The weekend was spent mostly in meetings/retreat for the UCC church, but Friday night, we had book group. We discussed The Alphabet Vs. The Goddess and ate chicken peanut soup and butternut squash soup. I made the chicken soup & Hyacinth brought the squash soup, along with some smoked oysters in pasta shells. I had some snowflake rolls to go with the soups & Trader Joe's chocolate truffles for dessert. Those are really scrumptious. Our next book is Terry McMillan's Disappearing Acts, which we'll discuss on J's birthday.
Early Saturday morning, I drove to the golf club for the leadership retreat. We spent the morning talking about how to grow the church & the afternoon focusing on what our gifts are & what changes we'd like to see in the church in the coming year. We had lunch & dinner there & after dinner was a nice worship service. The sermon was all of our reflections. It was kind of like Friends Meeting, but not as quiet. After the service, I dropped Mike off at their kids' house where Vickie was already babysitting the grandbabies. We had interesting conversation about spirituality in the car.
Once home, I tasted some of J's turkey soup (she made 2 giant vats while I was gone...also took Pie bowling...sounds like they had fun. Boot spent the night at a friend's Friday night & was gone all day. Had he called & asked to spend a second night earlier, J & Pie could have gone out to the Olive Garden with my family, but he didn't call until 8...we let him stay & it seems to have been a mistake) & watched Mr. & Mrs. Smith with J. I also checked out the bible reference software Pie picked out as a gift for me. He is so sweet.
Sunday morning, I again headed out early for the retreat. We spent hours in a committee meeting & ran out of time for the Bible study the pastor had planned. But, he gave us the info so that we can pursue it on our own. On the way home, I picked up the new book club book, a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird for The Big Read, a couple cooking magazines and some gifts. I got J a book with all kinds of snowflake illustrations by various children's authors, Pie a small stuffed lion to remind him to be brave & be just who he is no matter what someone else (his brother) might want him to be, and a set of rubber Georgia Bulldogs bracelets for Boot. Pie loved his lion, J is putting her book on her desk at work, & Boot hasn't mentioned his bracelets...he was asleep when I got home, so I put them on his bed next to him. I don't know if he hasn't found them yet or just won't say anything. He is in one of his hateful phases, as evidenced later that night. I also picked up a darling little purple & white gingham dress & panty set, with a matching embroidered white sweater for a baby shower.
J & I ate some turkey soup, wrapped baby gifts (she had picked up bath stuff & a little purple & white sleeper for her), and headed out for Honey's daughter's baby shower. Honey is one of J's leads & we just love her. Her daughter is just 17 & is due with her first baby in a few weeks. I can't imagine how scary it must be for her, but Honey will help her & be a wonderful grandma. The shower was fun. I won a picture frame in the pin game. Honey made some great chicken wings & lasagna & the cake was adorable, with tiny sugar footprints all over it. But, my favorite part of the shower was getting to see the gifts. There were some darling little outfits! Almost all the girls there were also high school students. I wondered how many showers they've been to for friends of theirs already. After the shower, we stayed a little longer & talked about work stuff with some women who work with J.
We took the kids McDonald's for dinner & then ran a couple errands. When we got home, we were getting ready to fix ourselves some dinner. The kids were supposed to be in bed, but weren't. Boot used the excuse that he had to make sure his mom would wash his clothes while Pie told me he was shutting down his computer. I talked to him about why he should have been in bed, then started talking to Boot. Boot hates to get in trouble & often balks if we even talk to him about some kind of wrongdoing, without even giving him a consequence. He wasn't in trouble Sunday night, just getting a lecture about going to bed on time. He kept making excuses & was defiant with me. I told him I didn't need excuses, I just needed him to go to bed. I reached out to shut his door & turn the lights out. He decided I was reaching out for him & grabbed my arm hard & said, "You can't touch me!!!" & started wigging out. I said, "Boot, I don't want to touch you, I want you to GO TO BED!!!" He started crying & said, "I'm calling my dad! You can't touch me! You can't spank me!" practically in hysterics. I told him that I could, actually, according to the police, as long as I had his custodial parent's permission, which I do. But, since I can't remember ever having spanked him in the almost 5 years I've been parenting him & since I hadn't wanted to touch him or spank him & had made no indication that I would do so, I was astonished that he got so freaked out. I called J for help, but she couldn't hear me from the laundry room. He called his dad in tears & hysterics on his cell phone. I ended up getting the distinct pleasure of talking to his dad. His dad was not rude to me, surprisingly, & told me that as long as I don't use corporal punishment on his kid, we have no problem. J was upstairs by then. After I got off the phone with his dad, she decided to just go right to bed, no longer hungry. I got the dishwasher loaded & running, then went to bed myself. That kid's hair trigger temper & hysteria are going to cause him some major problems throughout his life if he doesn't learn to control himself. It was a perfectly hideous end to a very nice day. Another weekend tainted by one of his blow-ups. It fits the pattern, though. He usually does this the long weekend he is with us during visitation with his dad in July and again in January or February. He's got his brother so scared of him that Pie wants permission to lock his bedroom door if he feels scared...granted.
