The Bush administration is attempting to redefine many forms of family planning as abortion due to the chance (small in the case of the Pill and morning-after Pill, greater in that of the IUD) that they could intefere with implantation of a fertilized egg rather than prevent fertilization. This could lead to these forms of family planning, a basic human right, becoming more expensive and difficult to obtain, perhaps even illegal--not to mention to many more abortions due to undesired pregnancies. Even rape victims could lose access to emergency contraception.
Please sign the petition against this dangerous legislation.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Friday Five: Transformation
Mary Beth at RevGals writes:
Here in my neck of the woods, rain is falling...a little uncharacteristic for August, but most welcome! It'll be hot and humid later, but a break in the heat is most welcome.
Also falling (especially into my driveway) are the fruits of the bois d'arc tree (also known as the Osage Orange). We call them "bowdarks" and enjoy bowling them down the driveway to the empty lot across the street. (Yes, I may be a redneck...)
Bois d'arc fruits are used only for: 1) making more trees and 2) eating by squirrels (if you have another use, please let me know!)
The wood of the bois d'arc tree, however, is very hard and very beautiful, and makes gorgeous items like the vase above. Such a lovely thing, from such an odd-looking source!
For this Friday's Five, share with us five transformations that the coming fall will bring your way.
1. Nicholas will start middle school, and adjust to a medium sized public school after the tiny Montessori where he spent the last three years. Happily, his medication is working increasingly well, so I am hopeful about this transition-- prayers are still appreciated, though. One great thing for him should be getting to know kids in the apartment complex and neighborhood from riding the bus together.
2. I will need to be home in time for his bus--not sure exactly when that is--after the freedom of aftercare at the Montessori, when I'd pick a kid up early once in a while for a special time together. Not a huge deal, just adjusting to the firm schedule, and Matt should be able to work at home or get home early if I have something I really need to do. I had been worried about this earlier in the summer but now that he is doing better, praise God, I am hoping we will have some good time together---imagining my writing while he does his homework and making dinner sometimes, which we have enjoyed in the past.
3. Katie will also switch to public school for kindergarten. Since she's already reading at second grade level we're hoping to get her in a K-1 split, and if possible skipped to first grade when they test for that after a month or so. Her aftercare will be the YMCA program she's in now for summer day camp, right at the school, so it should be a smooth transition for her--other than bidding farewell to all the super fun activities.
4. Please God, my antidepressant--recently added to the mood stabilizer--will kick in. I am reading a lot about bipolar these days, and one book recently pointed out that though mania gets the attention it's depression that gives the real anguish--especially for those of us with Bipolar II. I am adjusting to the shock of the new diagnoses, and of the summer we had replacing the summer we dreamed of, and family time is increasingly joyous, so I have some good days, but a lot of really hard ones too.
5. Also please God, I will be led ways to connect to community and to use my gifts in productive and externally recognized work more. My life is lonely right now and it's hard not to feel of low worth since I'm not doing much beyond family work...Though I did write my first book review this week, for Medieval Latin Quarterly, which was a real achievement. I didn't know if it was any good, but the editor praised it as an astute piece of work, which definitely brightened the hard day yesterday. Anyway, I'm not sure if what comes will be more writing, especially getting the popular/spirituality stuff out, more ministry, though it's hard to imagine a path to that, and/or applying for next fall's teaching jobs as they get posted in Sept. and Oct.--also hard to imagine. So I am trying to stay in a place of prayer and trust and to remember that trying to live a contemplative life and open to healing is good work too, and the main call right now, and will lead to many blessings for others as well.
Here in my neck of the woods, rain is falling...a little uncharacteristic for August, but most welcome! It'll be hot and humid later, but a break in the heat is most welcome.
Also falling (especially into my driveway) are the fruits of the bois d'arc tree (also known as the Osage Orange). We call them "bowdarks" and enjoy bowling them down the driveway to the empty lot across the street. (Yes, I may be a redneck...)
Bois d'arc fruits are used only for: 1) making more trees and 2) eating by squirrels (if you have another use, please let me know!)
