Fall has come. The last several days have been a haze of gray cloud and rain, washing away the warmth of summer and then dispersing to give today: a crisp, bright, fall day – one of those days where the wind dances and the sun glistens and at last it feels great to pull out that jacket.
It was too good a day to waste. As my good friends Adam and Jenn pulled away, heading back to busy life in Richmond, I decided to take a Sabbath walk. I headed out the gravel drive and up Cedar Cove road, thinking and praying and singing to myself, relishing the fresh air and the bright colors, just beginning to peek out from the green trees.
I came back with every intention of finally writing a song that I’ve long had in the works. I brought out my guitar and a fresh notebook and began to play and make some notes. But just as I was working out the first line of the song, I heard the excited shouts of small voices. Noah and Asher came running around the bushes, excited for an adventure in the sailboat. Would I like to come along? A sail at sunset with the Normans was too good to pass up, so I gave up on my songwriting aspirations for the night, grabbed a jacket, and headed to the water.
We piled five into the canoe, riding low in the water as we glided out to our vessel. Anchors off and sails set, and we were on our way. I took the rudder, attempting with my novice hands to ride that fine taut balance, somewhere between a flapping sail and an exhilarating tilt in the frequent gusts. We talked about sailing and the boys and favorite things to do in Easton and Annapolis. The sky began to turn a bright orange (though we missed the sunset itself in our focus on guiding the boat through the wind). We sailed until dark, coming back to shore as the last hues of color began to retreat from the evening sky.
A day of beauty and rest, enjoying rhythms of weeks and seasons, set in place by our Creator, who “has made everything beautiful in its time.”
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
patience
I would like to be able to communicate the odd complexities of my last week but the truth is that I don't think I'd be able to do it justice. So, I'll just go through the same old review of the week. It started out with a talk given to us by Janet. She talked to us about patience and about "being good to ourselves". It was good and a needed thought. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday we heard people tell their "life stories". Ali, Cindy, David, and KD gave their stories. It is good to get to know everyone a little better but, it is always a heavy thing to listen and empathize with others.
We had quite a few guests at the Lodge over the weekend and we had visitors. The Academy board members were here for the board meeting. Apparently the meeting went very well which is a good thing! Dixie and Roddy are on the board (they're from Georgia) and they were wonderful to have around. Very caring and attentive. They are very interested in each one of us and it makes me feel very thankful.
On Friday I had a pretty quite day. Doug Forrester (who is also on the board) spoke to us Friday afternoon about the centrality of the doctrine of the Trinity to the Christian faith. It was really encouraging. We then prepared dinner for all of us and the other board members that include Bob Kramer, Ursula Meese (who is the wife of the former Attorney General of the United States), and Ann Holliday (who is also our next door neighbor). We had a great dinner. Bob gave one of his memorable speeches (he's going to join us for dinner again tonight) and we enjoyed being hosts of such interesting people.
Saturday I got to spend a quiet morning in St. Michael where President Bush had arrived in the morning and was giving a speech at the Maritime Museum. It was funny to hear the "talk of the town" with the presidential aircraft and entourage all around town. In the afternoon I got to see my mentor, Heidi Metcalf. I enjoyed talking with her. She encouraged me to get a certain book to read, I like being charged to read certain things. In the evening I got to work.
Sunday morning I went to church and then had to work the lunch shift. I cleaned the kitchen for quite a while. I got home to Windrush and decided to clean again. I like having a clean house. Sunday evening we had another guest who is running an interesting organization and that led to some late night conversations. They were good (but late).
Monday was a day of silence and solitude... which was good. I was able to rest, think, pray even... and read. It was a lovely day with sunshine, breeze... perfect weather to be outside. I got to sit in a hammock for a while in the afternoon, it was lovely.
We had quite a few guests at the Lodge over the weekend and we had visitors. The Academy board members were here for the board meeting. Apparently the meeting went very well which is a good thing! Dixie and Roddy are on the board (they're from Georgia) and they were wonderful to have around. Very caring and attentive. They are very interested in each one of us and it makes me feel very thankful.