Last night, after I got home from school & J got home from work, he flipped out again & started crying & cussing because he is grounded this week for flipping out on me Sunday night. He's not the first kid ever to be grounded, but he acts like we are the most evil people ever, to punish him for acting up. My arm was still red an hour after he grabbed me & sore the next morning, yet we're the villains for grounding him? I don't think so. Anyway, he decided he needed to call his daddy & soon, I was on the phone with the guy being accused of "taking sides and practicing gender politics", being "pretty unChristlike for someone who recently professed a calling as a Christian", and being habitually dishonest. He kept telling me we'd just talk through our lawyers & he'd see me in court. He was mad that I hadn't told him that Boot grabbed me the night before. I didn't want to make a big deal of it, so I omitted it from what I told him. So what? He's never been supportive or helpful before when Boot has physically attacked me, so why would I bother to tell him? What a thoroughly delightful man.
Boot refused to come down for dinner & we didn't press the issue, deciding that a nice peaceful dinner was a better option than proving we can make him come to dinner. It was a very nice dinner indeed & we had fun with Pie. J made steak & bearnaise sauce while I steamed some asparagus & baked some potatoes. Pie adored his meal. He calls asparagus "trees" and had seconds. He also ate much of his brother's steak, with J putting the rest on a bun for his lunch today. He is thrilled about getting to take a "steakburger" to lunch. I hope it's good! I also made a cherry pie in honor of Pie Day. J & I each had a still-warm slice right before going to bed.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Reformed...and Still Reforming
Yesterday morning, J went in to work very early, leaving the house before 5. I got up & hung out with her while she got ready. Then, I sent her on her way with a mug of coffee and a Nutrigrain bar. I went back to bed. I very much wanted to attend the MLK Day march & rally, but had the first meeting of our Reformed Theology directed study group scheduled too close for comfort.
There are only 5 of us, so I already know everyone who's in the group...and the prof guiding it is my friend, Laura. We told a little about ourselves. It turns out that Laura and myself are the only lifelong Presbyterians in the group. We have a former Lutheran who's been Presbyterian for about 10 years (I think he said), then 2 mostly-nondenominationals and a Nazarene, who have all been Presby about 3 years. The former Nazarene is very conservative and homophobic. I find it disturbing that I, a 4th-generation Presbyterian in the same church to which my great-grandmother belonged, cannot be ordained while the Nazarene, who happened to marry into the denomination, can. I hope Brendan is wrong & things do change at the GA in June. But, I doubt it. It is an upbeat note that the Cincinnati Presbytery just sent in a delete G, but still. There is a lot of work to be done in the class, as with Hebrew and (I am sure) Greek. It would be so much easier to forego the Presbyterian requirements & just go for the UCC ordination or do something which doesn't require ordination. But, I am unwilling, at this point, to give up like that.
After the meeting, I popped into the mall to exchange some Christmas clothing gifts ( I found a really wonderful pink turtleneck and a v-neck grey sweater, as well as picking up some tights). Then, I found myself a new purse. I also got my hair cut & my brows waxed & feel 100% better without my bangs hanging in my eyes! My grandfather will appreciate it, too.
I came home & J arrived shortly after me. We took the bitties to the mall. Pie was very unhappy about this, but Boot was thrilled. He is worse than a girl when it comes to being a clothes horse. We got him a couple pairs of shorts, a couple t-shirts, and some Nikes because he "needs" new clothes for gym class. J picked up a "Drawn Together" t-shirt at Hot Topic for $5. I wish there was a Torrid at our mall. I think the clothes there are fun. Boot would be appalled. We had dinner in the food court & I bought the dinner of the guy behind me. That was fun! He was really surprised. After dinner, we planned to have some ice cream, but Haagen-Dazs was already closed. Just as well, I suppose!
Once home, I read to J & petted her to sleep, then stayed up until 12:30 reading The Goddess Vs. The Alphabet, trying to get it finished before book group this weekend. It's good, just not a breeze-through kind of book.
There are only 5 of us, so I already know everyone who's in the group...and the prof guiding it is my friend, Laura. We told a little about ourselves. It turns out that Laura and myself are the only lifelong Presbyterians in the group. We have a former Lutheran who's been Presbyterian for about 10 years (I think he said), then 2 mostly-nondenominationals and a Nazarene, who have all been Presby about 3 years. The former Nazarene is very conservative and homophobic. I find it disturbing that I, a 4th-generation Presbyterian in the same church to which my great-grandmother belonged, cannot be ordained while the Nazarene, who happened to marry into the denomination, can. I hope Brendan is wrong & things do change at the GA in June. But, I doubt it. It is an upbeat note that the Cincinnati Presbytery just sent in a delete G, but still. There is a lot of work to be done in the class, as with Hebrew and (I am sure) Greek. It would be so much easier to forego the Presbyterian requirements & just go for the UCC ordination or do something which doesn't require ordination. But, I am unwilling, at this point, to give up like that.