The wood of the bois d'arc tree, however, is very hard and very beautiful, and makes gorgeous items like the vase above. Such a lovely thing, from such an odd-looking source!
For this Friday's Five, share with us five transformations that the coming fall will bring your way.
1. Nicholas will start middle school, and adjust to a medium sized public school after the tiny Montessori where he spent the last three years. Happily, his medication is working increasingly well, so I am hopeful about this transition-- prayers are still appreciated, though. One great thing for him should be getting to know kids in the apartment complex and neighborhood from riding the bus together.
2. I will need to be home in time for his bus--not sure exactly when that is--after the freedom of aftercare at the Montessori, when I'd pick a kid up early once in a while for a special time together. Not a huge deal, just adjusting to the firm schedule, and Matt should be able to work at home or get home early if I have something I really need to do. I had been worried about this earlier in the summer but now that he is doing better, praise God, I am hoping we will have some good time together---imagining my writing while he does his homework and making dinner sometimes, which we have enjoyed in the past.
3. Katie will also switch to public school for kindergarten. Since she's already reading at second grade level we're hoping to get her in a K-1 split, and if possible skipped to first grade when they test for that after a month or so. Her aftercare will be the YMCA program she's in now for summer day camp, right at the school, so it should be a smooth transition for her--other than bidding farewell to all the super fun activities.
4. Please God, my antidepressant--recently added to the mood stabilizer--will kick in. I am reading a lot about bipolar these days, and one book recently pointed out that though mania gets the attention it's depression that gives the real anguish--especially for those of us with Bipolar II. I am adjusting to the shock of the new diagnoses, and of the summer we had replacing the summer we dreamed of, and family time is increasingly joyous, so I have some good days, but a lot of really hard ones too.
5. Also please God, I will be led ways to connect to community and to use my gifts in productive and externally recognized work more. My life is lonely right now and it's hard not to feel of low worth since I'm not doing much beyond family work...Though I did write my first book review this week, for Medieval Latin Quarterly, which was a real achievement. I didn't know if it was any good, but the editor praised it as an astute piece of work, which definitely brightened the hard day yesterday. Anyway, I'm not sure if what comes will be more writing, especially getting the popular/spirituality stuff out, more ministry, though it's hard to imagine a path to that, and/or applying for next fall's teaching jobs as they get posted in Sept. and Oct.--also hard to imagine. So I am trying to stay in a place of prayer and trust and to remember that trying to live a contemplative life and open to healing is good work too, and the main call right now, and will lead to many blessings for others as well.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Update, please keep praying
"...bipolar II disorder may be the most unrecognized and undertreated mood disorder that medical professionals encounter."
Lana R. Castle, Bipolar Disorder Demystified, p. 81.
Thanks so much, everyone, for the prayers. Things are still not easy, but God is good and they have helped tremendously.
Nicholas spent six days in the hospital and came home relatively stable to a very loving welcome. His medication was still quite low, and after he had another major episode Monday night our wonderful psychiatrist increased it. He is a little sleepy at bedtime after taking it at dinner, but doing fine by the next day and it does seem to be helping the mania, though he is still depressed and it comes out as a great deal of negativity. Therapy will definitely be crucial though, so I am praying that the person Matt found will be the right one, and we are all taking time to adjust to the whole thing. I alternate between heartbreak for him and gratitude that we know what it is so early, before the difficult adolescent years, and can get him the appropriate treatment and prevent him and ourselves so much needless suffering. It is good to know that we are indeed breaking the cycle of generations of suffering in our family with this illness as well as related substance abuse, though it is not at all what I expected that to look like....It is so hard to deal with them both at once, but I also know that I can be a tremendous resource for him and also that as I get additional help I will be better able to handle the tremendous challenge of parenting a child with early onset bipolar.
