It’s easy enough to breeze through today’s Acts scripture without thinking about the particulars too much. The slave girl with the spirit of divination, Paul, exasperated, freeing her from this spirit, the charges of disturbing the peace, the prison, the earthquake, the jailer being saved and extending hospitality to his former captives.
But think about it. Perhaps the slave girl heard through the grapevine about the work Paul and company had been doing in her land. Maybe she knew some of the slaves at Lydia’s place and had heard stories of the conversion celebration there. Or, possibly, she really did have a spirit of divination and was able supernaturally to know the truth about people. However she came by her knowledge, she was speaking the truth of Paul’s life out loud, daily. It can be dangerous to speak the truth. It was for the slave girl, who drew the attention of the disciples because she couldn’t help but proclaim the truth. When Paul ordered the spirit to come out from her, she ceased to hold value for her owners. We never hear what happened to the slave girl after this, but history tells us that when slaves lost their value, they were in danger of also losing their lives.
With Paul’s action, the slave girl’s chains were broken. She was no longer compelled to speak whatever truth came her way. Perhaps rather than killing her, the owners simply set her free of her physical bonds as well, hoping to recoup their losses through Paul’s money. Maybe her story has a happy ending, an ending in which Paul, Silas and friends find her in the streets and bring her into the celebration at the jailer’s place. If this were a Disney movie, surely that would be the case! But whatever became of her, it was surely frightening for her to be freed from the bondage to the spirit within her. If slavery was not the life she had chosen, at least it was familiar. At least she was certain of some degree of care, so that her money-making gift would not be lost. Without the bonds of divination, without physical bonds, her life was turned upside-down. Scary stuff.
Then, imagine Paul and those traveling with him being seized by the owners, stripped naked in the marketplace and beaten with rods. It brings to mind the scores of civil rights workers beaten & humiliated in the 1960s South. The three young CORE workers who were murdered in Mississippi in 1964, Michael Schwerner, James Chaney & Andrew Goodman, were in the middle of an investigation of the burning of Mt. Zion Methodist Church in the wake of voter registration rallies. The deacons of the church had been stopped while driving, made to kneel in the headlights of their cars and beaten with rifle butts, allegedly by the local sheriff, among others. Their activities on behalf of equal rights for African-Americans were disturbing the peace of the South, disturbing the peace of those who wanted to maintain the status quo. Paul & Silas, by working in the name of Christ’s peace, were charged with disturbing the peace. When people are in bonds to the status quo, their fear of having their worlds turned upside-down often turns them violent.
On top of the violence & indignity inflicted upon Paul & Silas in the marketplace, they suffered the further discomforts of prison. When we, whose images of prison are often shaped by the media, envision prison, it’s not a pretty picture. Narrow, uncomfortable beds. Toilets with no seats and no privacy. Scary cellmates intent on harming newcomers. However unpleasant prison may be today, though, it was much worse in the 1st century. Imagine heavy stone walls, seeping with damp and cold, with no windows to let the sun come in and warm your bones. The luxury of a narrow, uncomfortable bed and a toilet with no seat would be amazing to these prisoners, who likely had not even a pallet on the hard floor and had to live with their own waste. The smell alone would render it a kind of living hell. Add to that the heavy, rough forged iron bonds and wooden stocks limiting movement. I know how often I wiggle and change positions just at a Fraze concert! Imagine sitting naked on hard, cold stone without being able to move. Maybe Paul & Silas didn’t leave the prison right away because their legs wouldn’t work! Oh, and did I mention the rats? Roaches? Other creepy-crawlies? The only sounds the prisoners must have been used to hearing would be moans of pain, cries of fear & despair, clanking of chains.
Yet Paul & Silas were singing! They weren’t singing “Go Down Moses” or “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen” either. They were singing hymns of praise to God, more like "How Great Thou Art!" Under those conditions, I think I’d be curled up in a fetal ball, trying hard to sleep so that the horrible reality of my condition would be obliterated for a little while. Sure, I’d pray, but I think a lot of my prayer might turn out as grumbling and “How could you do this to me, God?” kind of talk. I’d like to think I could maintain faith and hope in the midst of pain, foulness and cold, but I’m not so sure. I know how I can get to feeling sorry for myself just because I have to eat McDonald’s too much on a road trip.
Is it any wonder, then, that the other prisoners were listening to Paul & Silas? Perhaps at first, the prisoners just thought they were nuts! But then imagine hearing their cheer, their trust and praise for this God who was everything to them, long into the night! Imagine being in this cheerless, hopeless, godforsaken place and hearing such powerful witness. The scripture doesn’t say they were trying to convert the others. But their own faith was powerful enough witness that when the terror of the earthquake hit (and we all have recent images from Haiti, from Chile, from China of how frightening that must be), they didn’t run. When they realized their bonds were broken, their prison doors tumbled open, they didn’t run. Perhaps they wanted a little of what Paul and Silas had. Perhaps they wanted to see where this God, who inspires such faith, would lead. We don’t know what became of those other prisoners. I like the idea that they might have been drawn into the celebration, too, the baptism, the wound-cleansing, the feast in honor of the greatness of this God, who brings us earthquakes to free us from our bonds.
Have you ever messed something up? Have you ever forgotten a crucial deadline, for example, at work and just known you were going to be fired? The jailer, realizing that he had let his prisoners escape, knew life was about to get really bad for him. Maybe he would even be put to death for allowing this to happen. So, he is ready to plunge his sword into his chest when he hears Paul. Now, the prison is completely black, as black as the West Virginia woods when I have to use the privy at night while staying with my mom, who chooses to live without electricity or running water. And they didn’t have a handy flashlight to drive away the dark, something I always have by my side at my mom’s. There is no way Paul has been able to see the drawn sword, the horror on the jailer’s face as he realizes his life has been turned upside-down. But, likely out of compassion and realization of how the jailer must be reacting to this situation, Paul chooses to call out with reassurances. Rather than guiding the prisoners quickly and quietly to safety beyond the reach of the law, as Zorro would have done in my favorite Saturday morning cartoon, or saving himself and letting the chips fall where they may for everyone else, Paul’s heart goes out to the jailer. Instead of taking the attitude that his oppressor (or the man who stands in for his real oppressors) deserves what he gets, Paul figures out how to comfort and save him.
Because Paul does not simply think of himself, his group, he is rewarded richly. He chooses to praise his God, to tell the jailer of the love and compassion of Jesus, of how that love and compassion extend even to this jailer, who has harmed God’s people. His action leads the jailer to the love of God and leads his people to the comfort of the jailer’s home, the warmth of human fellowship and the recognition that we are all God’s children. Had they simply escaped, they would have lost the opportunity to witness to the jailer, but they also would have consigned themselves to life on the run, until they could move beyond the reach of Rome, which had a long arm indeed. Beaten badly, naked, hungry, they would have contended with traveling through the countryside on the lam. Because Paul trusted God’s loving kindness enough to have mercy on this jailer, his enemy, he was able not only to be free from his bonds, but to have his wounds washed, eat in comfort and rejoice with a family who had newly discovered the greatness of God. His loving response, in light of his broken chains, allowed the bonds of love and friendship to develop & tighten.
It’s a powerful story when we let our imaginations take us there. But, friends, this story isn’t just an inspiration from the past. It’s happening today, in all of our lives. We are all in chains, of one kind and another. We may be bound in chains of addiction, of materialism, of fear of the unknown. We may be bound in chains of prejudice, of apathy, of poverty. Our chains aren’t always of our own making. I was at the Lift Greater Dayton meeting the other night and heard young people talking about the chains with which the youth in Dayton are bound. They spoke of the insecurity of an unsafe neighborhood, of troubled parents, of parks in which people are drinking, doing drugs, even having sex. They spoke of their hope for a future in which there are places for the youth in the Riverview/Five Oaks area to go, secure places, lovely places. They spoke of their hope for a future in which parents have employment and access to help with addictions. They spoke of their hope for a future in which schools are safe and provide adequate education for a viable adult life.