After the meeting, I popped into the mall to exchange some Christmas clothing gifts ( I found a really wonderful pink turtleneck and a v-neck grey sweater, as well as picking up some tights). Then, I found myself a new purse. I also got my hair cut & my brows waxed & feel 100% better without my bangs hanging in my eyes! My grandfather will appreciate it, too.
I came home & J arrived shortly after me. We took the bitties to the mall. Pie was very unhappy about this, but Boot was thrilled. He is worse than a girl when it comes to being a clothes horse. We got him a couple pairs of shorts, a couple t-shirts, and some Nikes because he "needs" new clothes for gym class. J picked up a "Drawn Together" t-shirt at Hot Topic for $5. I wish there was a Torrid at our mall. I think the clothes there are fun. Boot would be appalled. We had dinner in the food court & I bought the dinner of the guy behind me. That was fun! He was really surprised. After dinner, we planned to have some ice cream, but Haagen-Dazs was already closed. Just as well, I suppose!
Once home, I read to J & petted her to sleep, then stayed up until 12:30 reading The Goddess Vs. The Alphabet, trying to get it finished before book group this weekend. It's good, just not a breeze-through kind of book.
Lazy Days, Work Days
Friday night, after we saw the boys off, we went to the local Regal cinemas to see Brokeback Mountain. The movie was very good & was possibly the saddest movie I've ever seen. Take tissues! I had to restrain myself from wailing loudly in the theater & couldn't pull myself together enough to leave until the credits had rolled & the ushers were giving me the eye. I cried all the way to the Indian restaurant, but was cheered by the crunch of pappadam and the savory goodness of chicken tikka masala. It wasn't our usual Indian place, but it was near the theater & not bad at all.
We spent nearly all of Saturday in bed, reading, watching silly things on t.v., and just enjoying one another's company. I fixed a tray of cheese and fruit for our brunch & we ate in bed, too. Finally, after several hours of lolling about, we roused ourselves, got showers, & headed to church. We had a pulpit exchange, the kick-off of the UCC church's partnership with a predominently African-American congregation in the Presbyterian church. The sermon was good & I am looking forward to getting to know the other congregation more. J & I want to attend their worship services some time. The UCC pastor preached at the Presby church on Sunday, but we were at work.
After the service, we were both starving. We stopped by The Paragon Club, but were not in "proper attire", nor did we relish the idea of paying almost $40 for a steak. That's just silly. So, I talked J into going to El Meson. She always thinks she doesn't like it that much there & then she loves it once I get her there. She had said, "Well, El Meson's just expensive Mexican food." But, it's Latin, not strictly Mexican. And it's not really all that expensive. I love it there. We had some platanos rellenos (with beef filling) and some arepas with chorizo for our tapas, then split the very yummy arroz con pollo. They make it with boneless, skinless chicken breasts, so it's a lot easier to eat than the traditional bony kind. For dessert, I had flan (next time, I want the dulce de leche con moros) & J had dulce de leche cheesecake. We sipped wonderful café ollos & chatted. We were seated out in the patio, walls rolled down & heaters on for the winter. The heaters made me think of restaurants in Monterey & Carmel. J had never been out there. Very enjoyable! After dinner, one of the owners (who happens to belong to the UCC church) stopped by our table to chat. It sounds like they have some great dishes planned for the new menu. This might sound crazy, but there was a young woman there who was dressed like God has been dressed when She's appeared to me in meditations lately. It was fun to see her outfit.
Sunday morning, I went in to the plant with J. I took all my church history and Hebrew work...and got a lot done! On the way in, we stopped at The Emporium for croissants since Current wasn't open yet & at Dino's for coffees. I wish Dino worked weekends since his coffee is invariably better than anyone else's. We stayed at work until just before the boys were due home. Then, we invited them to come with us to dinner and were refused. We hit the local Italian place. It's so middle America. The spaghetti reminds me of something someone's non-Italian mom would have made for me when I was a kid in the 70s. Kinda bland, kinda watery sauce and "al dente" would mean not one thing to the cook. But, it was fine for our mood that night.
We spent nearly all of Saturday in bed, reading, watching silly things on t.v., and just enjoying one another's company. I fixed a tray of cheese and fruit for our brunch & we ate in bed, too. Finally, after several hours of lolling about, we roused ourselves, got showers, & headed to church. We had a pulpit exchange, the kick-off of the UCC church's partnership with a predominently African-American congregation in the Presbyterian church. The sermon was good & I am looking forward to getting to know the other congregation more. J & I want to attend their worship services some time. The UCC pastor preached at the Presby church on Sunday, but we were at work.
After the service, we were both starving. We stopped by The Paragon Club, but were not in "proper attire", nor did we relish the idea of paying almost $40 for a steak. That's just silly. So, I talked J into going to El Meson. She always thinks she doesn't like it that much there & then she loves it once I get her there. She had said, "Well, El Meson's just expensive Mexican food." But, it's Latin, not strictly Mexican. And it's not really all that expensive. I love it there. We had some platanos rellenos (with beef filling) and some arepas with chorizo for our tapas, then split the very yummy arroz con pollo. They make it with boneless, skinless chicken breasts, so it's a lot easier to eat than the traditional bony kind. For dessert, I had flan (next time, I want the dulce de leche con moros) & J had dulce de leche cheesecake. We sipped wonderful café ollos & chatted. We were seated out in the patio, walls rolled down & heaters on for the winter. The heaters made me think of restaurants in Monterey & Carmel. J had never been out there. Very enjoyable! After dinner, one of the owners (who happens to belong to the UCC church) stopped by our table to chat. It sounds like they have some great dishes planned for the new menu. This might sound crazy, but there was a young woman there who was dressed like God has been dressed when She's appeared to me in meditations lately. It was fun to see her outfit.