After everything I have been through, I am quite exhausted, and alternate likewise between gratitude for all the provision that has happened at each step and grief and anger at my own additional diagnosis as well as his. There is still so much shame, stigma and misunderstanding around mental illness, though a quarter to a third of people suffer from various forms, and though Bipolar II-mainly depression, with hypomania instead of full mania--is far less catastrophic than Bipolar I, it is still harder to adjust to than, and in addition to, my PTSD, which was plenty awful in itself. Sometimes I can see how amazing it is that I have accomplished so much given what I was facing with no help and no knowledge, and sometimes I just grieve for how hard it has been and the unnecessary suffering I have been through. I am also realizing the effect that my dad's untreated bipolar, in addition to his alcoholism, had on my childhood and beyond, and dealing with my parents' denial about Nicholas' diagnosis and blame about my mothering...all par for the course given their own illnesses, but it does hurt.
I am also dealing with the lack of parity for mental health treatment, though our insurance is better than many people's. The psychiatrist cut my mood stabilizer, which she had temporarily increased to deal with the trauma around Nicholas, and prescribed an antidepressant as well--but the pharmacist said she had to get an additional authorization from the insurance company, and I am really hoping it comes through today, three days after the prescription, and before the weekend. Given the fact that antidepressants can be lifesaving, it is unconscionable to put additional roadblocks in people's path when they finally know what is wrong and reach out for help. If it doesn't come through I think I will simply pay the higher price so I can begin what I know will help, even though I am nervous about yet another med and still a bit sedated as I wait for the other one to titrate down to a good level.
I am trying to rest and be diligent in prayer, and that too is up and down--lots of grief and questions along with much consolation, including times of peaceful centering and a graced experience on Ignatius' feast yesterday after a very hard day. I was kneeling on my new gold satin zafu before praying my Sophia office, recently purchased from a lovely woman in Little Saigon, and gazing at Her loving face in the form of the Royal Ease Kwan Yin I bought when I defended my dissertation four years ago. And I had a simultaneous experience of his meditation, from early in the Exercises, of the council of the Trinity looking with compassion on the suffering people of the world and planning to come with saving love in the Incarnation--but the Trinity was female, and my own suffering was part of what evoked the divine compassion.
I also thought yesterday with great gratitude of the Jesuit who kindly and expertly taught my New Testament courses as a visiting prof at Santa Clara, then joined the Notre Dame faculty after I went there for doctoral work, the fall after the accident and Rachel's death. I saw him regularly at 11:30 daily mass at Sacred Heart, and remember his asking if I would be attending the day of my oral candidacy exam. (Needless to say, I assured him that at that point the forty-five minutes would be far better invested in prayer than in one more review of my notes. I also mentioned something I had just read in St. Francis de Sales about the Eucharist making you a better preacher, because "demons fear the tongue that has received Holy Communion." I said I hoped that senior professors would fear it too, and another friend quipped wryly that I would have probably better luck daunting the demons....).
Anyway, I have been thinking of Fr. J. recently because he struggled tremendously with depression. Last time I saw him, at AAR, he had just retired and after just a year of enjoying emeritus status was characteristically planning to move to a Jesuit retreat house in the south--"whichever one has had the most recent death"--and work in ministry as long as he could. I grieve for his suffering, but also find strength in the living example proving that it is possible to be a holy priest, a brilliant scholar, and mentally ill.
It has taken a while to write this, because besides the exhaustion this is a coming out more difficult than any of the previous breakthroughs I have recorded here....so I would greatly appreciate ongoing prayers as well as words of kindness and support. I keep the Twelve Step focus on one day at a time, and spend a lot of time doing positive self talk, to my present self as well as the traumatized young woman within, and it helps...but reassurance from the Body is so needed and welcomed as well. Many, many thanks, dear friends.
Lana R. Castle, Bipolar Disorder Demystified, p. 81.
Thanks so much, everyone, for the prayers. Things are still not easy, but God is good and they have helped tremendously.