I believe their hopes can be realized. I believe the chains of poverty, fear and addiction can be broken in their lives. I believe the chains of spiritual poverty, fear and addiction can be broken in all of our lives, by that God who unsettles us. Leaving our chains can be scary. We all fear change, particularly when our chains are broken by an earthquake. God, more often than not, disarms us with the shocking ways in which our chains can be broken. If we can learn to sit calmly in the midst of the earthquake, if we can learn to have compassion for those who are against us, we will be freed from our chains.
Jeannene and I have a favorite song we play when we’re headed off for a little getaway trip. It’s by The Indigo Girls and it’s called “The Power of Two.” It’s about how everything is easier when two come together in love than when we try to do everything on our own. One of my favorite lyrics is about bonds, both the kind that chain us, hold us back and cause pain and the kind that free us to live out God’s will in our lives. It says,
“Now the steel bars between me and a promise
Suddenly bend with ease
And the closer I'm bound in love to you
The closer I am to free”
It’s a romantic lyric in its original context, but it applies equally well to our relationship with God. When we open ourselves to the peace and compassion God offers us, when we allow ourselves to be bound in love to God and to one another, we are that much closer to free. In the coming week, I invite you to explore what truths you need to speak to disturb whatever peace in your life needs disturbing. I invite you to look for chains that you can ask God to break. I invite you to leave those broken chains behind in favor of tight bonds & join in the feast and the rejoicing that ensues!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Indian Food & Disturbing the Peace
Friday last, I stopped for a tide-me-over on my way home from work, after a longer-than-anticipated hospital visit. I'd been craving egg salad and having both my senior pastor & parishioner eat egg salad sandwiches in front of me decided me. Scanning my mind for places that might have such a thing, I thought of Christopher's. They've always had wonderful sandwiches. My favorite, the sandwich I almost always get when I'm there, is the Christopher Special. They put cream cheese, avocado, bacon and sprouts on herb bread and it is truly splendid. This time, though, I did have the egg salad. It was lovely, as well, and the service was great, just the right balance of friendly & attentive and unintrusive. I was able to shop for groceries more rationally with my tummy full. As soon as I got home, I set to work making a pot of chili and a pan of cornbread in anticipation of J's arrival. I'd picked up some vegan chili for Pie at Christopher's. When they arrived at long last, J & I sat down to dinner at the dining room table, all bedecked in my auntie's cheery yellow Pottery Barn tablecloth. Pie immediately set up his X-Box upon arrival & scarcely moved from the couch all weekend.
In the morning, we lounged around the house. I sat at the kitchen table with J, reading the 7-day James Patterson novel I had out from the library while she did some work. I was able to finish--that makes 2 7-day books finished since I've been down here. I don't usually dare to check them out. Once J was finished, we took Pie out to hunt for Fruit Gushers, which are apparently all the rage among his set and difficult to find in Cleveland. He spent $20 of his own money buying boxes to distribute to his friends, then spent the rest in GameStop buying J a late Mother's Day gift of "Oblivion" and himself a game set in, I think, post-apocalyptic Russia?
After returning Pie to his own private game world, we ventured out for dinner at Ajanta India. After eating our fill of chicken tikka masala, we went to The Greene to walk it off. Little kids were playing in the fountain & we enjoyed the cuteness of one little fella waiting, teeth a-chatter, for his mom to get a towel for him. Although I'm not a big fan of Books A Million (to say the least), I was drawn, as addicts are, to the books nonetheless. I found 2 Charles DeLint books I haven't read for $6! They have now joined the ever-growing tower in my borrowed bedroom. Our favorite discovery was a beautiful store with very inexpensive and delightful jewelry. Gorgeous umbrellas hung upside-down from the ceiling and strings of glittery butterflies dangled enticingly. J got a wonderful idea looking at those butterflies. What if, she posited, we bought several strands of those, added my fairies to the mix, and created a special room. We'd have books and craft materials and toys in the room. Rather than being fully library or fully studio, it could be our Imagination Room. I enthused that it could be for emergency imagination fixes, sort of an ER for the spirit, the IR. I'm very excited about the prospect of her getting down here soon so that we can get our IR going! I also picked up some very nice clothes for work at Coldwater Creek, as well as a fabulous embroidered denim jacket for J.
Sunday morning was my first day soloing as pastor. I felt like the service went very well, although I jumped the gun on the mission moment and, for some odd reason only a very particular part of my brain would know, sticking it between the scripture & sermon. Made no sense. Luckily, I only did that at the early service. The second service was much smoother, with an excellent liturgist and someone more qualified than I to give the mission moment. I preached on Acts 16: 16-34, where Paul & Silas are jailed for disturbing the peace, then freed from bondage by an earthquake. Rather than running off, they stayed and ended up converting the jailer. I spoke of broken chains and tightened bonds, of what chains are holding us back and of how we can help others out of their chains. I'll post my sermon here. I got compliments on my service and sermon from a number of people, which is very encouraging. After the service, we allowed Pie, who had been a terribly good sport, to hang out at my aunt's and play video games while the three of us went out for noodles. Amy & I had mac & cheese with meatballs, which sounded weird but possibly good. It was. J had Indonesian-style peanut noodles and Thai-ish coconut soup, which were both tasty. She'd seen Noodles & Co (or some such name) the night before & suggested we invite Amy there for lunch & I am glad she did. I would go back. We'd already gone through the hard process of packing up J's bags before Amy got home from church, so all that was left was to load the car and say farewell. This time, it was much harder because we won't be together again until Memorial Day weekend. When we know we only have to get through the week, it seems a little easier to be parted. I am going to have to go up there soon, too. I miss my kitties horribly and there are things at the house I need. I consoled myself after J & Pie left by getting the groceries for the week, feeling no especial need for a Sunday nap.
In the morning, we lounged around the house. I sat at the kitchen table with J, reading the 7-day James Patterson novel I had out from the library while she did some work. I was able to finish--that makes 2 7-day books finished since I've been down here. I don't usually dare to check them out. Once J was finished, we took Pie out to hunt for Fruit Gushers, which are apparently all the rage among his set and difficult to find in Cleveland. He spent $20 of his own money buying boxes to distribute to his friends, then spent the rest in GameStop buying J a late Mother's Day gift of "Oblivion" and himself a game set in, I think, post-apocalyptic Russia?
After returning Pie to his own private game world, we ventured out for dinner at Ajanta India. After eating our fill of chicken tikka masala, we went to The Greene to walk it off. Little kids were playing in the fountain & we enjoyed the cuteness of one little fella waiting, teeth a-chatter, for his mom to get a towel for him. Although I'm not a big fan of Books A Million (to say the least), I was drawn, as addicts are, to the books nonetheless. I found 2 Charles DeLint books I haven't read for $6! They have now joined the ever-growing tower in my borrowed bedroom. Our favorite discovery was a beautiful store with very inexpensive and delightful jewelry. Gorgeous umbrellas hung upside-down from the ceiling and strings of glittery butterflies dangled enticingly. J got a wonderful idea looking at those butterflies. What if, she posited, we bought several strands of those, added my fairies to the mix, and created a special room. We'd have books and craft materials and toys in the room. Rather than being fully library or fully studio, it could be our Imagination Room. I enthused that it could be for emergency imagination fixes, sort of an ER for the spirit, the IR. I'm very excited about the prospect of her getting down here soon so that we can get our IR going! I also picked up some very nice clothes for work at Coldwater Creek, as well as a fabulous embroidered denim jacket for J.
