Saturday, May 17, 2008

Emails and Baptism

It's scary having someone who's not like you who may end up as the President of the United States. I've received all the Obama emails, and I struggle with how to respond. Do I respond with righteous indignation? If anything justifies indignation, it's blatant racism. Do I respond with Active Listening? I could tune in to the feelings of the writer (or, more likely, the forwarder): fear, anxiety, their own anger. Do I respect my elders (and many of the forwarders are my elders) and allow them their opinion? For them to be my elders, they've got to be on up there, so what are the chances they'll change at this point? And how much influence can they really have?

Questing Parson posted a wonderful email addressing the subject. You can find it here.

Discovered while reading Alan R. Bevere's weekly roundup of the MethoBlogoSphere.

God's Language

Found this great post on Enter the Rainbow ... all about what our response should be to people who speak other languages. And it starts with a Children's Sermon story. I'm a sucker for stories about Children's Sermons.

Monday, May 12, 2008

NO BRACES!!!!










Elizabeth got her braces off this morning! This does not mean she's through with the orthodontist, though; she goes back Thursday for her retainer, she's got to see the dentist to clean up some leftover glue and a small cavity that developed, and then there's a whitening treatment that Dr. Hiller's staff recommends. (According to them, it's not unusual for teeth to look dull when the bands come off.) The first two photos are the BEFORE shots, and the last two are AFTER.

Yay, Elizabeth!!!

Monday, May 5, 2008

No whining.

I've been putting off blogging for about a week and a half because my mind is full whiny stuff, and I don't want to read it, so why should anyone else? So here goes ... a no whining post.

I spent the last weekend in April in Chicago at the Vermont Oxford Collaborative. There were several things that happened during the weekend that are worth talking about. First was my chance to visit with my friend Judy.

Judy lived in Baton Rouge about 25 years ago, and we were volunteers together at The Phone. We became good friends while she was here, and kept our friendship going when she moved to New Orleans. Once she went back to Chicago and we both got married and had kids, it turned into an occasional email friendship ... we tried to keep each other updated, but time sometimes slipped by without contact. Last summer Judy emailed to tell me and her daughter, Jordyn, were traveling to Baton Rouge for a wedding. We ended up reconnecting (and introducing our daughters to each other) and had a terrific time. She also got to meet Jeaux. I had forgotten how much I loved her quirky sense of humor, and the fact that it's pretty hard to say anything that she'll take the wrong way.

So when I found out I was going to be in Chicago I emailed her and we got to spend some time together. She took a day or two of vacation, and we spent the time drinking wine on her porch and talking about life, the universe, and everything. I got to meet her husband, Jeff, and visit with Jordyn some more. They're hoping to make a trip to New Orleans next summer, and I can't wait to have the chance to visit with them again.

When Judy dropped me off at my hotel I started calling to hook up with my team from Woman's Hospital. When we finally connected, one of the team members told me she had gotten tickets to see Wicked at the Oriental Theater. And not just "tickets" but front row center tickets!

What an experience! I read and enjoyed Gregory Maguire's book, but the stage production was more than I imagined. And when Galinda (played by Kate Fahrner) descended on her bubble, with four bubble machines going at full tilt, there were bubbles popping in our laps. That's how close we were.

There. No whining. And I even feel a little better after writing it.