Nicholas spent six days in the hospital and came home relatively stable to a very loving welcome. His medication was still quite low, and after he had another major episode Monday night our wonderful psychiatrist increased it. He is a little sleepy at bedtime after taking it at dinner, but doing fine by the next day and it does seem to be helping the mania, though he is still depressed and it comes out as a great deal of negativity. Therapy will definitely be crucial though, so I am praying that the person Matt found will be the right one, and we are all taking time to adjust to the whole thing. I alternate between heartbreak for him and gratitude that we know what it is so early, before the difficult adolescent years, and can get him the appropriate treatment and prevent him and ourselves so much needless suffering. It is good to know that we are indeed breaking the cycle of generations of suffering in our family with this illness as well as related substance abuse, though it is not at all what I expected that to look like....It is so hard to deal with them both at once, but I also know that I can be a tremendous resource for him and also that as I get additional help I will be better able to handle the tremendous challenge of parenting a child with early onset bipolar.
After everything I have been through, I am quite exhausted, and alternate likewise between gratitude for all the provision that has happened at each step and grief and anger at my own additional diagnosis as well as his. There is still so much shame, stigma and misunderstanding around mental illness, though a quarter to a third of people suffer from various forms, and though Bipolar II-mainly depression, with hypomania instead of full mania--is far less catastrophic than Bipolar I, it is still harder to adjust to than, and in addition to, my PTSD, which was plenty awful in itself. Sometimes I can see how amazing it is that I have accomplished so much given what I was facing with no help and no knowledge, and sometimes I just grieve for how hard it has been and the unnecessary suffering I have been through. I am also realizing the effect that my dad's untreated bipolar, in addition to his alcoholism, had on my childhood and beyond, and dealing with my parents' denial about Nicholas' diagnosis and blame about my mothering...all par for the course given their own illnesses, but it does hurt.
I am also dealing with the lack of parity for mental health treatment, though our insurance is better than many people's. The psychiatrist cut my mood stabilizer, which she had temporarily increased to deal with the trauma around Nicholas, and prescribed an antidepressant as well--but the pharmacist said she had to get an additional authorization from the insurance company, and I am really hoping it comes through today, three days after the prescription, and before the weekend. Given the fact that antidepressants can be lifesaving, it is unconscionable to put additional roadblocks in people's path when they finally know what is wrong and reach out for help. If it doesn't come through I think I will simply pay the higher price so I can begin what I know will help, even though I am nervous about yet another med and still a bit sedated as I wait for the other one to titrate down to a good level.
I am trying to rest and be diligent in prayer, and that too is up and down--lots of grief and questions along with much consolation, including times of peaceful centering and a graced experience on Ignatius' feast yesterday after a very hard day. I was kneeling on my new gold satin zafu before praying my Sophia office, recently purchased from a lovely woman in Little Saigon, and gazing at Her loving face in the form of the Royal Ease Kwan Yin I bought when I defended my dissertation four years ago. And I had a simultaneous experience of his meditation, from early in the Exercises, of the council of the Trinity looking with compassion on the suffering people of the world and planning to come with saving love in the Incarnation--but the Trinity was female, and my own suffering was part of what evoked the divine compassion.
I also thought yesterday with great gratitude of the Jesuit who kindly and expertly taught my New Testament courses as a visiting prof at Santa Clara, then joined the Notre Dame faculty after I went there for doctoral work, the fall after the accident and Rachel's death. I saw him regularly at 11:30 daily mass at Sacred Heart, and remember his asking if I would be attending the day of my oral candidacy exam. (Needless to say, I assured him that at that point the forty-five minutes would be far better invested in prayer than in one more review of my notes. I also mentioned something I had just read in St. Francis de Sales about the Eucharist making you a better preacher, because "demons fear the tongue that has received Holy Communion." I said I hoped that senior professors would fear it too, and another friend quipped wryly that I would have probably better luck daunting the demons....).
Anyway, I have been thinking of Fr. J. recently because he struggled tremendously with depression. Last time I saw him, at AAR, he had just retired and after just a year of enjoying emeritus status was characteristically planning to move to a Jesuit retreat house in the south--"whichever one has had the most recent death"--and work in ministry as long as he could. I grieve for his suffering, but also find strength in the living example proving that it is possible to be a holy priest, a brilliant scholar, and mentally ill.
