coping by organizing my phone

there have been a few stories in the news lately that simply slay me if I think about them for very long, awful events that leave behind children without parents, a man without his wife and 4 kids. it's so fragile, this life we live - my chest hurts and I'm shamed to think about how I gamble it by texting in the car or trying to read something while driving.

I'm also chastised when I consider how quick to frustration and short of patience I've been the past few weeks. it's not very pretty, and it's not who I really want to be.

so, to cope with feeling... um... feelings... I clean or try to organize things to, you know, attempt to regain control. my iphone was an easy mark, as I've not updated podcasts/calendars/photos in forever. I've added a new podcast this go-'round - at the suggestion of Ms. R.A. I subscribed to Ecclesia Church's podcast, just to see what that church has got going on. I've not been over there in years, but I used to frequent the coffee shop and I appreciated a lot of their ideals.

before I forget, I really enjoyed my friend K's newest blog post - I was an avid reader up through high school, but especially in elementary and jr. high. I read anything I could get my hands on, and I loved carefully filling out the Weekly Reader order forms and choosing treasures at book fairs. the thoughts K expressed about some of the purposes and goals of children's literature strike me as true and line up with my experience as a young reader. I read all sorts of different kinds of things, and I believe that by doing so I was able learn to distinguish that it wasn't all the same - various ideals carried different 'weight' based on my worldview and I was able to work that out by being exposed to large themes and different genres, whether it was Golden Books or Sweet Pickles or Nancy Drew or Judy Blume or a wonderful book about Joseph and his coat of many colors that I read at YaYa's until it fell apart.

I don't remember politics ever being connected to what I read or thought, or even being much on my radar (except for 'voting' for Jimmy Carter in the second grade). I would say I was raised to be a faithful Christian, but that my parents still allowed us to experience the world in a way that allowed us to think and wrestle with it, and I'm really grateful for that. in an increasingly-standardized and fearful/distrustful society, I want to help our girl learn how to navigate the world thoughtfully and compassionately, and I think the stories she hears are a good place to start.

this is a bit of a tangent, but in a recent late-night conversation with my brother, I said that I believe kids today are likely to have a super-different view of the world than even my generation, as the internet and such makes the global community so accessible... it's becoming easier and easier to view most people of different countries as being fellow humans, same as us, that we can banter with on discussion boards and do business with instead of viewing them as national allies or enemies. I don't know what that will mean, I just believe it to probably be true.

here are an assortment of photos rescued from the iphone. ones from mexico, grandad's funeral, etc. will come another time. oh, while you peruse these photos imagine this darling face screaming and unconsolable at 12:30 last night, arms flailing and little body twisting in frustration. she's better today, sweet and still a little clingy. every so often, she finds her favorite blanket and presses it to her face, biting the yarn hard and trying to take the edge off. teething is a hardcore, serious business.

helping with laundry

first story-time!

exhausted from playing with the calculator

I came home one day to find a picnic in progress

watching the end of Elmo's World with momo

my hair, before.

and after. :)

I'm still getting used to it... I keep thinking I just have my hair pulled up in back. It's never been this short before, but I really like it.

happy Saturday!

L