Dear Mom and Dad,
Have arrived safely at 25-
had few valuables lost along the way,
but am apparently in one piece...
....
view is different than anticipated...
but accomodations nice and townsfolk friendly
think i will hang around these parts for a while,
maybe even a year...
walk the trails, see the sights-
bring back some souveneirs? (sp?)
tell the others i got the sunscreen and mix cds...
and not to worry about me traveling alone-
have a good Tourguide.
thinking of you each day...
bet you are wishing you were here... ;)
all my love,
the elderest.
**********other less self directed thoughts on growing up************
one can think more clealry
walking home in warm summer rains
or falling asleep to humid summer storms
there has been a generous amount of both of these lately
and this mess of fragments is what has come about:
- "the open door policy" that my parents and their college church friends remember back to and miss-
discussing this over sushi and wondering where this dynamic has gone to?
that kind of accountability with acts of sharing, of not fearing the others judgement, but boldly entering into circles of service, of submission, of prayer.
-80 year old Dwight from uptown, weeks ago, looking at me in the eye after having been assulted in the streets and rather than lashing out in bitterness and turning himself inward, is asking "why the church has a house so big with so many rooms, with no one using them, why he's never seen me before that night, and why don't we play chess together?"
-how a spirit can be renewed over coffee and biscotti, good conversation and smiling children
-the miracles that happen when a family unit gives their all for someone-sarah's wedding and this definition of beauty,
and her and ryan representing Christ and the Church...
-night at Ravinia listening to Feist, with 4 different groups of people, the majority of us not knowing one another, but sitting down and eating and laughing and listening to good music and staring up at the stars...how this felt like a church service in some strange way
-"rah rah, babe".
-community being somethng everyone craves and so few ask for
-how we all have different roles in this-some are hosts/planner, connectors, free spirits, subdude appreciatve types
-how polish people never cross their arms when they are talking to you, they think it is rude and closed off
-old friends resurfacing during new life changes, and how sometimes their struggles and joys are mirror images of your own, and you are able to encourage the other and be encouraged at the same time- (thank you, for the reminder of"heavenly breezes...setting our sails to that wind, keeping our hands steady on the mast...)...
-lessons in Hebrews, of Chapter 11 being about veils, of looking beyond...always always looking beyond in Faith...
-camping is great, beause there are no walls, no doors, just thin pieces of fabric and one fire pit and the sky.
don't really know what to make of all this...
am just very thankful to be witnessing/learning/struggling
very disorganized-blame it on the rain.
1 comment:
funny how you say "have arrived safely at 25" - which i just read, the same day that i received an email from Brac that said this. (he forwarded it to me upon receiving it from a friend).
"George Carlin on age.
(Absolutely Brilliant)
George Carlin's Views on Aging
Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.
'How old are you?' 'I'm four and a half!' You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key .
You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.
'How old are you?' 'I'm gonna be 16!' You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life . . Youbecome 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony . YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!
But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?
You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone.
But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would!
So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60.
You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!
You get into your 80's and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30 ; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; 'I Was JUST92.'
Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. 'I'm 100 and a half!'
May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!"
Happy Birthday, friend! A quarter of a century!
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