It has taken a while to write this, because besides the exhaustion this is a coming out more difficult than any of the previous breakthroughs I have recorded here....so I would greatly appreciate ongoing prayers as well as words of kindness and support. I keep the Twelve Step focus on one day at a time, and spend a lot of time doing positive self talk, to my present self as well as the traumatized young woman within, and it helps...but reassurance from the Body is so needed and welcomed as well. Many, many thanks, dear friends.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Prayer Request
Nicholas is in a pediatric psychiatric unit, having been assessed on Friday as a danger in our home, especially to me and Katie. It is a kind and loving place, where they are affirming our message to him this is not punishment, but a place he can get the help and medicine he needs to cease the violent rages which became increasingly severe throughout the year as he approaches puberty and particularly escalated this past week.
It is horrifying to face the fact that I have been battered to bruising, unrepentantly, by my son; that both Katie and I are traumatized and terrified of him; and that Matt's employment has been threatened by managing this. But I am grateful that this week broke Matt's and my denial of the severity of the problem, shame about revealing its extent, strife about whose fault this was, and illusion that we could handle this largely alone. I am grateful that I was able to get my own medication before the escalation, which in addition to prayer and other healing and support modalities is helping manage the severe anxiety associated with this challenge. I am grateful for near-daily Al Anon meetings which help me manage my own ACA issues, remind me that I have a loving Higher Power who can do what I can't, and that we didn't cause this, we can't cure it, and we can't control it--all we can do is protect ourselves and our daughter and get our beloved son the help he needs. I am also grateful that I can remind Nicholas that mental illness is serious, but not shameful, and that I too went to the hospital for help and take my medication daily to make sure that I am safe and happy and can help others be so too.
Please pray for an accurate diagnosis and medication decision, for our peace of mind and ability to work well with his treatment team, and the best next step for all of us, which may not mean an immediate return to the home. We are especially concerned because there is a history of bipolar in my family, including my father, great-aunt, likely my grandfather, and two male cousins diagosed in adolesence, one with a severe case and very similar behavior to Nicholas, and my own psychiatrist also believes I may have a mild form in addition to my PTSD. Bipolar is difficult to diagnose and treat in children, but the earlier we can identify and treat this, or whatever the true illness is, the more we can prevent the damage Nicholas may suffer as well as that he may inflict on others.
As Matt held Nicholas on his lap and I knelt to remove his shoelaces, so many poignant memories came to my mind and heart: taking out my own shoelaces when I admitted myself for inpatient treatment, tying his little toddler shoes; and kneeling to wash his feet on Holy Thursday the day of his Solemn Communion. I know that the same loving, prayerful boy is somewhere inside him and that despair and and the possibility of violence are somewhere in me and all of us. And most of all I know that God sees the whole of all of us and will bring us all to health and healing and peace, though perhaps not in the time and way we would choose.
Thank you for all the love, support and prayers and please keep them coming.
UPDATE Tuesday evening:
Thanks, everyone, for so much prayer support--there is much to be grateful for though a long way to go. After some difficulty with the weekend psychiatrist, the Monday resident listened carefully to our concerns and the family history and is giving Nicholas a promising medication. He will come home on Thursday and begin a week or two of day treatment at a closer hospital on Friday while we get things in place for ongoing therapy as well as his school situation--since he is gifted as well as having this new diagnosis--for the fall.
It is horrifying to face the fact that I have been battered to bruising, unrepentantly, by my son; that both Katie and I are traumatized and terrified of him; and that Matt's employment has been threatened by managing this. But I am grateful that this week broke Matt's and my denial of the severity of the problem, shame about revealing its extent, strife about whose fault this was, and illusion that we could handle this largely alone. I am grateful that I was able to get my own medication before the escalation, which in addition to prayer and other healing and support modalities is helping manage the severe anxiety associated with this challenge. I am grateful for near-daily Al Anon meetings which help me manage my own ACA issues, remind me that I have a loving Higher Power who can do what I can't, and that we didn't cause this, we can't cure it, and we can't control it--all we can do is protect ourselves and our daughter and get our beloved son the help he needs. I am also grateful that I can remind Nicholas that mental illness is serious, but not shameful, and that I too went to the hospital for help and take my medication daily to make sure that I am safe and happy and can help others be so too.
