beauty

I finished reading this book this week. It was a beautiful read about mosaics, prairie dogs, and Rwanda. Williams offers a deep sermon about life and its connections. I don't have time to post all my thoughts on this, but read it and we'll talk.

I will share one snippet in addition to another quote from the book I shared a few days back:

"Beneath the open sky, there is no fixed horizon on humanity, only lives lived and stories shared from one broken heart to another" (342).

countdown: 73 days

Yes. Lame. Countdowns are usually lame because they imply I'm not living in the holy gift of the present. So call me lame because I have a long way to go until the enjoyment of spring break. I did want to celebrate, though, because I just bought my ticket to Albany. In Andrew's words, "and by that I mean" just two and a half months to see this cutie-pie:

and his cute parents too, of course.

See you soon, lovelies!

inauguration

Wow, two posts in one day. What's going on?

I couldn't let this special day pass by without writing something. Sadly, I didn't get to watch the inauguration with any of my students since it fell smack in the middle of my prep hour. But happily, I did turn on my TV and watch as I tried to prepare some lessons for tomorrow and later in the week.

I also took some notes as I watched. I couldn't resist copying down things said and the feelings I had as a result.

Some of my notes follow:

Watching KUED. The mall is packed. So many people there to witness. Witness. Witness the inauguration. At this moment, they’re going to introduce President Obama.

I’m so utterly excited….!!!!

I don’t have class right now. I’ve been working on stuff for tomorrow, but it’s hard to concentrate. The anticipation mounts.

Ladies and Gentlemen: The President Elect of the United States, Barack H. Obama. (interesting that he didn’t announce his full middle name because he did so for George Walker Bush…)

So what happens now?

The crowd chants “Obama”

They’re excited.

Dianne Feinstein: “The world is watching today…peaceful transition of power. We gather to etch another line in the solid stone of history….we come here every 4 yrs…nonviolence. Ballot vs. bullet…our work is not yet finished, but future generations will mark this moment…they will look back and remember that the dream which once echoed…finally reached the walls of the white house. We pledge ourselves to the hope the vision the unity…inspired by the 44^th president B. Obama.”

Rick Warren: Invocation

“Let us pray: Almighty God, Our Father. Everything we see and everything we can’t see it comes from you alone…history is your story. Hear oh Israel, the Lord is our God. The Lord is One. You are loving to everyone. Today we rejoice. We celebrate a hingepoint in history…[cheering]. We are so grateful to live in this land. We know today that Dr. King and great cloud of witnesses are shouting in heaven. Give him the wisdom to lead us in humility. …passion to lead us with generosity. Help us to remember that we are Americans…united by our commitment to freedom and justice for all. Help us to serve, to share. May we never forget all nations and all people will stand accountable before you. We now commit our new president, his wife, daughters, into your care. ….”

Wow, I’m crying…was crying even before the invocation…why am I crying? This is just amazing.

Aretha Franklin “My Country ‘Tis of Thee”

Let freedom ring.

Biden

Amazing piece of music. Peaceful.

And Obama takes oath of office.

Speech. Too much to write. Just feel.

Everywhere we look there is work to be done.

All this we can do. All this we will do.

web of faith

My dad shared this quote with me yesterday. It comes from Terry Tempest Williams' latest book Finding Beauty in a Broken World. I read the first ten pages this morning whilst eating my bowl of cornflakes and hopefully I'll be able to sneak enough time to make it all the way through. Also this morning, I returned a stack of eleven books to the library; I started six of them and only finished four. I would have liked to have read all of them, but it didn't happen.

Back to Williams. Here's a paragraph of her writing which touched my dad and, in turn, me:

"We live our lives looking for that golden thread we can follow to the next clearing of light. It is momentary. We are caught in the recognition that we are not alone but belong to a quivering web of faith" (383).

I'd like to write more about my feelings on this but I must finish planning for the day so just let those words sink into your heart a little. I am not alone. We are not alone. We belong. Faith.

getting my fix

I have an addiction. Well, I have many an addiction, truth be told. But this addiction seems to control my life more than the others. I don't know if it beats out my inclination towards food (ask anyone in my family how irritable I become when I'm hungry, grrr), but exercising is something I simply have to do.

