Sep 8, 2003 | This Life
Wolf among Sheep
One of the upsides of being an “other”, a non-Presby at a Presbyterian Seminary is how much you can just disappear. Sure, it takes awhile to pick up the Presbyterian idiom (I’m still not sure WHAT a Presbytery is…) and there is little tolerance and even less interest in all things Methodist. But on the whole, it’s easy to concentrate on your studies and not be distracted by the ever constant pressures of candidacy. Should, of course, you ever get that far!
But the benefits go far deeper than just avoiding the perennial questions (What’s your Annual Conference? Elder or Deacon track?). Among the many reasons is that it gives you a chance to be on the “outside”. And in doing so, to listen to voices not your own. It is a critical skill for anyone answering a “call” to ministry. However, being able to step outside of yourself and be present to another who may or may not share your unique point of view or take on life is more than a skill-set to master–it is a gift to be cherished. Hear me correctly… it is not a gift you give, but a gift given to you. It is luxurious to hear another and to be truly present in the hearing. Especially when we find ourselves translating (idiom or language or attitude)! It’s a big reason why people travel abroad–it’s an opportunity to encounter and experience “another” in ways that enrich our own understanding of what it means to be alive. I would suggest to you here, that you need not board a plane to some exotic destination or far-flung wilderness. Even those you share air with daily see the world DIFFERENTLY.
However… sometimes… you get homesick for your native tongue. I walked into Polity… sat with my other United Methodist Peers… and reveled in the opportunity to be present with others who speak my particular idiom. To listen to the voices of those who are the future of my denomination as well as the voice of one who has led us so faithfully. You aren’t supposed to love Polity. But… in its odd way, the class is more than just a three-hour seminar on History/Doctrine/ and Polity of the United Methodist Church once a week. It’s communion with saints who, like me, are seeking to engage in a practical theology of “joining knowledge and vital piety”. For three hours, once a week I sound just like everyone else.
And for three hours, once a week… John Wesley is the subject of our conversation.
Sep 8, 2003 | You Can't Make This Stuff Up
Q: Will I live a long life?
Ok… I’m leaving this post because there are comments attached to it. However, I have figured out that the links I’m using for my comic strips are timing out–thus the disappearing acts. Unfortunately, that requires some work on my part that I’m not inclined to do at the moment. Lazy me… Oh well… However, in the future I will endeavor to not link bogus strips… until then… I guess we get to cope. Heh.
Sep 7, 2003 | This Life
So What?!
Sometimes in life you just need to say, “So What?!” Not always. Not in every circumstance. But there are some moments where it helps to put things into perspective: to major in what truly is life affirming and say “So What?!” to the inconsequential ironies that often get you down. My own particular take on life tends to see the glass as half-empty. But I don’t think it’s being hopelessly Pollyanna to suggest that it instead of focusing on what you don’t have, you focus on what *is*. Instead of the thoughtless friends who can’t see you… the beautiful friends who do. Instead of the emptiness of your bank account…the wealth of your collective experience. Instead of all you can’t do…what you are uniquely qualified to give to this world. It isn’t an issue of not caring about anything, but caring deeply about what really matters.
And to the rest of it? “So What?!”
Sep 2, 2003 | This Life
First Day Back…
Well… class was ok… and work was insane! I’m trying to not panic about work load. Heh. More later–maybe.
Update: Well, I managed to clean out my entire email inbox. Everything in its proper place. I’m a little down, but I think I’m just dreading my mega day tomorrow (12 hours…. YIKES). So– here is your chance to cheer me up. Send me something funny. My inbox is lonely and I could use a boost. And for those of you who owe me SERIOUS mail, and you know who you are, get with it already. Please? Pretty please? With sugar on top??? mmmm….
Sep 1, 2003 | This Life
OOPS
A big SHOUT OUT to my girly Jen… who on Saturday celebrated her birthday. I’m a VERY bad friend not to have mentioned it sooner. I am claiming early onset Alzheimer’s. That’s my story… I’m sticking to it. DARLING JEN… Happy Happy Happy Birthday. (Coffee this week or next??? Say yes… you know I love you!) ~~ Wen
Aug 31, 2003 | Overheard
Good News:
IZ: the problem is you are experiencing a period of self-doubt…
ME: “Period”? That would be my LIFE.
IZ: Ok, an extended period of self-doubt… it will pass.
Aug 31, 2003 | This Life
What’s stuck in my head:
It’s crazy I’m thinking
Just as long as you’re around
And here I’ll be dancing on the ground
Am I right side up or upside down
To each other we’ll be facing
By love we’ll beat back the pain
we’ve found
You know
I mean to tell you all the things I’ve been thinking deep inside
My friend
With each moment the more I love you
Crush me dmb
Aug 29, 2003 | This Life
Friday Friday Friday
Three days until the new semester. At least I don’t have to work… It’s my intention to soak up enough sun and beach time to keep me sane for the next month or so.
Aug 25, 2003 | Boy Wonder
First day… First Grade
We were all little nervous this morning. It’s a new school year… a new classroom… a new grade. Unlike most of his friends from last year, Boy Wonder isn’t “looping” into first grade with the same class and teacher. Which meant a whole new environment to go along with all the new clothes. No amount of “cool dude black clothes” prepares you for a new teacher. And in this heat wave, you don’t get to wear the “Cool dude black clothes” because you can’t risk passing out from heat at recess. That would be so not cool! But a first grader has standards– as I soon discovered when we tried to get dressed this morning.
ME: Wow… that’s a great outfit (trying to be up and hide the fact I’m really sad his summer is over. I don’t really trust public schools– but I’m a little whacked!)
Boy Wonder: Um… yeah… but Mom?
ME: Yeah?
Boy Wonder: The pants are a little loose… and are shirts really supposed to be THIS long? (Pulling his shirt down to his knees…)
—–OK… I will admit that I bought the clothes a tad large this year… the kid is STILL growing from this summer. But only in an attempt to keep his pants from being floods before November. I also maybe sorta forgot to “shrink” them ( a little known practice where you wash the clothes first in coolish water and “pretend” that they now fit perfectly.)
ME: Well… they aren’t THAT big…
Boy Wonder: Look! (lifting his shirt to show me how his underwear peeked over his waistline)
ME: Sheesh… just keep your shirt down. No one is going to look… they aren’t that big.
Boy Wonder: Yes they are… (Pulling his shorts still buttoned down to his knees…) SEE!!!
ME: I see.
Somehow we managed to get dressed. (In a new shirt that had been through the “shrinking” process and an old pair of shorts covered in paint that Boy Wonder said wasn’t as noticeable as his pants falling down. Ok… so maybe he had a point.) Maybe it’s just a girl thing and maybe I’m just a girl… but I thought the whole point of the first day of school was to wear your new clothes? You are supposed to be excited about it… not dreading it. Who cares if they are a little big for you? It means you have potential! You are going to grow into them. Right?
We dropped the new first grader off and came home to sit out the five hours. Would it be a good day? Would his new teacher give him a chance? Did he eat his lunch out of his Zip Lock bag because his parents FORGOT to buy him a new lunch box and no self respecting first grader would be caught dead using a “Bob the Builder” box? (Georges: people will laugh… but I still like the show, ok?) S i g h. There’s not nearly enough coffee to prepare you for first grade.
So how was it? Well… his CLOTHES had a good day! His blue shirt was covered with dirt (from the garden and TWO recesses… count them!) and his shorts with paint on them looked like they belonged in first grade. His teacher met him at the door and gave him an iced oatmeal cookie.
You have to admire a teacher who understands that while the first grader will love her eternally for the cookie on the first day… so will his parents!
