Ordinary Time

Although our church isn't very liturgical I know that in the church calendar we have entered ordinary time. This is the long stretch (at least 23 Sundays) where the church just is. We don't have big celebrations like Christmas or Easter - some people take this time off from church because it's just "the normal stuff". I feel like God is calling me to an "ordinary time". I was hoping for some extraordinary times - like having a new little one. But for now, that's not to be. So I think God is calling me to embrace the ordinary and learn to appreciate the daily things. I tend to live life in anticipation of the next thing instead of enjoying what is happening now.

I am surrounded by the extraordinary (two births in the past week, new jobs, moves, etc.) in the lives of my friends and family. However, I don't see many things being too extraordinary in my own life any time soon. The NPR interviewer of Marilynne Robinson commented on how the character in Gilead had to fight against coveting what everyone else had. For many years he was a bachelor without a family and he often wished for what others had - in contradiction to the 10th commandment. The book discusses how this is one of the hardest commandments to keep. I think it's true. Hopefully I can celebrate the extraordinariness in others lives and still appreciate the ordinary in my own.

So, if you see me trying to find extraordinary things to do or making grandiose schemes and plans - please challenge me. I think I really need to just practice living daily with intentionality and enjoying what we have been given. It is easy to hide behind the extraordinary - I think living in the ordinary requires more discipline than I currently have so maybe that is something God will grow in me.

Ps. 46:10a - Cease striving and know that I am God.

Reading Fiction - shocking!

I am a non fiction gal through and through. However, I recently ran into the fiction books by Marilynne Robinson and have really enjoyed them. Okay - one, Gilead and I started Housekeeping yesterday. WARNING: Do not read them if you want action adventure. She is very skilled at developing characters and creating moments and images that just stick with you. (My husband would NOT like them). She is a Pulitzer Prize winner that actually has a Christian faith to speak of. These are not "Christian" books - but rather, she is a Christian who writes good books for a general audience. Her style is somewhat like Annie Dillard - noticing the small details of life. She is not a liberal Christian (like Anne Lammot) - which is REALLY surprising. Her tone is more life affirming than Anne Lammot even though she deals with weightier subjects. Although Lammot does make me laugh.

She has written two non fiction works (which I am hoping the local library will add to their collection). Hopefully I can read them soon since the reviews contend that they are thought provoking and well written.

I also like reading her because it makes me want to write better (although this blog does not necessarily reflect that desire). She makes me think about noticing and describing the little incidents of life. She brings value and a sense of sacredness to the small acts of everyday - which is pretty much all you have when you are a stay at home mom. I appreciate her for that.

So, although these do not support my effort to "read the classics" they are at least good literature. You can listen to an interview about her work "Gilead" from NPR. It is interesting to hear NPR try to deal with deep religious faith.

Update - Little man has now been asleep for 2 1/2 hours. As it nears 5 I think I'll have to get him up so that he will go to bed tonight. He needs it though - he went to sleep VERY late last night.

New Bed!

This weekend was "the big move" from the crib to the "big bed". My dad made a bed especially for little man. It is great and I have rarely seen the little guy so excited as when we moved it into his room. At first the transition was going well. In part because we were wearing him out and driving him to sleep after running errands in the morning. Today all that ended. He went to the zoo with Dad and was mostly asleep when he got home. We tried to put him down then but he would have none of it. Then I ran a few more errands and he was pretty much asleep again - but he refused to calm down enough to sleep in his bed. Finally desperation set in - after about an hour (I have a little project that needs to get done by tomorrow - we both needed him to sleep). So I told him that since he couldn't sleep in the big bed he was going back into the crib - he did. After a little bit of crying he settled down and is still sleeping. Normally a late nap starts at 12:15 for him - today he finally crashed at 2:15. It does look like he'll sleep close to two hours which is good.

I did finish my quilt while he was napping - it's for the Lutheran church in Costa Rica. Currently my creation is handwashing. I figured if it can't stand up to that then it's probably not good enough to give to someone else. We'll see! I will be VERY frustrated if it falls apart. For some reason my thread kept breaking and I really struggled with the binding this time. I am still a newbie. I really like making the tops but I don't enjoy finishing them off. It just seems tedious and not nearly as fun and creative as the rest of the project. I don't think I'm alone in this sentiment though.

UPDATE: The quilt survived the wash - YEAH. Now it just has to dry.

I'm back . . .

Probably only you with RSS feeds (mom) will actually read this message because it's been so long since I've written. It was a busy spring but now it is done - Grad school, preschool coop and my consulting job. So what to do with the summer? I am trying not to overcommit myself but I think I should set some goals. So here are a few things I hope to accomplish this summer (if you know me - these are pretty modest goals):

1. IF we homeschool (and even if we don't) I think we'd probably like to follow a great books type of reading list in our home (Mortimer J. Adler How to Read a Book). They have a whole curriculum called "Junior Great Books" too. As I look through the list though - I realized that I know about these books but haven't actually read that many of them. So, no time like the present to start. I haven't determined which ones to read/ listen to on tape but I will do that soon.

2. Obviously, young one will not be reading Plato anytime soon, so I'd like to do something more immediate. Both Montessori and Charlotte Mason (CM) (although VERY different in their approaches to education) take the interesting stance that there shouldn't be too many books in a child's life. First, they both think children should be experiencing life instead of just reading about it. Secondly, they believe in the power of a told story (okay CM does). Finally, (again this is CM) she believes in only exposing children to really high quality literature and doesn't believe in twaddle (I have probably talked about this before).
Well, I don't have very many stories to tell. So this summer I think I am going to work on learning a few good stories to tell. There are a few resources out there with stories that might be good to share. So if anyone has suggestions on learning about storytelling I am open to them.

3. As we learn more about reading I realize I know NOTHING about phonics (long vowel/ short vowel - what's that?). I did get the Spell to Write and Read program and starting this summer I think I am going to try and construct the spelling lists that the students doing the program create. This is highly recommmended by all those who "teach" the program. At the outset I think this program is probably too structured for me to use as is - but I am hoping it can teach me a lot that I can use my knowledge no matter what happens.

4. Again, trying to do something more immediate, my goal is to get us out into nature on a regular basis (CM recommends 4 to 6 hours a day - we will be aiming for about 3). So I plan to frequent the parks in our area - little man LOVES to swing. Also, I hope to try some new art and other activities at home. I plan to use The Toddler Busy Book and Young at Art to get some good ideas going. Busy is a very good word to describe my little guy. I will also try to integrate more of the practical life ideas from Montessori into our home (sometimes he can hardly eat he is so taken with trying to clean up his crumbs - anyway).

I will also be working on some quilts, maybe continue to develop my crocheting ability and planning for a major fundraiser in September. I also hope to help out the 5 moms I know that are due between now and July 4th! Yesterday our nephew was born and hopefully we can spend some good time with them! Last summer I was overwhelmed by an outside commitment - this summer I hope to really focus my attention on my family and developing memories.

There is so much to say when you haven't written for months but I'll cut it short now.