Sunday morning was my first day soloing as pastor. I felt like the service went very well, although I jumped the gun on the mission moment and, for some odd reason only a very particular part of my brain would know, sticking it between the scripture & sermon. Made no sense. Luckily, I only did that at the early service. The second service was much smoother, with an excellent liturgist and someone more qualified than I to give the mission moment. I preached on Acts 16: 16-34, where Paul & Silas are jailed for disturbing the peace, then freed from bondage by an earthquake. Rather than running off, they stayed and ended up converting the jailer. I spoke of broken chains and tightened bonds, of what chains are holding us back and of how we can help others out of their chains. I'll post my sermon here. I got compliments on my service and sermon from a number of people, which is very encouraging. After the service, we allowed Pie, who had been a terribly good sport, to hang out at my aunt's and play video games while the three of us went out for noodles. Amy & I had mac & cheese with meatballs, which sounded weird but possibly good. It was. J had Indonesian-style peanut noodles and Thai-ish coconut soup, which were both tasty. She'd seen Noodles & Co (or some such name) the night before & suggested we invite Amy there for lunch & I am glad she did. I would go back. We'd already gone through the hard process of packing up J's bags before Amy got home from church, so all that was left was to load the car and say farewell. This time, it was much harder because we won't be together again until Memorial Day weekend. When we know we only have to get through the week, it seems a little easier to be parted. I am going to have to go up there soon, too. I miss my kitties horribly and there are things at the house I need. I consoled myself after J & Pie left by getting the groceries for the week, feeling no especial need for a Sunday nap.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Last Hurrah in Cleveland
Friday afternoon, a couple of Pie's friends came home from school with him. I had met the boy before, but not his girlfriend. They're both really nice kids & I enjoyed having them over. Sadly, they had to wait on the porch while Pie completed chores he'd left undone. I also caught him taking down all pics of J and me together. I told him that if he was ashamed to admit that we're a couple, he can visit with his friends elsewhere. I am not having my house de-gayed and I told him that if his friends aren't willing to accept him for who he is, lesbian mom & all, then they aren't worthy of him. First of all, it shouldn't matter who aa person loves. Second of all, it's his mom, not him. He put the pics back up & his friends came in & ended up hanging out until 10 at night, mostly with us parental types. They seemed to have no issue whatever with our orientation, although the boy & I had a somewhat awkward exchange as he untangled what Pie had told him and what he saw. I was doing laundry & he took out the trash (which Pie was supposed to do) and then chatted with me from the top of the basement steps. He said, "So, do you live with [Pie]'s mom now?" I said, "Uh, yeah. I've lived here longer than he has." He said, "Oh, that's cool. So it was just that other woman who was visiting? Did she and her son go home?" Apparently, Pie had told him that I was visiting, along with my friend Layla & her son, last time he was over. Turns out Pie was afraid his friends would drop him if they found out he has 2 moms. Maybe in his dad's community, but I think they're more open-minded around here. I explained that J & I have been together since Pie was 6 and the kids didn't run screaming from the house, so I think he's okay.
The girl especially seemed interested in talking with me, coming into the kitchen and chatting while I washed dishes, saying she needed to be around another girl. Later, Pie told me that from his observation, most parents interact very little with their kids' friends. I said, "That sounds like a hint" and left the living room, with the friends protesting. They said, "But your stepmom's fun! We want her to interact with us!" They ended up leaving him alone in the living room (where he was mostly ignoring them & texting a girl he's interested in) and coming into the kitchen again. I took them to the school for awhile to study and shortly after I picked them back up, J and Boot arrived. Boot was noticably awkward with Pie's friends, but was on his best behavior and wasn't saying all the outrageous things he usually does. J fed them and got out a cookie-decorating kit, so I sat at the kitchen table with the kids & decorated cookies. Our boys both seemed to think it was the weirdest thing ever, but our guests were completely absorbed by it & our conversation & the girl said, "I like this house! It's fun here." It was cool for me because the kids were talking to me about their views on religion and asking questions.
In the morning, I had a spa appointment. J had gotten me an Aveda gift card for Christmas & since it was my last weekend to live in Cleveland, I booked a half-day. I got to sit & drink some of their splendid tea before the massage therapist came to get me. I got my feet washed, then had a Caribbean body treatment-exfoliation, mud, shower, massage. This was followed by a facial and foot rub, then a manicure. I really liked both of the women who treated me, got into some cool discussions of religion & spirituality. As I was starting my manicure, J came in for her Caribbean body treatment (I'd gotten her a gift card for her birthday) and so after I was done, I went & hung out with the new Elizabeth Berg novel on a couch outside the bookstore. The sky started spitting at me & it got colder, so I retreated inside for a latte. J arrived just as I was sitting down & we relaxed with our coffee for a bit before going to pick up Boot from the house. Pie was spending the day with his crush, so we took Boot out for dinner at Chili's, then we all poked around the mall. I got some work clothes. I cannot find dress pants that look decent on me, so I'm glad spring is here & summer's coming...gives me more time to find pants I can stand. If only every day were jeans day! Boot was back to his usual inappropriate self in part, but he also showed great thought-full-ness. He is hoping to get a wrestling scholarship to a school that offers an intelligence major (as in FBI/CIA) and a law enforcement minor. He will go through ROTC & enter the military as an officer. I am pretty much completely against his joining the military, but have resigned myself to that probability and am now just trying to be supportive.
Yesterday was my last Sunday at my current church, although I continue as Director of Faith Formation to the end of this week and will be doing a lot of loose end tying, as well as going to lunch with my pastor tomorrow. This time next week will find me back in Dayton & working full-time as a pastor. Pretty amazing. I'm trying not to panic about getting everything ready by Friday and trying not to be anxious about whether I'll do a good job in my new position. I think the church and the position are a great fit, though, really. My official title will be Associate Pastor for Faith Formation and Family Life. I'm quite excited to meet all my parishioners and get going on this new life. I worry that it will take time for J to find a job down there, but I am trusting God and taking each step as it is shown to me. I also worry because Pie doesn't want to leave his friends. I have no doubt that he will find cool friends down there, too, but I know how he feels. I also worry about my present youth group getting to do cool things. I hope they find a fabulous new person for my position...and quickly! I hate to think of the start I've made on getting youth programming rolling again just fizzling out.
The youth class is joining the adult class this month to watch "Jesus Camp" and discuss it. It's a good movie, really makes you think. The point of the class is getting beyond us & them mentality. I hung out with that class, then went to worship and gave my last children's message there. I got hugs from kids & adults alike. It was hard not to cry, excited though I am about my new job. They've been a wonderful congregation. After coffee hour, I cleaned out my office, put my key in my box and walked out. Felt really odd.
I spent a little while relaxing with magazines & poking around online, then it was time to take Boot back home. We drove through some serious downpouring rain almost all the way to Pennsylvania, then the sky lightened just in time for us to visit the cemetery without getting soaked. We put flowers on her parents' & brothers' graves and talked about planting tulip bulbs next fall. When we left, Boot had us drive by his friend's house as well as the house he hopes to move into with another friend next December when he turns 18. It's weird to think of Boot living on his own soon, especially while he's still in high school, but I can understand why he'd rather have that responsibility than live with his father and take care of his grandma & the house. We held hands most of the way home, which was lovely. Neither of us is at all looking forward to the upcoming separation & who knows how long it will be. When we got home, I talked to my ma on the phone while J made chicken with a delicious Thai coconut & lemongrass sauce and rice stick noodles for dinner. We watched junk t.v. (the Kirstie Alley show & the Gene Simmons show, which we actually found rather sweet) and then went to bed.
The girl especially seemed interested in talking with me, coming into the kitchen and chatting while I washed dishes, saying she needed to be around another girl. Later, Pie told me that from his observation, most parents interact very little with their kids' friends. I said, "That sounds like a hint" and left the living room, with the friends protesting. They said, "But your stepmom's fun! We want her to interact with us!" They ended up leaving him alone in the living room (where he was mostly ignoring them & texting a girl he's interested in) and coming into the kitchen again. I took them to the school for awhile to study and shortly after I picked them back up, J and Boot arrived. Boot was noticably awkward with Pie's friends, but was on his best behavior and wasn't saying all the outrageous things he usually does. J fed them and got out a cookie-decorating kit, so I sat at the kitchen table with the kids & decorated cookies. Our boys both seemed to think it was the weirdest thing ever, but our guests were completely absorbed by it & our conversation & the girl said, "I like this house! It's fun here." It was cool for me because the kids were talking to me about their views on religion and asking questions.