Sunday morning, I went in to the plant with J. I took all my church history and Hebrew work...and got a lot done! On the way in, we stopped at The Emporium for croissants since Current wasn't open yet & at Dino's for coffees. I wish Dino worked weekends since his coffee is invariably better than anyone else's. We stayed at work until just before the boys were due home. Then, we invited them to come with us to dinner and were refused. We hit the local Italian place. It's so middle America. The spaghetti reminds me of something someone's non-Italian mom would have made for me when I was a kid in the 70s. Kinda bland, kinda watery sauce and "al dente" would mean not one thing to the cook. But, it was fine for our mood that night.
Friday, January 13, 2006
My Monster Baby
I had church history first thing yesterday & had a good time in class. I was prepared & had some definite opinions on Luther. Not only that, but I was wearing my tiara & we happened to talk about the Pope's tiara. I think my prof must surely have found it odd that I was wearing a tiara, but it felt like a tiara day & my fellow students seemed to appreciate it. Anyway, I think this is going to be a fun class.
After class, I went to the bookstore & picked up a copy of Canaan Land for that class. I might do my paper on African-Christian syncretism. I will be known among the church history profs as syncretism girl! LOL! I am very interested in Santeria and in Vodou as religions, rather than as black magic, which they aren't. They're both talked about in the book. Since I have Cuban roots and Santeria practitioners in my family, it makes sense to do my project on that. I noticed, while in the bookstore, that there is a Carlos Casteneda book assigned for one of the classes. I asked J why on earth they would be reading a Casteneda book. She said, "Because you go to a really cool seminary."
On my way to the mailroom to check for more grades (to no avail), Lisette stopped me and we got into a conversation about our teenagers' clothes preferences...and their preferences for our dress! Her daughter really wants her to look more hip, but insists that she must also look her age. My son's only requirement is that I not wear anything too low-cut or revealing. He can be very puritanical. In fact, I found out this morning that he has been asking the goth kids at school, "Why don't you believe in Christ?" I am sure he does not sound merely curious & I told him that haranguing them about religion is the surest way of driving them away from it. He says they put spells on him, which I told him was nonsense. He had described it & it's just a bunch of silly mumbo-jumbo designed to impress & frighten. Probably Swahili words they learned from their mamas, who took it in college. Oh, no, that's MY mama & MY fake spells in high school. I wonder if they did the crooked finger thing, too. Hee Hee. We used to love to play Scare the Jocks when they harrassed us.
After school, I had some ropa vieja with rice & poked around online. Then, did some work for school. J got home early, at 4:30, & we took the boys to the mall so that Boot could exchange the shoes he got for Christmas. Lisette said that her son only wants Chucks...would that it were so with Boot! The ones he liked best were $150. Keep in mind that this kid wants new shoes every couple of months, if not more often. We told him he could go up to $90 if he chips in his Christmas money from Grandpa, but he couldn't find any he liked that actually came in his size. His feet will have to get bigger. We gave Pie an advance on his allowance so that he could get a 3-disc set of Godzilla-type movies...a bargain at $8. He was ecstatic & spent the rest of the night saying "Thank you" and "I'm going to be here on this bench looking at something glorious" as he gazed at the DVD box. I said, "Are you my baby?" & he said, "Yes! I'm your monster baby!" He is so damn cute!
We took them to dinner at O'Charley's where 3 of us had steak (mine with burgundy sauce & some killer potatoes with parmesan sprinkles) & Boot had ribs. They looked yum. We had planned to hit Texas Roadhouse & I would have to have gotten ribs if we went there. When we came home, I read out loud from Jack Kornfield's After the Ecstasy, the Laundry to J as she went to sleep.
After class, I went to the bookstore & picked up a copy of Canaan Land for that class. I might do my paper on African-Christian syncretism. I will be known among the church history profs as syncretism girl! LOL! I am very interested in Santeria and in Vodou as religions, rather than as black magic, which they aren't. They're both talked about in the book. Since I have Cuban roots and Santeria practitioners in my family, it makes sense to do my project on that. I noticed, while in the bookstore, that there is a Carlos Casteneda book assigned for one of the classes. I asked J why on earth they would be reading a Casteneda book. She said, "Because you go to a really cool seminary."
