Graduation Day in Tucson

Posted on May 23, 2012 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

A Most Unusual Palm (I think?)

Good Day, God!

Suzy wanted me to put this photo in a blog as we were both struck by it on one of of many errands. I have always loved animals, God, but I have noticed in recent years a growing enjoyment of plants.

Indeed, just this morning Sandy was talking about how seeing a rabbit in her potted basil plant brought out a decidedly “Mrs. McGregor” response! She sighed and said, “I used to love Peter Rabbit.” I knew exactly what she meant.

I have mallards as neighbors and they occasionally block the driveway and leave droppings in our carport. Sigh. These are gorgeous birds — but, not good neighbors.

I do love animals who are like my Mother’s Cat. There is a link with intelligent creatures. And, I definitely prefer house-trained animals. Still, baby animals can be forgiven almost anything. Bonding with babies is a powerful thing! I remember my first grandson as a newborn!

Speaking of my first grandson — there are only 90 minutes before we take off for his graduation. This is a BIG day and we are all excited. Ian is bright but so sensitive to specific noises that he mostly goes out in public wearing his iPod as a buffer. With the challenges of his autism, it has been quite an accomplishment for him to complete his courses. Dealing with fears is a difficult thing, God. It takes a lot of courage.

But, the good news is that courage begets courage. Overcoming a fear makes for Self-Respect. That is quite a different thing than Self-Esteem. Sigh. Oh that ALL of us would work toward more self-respect and get more grit into our life. Well, at least, God, I know that is what I want to work toward.

Tagged with: autism, courage, graduation day, rabbits, sound sensitivities
Posted in connections, courage, education, Endurance, Families

Going SLO*W and Leaping About

Posted on May 22, 2012 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

A peak in the Santa Catalina Mountains

Good Day, God!

Aaaa, I am sitting here at daughter Sandy’s, looking out the window at the glorious Santa Catalina Mountains. Mark is in school. Sandy and Ian are at his graduation rehearsal. It is quiet.

This morning began — wonderfully late — with a massage from Renate — a Mother’s Day Gift from Sandy. I am thankful, God! Make that THANKFUL.

Truly our children hold our Hearts in their hands. Grandchildren, too, hold our Hearts. This is as it should be. What good is a Protected Heart? Perhaps, God, Hearts are like bread dough? They only expand after a combination of pounding and resting.

This morning Sandy and I were talking about Praising You. Truly, the point and purposes of praise are often hard to grasp. Yet Hebrews 13:15 tells us to offer up the sacrifice of Praise.

gardenia on the front porch

As we talked it seemed to me that our very bodies are analogous to musical instruments. Cellos? When we Praise You, God — it is like giving You the Bow to our Cello. The music becomes richer and full of assurance. Not, alas, assurance that we will get what we want. But, assurance that we matter and that we are loved.

How does this matter? Well, I’m looking up at the dry mountains of Tucson and thinking of the Beaver Believers described in the June, 2012 issue of the Atlantic. These are people committed to repopulating North America with beavers. Apparently, one shallow little beaver dam can add a tremendous amount to the local ground water. It comes to me that Somehow one person Praising You is like a beaver. I am laughing. I have no idea what the spiritual equivalent of ground water is. Still, the link is there in my heart.

Beavers, shallow dams, ground water and the sacrifice of praise. Go figure! Still, God, I am smiling and feeling joy at the images. Thank You!

Tagged with: Beavers, ground water, Hebrews 13:15, the sacrifice of praise, Tucson, water conservation
Posted in LOVE, Music, Praise, Prayer

Back in Time

Posted on May 21, 2012 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

The Hill I loved in Granda Hills, CA

Good Morning, God!

A New Day — a day of Goodbyes — a day of Greetings — as I fly from LA to Tucson. I am both sad to be leaving Suzy and eager to be seeing Sandy.

How FULL our hearts can be.

Yesterday, having completed our last errand, Suzanne and I drove up to Granada Hills to visit our old neighborhood. What a Step Back in Time!

We walked around Zola Street — our cul-de- sac where everyone had bought the houses as new — and named all our neighbors. We walked around remembering the people, stories and details from our time there. Then, we walked, as Suzy had done every school day, to Van Gogh Elementary School. After that we walked up the street to where Suzy’s best friend had lived.

At that point a man came out of his house asking if we had seen the eclipse. We had not. But, we enjoyed his description of the crescent shapes he had seen in the shadows. He was full of excitement and we got to talking. He had bought a house that belonged to a friend of ours, and was full of stories. He had bought it just before the Northridge Earthquake, and we had been in the earlier Sylmar Earthquake in the same area, so we shared stories. Shared Traumas seem to make for instant connections, God.

Sharing memories — as Suzy and I did — definitely strengthens connections. I’m so thankful, God, for being able to make this trip with Suzy, back in time.

Tagged with: back in time, Granada Hills, memories, Van Gogh Elementary School
Posted in connecting, connections, daughters, family visits

The Stiff-Upper-Lip App

Posted on May 20, 2012 by a moment with god — 1 Comment

: Lord Horatio Nelson

Good Day, God!