In the morning, I had a spa appointment. J had gotten me an Aveda gift card for Christmas & since it was my last weekend to live in Cleveland, I booked a half-day. I got to sit & drink some of their splendid tea before the massage therapist came to get me. I got my feet washed, then had a Caribbean body treatment-exfoliation, mud, shower, massage. This was followed by a facial and foot rub, then a manicure. I really liked both of the women who treated me, got into some cool discussions of religion & spirituality. As I was starting my manicure, J came in for her Caribbean body treatment (I'd gotten her a gift card for her birthday) and so after I was done, I went & hung out with the new Elizabeth Berg novel on a couch outside the bookstore. The sky started spitting at me & it got colder, so I retreated inside for a latte. J arrived just as I was sitting down & we relaxed with our coffee for a bit before going to pick up Boot from the house. Pie was spending the day with his crush, so we took Boot out for dinner at Chili's, then we all poked around the mall. I got some work clothes. I cannot find dress pants that look decent on me, so I'm glad spring is here & summer's coming...gives me more time to find pants I can stand. If only every day were jeans day! Boot was back to his usual inappropriate self in part, but he also showed great thought-full-ness. He is hoping to get a wrestling scholarship to a school that offers an intelligence major (as in FBI/CIA) and a law enforcement minor. He will go through ROTC & enter the military as an officer. I am pretty much completely against his joining the military, but have resigned myself to that probability and am now just trying to be supportive.
Yesterday was my last Sunday at my current church, although I continue as Director of Faith Formation to the end of this week and will be doing a lot of loose end tying, as well as going to lunch with my pastor tomorrow. This time next week will find me back in Dayton & working full-time as a pastor. Pretty amazing. I'm trying not to panic about getting everything ready by Friday and trying not to be anxious about whether I'll do a good job in my new position. I think the church and the position are a great fit, though, really. My official title will be Associate Pastor for Faith Formation and Family Life. I'm quite excited to meet all my parishioners and get going on this new life. I worry that it will take time for J to find a job down there, but I am trusting God and taking each step as it is shown to me. I also worry because Pie doesn't want to leave his friends. I have no doubt that he will find cool friends down there, too, but I know how he feels. I also worry about my present youth group getting to do cool things. I hope they find a fabulous new person for my position...and quickly! I hate to think of the start I've made on getting youth programming rolling again just fizzling out.
The youth class is joining the adult class this month to watch "Jesus Camp" and discuss it. It's a good movie, really makes you think. The point of the class is getting beyond us & them mentality. I hung out with that class, then went to worship and gave my last children's message there. I got hugs from kids & adults alike. It was hard not to cry, excited though I am about my new job. They've been a wonderful congregation. After coffee hour, I cleaned out my office, put my key in my box and walked out. Felt really odd.
I spent a little while relaxing with magazines & poking around online, then it was time to take Boot back home. We drove through some serious downpouring rain almost all the way to Pennsylvania, then the sky lightened just in time for us to visit the cemetery without getting soaked. We put flowers on her parents' & brothers' graves and talked about planting tulip bulbs next fall. When we left, Boot had us drive by his friend's house as well as the house he hopes to move into with another friend next December when he turns 18. It's weird to think of Boot living on his own soon, especially while he's still in high school, but I can understand why he'd rather have that responsibility than live with his father and take care of his grandma & the house. We held hands most of the way home, which was lovely. Neither of us is at all looking forward to the upcoming separation & who knows how long it will be. When we got home, I talked to my ma on the phone while J made chicken with a delicious Thai coconut & lemongrass sauce and rice stick noodles for dinner. We watched junk t.v. (the Kirstie Alley show & the Gene Simmons show, which we actually found rather sweet) and then went to bed.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Snowy Saturday
Today, I was supposed to go to Miss Mollie's in Medina with my Art Gang buddies, after which there will be bead shop exploring and all kinds of fun. However, I'm not even entirely sure I can get out of my driveway. There is the road in front of the house, enticingly clear, and my car is mired in snow. Must get the boy to do some shoveling when he wakes. Jeannene managed to get out this morning, just barely, at 6 to go in to work and her tale of woe about getting out was not encouraging. I am also a little gun-shy of the roads after very nearly wiping out on 71 Thursday. I am not eager to have another experience of 360s across the road and ending up the wrong direction & practically in the median. It might not end up as well this time. So, I will miss the fun and remain content to relax with my kitties and a good book. I am positively plowing through Traveling with Pomegranates by Sue Monk Kidd and her daughter, Ann Kidd Taylor. It's about the mother-daughter relationship, the fear of aging & the angst of not knowing what to do with your life, set among their travels to holy spots in Greece & France, with some time spent at home in Charleston, as well.
It makes me think of my own relationship with my mama, and how very blessed I am to have gotten the mom I did. I have been calling her a lot lately. So very glad they have a phone now. I want to start writing letters to her more often again. We were in the bookstore last night and, while drooling over art magazines that cost way more than I feel I ought to pay for a magazine, I saw an article about collaged correspondence. It appeals tremendously. I used to make so much more time for art when I was in my 20s. I think if I ever get my studio organized, it will help me make art more often. It seems as though we will never decide whether we're going to make Jeff move upstairs or not, so things remain in limbo for now. Having a dedicated space and all my supplies easily accessible would make it effortless...no hauling things down to the dining room & then back up. I would also like to prep a journal for use later. I always write and think I will add art later, but why not pre-decorate the pages so it's a seamless process?
I have had a busy week, with my first UPCaM board meeting, Lenten study, travel to Dayton and all my usual work, as well. It's been a lot of fun, but it does feel good to have a Saturday just to be home and spend time with books and magazines. I got the new Rachael Ray issue last night, as well as the Studios that Lou is in. It's fun to see my friends featured in magazines and Lou is just so cool. Her artwork is wonderful and it gives me a good excuse to pick up the magazine and get ideas for my own art space. I should get my nose out of the computer and printed media so I can have something to eat, but I haven't yet decided what sounds good. Yesterday was an all-round bad food day after my yum bagel at Amy's, so I am hoping things will be better today. I should just have given in to my impulse to treat myself to lunch at The Winds before really hitting the road, but I was worried about snow piling up and the roads being impossible. I very much wanted to get home to see Jeannene, so I opted for a sandwich from KFC. It was not that great and the fries tasted like rubber. Not a rubbery texture, but an actual undertaste of rubber. I threw them away. Then, I tried an appetizer from Arby's, loaded potato bites. They were floppy and overly artificial-tasting. I should have just gotten potato cakes. My caramel macchiato (for staying awake on the road) and Earl Grey tea from Starbucks were fine...the Earl Grey was the most delicious thing I ingested all day. Then, we went to dinner at The Winking Lizard, where Jeannene indulged in her weekly fish meal, very tasty fried haddock, while I tried to choke down a thoroughly dry and flavorless (not to mention overly-chewy) steak and cheese sandwich. I simply couldn't do it. Usually, the food there is good, but this just wasn't. A shame. We had a marvelous time just being together, though.
Crocker Park was a glorious beauty of a snowglobe when we stopped by there to pick up Jeff and his friend from the movies. We hung out at the bookstore while their movie (his fourth trip to see Avatar since they couldn't get into their first choice---it is encouraging that movies are selling out---and he is bored of it) finished up. Jeannene had been up since 5:30 and had to get up at 6 today, so she dozed in an armchair until the kids came while I prowled the store. Neither was wearing a coat (it seems coats are as disdained now as when I was a teenager) and she had a mini-skirt on. I was cold just looking at them! I am so tired of having to bundle up before going out and Disney looms large on the horizon, saying, "Just hang in until Easter and you will be warm!" I do hope their cold winter doesn't mean that Typhoon Lagoon is too chilly for us when we go. It's funny how very excited Amy and I are getting about Disney. I never expected to love it so much. I think a large part of that is exactly what a woman I was talking to the other night said, "When you're there, there are no worries. It's like the outside world doesn't exist." It's nice to have a little mental break from reality every now and again. Amy and I are plotting how to do 2 parks in one day and are also planning to sneak in a Savannah overnight on the way home. Yippee! Seeing my cousins will be wonderful & something about Savannah just feeds my soul.
