Usually I’m reading at such a rate that I don’t really have time to sit down and blog about it. I just pick up whatever by who ever, read it in a day or two and move on. But this summer is really a busy one for me and I haven’t had time to go through the books as quickly as before. And then I hit that spot where I’d read everything I had and was on the verge of a library visit.
That’s when Zelda loaned me a collection of books by Barbara Kingsglover. I had loved the Poisonwood Bible. And the collection so far hasn’t disappointed. I’ve read two of the four in the collection: Pigs in Heaven and Animal Dreams. Both stories take place in desert type places, though Pigs in Heaven travels all over and most of it ending up in Northeastern Oklahoma. There’s something about reading them during the summer that really makes you feel the stories.
Also, what I really like about the books is that I have to take my time with them. I can’t zoom through them like regular airpot fiction. I feel like the stories move slowly, but with an intentional slowness. She makes you savor the words. As I neared the end of Animal Dreams, I started sobbing. Chris made me put the book down. I had to read that chapter three times to get all the words.
I have two more books to go. I’ve started Homeland which is a collection of short stories and then I finish it off with The Bean Tree. I’m kind of thinking at this rate, these may last me through the summer.
Every year I plan on going to the Gay Pride Parade and every year something comes up and I don’t make it. This year, finally, there was nothing. You’re probably wondering why I’d want to go to a Gay Pride Parade. Well…I have gay friends. And I’m very proud of them. I’m proud of their bravery for not being afraid to be who they truly are. I’m proud of their tolerance to ignorance and hate. I’m proud of their endurance despite the constant battle, the battle of being treated as a second class citizen, of being ‘wrong”, of being different. I support my gay friends. I love you no matter what.
Besides that, every one knows parades are fun. But a parade with drag queens?!? The MOST fun.
Today I am attending a yoga workshop by Judith Lassiter (big name in the yoga community). I have just a few social events planned for this weekend and then I have no more weekend obligation for a while (at least until mid July). Even though this month has been, well…hectic, it hasn’t been too bad. I like having something to do other then the usual household chore list. But I’m also ready for a few weekends that just belong to me.
So…am I thankful for the busy or the break? I think I’m thankful for both. More and more I’m learning to just be thankful for what each day brings and those few moments I have for myself. Last week I rode the V out to my teaching job on the other side of the city. I teach two classes in a row and by the time I locked up the studio it was close to 8:30 in the evening. I was tired and hungry and I had very long trek ahead of me. But I enjoyed every single minute of it. It was like the perfect meditation. No where else to be in that moment then on my scooter.
Much like yesterday’s Love Thursday, it’s the small, simple, snippets that I am thankful for today. I challenge everyone to just take twenty minutes for yourself today and be thankful.
Last week, I reached to pull my laptop out of my backpack when I noticed that my pack was sporting a new pin. A grin spread across my face and little chill bumps broke out on my arms. Chris had made the pin and then snuck it onto my backpack while I was in the shower that morning.
It’s not the pin itself that I love as much as the intention and idea behind the pin. It’s inspired by the pin that Ellie gives Carl as children in Up made from a Grape Soda bottle cap. She gives it to Carl to make him an honorary member of her Junior Adventure Club. Chris made mine with a Moxie Soda cap, since that seems to be the only soda I ever want to drink. Also, we both just like the word “moxie”.
It’s not any thing fancy. Not made of silver or gold or encrusted with diamonds. It’s just a simple little soda cap. A simple little soda cap that signifies that I am an official member of Chris’s Adventure Club and we’re in this great adventure together.
Yesterday, on the longest day of the year, my parents celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary. Fifty years. In the grand scheme of things, what exactly does fifty years boil down to? For many fifty years would seem like a life time. When I look at Chris, some times I wonder if fifty years is really long enough.
None of us really understand how or why my parents have toughed it out this long. They rarely have anything nice to say to each other, let alone about one another. I definitely learned what I didn’t want in a relationship from my parents. And who knows? Maybe all the bickering is just their thing. It’s the glue that keeps them together.
I did learn yesterday that my parents never had a wedding cake. They got married in their preacher’s home with my Mom’s brother and future sister-in-law as witnesses. No reception. No cake. Yesterday was their first wedding cake. Looking back on the pictures taken of them yesterday, I couldn’t help but think that despite the constant war, deep down there’s still some sort of spark or something there.
It was really hard to come up with something I’m thankful for when I dragged my achy body out of bed this morning. I’ve been rolling along at full steam ahead and as much as I’d like to say I’m thankful for Friday, I’m not sure that I can today. But then I took some time to drink my first cup of coffee this week (yeah…I said “this week”) and peruse the blogs and email and I now have a better attitude for reflecting on being thankful.
