Inspired by new backpack

Reuben decided to sketch his new "friend," who frightens his little sis. (Bonus?)

'And a little child will lead them' (okay, not-so-little anymore)

Supposedly it’s best to marry someone who complements your weaknesses. A non-cook should marry a cook. A shy person ought to marry someone more outgoing. A spouse with a mind for numbers might do well with an artistic, ethereal thinker. In theory.

After 15 years of marriage (happy anniversary to us), I’ve concluded that Tom and I are more alike than not, and that it’s our firstborn child who is destined to save our household from utter chaos. Throughout most of her childhood, I’d have said the opposite. I confess to telling Tom in late-night whispers of desperation: “It’s like living with a terrorist!” But now that Viv has reached adolescence, I’ve realized something: She’s simply cut from different cloth than her parents. 

Case in point: School supplies. As of this morning—nearly 2 weeks before the term begins—we have bought, sorted and organized the contents of all 3 school kids’ backpacks, all thanks to Vivian. (Well, and with a little help from her parents’ purse.) What we have living with us is not a terrorist in the making but rather a Future Administrator of America. I am grateful for her organizational inclinations and happy to let her take the lead…at least, in this.

Next up: Menu planning. With Viv in charge, maybe we’d find out what we’re eating more than 30 minutes in advance. Radical.

P.S. Yes, I called Tom "Tom" and Viv "Viv." I've decided to ditch the pseudonyms and say who we really are. I'm also renewing my commitment to once-a-week blog posts, however boring they might be. They're just slices of life, not inspirations for posterity (although I'm fully aware they could turn out to be both...especially with a kid like Lucy spouting her sassy, witty, wise words).

Tribute to A-Town by a young friend off to college today

Photo from http://robinhobb.com/2010/09/off-to-college/

"I arrived here 9 years ago, skinny, pale, naive, just a kid. You put me through some of the best times, and some of the worst times in my childhood. You've been an extremely important part of growing up, for me. I met some of the most amazing people here, and I've met some horrible people, but all of them shaped my life and turned me into the college kid I am today. I've loved and been loved, hated and been hated, ignored and been ignored. If it wasn't for you, Albion, I don't think I would have ever become a musician, or tried my hand at acting, or any of the other things I love in my life. So now, in a few short hours, I will walk out my kitchen door as a kid for the last time and begin my life as an adult, a little less skinny, a little less pale, a touch wiser, and ultimately changed for the better, because of you, Albion. Thank you, for everything."

Godspeed, SE, EB and all the other young Albionites beginning a new leg of their journey today

Summ-Summer Favorites

1) Chicory -- I love how that spindly, scraggly-looking weed defies the worst circumstances and blooms its perfect periwinkle all over tarnation this time of year.

2) Raspberries -- These under-sung fruits are more precious than rubies to me. They grew wild in my parents' back yard, and they taste like carefree childhood.

3) Bird songs -- Early morning and early evening are the loveliest parts of day in this season of heat and humidity: The temperature relents, and "all nature rings and 'round me sings, the music of the spheres."

4) Sweet corn -- It's better than candy (and I like candy a lot).

5) Clothesline -- I'm pretty positive that Heaven smells like sun-dried sheets.

Amen to this:

O God of such truth as sweeps away all lies,
of such grace as shrivels all excuses,
come now to find us
for we have lost ourselves
in a shuffle of disguises
and in the rattle of empty words.

Let your Spirit move mercifully
To recreate us from
The chaos of our lives.

We have been careless of our days
our loves our gifts
our chances…

Our prayer is to change, O God,
not out of despair of self
but for love of you,
and the selves we long to become
before we simply waste away.

Let your mercy move in and through us now…

Amen.

Ted Loder, My Heart in My Mouth (Philadelphia, PA: Innisfree Press, 2000), pp. 50-51.

Worth exposing A-Town ID: Fly, Jackie, Fly!!!!!!!

Albion's own Jackie Madejski (who played the part of Peter Pan in the outstanding A-Town spring production of that show) has been selected by the Rochester Broadway Theatre League to compete for the opportunity to represent Albion and the Rochester area in a State competition in NYC. 1st prize is an annual $25,000 scholarship to NYU.  Below is a web address where you can vote for her once daily. Let's see if we can get her to the top of the vote count. The last day to vote is May 25th.  The address is below.

http://www.rochesterhp.com/StarsOfTomorrow/.

And this endorsement/request came from Charlie Nesbitt this morning -- I wholeheartedly agree: 

This young lady gave a wonderful performance as Peter Pan, among the very best I have ever seen by a non-professional. Please vote for her and encourage your contacts to do the same. She certainly deserves the support! (Remember, you can vote once each day) Thanks for your help!

 

Charlie

A slice...no, a sliver...no, a ladle-ful of life

I'm warming up a can of "meatball soup," Ben's favorite. Ben and Pearl wait together at the dining room table, eager to be served.

Their banter:

Ben: Dinner is the best invention ever!

Pearl: Uh...nohhh!! (all, like, Valley Girl in tone) Mommy!! Isn't God's plan the best invention everrrr?! Like, He made the worrrrrld!!