It makes me think of my own relationship with my mama, and how very blessed I am to have gotten the mom I did. I have been calling her a lot lately. So very glad they have a phone now. I want to start writing letters to her more often again. We were in the bookstore last night and, while drooling over art magazines that cost way more than I feel I ought to pay for a magazine, I saw an article about collaged correspondence. It appeals tremendously. I used to make so much more time for art when I was in my 20s. I think if I ever get my studio organized, it will help me make art more often. It seems as though we will never decide whether we're going to make Jeff move upstairs or not, so things remain in limbo for now. Having a dedicated space and all my supplies easily accessible would make it effortless...no hauling things down to the dining room & then back up. I would also like to prep a journal for use later. I always write and think I will add art later, but why not pre-decorate the pages so it's a seamless process?
I have had a busy week, with my first UPCaM board meeting, Lenten study, travel to Dayton and all my usual work, as well. It's been a lot of fun, but it does feel good to have a Saturday just to be home and spend time with books and magazines. I got the new Rachael Ray issue last night, as well as the Studios that Lou is in. It's fun to see my friends featured in magazines and Lou is just so cool. Her artwork is wonderful and it gives me a good excuse to pick up the magazine and get ideas for my own art space. I should get my nose out of the computer and printed media so I can have something to eat, but I haven't yet decided what sounds good. Yesterday was an all-round bad food day after my yum bagel at Amy's, so I am hoping things will be better today. I should just have given in to my impulse to treat myself to lunch at The Winds before really hitting the road, but I was worried about snow piling up and the roads being impossible. I very much wanted to get home to see Jeannene, so I opted for a sandwich from KFC. It was not that great and the fries tasted like rubber. Not a rubbery texture, but an actual undertaste of rubber. I threw them away. Then, I tried an appetizer from Arby's, loaded potato bites. They were floppy and overly artificial-tasting. I should have just gotten potato cakes. My caramel macchiato (for staying awake on the road) and Earl Grey tea from Starbucks were fine...the Earl Grey was the most delicious thing I ingested all day. Then, we went to dinner at The Winking Lizard, where Jeannene indulged in her weekly fish meal, very tasty fried haddock, while I tried to choke down a thoroughly dry and flavorless (not to mention overly-chewy) steak and cheese sandwich. I simply couldn't do it. Usually, the food there is good, but this just wasn't. A shame. We had a marvelous time just being together, though.
Crocker Park was a glorious beauty of a snowglobe when we stopped by there to pick up Jeff and his friend from the movies. We hung out at the bookstore while their movie (his fourth trip to see Avatar since they couldn't get into their first choice---it is encouraging that movies are selling out---and he is bored of it) finished up. Jeannene had been up since 5:30 and had to get up at 6 today, so she dozed in an armchair until the kids came while I prowled the store. Neither was wearing a coat (it seems coats are as disdained now as when I was a teenager) and she had a mini-skirt on. I was cold just looking at them! I am so tired of having to bundle up before going out and Disney looms large on the horizon, saying, "Just hang in until Easter and you will be warm!" I do hope their cold winter doesn't mean that Typhoon Lagoon is too chilly for us when we go. It's funny how very excited Amy and I are getting about Disney. I never expected to love it so much. I think a large part of that is exactly what a woman I was talking to the other night said, "When you're there, there are no worries. It's like the outside world doesn't exist." It's nice to have a little mental break from reality every now and again. Amy and I are plotting how to do 2 parks in one day and are also planning to sneak in a Savannah overnight on the way home. Yippee! Seeing my cousins will be wonderful & something about Savannah just feeds my soul.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Sunshine's the Perfect Cure
A lot of folks I know suffer horribly from the Monday blues. While many of my pastor buddies gleefully welcome Monday as their personal Sabbath time, most of my otherwise-employed friends begin to dread Monday sometime on Sunday morning. Jeannene has been known to begin the vigil Saturday night. However, I think spirits might be a little brighter this morning due to the gorgeous sunlight sparkling on the snow! My heart is singing and I almost thought I saw little glittery fairies dancing on our front walk as I waved Jeannene off to work this morning! The blue sky and bright sun are such an oddity for February in Cleveland. All of us are so used to everything being various muted shades of grey that this is a real treat. Maybe Ma Nature is celebrating the Saints win last night. Hee hee.
Today is a day of rest and reading for me. I have made some spectacular dill-artichoke potato salad and am immersing myself in "The Christian Century" until it's time to go tutor. The weekend was pretty crazy. Jeannene's dad passed away on the 31st and we traveled to his funeral in Pennsylvania with the boys. Boot had come to spend a few days with us and helped Jeannene put together a photo board. I think the time together was healing for them both. We usually only get to see him once a month, with his busy wrestling schedule, so it was nice to have a bit of an extended visit. However, the circumstances were sad. Jeannene's dad was in his 80s and has been ill for quite some time, but it's never easy to say goodbye to someone you love. Travis was a good guy and really loved his family. It was also hard coming so close on the heels of funeral after funeral. Jeannene's mom has only been gone since All Saints' Day 2008, we lost her wonderful, sweet nephew last July, her sister-in-law's sister passed in September and Jeannene's aunt Georgia in December. It's too much. The last time I saw most of the family was at Grant's funeral in July. It was good to see everyone and I'm glad we get to see them in Cincinnati in a couple of weeks for a memorial dinner, but I am planning to have a big party or something so that we can see them under happier circumstances. Maybe for my 40th in July. Such an exciting occasion certainly deserves a big party. It was fun, too, finally to get to meet Jeannene's old school friends, about whom I've heard so many stories.
After we dropped Boot off at his dad's house, we headed home with Pie, who was thrilled to be able to retire to his bedroom and lose himself in video world. He is never happy to be in social situations like that and especially not for a funeral. I could feel his relief as we walked through the door. After a little while on his own, he brought his games up so that Jeannene could see. It was fun to hear them commenting on the play & to see the armor he chose to outfit his character with. After awhile, Jeannene and I headed out to The Cheesecake Factory for a late supper. It was a fitting end to Travis' funeral. He loved to cook for everyone and he was great at it. He loved food, loved hearing about it, talking about it, preparing it, eating it. It's how he showed he cared and his daughter has inherited that trait. We started with some fried artichoke hearts, which were delicious, and then both of us chose chicken dishes. I actually ended up choosing for Jeannene because she just couldn't. So she had some kind of Italian chicken cutlet, with prosciutto wrapped around it, served on basil pasta. It was quite good. I fell back on the crispy chicken costoletta, which is reliably good, served with mashed potatoes and asparagus. There was so much that we're both eating it for lunch today.
Church was great. We were back in the youth room after spending January with the adult class during their sessions on the Bible & homosexuality. We watched "For The Bible Tells Me So" in four sections and had discussion time. It was good yesterday to have some space for the kids to talk about their impressions without the limits imposed by being in the adult class. We also got to talk about some upcoming events. I'll be teaching the next session in our spiritual practices series at the end of the month instead of this coming Sunday because they all want to be present for it, which is encouraging. I am presenting on creativity as prayer and have some collage time planned. I really need several hours for this session, so it will probably spill over into Youth time. I think we'll have a lot of fun & I hope they'll get some useful tools for their own spiritual lives. I haven't decided if I want them to work on illustrated discovery journals or altered books yet, but am leaning toward altered books. I guess we could always do ATCs. Maybe I'll just give them the option to do any of the three.
