli) amaze me. They are just so naturally musical, as if they were born singing and playing instruments.

John and Eli are 19 years old; James is 16!

Every time I see them live, I think What will they be like ten years from now? Can they possibly get even better? I can’t imagine any room for improvement.

James plays the fiddle with such perfection and dexterity, it seems impossible that human fingers could move that fast and be so coordinated. John and Eli are similarly gifted. And of course they write their own material.

Country Music TV just posted their new video.  Check it out here:

We’ve been talking about parents and how they affect the mental health of their children.

I really like this thoughtful this poem by Tony Hoagland, in which:

• a man enters therapy, and
• he comes to view his father as the source of his psychological problems.
• He calls his father and rails at him for all the supposed damage
• the older man’s inadequate parenting did.
• The son then realizes that he was too harsh.
• After all, his father is just a well-meaning, elderly man.
• His father even paid for his son’s therapy!

I especially love Hoagland’s realization that…

Here’s the biggest piece of non-news you’re likely to hear today: Kids don’t listen to their parents.

Part of my living depends on this fact. As a tutor, one of the features that makes me effective (besides my knowledge, training and experience) is, simply, I am not the parent.

Kids listen to me, behave for me, accept my advice, work hard for me, whereas they often won’t do any of these things when their parents sit down and try to help them.

I also know this from our home schooling days. The toughest kids to educate were my own. Other parents complained of the same problem; their children wouldn’t cooperate, wouldn’t take instruction. For this reason we started a home school co-op, where we traded lessons and taught small groups of kids, including our own. When our children were among their peers, they would listen to us because their pals were listening.