Please pray for an accurate diagnosis and medication decision, for our peace of mind and ability to work well with his treatment team, and the best next step for all of us, which may not mean an immediate return to the home. We are especially concerned because there is a history of bipolar in my family, including my father, great-aunt, likely my grandfather, and two male cousins diagosed in adolesence, one with a severe case and very similar behavior to Nicholas, and my own psychiatrist also believes I may have a mild form in addition to my PTSD. Bipolar is difficult to diagnose and treat in children, but the earlier we can identify and treat this, or whatever the true illness is, the more we can prevent the damage Nicholas may suffer as well as that he may inflict on others.
As Matt held Nicholas on his lap and I knelt to remove his shoelaces, so many poignant memories came to my mind and heart: taking out my own shoelaces when I admitted myself for inpatient treatment, tying his little toddler shoes; and kneeling to wash his feet on Holy Thursday the day of his Solemn Communion. I know that the same loving, prayerful boy is somewhere inside him and that despair and and the possibility of violence are somewhere in me and all of us. And most of all I know that God sees the whole of all of us and will bring us all to health and healing and peace, though perhaps not in the time and way we would choose.
Thank you for all the love, support and prayers and please keep them coming.
UPDATE Tuesday evening:
Thanks, everyone, for so much prayer support--there is much to be grateful for though a long way to go. After some difficulty with the weekend psychiatrist, the Monday resident listened carefully to our concerns and the family history and is giving Nicholas a promising medication. He will come home on Thursday and begin a week or two of day treatment at a closer hospital on Friday while we get things in place for ongoing therapy as well as his school situation--since he is gifted as well as having this new diagnosis--for the fall.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Take Action to Save Farmworkers
I came home from shopping for fruits and vegetables tonight to find that the second California farmworker this week, and fourth in the last eight weeks, had died of heatstroke.
Please visit the United Farm Workers website to take action to help prevent these cruel and needless deaths by people who work so hard, for so very little, to feed us all.
Please visit the United Farm Workers website to take action to help prevent these cruel and needless deaths by people who work so hard, for so very little, to feed us all.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Friday Five: Summer Camp
We're settling into our new new apartment, and after a lifetime in Montessori Katie is having a fantastic summer at YMCA day camp. Meanwhile, Nicholas is packing up for a week at Camp Julian, shared by the Episcopal dioceses of Los Angeles and San Diego. His lists of supplies and rules--except for the ropes course available to the teenagers, and the ban on IPODs and cell phones--bring back memories of my own happy times at Y camp Ta Ta Pochon, funded by selling countless cases of butter toffee peanuts. So, in celebration of summer, please share your own memories and preferences about camp.
1. Did you go to sleep away camp, or day camp, as a child? Wish you could? Or sometimes wish you hadn't?
Y Camp was great, both summer camp for several years and one snow camp. And so was church camp in sixth grade with my best friend, though they did require me to buy my first one piece bathing suit as well as a used New Testament I had till college. No pressure to get saved, as a close friend experienced around the same age, and I got to learn "Seek Ye First," "Oil for my Lamp" and others which still speak to my heart.
The one negative experience was after my parents had more money and switched me to the snooty prep school where I was miserable--a similar snooty camp that was two weeks instead of one. I pulled a muscle in my back a couple days in vaulting and they wouldn't let me call home to get rescued so I spent the rest of the time lying on my bunk, miserable, with another girl recovering from mono who couldn't do activities either.
2. How about camping out? Dream vacation, nightmare, or somewhere in between?
Camping at the beach, as we did sometimes in childhood and especially in college, can be fun, and the campfire songs are great of course. I do have unpleasant memories of camping out in 100-110 degree heat in elementary school inland, though, and getting bad sunburns before they invented decent sunscreen.
3. Have you ever worked as a camp counselor, or been to a camp for your denomination for either work or pleasure?
Nope--wish I had, as that was my original plan my sophomore summer of college to avoid the alcoholic dynamics at home. The pastor/professor who was grooming me for abuse suggested that I work on campus and live nearby instead, and the rest is unpleasant history.