Worship was good, as well, and I got to sit with some of my favorite people during coffee hour. After we visited a bit, I hurried home so that Jeannene and I could make the library book sale. We had a grand time & came home with 3 big paper sacks of books for $6. Yippee! We hit the grocery, as well, although I stayed in the car because I was feeling ill. Once home, we just hung out together, looking at her old family pictures and snacking on boneless wings. We half-watched the Super Bowl for the first half of the game. Once we got past halftime, I really wanted to settle in and get serious about watching, so I did that while Jeannene made taco fixings. It's so nice to have lots of vegan possibilities for Pie. He has gotten sick of baked tofu, finally and I think the vegan tacos were a welcome change. I was so excited by the Saints' interception and big run for the touchdown that I was hootin' & hollerin' like crazy. Pie was a bit puzzled as to why an otherwise sensible person would be so into the game, especially since I don't normally follow football. But I have always had a soft spot for the Saints since they're from New Orleans and have such a cool name. Ha ha! I pick my teams based on where they're from & the coolness oif their names. I've liked the Saints for years. I also like Tampa Bay and the Titans, who moved to Nashville from Houston while I was living there.
Today is a day of rest and reading for me. I have made some spectacular dill-artichoke potato salad and am immersing myself in "The Christian Century" until it's time to go tutor. The weekend was pretty crazy. Jeannene's dad passed away on the 31st and we traveled to his funeral in Pennsylvania with the boys. Boot had come to spend a few days with us and helped Jeannene put together a photo board. I think the time together was healing for them both. We usually only get to see him once a month, with his busy wrestling schedule, so it was nice to have a bit of an extended visit. However, the circumstances were sad. Jeannene's dad was in his 80s and has been ill for quite some time, but it's never easy to say goodbye to someone you love. Travis was a good guy and really loved his family. It was also hard coming so close on the heels of funeral after funeral. Jeannene's mom has only been gone since All Saints' Day 2008, we lost her wonderful, sweet nephew last July, her sister-in-law's sister passed in September and Jeannene's aunt Georgia in December. It's too much. The last time I saw most of the family was at Grant's funeral in July. It was good to see everyone and I'm glad we get to see them in Cincinnati in a couple of weeks for a memorial dinner, but I am planning to have a big party or something so that we can see them under happier circumstances. Maybe for my 40th in July. Such an exciting occasion certainly deserves a big party. It was fun, too, finally to get to meet Jeannene's old school friends, about whom I've heard so many stories.
After we dropped Boot off at his dad's house, we headed home with Pie, who was thrilled to be able to retire to his bedroom and lose himself in video world. He is never happy to be in social situations like that and especially not for a funeral. I could feel his relief as we walked through the door. After a little while on his own, he brought his games up so that Jeannene could see. It was fun to hear them commenting on the play & to see the armor he chose to outfit his character with. After awhile, Jeannene and I headed out to The Cheesecake Factory for a late supper. It was a fitting end to Travis' funeral. He loved to cook for everyone and he was great at it. He loved food, loved hearing about it, talking about it, preparing it, eating it. It's how he showed he cared and his daughter has inherited that trait. We started with some fried artichoke hearts, which were delicious, and then both of us chose chicken dishes. I actually ended up choosing for Jeannene because she just couldn't. So she had some kind of Italian chicken cutlet, with prosciutto wrapped around it, served on basil pasta. It was quite good. I fell back on the crispy chicken costoletta, which is reliably good, served with mashed potatoes and asparagus. There was so much that we're both eating it for lunch today.
Church was great. We were back in the youth room after spending January with the adult class during their sessions on the Bible & homosexuality. We watched "For The Bible Tells Me So" in four sections and had discussion time. It was good yesterday to have some space for the kids to talk about their impressions without the limits imposed by being in the adult class. We also got to talk about some upcoming events. I'll be teaching the next session in our spiritual practices series at the end of the month instead of this coming Sunday because they all want to be present for it, which is encouraging. I am presenting on creativity as prayer and have some collage time planned. I really need several hours for this session, so it will probably spill over into Youth time. I think we'll have a lot of fun & I hope they'll get some useful tools for their own spiritual lives. I haven't decided if I want them to work on illustrated discovery journals or altered books yet, but am leaning toward altered books. I guess we could always do ATCs. Maybe I'll just give them the option to do any of the three.
Worship was good, as well, and I got to sit with some of my favorite people during coffee hour. After we visited a bit, I hurried home so that Jeannene and I could make the library book sale. We had a grand time & came home with 3 big paper sacks of books for $6. Yippee! We hit the grocery, as well, although I stayed in the car because I was feeling ill. Once home, we just hung out together, looking at her old family pictures and snacking on boneless wings. We half-watched the Super Bowl for the first half of the game. Once we got past halftime, I really wanted to settle in and get serious about watching, so I did that while Jeannene made taco fixings. It's so nice to have lots of vegan possibilities for Pie. He has gotten sick of baked tofu, finally and I think the vegan tacos were a welcome change. I was so excited by the Saints' interception and big run for the touchdown that I was hootin' & hollerin' like crazy. Pie was a bit puzzled as to why an otherwise sensible person would be so into the game, especially since I don't normally follow football. But I have always had a soft spot for the Saints since they're from New Orleans and have such a cool name. Ha ha! I pick my teams based on where they're from & the coolness oif their names. I've liked the Saints for years. I also like Tampa Bay and the Titans, who moved to Nashville from Houston while I was living there.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
A Very Merry Advent
I love the idea of using Advent as a period of waiting and reflection, I really do. It just ain't happenin' this year. Perhaps if I were a little less social. But, I am doing all kinds of wonderful things, things I have always longed to do, things that make my heart just open right up and sing. I've been absurdly busy this weekend and am working on about 12 hours of sleep for the weekend. However, my soul feels wide awake & alive.
Friday night, I rushed home from tutoring and excitedly threw together a pot of my very favorite (and very easy) mac & cheese, with sharp cheddar, transferred it to my big, yellow mixing bowl. I drove the dark streets to Jill's, admiring Christmas lights and singing along with Harry Connick Jr's "(It Must've Been Ol') Santa Claus," my #1 Christmas song these days. Marcy had recommended My Little Red Book by Rachel Kauder Nalebuff for the Uppity Book Women's December selection and when Jill offered to host in their lovely home, she suggested we all bring comfort food. Amusingly enough, Marcy had also brought mac & cheese, hers being Kraft with really yummy beef hot dogs from a local butcher. Jill offered lasagna, which we both eagerly accepted. We had a good discussion, on all aspects of our lives as well as on the book (which we all really enjoyed and which I highly recommend for every woman). We finally wrapped it up just before 10 so that Marcy could go out with a friend and I could have some little giftie I could present to my Art Gang Ohio friends. I stopped by the grocery on the way home to pick up candy-making supplies.
Late as it was, Jeannene and Scot were still out shopping. I got started on Jeff's birthday cake, a fantastic flourless chocolate cake that takes a good hour just for baking, right away. Jeannene went to bed shortly after they returned, while I danced around in the kitchen, feeling like one of Santa's elves. I hoped to make it to bed by 2, but it was closer to 3:30 when I finally closed my eyes. In the interval, I managed to turn out a beautiful cake, a batch of peanut brittle, a collection of hot pink lemon drop spoons (to be stirred into the packets of chamomile tea I added to my gift bags) and even homemade marshmallows, my first attempt at that. I was pretty frustrated when I pulled my candy thermometer out of the drawer only to discover that the end was shattered. I decided just to wing it, giving myself the advice my life coach once gave me regarding cheesecake---"What's the worst thing that can happen if it doesn't come out right?" Hmm, some sugar, Karo and gelatin wasted. Not the end of the world. However, they came out just fine, thank you very much, and I included them in my sacks with candy canes for stirring and packets of fancy cocoa. By the time I was finished with the night's candy-making project, I was high on accomplishment and fun. Tired, but flying high. I'd even chosen a name for my (imaginary) candy kitchen, Happy Cat Kitchens. Perhaps that might not be such a good name, though. It might bring to mind images of grinning cats dancing through the cake batter, pawing the marshmallow fluff, napping atop the peanut brittle. Not the case, but nonetheless, if I ever open a real candy kitchen, that probably won't work as the name! I took a sample of peanut brittle up to my sleepish wife, who happily awoke for such a sweet treat. Funny thing is that she ended up liking the marshmallows best of all, when she usually despises marshmallows.