I wanted to write this post Saturday because I felt I really "got my fix" for the day, but haven't had a chance till now.

My day started out with something completely new to me in the exercise realm. I tried out some yoga. I didn't really know what I was doing, having never done it before, but it seemed nice and I enjoyed spending time with my aunty.

The rest of my fix came a little later in the day after I layered on many clothes to brave the cold air on my bike. I haven't been on a long ride since the beginning of December. I biked 35 minutes (ok, it's not that long of a ride, but I'm counting the ride back, so just hold up a bit...) to Lindon to my indoor soccer game. I played a happy game of soccer. Sadly, we didn't hold onto our undefeated season when our game ended in a tie. I did score two goals, though. Ah, I love scoring; it's the best feeling. My goals came off great assists and I'm glad my teammates trust me enough to pass the ball to me when I'm in front of the goal. It's just such a rush to put one in the net. After my game, I hopped back on my bike. My legs were a little tired on the way home, but it felt good to push through the weariness.

My day was complete, well, almost. I didn't leave myself enough time to write in my journal. So I guess there's yet another addiction--writing. Too much good in this beautiful world! What a blessing.

And watch out, I gave into the climbing bug and bought a pair of climbing shoes Friday. (I seriously don't ascribe my purchasing shoes to a little insect; I take full responsibility to caving into yet another lovely activity.)

"creepy creatures"

When your students see your desktop and wonder,
you feel sheepish somehow.

But you shouldn't
because it's awesome to have a brother who loves you
enough to send you happy picture emails.
And sent me "creepy creatures" one month ago,
and it graced my desktop for almost that long.
Thanks, lovely!

friday morning

A work of Ashley Mae Christensen (I "borrowed" it from her cousin's blog...hope that's ok).

Still dark out.

Lesson planned.

Vocabulary tests ready to be completed by students eager to demonstrate their knowledge (are they not eager?).

Late work to be graded as well as yesterday's assignments.

After today: halfway through the school year.

Two more terms.

That's this morning.


Yesterday afternoon I was able to enjoy a long (felt long because I've been off my running legs for a week) 6 mile run. I thoroughly delighted in the 40 degrees. I love pushing through pain. It liberates me.

Last night I went to an old friend's BFA final show. I say "old friend" because Ashley and I don't see each other much nowadays, only at random things like gallery stroll or a Sierra Club meeting. And when I see her it's always nice and lovely and makes me wish I did more with her. We played soccer together in high school. Anyway, her show was (is) beautiful. It's up until 15 Jan at BYU's HFAC. I'm hoping to sneak back in for some time to explore it without the crowd the reception drew, so I can read her writings and delve more deeply into it all. She's loved by many, thus many were there last night.

Her show revived me with a few lungfuls of hope. Not that I was hopeless. Just not in tip-top hope-shape.

Listening now to "How It Ends" by Devotchka.

Happy Friday!

confession:

Sometimes I write emails to myself. Is that weird? Probably, eh? But I suppose weird people do weird things, so that would be no surprise coming from me.

Sometimes I do it to encourage myself. Sometimes I do it to record information I know I'll forget otherwise. Sometimes I do it to jot down story ideas. Sometimes I do it to recall events. Sometimes I do it real quick-like on my prep hour because I just need something to get me through the day (this usually falls under the category of self-encouragement).

I wrote myself an email today during prep. I didn't want to forget the conversation that took place in less than a minute. My self-addressed email follows:

standing in the hall today (6 january 2009) between first and second hour. _____ sees me before going to math. she says that her grandma is now reading pictures of hollis woods. she'd told me previously that her mom was reading it after she read it. so yeah. she pulls out the moral compass: stories for a life's journey to lend to me. she says her mom said i should read it. oh happiness in my heart.

the sharing of books.
of stories.
of life.

it's things like that which "make my day." which make my day as a teacher because some days i have no idea what i'm doing here. argh. now off to grading persuasive essays. my not so favorite pastime, but must be done.

laters,

from lyn to lyn