On Friday I had a pretty quite day. Doug Forrester (who is also on the board) spoke to us Friday afternoon about the centrality of the doctrine of the Trinity to the Christian faith. It was really encouraging. We then prepared dinner for all of us and the other board members that include Bob Kramer, Ursula Meese (who is the wife of the former Attorney General of the United States), and Ann Holliday (who is also our next door neighbor). We had a great dinner. Bob gave one of his memorable speeches (he's going to join us for dinner again tonight) and we enjoyed being hosts of such interesting people.
Saturday I got to spend a quiet morning in St. Michael where President Bush had arrived in the morning and was giving a speech at the Maritime Museum. It was funny to hear the "talk of the town" with the presidential aircraft and entourage all around town. In the afternoon I got to see my mentor, Heidi Metcalf. I enjoyed talking with her. She encouraged me to get a certain book to read, I like being charged to read certain things. In the evening I got to work.
Sunday morning I went to church and then had to work the lunch shift. I cleaned the kitchen for quite a while. I got home to Windrush and decided to clean again. I like having a clean house. Sunday evening we had another guest who is running an interesting organization and that led to some late night conversations. They were good (but late).
Monday was a day of silence and solitude... which was good. I was able to rest, think, pray even... and read. It was a lovely day with sunshine, breeze... perfect weather to be outside. I got to sit in a hammock for a while in the afternoon, it was lovely.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
little things in life
Nothing much has changed around here. I worked the lunch and dinner shift at the Lodge on Saturday. That kept me very busy. Between shifts Scudder, Will, and I put up a chandelier in the Library. We felt like we accomplished something!
Sunday I went to church and spend the day just resting, going for a walk, and trying to figure out what to write about for our weekly reflection. It was kind of an odd day but, I actually did get some rest.
On Monday we had a guest speaker, Janet, is a great lady from New York. She spoke to us about patience and about being good to ourselves. That afternoon Grace and I went and did the grocery shopping for the house. It was a big job but we had fun with it.
That evening I was working again so, I enjoyed serving our guests from an important think tank from Washington D.C. I had to stay up late to close everything down at the Lodge so, I played a game of chess with Zac. I hadn't played chess in a very long time, I lost the game even though I almost won the game!
Sunday I went to church and spend the day just resting, going for a walk, and trying to figure out what to write about for our weekly reflection. It was kind of an odd day but, I actually did get some rest.
On Monday we had a guest speaker, Janet, is a great lady from New York. She spoke to us about patience and about being good to ourselves. That afternoon Grace and I went and did the grocery shopping for the house. It was a big job but we had fun with it.
That evening I was working again so, I enjoyed serving our guests from an important think tank from Washington D.C. I had to stay up late to close everything down at the Lodge so, I played a game of chess with Zac. I hadn't played chess in a very long time, I lost the game even though I almost won the game!
Saturday, October 13, 2007
this was a quiet week
Monday of this week Nathan was still here. Early in the morning the girls in my room and I had our weekly reading of our "class reflection/journals" in preparation for class later that morning. We went to Matins (which is our early morning chapel/devotional) and then went to class soon after that. It was a good conversation. Nathan and I went out to lunch after that and then he went back to Norfolk.
The rest of the week sort of floated by for me. After the craziness of the week before and the busy weekend I still wanted some alone space and so, I spent quite a bit of time sleeping. I was a little bit frustrated with not getting as much done during the week as I had hoped but, that is the way things go sometimes.
In class this week we discussed Camus' "The Fall" and St. Augustine's "Confessions" it was a good class discussion and a good preparation for the next couple of weeks where we're going to be telling our "life stories" to each other. We watched a movie and discussed in on Wednesday. On Thursday I had a good converation with Grady and I sort of snapped out of the strange mood I was in after that. Randy our guest was a fun part of our week, he was just observing a lot but also enjoying his interaction with us. On Thursday he shared his story with us, it was a moving story. He is part of something called the SOZO Music Festival in Eastern Europe. That evening I sat around with everyone and played the guitar with Will (who was very patently teaching me some pretty easy songs).
Friday was another busy day. We had a scheduling meeting where we were trying to figure out all the complexities of next week (which is going to be crazy busy!). After that I went and cleaned out the library with Will (that was our chore this week) then we stopped by to see KD because we're going to babysit Noah and Asher next week (they're 4 and 2). After that I ate some lunch and went into town to get the oil changed in my car. I went to the bank and I ran a couple other errands. After that I went home and tried to "organize my life".