I awoke too early Saturday morning for such a late Friday night, but I was buzzing on excitement about the Art Gang Ohio Christmas tea. I finished up my packages and packed up a smudge pot I glazed and a Spirit doll I am working on needle-felting. Then, I got on the road. Jeannene's GPS took me a completely different way than the MapQuest directions, so I was later than I expected but didn't miss out on anything besides conversation. Darlene's house was lovely and filled with wonderful art and antique pieces. My favorites were her collection of icons, including some Virgin of Guadalupe ones. We visited and waited for other arrivals, catching up on one another's lives and latest creative projects. We started with tea. I was happy to see that Darlene had Earl Grey, my tea of choice, and tiny chicken salad finger sandwiches, much adored by me. Hers were some of the better ones I've sampled, too. Must get recipe! There were egg salad dainty sandwiches, miniature shrimp summer rolls with peanut sauce, beautiful apricot scones, sumptuous desserts. Then when it was gift-opening time. I am constantly blown away by the talent & generosity of these gals. My treats paled in comparison to amazing artwork, handmade ornaments, wonderful collections of edible delights, fun art supplies & ephemera. I felt so overwhelmed. I was even more bowled over by the show and tell time, with all kinds of funky and fabulous art pieces, from lushly-colored yarn to an intricate art journal to adorably cute felted figures. How am I lucky enough to be part of the Uppity Book Women, Wild Mango Queens and AGO? Thanks, God! After show & tell, we came up with our 2010 project, "Some Time AGO." I am incredibly excited about that! I'm hoping it will give me incentive to actually make art, rather than just thinking I ought to do so, would love to do so, need to fill my well by doing so. I also got pretty charged up seeing Darlene's studio and thinking about the possibilities for our new studio once we kick Jeff out of his man cave/basement lair and move him upstairs. I am seriously considering mango walls.
Once home, I had only a minimal amount of time before more celebration, a small amount of time in which to wrap Jeff's (ridiculously expensive, available only for an extremely brief time and therefore requiring the money we'd set aside for me to join Jeannene in Vegas last week) new X-Box 360 and adorn his cake with fresh raspberries. Then, it was off to pick up Jeff's friend, Chris, for dinner at the local Japanese steakhouse. Quite a step up from the gas station food he requested for his 14th birthday last December. We had dinner at BP that night. Chris then spent the night, our living room transformed into a gamer's haven and our bedroom transformed into a sleeper's haven. I still only got about 6 hours of sleep. I am not a morning person and arising at 7 every Sunday feels a bit much. Good thing I adore my job.
Today, I got paid to go Christmas caroling! Okay, I did a little more than that, but I got to go Christmas caroling for the first time in years. First, I got to hang out with the middler church school class while they began work on writing their own prayer of confession. I am always pleased to hear their insights. Then, I hung out with the extremely sleepy youth class. The teacher and I were sleepy, too. We were quite a sight! Then, worship, annual meeting and carolers' lunch, enormous baked potatoes with chili atop them. We caroled and delivered cookies, ending up at the home of a darling elder member of our congregation within sight of the lake. Ah, the lake! I love it! We all ventured down there, Barb wishing to take a photo of the gingerbread man with Lake Erie in the background. Meghan rode her mom piggyback to the end of the street and her brother's shoulders back to the car. It was very sweet. Much fun was had by me, despite my shyness about my utter lack of any musical talent whatsoever.
Now that I'm home, I am being thoroughly amused by the adolescent homework angst opera that is occurring in my home. Jeff is in so much trouble for his grades and he and Jeannene have been very comically going back and forth. She is aggravated enough to throw bacon at him and tempted herself with ham, as well. He has done marvelously funny impressions of his teacher and has raised the foam numchuks high in the air. They are hilarious!
Friday night, I rushed home from tutoring and excitedly threw together a pot of my very favorite (and very easy) mac & cheese, with sharp cheddar, transferred it to my big, yellow mixing bowl. I drove the dark streets to Jill's, admiring Christmas lights and singing along with Harry Connick Jr's "(It Must've Been Ol') Santa Claus," my #1 Christmas song these days. Marcy had recommended My Little Red Book by Rachel Kauder Nalebuff for the Uppity Book Women's December selection and when Jill offered to host in their lovely home, she suggested we all bring comfort food. Amusingly enough, Marcy had also brought mac & cheese, hers being Kraft with really yummy beef hot dogs from a local butcher. Jill offered lasagna, which we both eagerly accepted. We had a good discussion, on all aspects of our lives as well as on the book (which we all really enjoyed and which I highly recommend for every woman). We finally wrapped it up just before 10 so that Marcy could go out with a friend and I could have some little giftie I could present to my Art Gang Ohio friends. I stopped by the grocery on the way home to pick up candy-making supplies.
Late as it was, Jeannene and Scot were still out shopping. I got started on Jeff's birthday cake, a fantastic flourless chocolate cake that takes a good hour just for baking, right away. Jeannene went to bed shortly after they returned, while I danced around in the kitchen, feeling like one of Santa's elves. I hoped to make it to bed by 2, but it was closer to 3:30 when I finally closed my eyes. In the interval, I managed to turn out a beautiful cake, a batch of peanut brittle, a collection of hot pink lemon drop spoons (to be stirred into the packets of chamomile tea I added to my gift bags) and even homemade marshmallows, my first attempt at that. I was pretty frustrated when I pulled my candy thermometer out of the drawer only to discover that the end was shattered. I decided just to wing it, giving myself the advice my life coach once gave me regarding cheesecake---"What's the worst thing that can happen if it doesn't come out right?" Hmm, some sugar, Karo and gelatin wasted. Not the end of the world. However, they came out just fine, thank you very much, and I included them in my sacks with candy canes for stirring and packets of fancy cocoa. By the time I was finished with the night's candy-making project, I was high on accomplishment and fun. Tired, but flying high. I'd even chosen a name for my (imaginary) candy kitchen, Happy Cat Kitchens. Perhaps that might not be such a good name, though. It might bring to mind images of grinning cats dancing through the cake batter, pawing the marshmallow fluff, napping atop the peanut brittle. Not the case, but nonetheless, if I ever open a real candy kitchen, that probably won't work as the name! I took a sample of peanut brittle up to my sleepish wife, who happily awoke for such a sweet treat. Funny thing is that she ended up liking the marshmallows best of all, when she usually despises marshmallows.
I awoke too early Saturday morning for such a late Friday night, but I was buzzing on excitement about the Art Gang Ohio Christmas tea. I finished up my packages and packed up a smudge pot I glazed and a Spirit doll I am working on needle-felting. Then, I got on the road. Jeannene's GPS took me a completely different way than the MapQuest directions, so I was later than I expected but didn't miss out on anything besides conversation. Darlene's house was lovely and filled with wonderful art and antique pieces. My favorites were her collection of icons, including some Virgin of Guadalupe ones. We visited and waited for other arrivals, catching up on one another's lives and latest creative projects. We started with tea. I was happy to see that Darlene had Earl Grey, my tea of choice, and tiny chicken salad finger sandwiches, much adored by me. Hers were some of the better ones I've sampled, too. Must get recipe! There were egg salad dainty sandwiches, miniature shrimp summer rolls with peanut sauce, beautiful apricot scones, sumptuous desserts. Then when it was gift-opening time. I am constantly blown away by the talent & generosity of these gals. My treats paled in comparison to amazing artwork, handmade ornaments, wonderful collections of edible delights, fun art supplies & ephemera. I felt so overwhelmed. I was even more bowled over by the show and tell time, with all kinds of funky and fabulous art pieces, from lushly-colored yarn to an intricate art journal to adorably cute felted figures. How am I lucky enough to be part of the Uppity Book Women, Wild Mango Queens and AGO? Thanks, God! After show & tell, we came up with our 2010 project, "Some Time AGO." I am incredibly excited about that! I'm hoping it will give me incentive to actually make art, rather than just thinking I ought to do so, would love to do so, need to fill my well by doing so. I also got pretty charged up seeing Darlene's studio and thinking about the possibilities for our new studio once we kick Jeff out of his man cave/basement lair and move him upstairs. I am seriously considering mango walls.