On my way to the mailroom to check for more grades (to no avail), Lisette stopped me and we got into a conversation about our teenagers' clothes preferences...and their preferences for our dress! Her daughter really wants her to look more hip, but insists that she must also look her age. My son's only requirement is that I not wear anything too low-cut or revealing. He can be very puritanical. In fact, I found out this morning that he has been asking the goth kids at school, "Why don't you believe in Christ?" I am sure he does not sound merely curious & I told him that haranguing them about religion is the surest way of driving them away from it. He says they put spells on him, which I told him was nonsense. He had described it & it's just a bunch of silly mumbo-jumbo designed to impress & frighten. Probably Swahili words they learned from their mamas, who took it in college. Oh, no, that's MY mama & MY fake spells in high school. I wonder if they did the crooked finger thing, too. Hee Hee. We used to love to play Scare the Jocks when they harrassed us.
After school, I had some ropa vieja with rice & poked around online. Then, did some work for school. J got home early, at 4:30, & we took the boys to the mall so that Boot could exchange the shoes he got for Christmas. Lisette said that her son only wants Chucks...would that it were so with Boot! The ones he liked best were $150. Keep in mind that this kid wants new shoes every couple of months, if not more often. We told him he could go up to $90 if he chips in his Christmas money from Grandpa, but he couldn't find any he liked that actually came in his size. His feet will have to get bigger. We gave Pie an advance on his allowance so that he could get a 3-disc set of Godzilla-type movies...a bargain at $8. He was ecstatic & spent the rest of the night saying "Thank you" and "I'm going to be here on this bench looking at something glorious" as he gazed at the DVD box. I said, "Are you my baby?" & he said, "Yes! I'm your monster baby!" He is so damn cute!
We took them to dinner at O'Charley's where 3 of us had steak (mine with burgundy sauce & some killer potatoes with parmesan sprinkles) & Boot had ribs. They looked yum. We had planned to hit Texas Roadhouse & I would have to have gotten ribs if we went there. When we came home, I read out loud from Jack Kornfield's After the Ecstasy, the Laundry to J as she went to sleep.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Progressive Christianity & Swedish Food
Yesterday started with getting J off to work very early. I woke Boot, whose alarm clock didn't go off, and then snugged in for another hour of sleep before waking Pie. My school day started with Ministry Formation and an explanation of the case studies we'll be doing this semester. I gave Laura some of the molasses cookies I baked for my min group, then headed down the hall to our meeting room.
Somehow during the session, we got on the subject of the bible. One fella was saying he doesn't see how anyone can call themself a Christian if they don't believe the whole bible. The woman who is disgusted by homosexuality said she doesn't get that & she also can't figure out how anyone can call themself a Christian if they don't believe that Christ is the only way to salvation. They were going on & I just found it ridiculous. So, I finally said, "Well, I don't believe the whole bible and I certainly don't think that all Buddhists are going to hell just because they don't believe in Christ as their savior & I call myself a Christian." They looked at me like I had 3 heads & she said, "Well, I really don't see how you can interpret 'The way is narrow' any other way." I said that just because my tiny little human brain can't comprehend how God works doesn't mean that God has to work within the confines of what I can understand or imagine. I said that I don't see how a Hindu or Buddhist or Wiccan or whatever who follows what Christ taught us to do (love one another & love God being the biggies) is going to be eternally damned just because they call God by a different name & have a different story. Who's to say that God hasn't made a narrow path for each of us to follow? Not the exact same path for everyone...how could that be?...but a very specific path for each.
Our facilitator told us that it's not up to us to judge others, but simply to love. She said that in our ministry, we will meet all kinds of people and we need to learn to be open to other ways of thinking. She said that she would never presume to preach to anyone unless she knew that they wanted preaching. She said that if we are ministering to people, they don't want to be preached at, they want to be loved. By being excessively preachy, we will drive good people away from God. She said that she has a Hindu neighbor with whom she is making friends. She said she would never presume to tell her what is right & that her way is wrong. How does she know that God doesn't want her Hindu neighbor to be a faithful Hindu? I was so relieved that this woman, who is a retired Methodist minister, thinks the way that I do. I always struggle with defending my stance on inclusion. It's helpful not to be the only one thinking or talking that way.
After our session, our facilitator headed off to Chicago for a reception of the black artists' show she is in. We went to chapel & then to lunch. I ended up sitting with one of the candidates for my OT prof's job. She is smart, a Harvard grad, and nice. However, I think that my prof should get the job permanently. She is amazing & perfect for the job. After lunch, I sat in on the interview session with students. She answered the questions fairly well & seems like a decent prof, if not very confident. But, she has no pastoral background and no experience with teaching pastors-to-be. That seems like it would be a liability. Plus, she's not Laura & Laura deserves the job. I had Hebrew in the afternoon & I have to say that even though I struggle with it & even though it's so hard, I just love going to class because of my prof. He makes it all so much better than it would be with a different kind of prof.
After school, I came home to cook Swedish food for Pie's continuing odyssey around the food world. It was fairly labor-intensive, but I'm glad I did it. Pie liked the main dishes & J loved the whole meal. I liked it, too. I made Swedish meatballs (which reminded me of my grandmom & our family's Swedish heritage), creamed potatoes, and apple salad. The apple salad was really odd and also delicious. Grating apples for salad seemed so weird to me & mixing them with cream was maybe even weirder. But, it was really very good. I used Galas. I love a nice, crisp, tart apple!