We had dinner and it was the first time it had been "just us" in a while and we were relaxed and just enjoying each other. Dinner lead into a really fun evening for all of us... later I gave Ali a Church History lesson and by that time it was past our bedtime.
The rest of the week sort of floated by for me. After the craziness of the week before and the busy weekend I still wanted some alone space and so, I spent quite a bit of time sleeping. I was a little bit frustrated with not getting as much done during the week as I had hoped but, that is the way things go sometimes.
In class this week we discussed Camus' "The Fall" and St. Augustine's "Confessions" it was a good class discussion and a good preparation for the next couple of weeks where we're going to be telling our "life stories" to each other. We watched a movie and discussed in on Wednesday. On Thursday I had a good converation with Grady and I sort of snapped out of the strange mood I was in after that. Randy our guest was a fun part of our week, he was just observing a lot but also enjoying his interaction with us. On Thursday he shared his story with us, it was a moving story. He is part of something called the SOZO Music Festival in Eastern Europe. That evening I sat around with everyone and played the guitar with Will (who was very patently teaching me some pretty easy songs).
Friday was another busy day. We had a scheduling meeting where we were trying to figure out all the complexities of next week (which is going to be crazy busy!). After that I went and cleaned out the library with Will (that was our chore this week) then we stopped by to see KD because we're going to babysit Noah and Asher next week (they're 4 and 2). After that I ate some lunch and went into town to get the oil changed in my car. I went to the bank and I ran a couple other errands. After that I went home and tried to "organize my life".
We had dinner and it was the first time it had been "just us" in a while and we were relaxed and just enjoying each other. Dinner lead into a really fun evening for all of us... later I gave Ali a Church History lesson and by that time it was past our bedtime.
a very full weekend!
I have to keep up with this otherwise I'll get overwhelmed with all the things I "haven't" said and will not know where to start telling. Well, the week before this one we had some very intense conversations about gender and about our life together here. On Saturday morning almost everyone got up and went camping with the exception of Cindy and I. We decided to spend the weekend here "at home".
It turns out that we still had a busy weekend in a different way. Andrew (our guest) was still here so we had lunch with him and heard all kinds of stories about Uganda and European travels. That lunch extended into the afternoon. Soon after that I had to go over to the Lodge to reassure some guests that the leak in the roof would be taken care of and to thank them for their help. I got a phone call from Ashley around this time and enjoyed a wonderfully refreshing conversation with her.
Not too much later, Cindy and I went out to have dinner with a "dinner group" from Christ Church (which is the Church I've decided to go to for the most part this year). Ali and I had signed up for this dinner group but Ali had gone camping so Cindy came with me. They were very nice. It was good to meet people who really are from Easton. One of the couples had never lived anywhere but Easton and another couple had never lived anywhere for more than 6 years at a time. Cindy and I came away glad for our little community because even though we disagree on stuff at times we actually have pretty meaningful conversations a lot of the time (the conversation at dinner went from Easton stuff, hunting, cell phones, running marathons, etc. all good stuff but not entirely "deep").
Sunday morning I got up early and did some reading and writing. I enjoyed it very much then, Cindy and I went to Church. Apparently, this church only takes the Lord's Supper once or twice a year and it happened to be this day (we weren't at Christ's Church) and well, Cindy and I were both a bit bothered by the tone of the sermon. So, we talked about that on the way home. When we got back to Osprey Point we went over to David and KD Norman's (they're the directors) for lunch. Andrew joined us again for lunch. We talked about a lot of different things including why Church had bugged us and other things. It is nice to be in a place that fosters that kind of conversations and welcome.
After that extended for a long time we went to clean the "scholar in residence apartment" where Andrew had been staying for the new guest (who was coming in that day). Nathan came during this time! It was fun to have Nathan. As we were cleaning the apartment our new guest Randy showed up and we welcomed him in and showed him around. After this Nathan and I went to St. Michaels. A very cute town of which Nathan said, "Mom would love this place!" We got a couple ingredients and returned to the house to make a mango cobbler (I forgot to mention that Zac's grandfather has a mango farm in Florida and he had mailed a big box of amazing mangos for our group). So we made the cobbler and it was done just as everyone returned from camping and told us all their crazy stories from their week.