Once home, I had only a minimal amount of time before more celebration, a small amount of time in which to wrap Jeff's (ridiculously expensive, available only for an extremely brief time and therefore requiring the money we'd set aside for me to join Jeannene in Vegas last week) new X-Box 360 and adorn his cake with fresh raspberries. Then, it was off to pick up Jeff's friend, Chris, for dinner at the local Japanese steakhouse. Quite a step up from the gas station food he requested for his 14th birthday last December. We had dinner at BP that night. Chris then spent the night, our living room transformed into a gamer's haven and our bedroom transformed into a sleeper's haven. I still only got about 6 hours of sleep. I am not a morning person and arising at 7 every Sunday feels a bit much. Good thing I adore my job.
Today, I got paid to go Christmas caroling! Okay, I did a little more than that, but I got to go Christmas caroling for the first time in years. First, I got to hang out with the middler church school class while they began work on writing their own prayer of confession. I am always pleased to hear their insights. Then, I hung out with the extremely sleepy youth class. The teacher and I were sleepy, too. We were quite a sight! Then, worship, annual meeting and carolers' lunch, enormous baked potatoes with chili atop them. We caroled and delivered cookies, ending up at the home of a darling elder member of our congregation within sight of the lake. Ah, the lake! I love it! We all ventured down there, Barb wishing to take a photo of the gingerbread man with Lake Erie in the background. Meghan rode her mom piggyback to the end of the street and her brother's shoulders back to the car. It was very sweet. Much fun was had by me, despite my shyness about my utter lack of any musical talent whatsoever.
Now that I'm home, I am being thoroughly amused by the adolescent homework angst opera that is occurring in my home. Jeff is in so much trouble for his grades and he and Jeannene have been very comically going back and forth. She is aggravated enough to throw bacon at him and tempted herself with ham, as well. He has done marvelously funny impressions of his teacher and has raised the foam numchuks high in the air. They are hilarious!
Friday, October 30, 2009
So Much For Walking Meditation!
I've been meaning to start walking again for awhile now and today was the day. I'd like to lose the extra weight I put on in seminary (or, rather, on the 4-hour drive between seminary and home, during which I munched on junk to keep myself awake and stave off boredom) and I'd also like to use the time to connect with Spirit. My friend Gene, who has walked every day since last February, has inspired me to make the time for mindful walking now rather than later. Why I thought it would be a good idea to do this with a willful 80-pound Rottweiler-Dobie mix today is beyond me.
Mindful walking is a wonderful way to connect with God and all that God does in the world. However, there is no such thing as mindful walking with a dingbat...I mean, dog. Or perhaps there is, for people who like the whole dog ownership thing. I am a cat person, through and through, and can easily meditate with a cat bathing next to me. This doesn't mean I don't like dogs. On the contrary, I adore other people's dogs. I admire Leo, my aunt & uncle's Golden, immensely and think he is beautiful. Starr, his housemate, another Golden, is adorably naughty and happy-go-lucky, with her tongue generally slung out the side of her mouth. My heart melts when Faith, my auntie's long-haired Dachshund, grins at me and I just love her brother, Rowdy's, fabulously venerable little face. I woke up in tears the other morning because I dreamed my cousins' amazingly cool wolf dog, Xavier, died and I am planning to spend my Halloween afternoon at the pooch parade. In short, I like dogs, just not the tedium of owning one. However, my wife wanted a dog and I felt grinchly not letting her have one ever again for the rest of our lives, so I caved. Sigh. I caved. How could I?
So, my walk with Harley (who is, by the way, an unusually well-behaved dog, really) today started out not mindfully, but pleasantly enough. She'd been guffing me all morning to go for a walk, having neglected to poop on either of the two walks my dearest darling wife (her real owner) took her on this morning. Oh, no, she had to complain to me all morning instead. By the time we entered the walking trail, she had done her thing, though, and I had gratefully made a deposit in the trash can nearby. We enjoyed a stroll through a neighborhood that looks like the sort where I'd eventually like to live and were headed back on the walking trail when I saw another dog. Not wanting to alarm the owner with Harley's enthusiasm and not sure how the other dog was with fellow canines, I took Harley off the path in hopes of distracting her with the lure of the woods edge. Did my ever-so-brilliant tactic work? Oh, no, of course not. Rather, it only succeeded in getting my sneakers all dirty, my socks damp and a rather large swath of mud deposited on my freshly-washed jeans by Harley's leaping attempt to go play with the other dog. Oy vey! Why can't dogs only have to go out when the people who actually want them in the household are home and not busy? (Did I mention walking Harley last night so my love could complete some online tutorials for work?)
I am clearly not cut out for this dog thing. So, for tomorrow's walk, it will be just me and God. Harley can stay home and annoy the cats. Today, I will smooth down my ruffled feathers with a trip to the library for chick flicks and then dress in my Halloween costume (myself as a teenager---pictures to come, I hope!) to go tutor.
Mindful walking is a wonderful way to connect with God and all that God does in the world. However, there is no such thing as mindful walking with a dingbat...I mean, dog. Or perhaps there is, for people who like the whole dog ownership thing. I am a cat person, through and through, and can easily meditate with a cat bathing next to me. This doesn't mean I don't like dogs. On the contrary, I adore other people's dogs. I admire Leo, my aunt & uncle's Golden, immensely and think he is beautiful. Starr, his housemate, another Golden, is adorably naughty and happy-go-lucky, with her tongue generally slung out the side of her mouth. My heart melts when Faith, my auntie's long-haired Dachshund, grins at me and I just love her brother, Rowdy's, fabulously venerable little face. I woke up in tears the other morning because I dreamed my cousins' amazingly cool wolf dog, Xavier, died and I am planning to spend my Halloween afternoon at the pooch parade. In short, I like dogs, just not the tedium of owning one. However, my wife wanted a dog and I felt grinchly not letting her have one ever again for the rest of our lives, so I caved. Sigh. I caved. How could I?
So, my walk with Harley (who is, by the way, an unusually well-behaved dog, really) today started out not mindfully, but pleasantly enough. She'd been guffing me all morning to go for a walk, having neglected to poop on either of the two walks my dearest darling wife (her real owner) took her on this morning. Oh, no, she had to complain to me all morning instead. By the time we entered the walking trail, she had done her thing, though, and I had gratefully made a deposit in the trash can nearby. We enjoyed a stroll through a neighborhood that looks like the sort where I'd eventually like to live and were headed back on the walking trail when I saw another dog. Not wanting to alarm the owner with Harley's enthusiasm and not sure how the other dog was with fellow canines, I took Harley off the path in hopes of distracting her with the lure of the woods edge. Did my ever-so-brilliant tactic work? Oh, no, of course not. Rather, it only succeeded in getting my sneakers all dirty, my socks damp and a rather large swath of mud deposited on my freshly-washed jeans by Harley's leaping attempt to go play with the other dog. Oy vey! Why can't dogs only have to go out when the people who actually want them in the household are home and not busy? (Did I mention walking Harley last night so my love could complete some online tutorials for work?)
I am clearly not cut out for this dog thing. So, for tomorrow's walk, it will be just me and God. Harley can stay home and annoy the cats. Today, I will smooth down my ruffled feathers with a trip to the library for chick flicks and then dress in my Halloween costume (myself as a teenager---pictures to come, I hope!) to go tutor.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