While cooking was going on, J suggested that Pie put on the opera CD we got over the weekend. We listened to that & during dinner, we didn't turn it off. Boot was horrified by it & was complaining about both the music and the food. Pie said, "Brother, let me tell you something. I love it!" Boot said, "The food? Or the music???" "Well, I meant the music, but the food, too." Boot better not harangue him about liking opera. We had gingersnaps for dessert...Nabisco & they were ginger-y & actually snappy, too. I hate when they're neither. Pie went to sleep listening to arias. The others went to bed, too, and I followed as soon as I had finished my church history work.
Somehow during the session, we got on the subject of the bible. One fella was saying he doesn't see how anyone can call themself a Christian if they don't believe the whole bible. The woman who is disgusted by homosexuality said she doesn't get that & she also can't figure out how anyone can call themself a Christian if they don't believe that Christ is the only way to salvation. They were going on & I just found it ridiculous. So, I finally said, "Well, I don't believe the whole bible and I certainly don't think that all Buddhists are going to hell just because they don't believe in Christ as their savior & I call myself a Christian." They looked at me like I had 3 heads & she said, "Well, I really don't see how you can interpret 'The way is narrow' any other way." I said that just because my tiny little human brain can't comprehend how God works doesn't mean that God has to work within the confines of what I can understand or imagine. I said that I don't see how a Hindu or Buddhist or Wiccan or whatever who follows what Christ taught us to do (love one another & love God being the biggies) is going to be eternally damned just because they call God by a different name & have a different story. Who's to say that God hasn't made a narrow path for each of us to follow? Not the exact same path for everyone...how could that be?...but a very specific path for each.
Our facilitator told us that it's not up to us to judge others, but simply to love. She said that in our ministry, we will meet all kinds of people and we need to learn to be open to other ways of thinking. She said that she would never presume to preach to anyone unless she knew that they wanted preaching. She said that if we are ministering to people, they don't want to be preached at, they want to be loved. By being excessively preachy, we will drive good people away from God. She said that she has a Hindu neighbor with whom she is making friends. She said she would never presume to tell her what is right & that her way is wrong. How does she know that God doesn't want her Hindu neighbor to be a faithful Hindu? I was so relieved that this woman, who is a retired Methodist minister, thinks the way that I do. I always struggle with defending my stance on inclusion. It's helpful not to be the only one thinking or talking that way.
After our session, our facilitator headed off to Chicago for a reception of the black artists' show she is in. We went to chapel & then to lunch. I ended up sitting with one of the candidates for my OT prof's job. She is smart, a Harvard grad, and nice. However, I think that my prof should get the job permanently. She is amazing & perfect for the job. After lunch, I sat in on the interview session with students. She answered the questions fairly well & seems like a decent prof, if not very confident. But, she has no pastoral background and no experience with teaching pastors-to-be. That seems like it would be a liability. Plus, she's not Laura & Laura deserves the job. I had Hebrew in the afternoon & I have to say that even though I struggle with it & even though it's so hard, I just love going to class because of my prof. He makes it all so much better than it would be with a different kind of prof.
After school, I came home to cook Swedish food for Pie's continuing odyssey around the food world. It was fairly labor-intensive, but I'm glad I did it. Pie liked the main dishes & J loved the whole meal. I liked it, too. I made Swedish meatballs (which reminded me of my grandmom & our family's Swedish heritage), creamed potatoes, and apple salad. The apple salad was really odd and also delicious. Grating apples for salad seemed so weird to me & mixing them with cream was maybe even weirder. But, it was really very good. I used Galas. I love a nice, crisp, tart apple!
While cooking was going on, J suggested that Pie put on the opera CD we got over the weekend. We listened to that & during dinner, we didn't turn it off. Boot was horrified by it & was complaining about both the music and the food. Pie said, "Brother, let me tell you something. I love it!" Boot said, "The food? Or the music???" "Well, I meant the music, but the food, too." Boot better not harangue him about liking opera. We had gingersnaps for dessert...Nabisco & they were ginger-y & actually snappy, too. I hate when they're neither. Pie went to sleep listening to arias. The others went to bed, too, and I followed as soon as I had finished my church history work.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
From the Orthodontist to the Sofa
Yesterday started earlier for me than days usually do, with Boot having a 7 a.m. orthodontist appointment half an hour from home. Since I had finished my Hebrew the night before, I was free to read for book group. The Alphabet Versus the Goddess is interesting, even if I'm not so sure I agree with Shlain's premise that it was the use of written language that drove the Goddess underground & the patriarchy into power. Boot got his braces off...his teeth look good, but it's weird to see him without braces! It's been awhile. Now, the retainer phase. He'd better wear that thing! As we were walking up to the school, he made me feel his teeth. He is excited to have the braces off, but I think it feels weird to him, too. He got a camo retainer. God help us. You know, someday, he is going to have a communist, feminist, goth daughter who gets arrested protesting at the SOA. She is going to listen to Tribe 8 & Sleater-Kinney. She will be a Dianic Wiccan and join the Peace Corps. As an adult, she will be arrested for throwing blood on fur coats or missile silos.