4. Most dramatic memory of camp, or camping out?
One wonderful memory is the Triduum retreat freshman year my college friends and I created, when I experienced my first Easter Vigil around the campfire and a fish and bread barbecue on the beach at dawn on Easter. Another is the Fourth of July trip up the northern California coast and into the gorgeous coast of southern Oregon for the first time with my friend Ben, the summer after I graduated.
5. What is your favorite camp song or songs? Bonus points if you link to a recording or video.
There are so many....But this question made me remember the lovely "Today, While the Blossoms Still Cling to the Vine"--learned at camp and then to play and lead myself in college. The YouTube visuals are a rather sappy tribute to John Denver, but he sings it beautifully--and his music was very much a part of my childhood too.
1. Did you go to sleep away camp, or day camp, as a child? Wish you could? Or sometimes wish you hadn't?
Y Camp was great, both summer camp for several years and one snow camp. And so was church camp in sixth grade with my best friend, though they did require me to buy my first one piece bathing suit as well as a used New Testament I had till college. No pressure to get saved, as a close friend experienced around the same age, and I got to learn "Seek Ye First," "Oil for my Lamp" and others which still speak to my heart.
The one negative experience was after my parents had more money and switched me to the snooty prep school where I was miserable--a similar snooty camp that was two weeks instead of one. I pulled a muscle in my back a couple days in vaulting and they wouldn't let me call home to get rescued so I spent the rest of the time lying on my bunk, miserable, with another girl recovering from mono who couldn't do activities either.
2. How about camping out? Dream vacation, nightmare, or somewhere in between?
Camping at the beach, as we did sometimes in childhood and especially in college, can be fun, and the campfire songs are great of course. I do have unpleasant memories of camping out in 100-110 degree heat in elementary school inland, though, and getting bad sunburns before they invented decent sunscreen.
3. Have you ever worked as a camp counselor, or been to a camp for your denomination for either work or pleasure?
Nope--wish I had, as that was my original plan my sophomore summer of college to avoid the alcoholic dynamics at home. The pastor/professor who was grooming me for abuse suggested that I work on campus and live nearby instead, and the rest is unpleasant history.
4. Most dramatic memory of camp, or camping out?
One wonderful memory is the Triduum retreat freshman year my college friends and I created, when I experienced my first Easter Vigil around the campfire and a fish and bread barbecue on the beach at dawn on Easter. Another is the Fourth of July trip up the northern California coast and into the gorgeous coast of southern Oregon for the first time with my friend Ben, the summer after I graduated.
5. What is your favorite camp song or songs? Bonus points if you link to a recording or video.
There are so many....But this question made me remember the lovely "Today, While the Blossoms Still Cling to the Vine"--learned at camp and then to play and lead myself in college. The YouTube visuals are a rather sappy tribute to John Denver, but he sings it beautifully--and his music was very much a part of my childhood too.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Friday Five: Fireworks Edition
Sally at RevGals writes:
I have to admit that I am chuckling to myself a little; how strange it seems for me a Brit to be posting the Friday Five on 4th July! I realise that most of our revgals will be celebrating in some way today, but I hope that you can make a little room for Friday Five! From my short stay in Texas my memories of the celebrations are of fireworks and picnics, one year we went in to central Houston to watch the fireworks and hear the Symphony Orchestra play, we were welcomed and included, and that meant a lot!
So lets have a bit of fun:
1. Barbeque's or picnics ( or are they essentially the same thing?)
Today we're going to a barbeque and pool party at a marvelous two mom family from our new Episcopal parish. The third of their four adopted children is Katie's dear friend from Sunday School during the Liturgy of the Word (they looked for each other and grinned conspiratorially in the pews and then the Communion line last week during the second half of the service as well). I am looking forward to getting to know them and some of the other families we have met so far better, and hoping that Nicholas will meet some congenial middle schoolers as well--their youth group only meets once a month and is off for the summer.