It turns out that we still had a busy weekend in a different way. Andrew (our guest) was still here so we had lunch with him and heard all kinds of stories about Uganda and European travels. That lunch extended into the afternoon. Soon after that I had to go over to the Lodge to reassure some guests that the leak in the roof would be taken care of and to thank them for their help. I got a phone call from Ashley around this time and enjoyed a wonderfully refreshing conversation with her.
Not too much later, Cindy and I went out to have dinner with a "dinner group" from Christ Church (which is the Church I've decided to go to for the most part this year). Ali and I had signed up for this dinner group but Ali had gone camping so Cindy came with me. They were very nice. It was good to meet people who really are from Easton. One of the couples had never lived anywhere but Easton and another couple had never lived anywhere for more than 6 years at a time. Cindy and I came away glad for our little community because even though we disagree on stuff at times we actually have pretty meaningful conversations a lot of the time (the conversation at dinner went from Easton stuff, hunting, cell phones, running marathons, etc. all good stuff but not entirely "deep").
Sunday morning I got up early and did some reading and writing. I enjoyed it very much then, Cindy and I went to Church. Apparently, this church only takes the Lord's Supper once or twice a year and it happened to be this day (we weren't at Christ's Church) and well, Cindy and I were both a bit bothered by the tone of the sermon. So, we talked about that on the way home. When we got back to Osprey Point we went over to David and KD Norman's (they're the directors) for lunch. Andrew joined us again for lunch. We talked about a lot of different things including why Church had bugged us and other things. It is nice to be in a place that fosters that kind of conversations and welcome.
After that extended for a long time we went to clean the "scholar in residence apartment" where Andrew had been staying for the new guest (who was coming in that day). Nathan came during this time! It was fun to have Nathan. As we were cleaning the apartment our new guest Randy showed up and we welcomed him in and showed him around. After this Nathan and I went to St. Michaels. A very cute town of which Nathan said, "Mom would love this place!" We got a couple ingredients and returned to the house to make a mango cobbler (I forgot to mention that Zac's grandfather has a mango farm in Florida and he had mailed a big box of amazing mangos for our group). So we made the cobbler and it was done just as everyone returned from camping and told us all their crazy stories from their week.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
A very full week
On Sunday afternoon we got to go to the house of some generous founders of this place. They took us on their 50ft long "James Bond" boat to their beautiful home. We enjoyed the conversation that we had with them. They are the founders of "Sunrise" senior living and they were really the forerunners of "assisted living" as we know it today. They have a deep sense of compassion for people and they love to help people. It was good.
We've had a full week with very involved conversations on Monday class and then on Tuesday again, we had an interesting class and we enjoyed Andrew Briggs as a guest speaker. I had lots and lots of conversations. We're at the point where having been here for a month now, we're much more comfortable talking with each other and we're starting to notice those things that we wish were different about our group and about each other.
I enjoy class and working in the Lodge. This week I've also had fun thinking about what I'm doing with my research time here. I don't have anything figured out yet but, I'm enjoying the process of thinking about what I'm going to do. Today was the first foggy day that we've had but, in the afternoon the sun came out and that was good.
I have quite a bit of writing to do. I'm setting goals for myself to keep me working on writing and writing. That was one of my goals this year, to improve my writing by doing a lot of it. We're going to have a Bible study this afternoon and then I have some reading and some writing to work on this evening.
We've had a full week with very involved conversations on Monday class and then on Tuesday again, we had an interesting class and we enjoyed Andrew Briggs as a guest speaker. I had lots and lots of conversations. We're at the point where having been here for a month now, we're much more comfortable talking with each other and we're starting to notice those things that we wish were different about our group and about each other.
I enjoy class and working in the Lodge. This week I've also had fun thinking about what I'm doing with my research time here. I don't have anything figured out yet but, I'm enjoying the process of thinking about what I'm going to do. Today was the first foggy day that we've had but, in the afternoon the sun came out and that was good.
I have quite a bit of writing to do. I'm setting goals for myself to keep me working on writing and writing. That was one of my goals this year, to improve my writing by doing a lot of it. We're going to have a Bible study this afternoon and then I have some reading and some writing to work on this evening.
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