Once home, I paid bills, studied, fun things like that. Lunch was frozen chicken biryani & a Harry & David pear, before I headed off to Hebrew to totally blow the first quiz. At least I had a nice thermos of Yellow & Blue tea. After class, I hung out eating Smart Ones enchiladas & talking to a fellow student about drumming. He played Bill Cosby's "Noah" for me. I had never heard it & it's really funny. Laura came down the hall & heard it, then said, "Who's watching Bill Cosby?" She joined us for the rest of it. I popped into the library to look at the Renaissance piece by an unknown artist about Luther & the Pope my church history prof assigned us to check out for Thursday. There's a lot going on in it & it was fun to see.
After school, I went to the annual visioning meeting for the Justice & Witness Ministry at the UCC. We saw a video about the Presbyterian school clinic at Rubate that our regional UCC is helping to build in Kenya. It was really interesting & the little kids in the video were just gorgeous, with big smiles & dancing eyes. We talked about Justice & Witness project possibilities for the coming year. It's nice to be part of a church where this is important. I wish my Presbyterian church were more progressive. But, it will come. It will come. As Brendan says, "You have to be pastoral before you can be prophetic." I'm seriously considering asking him if I can intern with him next year. Yes, I am learning from my mentor & I find the church freeing, but I need to get some practice in with a not-so-progressive church. The UCC I'm serving is about as progressive as I can imagine a Christian church being. If I don't work with Brendan next year, I want to work with the AIDS Resource Council.
When I got home, the kiddos were tucked in bed & J was hard at work finishing her reviews. She has to give them this week, so there was a definite time pressure! I watched CSI, then Cowboy U, then Emeril before falling asleep on the couch. It was kind of fun to be brainless for the evening. J woke me up to go to bed at 2.
Once home, I paid bills, studied, fun things like that. Lunch was frozen chicken biryani & a Harry & David pear, before I headed off to Hebrew to totally blow the first quiz. At least I had a nice thermos of Yellow & Blue tea. After class, I hung out eating Smart Ones enchiladas & talking to a fellow student about drumming. He played Bill Cosby's "Noah" for me. I had never heard it & it's really funny. Laura came down the hall & heard it, then said, "Who's watching Bill Cosby?" She joined us for the rest of it. I popped into the library to look at the Renaissance piece by an unknown artist about Luther & the Pope my church history prof assigned us to check out for Thursday. There's a lot going on in it & it was fun to see.
After school, I went to the annual visioning meeting for the Justice & Witness Ministry at the UCC. We saw a video about the Presbyterian school clinic at Rubate that our regional UCC is helping to build in Kenya. It was really interesting & the little kids in the video were just gorgeous, with big smiles & dancing eyes. We talked about Justice & Witness project possibilities for the coming year. It's nice to be part of a church where this is important. I wish my Presbyterian church were more progressive. But, it will come. It will come. As Brendan says, "You have to be pastoral before you can be prophetic." I'm seriously considering asking him if I can intern with him next year. Yes, I am learning from my mentor & I find the church freeing, but I need to get some practice in with a not-so-progressive church. The UCC I'm serving is about as progressive as I can imagine a Christian church being. If I don't work with Brendan next year, I want to work with the AIDS Resource Council.
When I got home, the kiddos were tucked in bed & J was hard at work finishing her reviews. She has to give them this week, so there was a definite time pressure! I watched CSI, then Cowboy U, then Emeril before falling asleep on the couch. It was kind of fun to be brainless for the evening. J woke me up to go to bed at 2.
Opera Boy & Football Boy
Last Friday night, we considered a trip to the movies, but the whole family just wanted to stay in. The boys were playing on Pie's computer, I'd been immersed in copying down recipes, & J had had a long, hard week at work. So, we had dinner at Los Mariachis, then returned home to relax. I've been having fun poking through a cookbook Rick Bayless wrote with his daughter. I would love to get up to Chicago to eat at Topolobampo or Frontera Grill. They sound like fun. Although I bet the food at Los Mariachis is just as good. Well, maybe not the chilaquiles.
In the morning, we took Boot to spend the weekend with his grandma & grandpa. Since J's dad is not in the best of health, he needs to have one boy at a time. This also gave the boys a break from each other, which I think was sorely needed by Pie, at least. So, Boot & Grandpa batched it at Grandpa's apartment overnight & visited Grandma in the home during the day. He said it was really boring, but was glad he'd made them so happy. He thinks Pie will die of boredom if he goes. I think that might be a smidge of hyperbole, but I definitely think Pie will be bored. He plans to go anyway.