2. The park/ the lake/ the beach or staying at home simply being?
The party is in the afternoon; in the morning we'll be continuing the gradual move, which completes tomorrow with Matt, the kids, and their beds arriving here in the new place. And in the evening I will probably hit either a Twelve Step meeting or the wonderful small and adventurous synagogue which has welcomed us to pray and learn Hebrew.
3. Fireworks- love 'em or hate 'em?
Hate the danger of bootleg ones and the noise of inconsiderate people setting them off at midnight. Love the shows when they can be conveniently arrived at, especially if they are accompanied by music. My grad school adviser used to stage a big party with quite a display in his large back yard, carried out by the older of his seven children and accompanied by a Beatles soundtrack.
4. Parades- have you ever taken part- share a memory...
Not on the Fourth of July, though I greatly enjoyed marching/protesting with the LA city workers' union in the Martin Luther King parade last January.
5. Time for a musical interlude- if you could sum up holidays in a piece of music what would it be?
For today: Freedom Now, as performed by Sweet Honey in the Rock. It's on their "I Got Shoes" kids' album I got Nicholas a long time ago and I listened to as I unpacked books and religious statues in my study yesterday.
The only YouTube version I could find was an old one with Joan Baez:
Sweet Honey does have some great stuff on YouTube, including a radio interview and this brief snippet of a couple of classics that gives you a sense of their marvelous a capella harmonies:
And finally, Tracy Chapman performing another song called Freedom Now, composed for President Nelson Mandela but here accompanying a video about Dr. Martin Luther King.
Enjoy!
I have to admit that I am chuckling to myself a little; how strange it seems for me a Brit to be posting the Friday Five on 4th July! I realise that most of our revgals will be celebrating in some way today, but I hope that you can make a little room for Friday Five! From my short stay in Texas my memories of the celebrations are of fireworks and picnics, one year we went in to central Houston to watch the fireworks and hear the Symphony Orchestra play, we were welcomed and included, and that meant a lot!
So lets have a bit of fun:
1. Barbeque's or picnics ( or are they essentially the same thing?)
Today we're going to a barbeque and pool party at a marvelous two mom family from our new Episcopal parish. The third of their four adopted children is Katie's dear friend from Sunday School during the Liturgy of the Word (they looked for each other and grinned conspiratorially in the pews and then the Communion line last week during the second half of the service as well). I am looking forward to getting to know them and some of the other families we have met so far better, and hoping that Nicholas will meet some congenial middle schoolers as well--their youth group only meets once a month and is off for the summer.
2. The park/ the lake/ the beach or staying at home simply being?
The party is in the afternoon; in the morning we'll be continuing the gradual move, which completes tomorrow with Matt, the kids, and their beds arriving here in the new place. And in the evening I will probably hit either a Twelve Step meeting or the wonderful small and adventurous synagogue which has welcomed us to pray and learn Hebrew.
3. Fireworks- love 'em or hate 'em?
Hate the danger of bootleg ones and the noise of inconsiderate people setting them off at midnight. Love the shows when they can be conveniently arrived at, especially if they are accompanied by music. My grad school adviser used to stage a big party with quite a display in his large back yard, carried out by the older of his seven children and accompanied by a Beatles soundtrack.
4. Parades- have you ever taken part- share a memory...
Not on the Fourth of July, though I greatly enjoyed marching/protesting with the LA city workers' union in the Martin Luther King parade last January.
5. Time for a musical interlude- if you could sum up holidays in a piece of music what would it be?
For today: Freedom Now, as performed by Sweet Honey in the Rock. It's on their "I Got Shoes" kids' album I got Nicholas a long time ago and I listened to as I unpacked books and religious statues in my study yesterday.
The only YouTube version I could find was an old one with Joan Baez:
Sweet Honey does have some great stuff on YouTube, including a radio interview and this brief snippet of a couple of classics that gives you a sense of their marvelous a capella harmonies:
And finally, Tracy Chapman performing another song called Freedom Now, composed for President Nelson Mandela but here accompanying a video about Dr. Martin Luther King.
Enjoy!
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