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| Some of us are not stressed. |
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| Live Streaming Calvin's Service |
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| Calvin Becomes a Member of St. Paul's in Iowa City |
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| Of Course I Sent Flowers |
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| A Morning to Spark the Kitchen |
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| Standing in Line to Vote |
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| Calvin Training to be a Poll Worker |
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| Masked Chamber Music |
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| Zoom Confirmation Reception |
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| Beautiful Girl, Beautiful Heart, and a Resistant Cat |
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| Confirmation Flowers |
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| Affirmation of Cake |
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| It's not too early in the Winter for Chocolate |
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| Affirmation of Baptism |
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| Surprise Attendance |
Yesterday I cried at the gym. The poor teacher. . . it's just that we've been holding it together for so long that a couple nights of no sleep and a governor's new set of restrictions is enough to break it all down. Usually I save my meltdowns for the parking lot of the grocery store. She must have felt honored.
It's been a busy month. Time marches on. Here is a beautiful project that Mary was involved in. She was an alternate and only had 48 hours to get this recording done. This song reminds me of my father.
Calvin worked a 16 hour voting day at the polls on campus in Iowa City. He's a music and math major but deep down I think he might be a political journalist. He's already contributed to the Wall Street Journal's college op-ed. And other mostly conservative publications. That said, this was not a normal election for some conservatives.
Mary got confirmed. Confirmation was a rocky road. She was saved by her mentor Jennifer. They have been meeting by Zoom every week, digging way deeper than required. Mary's grandma surprised her by showing up at the church for the socially distanced-do the best they can confirmation of baptism ceremony. I'll take that. We have been at Easter for 20 years and this was a nice bookmark.
Meanwhile, Calvin joined a church in Iowa City. I couldn't go, because we had an epic SPTG Workshop on the Zoom all weekend with Gail Lange from Canada. But, I sent flowers etc. My mom and Susan showed up. Janel gets an A+ for showing up amid Covid restrictions. May God bless her with health and safety and an endless supply of medical grade masks and hand sanitizer. Congratulation Calvin, may you be blessed by the community, music and message there. And thank you to Pastor Mons, who met with Calvin, again, above and beyond, to dig deep into his faith journey. The things other people have done for my kids-with nothing in return, is amazingly uplifting to me. I'm so thankful. I'm humbled.
They are great-souled people.
We long for great-souled people who can hold the chaos together within themselves and give us the courage to do the same. Richard Rohr 10/28/20
That is, the ability to stay present to what is, and meet it with wisdom, compassion, and courage. That is what we are all trying to do. I show up everyday to try to be there for my kids who are missing their high school and college years. Sixteen year olds are not supposed to sit in their rooms sixteen hours a day studying by themselves. They aren't supposed to practice hours and hours for performances that never happen. College kids aren't supposed to Zoom their lives in.
I try to show up everyday for the studio kids who continue to practice and do all the work with very little of the fun. I try to show up for their parents who are working from home and trying to help their kids with online or homeschool and like me, they have been spending an awful lot of time with the same cast of characters.
I try to write letters to people in nursing homes who can't have visitors again. Try to show up for retired baby-sitters living alone, who get so excited for an outdoor veterans's marching band program, only to have it cancel at the last minute.
We get to break down. We get to be a little grouchy. We get to cry at the kitchen table or the Kowalski's parking lot or at the gym.
But then, we have to wipe the tears and dig in and keep showing up for each other. We each have to be that person trying to hold the chaos together within themselves. We give each other the courage to do the same.
We are a great-souled people. All of us. Everyone I know. My husband is. My mother is. My father in law is. My kids are. My sister is. My friends are. My studio kids and parents are.
I commit to bringing as much meaning and connection to this season as I possible can. I'm gonna decorate the house and buy gifts and sneak visits as safely as I can.
And next year we're gonna have the biggest Christmas party we've ever had.
May God bless you with patience and courage and perseverance.
You are a great-souled person.