While Boot was with the grandparents, Pie hung out with us. We tuned into an opera station on the way back from Cincinnati & he LOVED it. The station was broadcasting The Met's production of something, but we couldn't discover what it was. I should try & find out online. We stopped at Jungle Jim's & Pie got EIGHT rolls of mints. Last time, it was gum, this time mints. Mints from Holland, mints from England, mints from the U.S. We got cheese (some beautiful cheddar, Boursin, & a French triple crème) & frozen dinners featuring Indian & Cuban food. We stopped at Borders & got a beginner's opera appreciation CD. Oh, and a Cats in the Sun calendar for J at work...I forgot we found that! We picked up J's Bug after its long sojourn in the body shop after the deer run-in. We had lunch at Nothing But Noodles. Pie was amused that I was able to get a salad & he chocolate cake even though it says NOTHING but Noodles. The salad was great, too, with pears & spinach & balsamic vinaigrette. I was reminded of our visit with our friends in Madison.
We went to the UCC church, where I was supposed to be the liturgist. My voice was missing, though, so J stepped in to do it for me. I am so grateful to her for all her support & love. She is the best wife anyone could ask for. After the service, we ducked out & went home. Pie played his Neopets game, which is really cool. He is hanging out in libraries with fairies in the game. J made him a big, fat cheeseburger for dinner. We got to have chicken piccata. Her version was spectacular, although with too much lemon for her. I like my piccata tangy, though, so I adored it.
In the morning, we did not go to the PCUSA church because I didn't want to carry my cold to all the old folks there. I knew Beth had coffee hour handled, so I felt okay not going. I also stayed in the car at the nursing home. J drove all the way down & all the way back...what a luxury, what heaven! I don't usually mind driving that much, but it's so nice to get to ride sometimes. We stopped for breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Pie sighed rapturously later when he spoke of his omelet & J loved her French toast. My eggs in toast were perfect, although my bacon was first too crisp & then too limp. Ah, well. Boot was all ready to talk football all the way home after we picked him up. It was a bit much, but I survived without screeching "Football sucks!!!" I also survived the Bengals-Steelers game, by diving into my Hebrew instead of watching the game. J was in her Bengals t-shirt, Boot in his Jerome Bettis Steelers jersey. Pie & I were completely uninterested. Pie played Neopets, did some rubber stamping, & tried a few science experiments. We had that horrible, but good Velveeta dip and other football game crap food for dinner. Boot was thrilled with the food, but ate so much crap that his tummy was all messed up for the rest of the night.
In the morning, we took Boot to spend the weekend with his grandma & grandpa. Since J's dad is not in the best of health, he needs to have one boy at a time. This also gave the boys a break from each other, which I think was sorely needed by Pie, at least. So, Boot & Grandpa batched it at Grandpa's apartment overnight & visited Grandma in the home during the day. He said it was really boring, but was glad he'd made them so happy. He thinks Pie will die of boredom if he goes. I think that might be a smidge of hyperbole, but I definitely think Pie will be bored. He plans to go anyway.
While Boot was with the grandparents, Pie hung out with us. We tuned into an opera station on the way back from Cincinnati & he LOVED it. The station was broadcasting The Met's production of something, but we couldn't discover what it was. I should try & find out online. We stopped at Jungle Jim's & Pie got EIGHT rolls of mints. Last time, it was gum, this time mints. Mints from Holland, mints from England, mints from the U.S. We got cheese (some beautiful cheddar, Boursin, & a French triple crème) & frozen dinners featuring Indian & Cuban food. We stopped at Borders & got a beginner's opera appreciation CD. Oh, and a Cats in the Sun calendar for J at work...I forgot we found that! We picked up J's Bug after its long sojourn in the body shop after the deer run-in. We had lunch at Nothing But Noodles. Pie was amused that I was able to get a salad & he chocolate cake even though it says NOTHING but Noodles. The salad was great, too, with pears & spinach & balsamic vinaigrette. I was reminded of our visit with our friends in Madison.
We went to the UCC church, where I was supposed to be the liturgist. My voice was missing, though, so J stepped in to do it for me. I am so grateful to her for all her support & love. She is the best wife anyone could ask for. After the service, we ducked out & went home. Pie played his Neopets game, which is really cool. He is hanging out in libraries with fairies in the game. J made him a big, fat cheeseburger for dinner. We got to have chicken piccata. Her version was spectacular, although with too much lemon for her. I like my piccata tangy, though, so I adored it.
In the morning, we did not go to the PCUSA church because I didn't want to carry my cold to all the old folks there. I knew Beth had coffee hour handled, so I felt okay not going. I also stayed in the car at the nursing home. J drove all the way down & all the way back...what a luxury, what heaven! I don't usually mind driving that much, but it's so nice to get to ride sometimes. We stopped for breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Pie sighed rapturously later when he spoke of his omelet & J loved her French toast. My eggs in toast were perfect, although my bacon was first too crisp & then too limp. Ah, well. Boot was all ready to talk football all the way home after we picked him up. It was a bit much, but I survived without screeching "Football sucks!!!" I also survived the Bengals-Steelers game, by diving into my Hebrew instead of watching the game. J was in her Bengals t-shirt, Boot in his Jerome Bettis Steelers jersey. Pie & I were completely uninterested. Pie played Neopets, did some rubber stamping, & tried a few science experiments. We had that horrible, but good Velveeta dip and other football game crap food for dinner. Boot was thrilled with the food, but ate so much crap that his tummy was all messed up for the rest of the night.
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