This weekend Chris and I head to Tulsa to celebrate (?) my parents 50th Wedding Anniversary. And though I know I will get zero rest and start worrying about the amount of beans to make, I am thankful that we can use this excuse to get the family together in one loud hectic globby mess. Also, my niece-in-law’s little boy turns one. I am thankful that we get to share in the joy and celebration of this little one’s first year.
Another weekend of big family stuff. My family is just as crazy as everyone else’s families, but they are always there. They are always willing to help, to listen, but most of all to love. I am thankful for that.
One of my favorite things from the trip was going into the butterfly room at St. Louis Zoo. I called it the room of magic. I stood in that room in awe of all the delicate wings fluttering around me, amazed at all the colors and beauty in these simple little creatures.
It’s so easy as an adult to forget to see the amazement and magic in the simplest things. I love that I can still find that childlike wonder within myself. Still be thrilled by seeing butterflies. Still believe in fairies every time I see a lightening. Still see shapes in the clouds.
So, I send out a challenge to you on this love Thursday. Take some time to find your inner child and be amazed with the simple and beautiful things around you today. happy Love Thursday!
In 1992 or 93, our HS band was asked to play in Washington DC. On the way, one of the buses broke down (of course) in St. Louis. They left us at the St. Louis Arch, which was way grungier then it looks today, and they wouldn’t let me ride to the top. “The bus could come back at any minute.” Yea, like five hours later. So my one true goal for our trip to St. Louis this time was to get to the top of that arch. It was the first thing we did and it was oh so scary, but really great.
Over all, the entire trip was super. I’m still reeling from it all. I had no idea that St. Louis was such a great place with so much to see and do. We tried to cram as much in as we could, but it was impossible. You could spend a week alone just seeing and doing every thing at Forest Park, which is free by the way. That’s right. FREE. The zoo, art museum, history museum and science center. All free.
One of the best things was getting to introduce my mom and sister to Trader Joe’s. They finally get what Chris and I have been harping about all this time. But other then Trader Joe’s, I was astounded with the Farmer’s markets available to the people of St. Louis. I drove to St. Louis to grocery shop. I was just truly impressed with the availability of fresh vegetables and public transportation and the sheer green lushness of the city. Definitely worth a second or third trip back.
I’ve put together some of my favorite pictures from the weekend, but you can see them all here. Enjoy!
The last few years my sister, my mom and sometimes my sister-in-law and niece, and I all go on a weekend getaway. And for the last few years that weekend getaway place has been Eureka Springs. This year we are shaking things up and heading off to St. Louis, MO (cue “clang, clang, clang went the trolley”).
Even though my family can drive me insane (like how Mom pronounces the L in salmon), I love them. And I’m thankful for the time we can spend together. I am thankful that we choose to make the time to spend together. I am also thankful for the break from everything and being able to take this mini-vacation, even if it’s without Chris.
I didn’t really start to get excited about the trip until Thursday when I started printing out maps and itinerary ideas. Suddenly, I couldn’t wait to get on the road. Also, wished that I had thought to download the soundtrack to “Meet Me in St. Louis”.
Be thankful of the times you get to share with your loved ones and happy Friday to all!
[Side note: Chris has said that he is the speaker to my radio waves, which comes in handy about half of the time because sometimes it's best to not say those things you are thinking out loud. So probably a good idea he's staying at home.]
We were in the airport waiting for our flight out of Portland, when I realized that I should have gotten an Oregon sticker for Gertrude (yes…my Macbook has a name; we call her Gert for short). I ran down to the many gift shops in the airport, but I couldn’t find any stickers. So, I pouted and headed back to our terminal with a heavy heart.
It wasn’t just because of the sticker. Leaving Portland that day was one of the saddest days. When it was time to board our plane, I hugged our friend Amy goodbye. She went on the trip with us, but her flight home was at a different time. I cried saying goodbye, which was stupid because I knew I’d see her really soon. But Chris and I both felt the same way. Like we were leaving parts of our souls there.
Chris gave me that sticker for Gert last week. He had been looking for something to put on his scooter and sent away for a bunch of stickers and some pins to go on our backpacks. Since leaving Portland, we talk constantly about how we are going to get back there for keeps. Sentences start with “when we move to Portland….”. We’ll get there eventually. Patience. If anything we have to go back at least to collect our souls (I think Chris’s is at Voodoo Doughnuts).