Aaah! The Tangled Webs of Complexity involved in being a Human! Being here with our Oldest Daughter, Suzanne means that I am engaged in teasing out some of the strands in the Web.

Yesterday Suz took me to task for not asking for what I want. Hmm. As we discussed the matter I realized that it was worse than that. Often I don’t even let myself know what I want. Yikes!

As I pondered that, I thought of my family of origin’s Culture of Duty and Silence. Suddenly I realized that I have a Stiff-Upper-Lip application.

That brought to mind Lord Nelson and his famous words to the Fleet before the Battle of Trafalgar: “England expects that every man will do his duty.”

The Battle of Trafalgar

Doing one’s duty in a Warrior Culture means that your lip doesn’t quiver — as it does when you cry. It means that you are ruthlessly suppressing all emotions — especially fears and sorrows. And, of course, God, the most effective way to repress those feelings is to suppress them before we feel them. So, no wonder I am not monitoring and participating in my feelings enough to know what I want.

Put that together of the WASP imperative to “be nice” and “don’t rock the boat” and it is not at all surprising that I don’t ask for what I want. And that means I can’t even begin to negotiate to get close to what I want.

I guess, God, the amazing thing is that Suzanne DOES know how to ask for what she wants! Thank You for that! And now I am smiling, remembering what a friend told me long ago: “Every Family should have a Suzanne.” Even better, every family should know how to make use of a Suzanne. That takes time, God. And it takes Your Help.

Tagged with: Asking for what we want, Doing our Duty, Supressing our feelings, the Stiff Upper Lip app
Posted in asking for help for myself, family visits, The difficulty of changing, web of life

Clothing and the Common Arts

Posted on May 18, 2012 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Lunch at the Curious Palate — up on the balcony

Good Morning, God!

Yesterday was filled with many things but one that was quintessentially typical of Suzy was shopping. Not shopping as mindless consuming, though. Shopping with Suzy involves Advanced Logistics and Complex Decision Trees.

My shopping normally involves a quick stop at Ross’s with minimal questions of 1) does it fit and 2) do I like it 3) how low is the price. So, I marvel at all the additional factors, stores, websites and price points involved in Suzy’s sartorial searches. Such Complexity!

I do appreciate Dressing as an Art Form, God. Even with my humble wardrobe I very much enjoy matching the colors of bracelets, earrings and shoes. In colder climates one can add scarves as accessories which — thanks to gifts mostly from Suzy — I also enjoy. Simple joys!

Now, God, I’m sitting here thinking of the Chinese under Mao with their utilitarian blue jackets, and how they are now delighting in diversity and colors. Then there were the sober dressing Puritans who were reacting to the extreme excesses of dress in the British ruling class. Hmm. Now comes the thought that the cost of dressing for the Court at Versailles played a part in the horrific oppression of the peasants which in turn led to the French revolution.

Keeping things in Balance is never easy. And it seems almost to be the Nature of Things to flow into Excess and back into Restraint.

But, for now, I am appreciating that we humans have a long history of loving to adorn ourselves — creating, as it were, Our Outer Selves. There is something quite satisfying in the process of selecting and combining what we wear. It is not Fine Art. But, it is Art nevertheless. Art in its most accessible form.

So thank You, God, for broadening my appreciation of the Common Arts.

Tagged with: Balance, Excess and Restraint, Shopping, The Art of Self Adornment, The Common Arts
Posted in Art, choices, daughters, decision making, family visits

Adrian Saxe at the End of the Day in LA

Posted on May 18, 2012 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Adrian Saxe after talking at the Hammer Museum

Good Morning, God!

I’m back after two full days in LA . . . well, back attempting to present before You not requests or praises but encapsulations.

Is that odd, God? It feels as if that is the primary benefit to me in conversing with You — that I should be rounding up the vast complexity of my day and life — not so much for You as for me.

I’m smiling, God. Even in that sentence I reveal myself as an extroverted soul. I have to work at self reflection. It is work even to pull together the events of my day. So, let me begin at the easiest point — hearing a talk by Adrian Saxe.

The photo I took of him as he responded to members of the audience after his talk is blurred but has a marvelous sense of Light and Darkness. Suz had spotted the event at the Hammer Museum and thought we would both enjoy it. Neither of us recognized the name or the artist — Suz thinking he was a sculptor.

Etcetera — another ewer — not teapot by Saxe

What he was, is a Ceramicist — and an influential one at that! In person, and on stage, he was beguiling — enjoying his work and still challenged by it. When he showed what he was doing in the 1960’s Suz observed that he was among the first of the post-modernists. Clearly, his career has consisted of following his own interests and not current fashion.

His insistence on “ewer” not “teapot” as the name for what clearly look like teapots is indicative of his desire to follow his own path.

And that brings me back to the theme for our day, God. The Following of One’s Own Path. That is what Suz is about. And I admire it tremendously, all the while viewing my life as “muddling through” not path forging. And on that interesting observation I shall leave off until tomorrow or the next day. Thank You, God for listening.

Tagged with: a sense of self, Adrian Saxe, ceramics, path forging
Posted in Adventures, appreciation, Art, Creating

Daughters and Dahlias and Days in LA

Posted on May 16, 2012 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Dahlias outside our lunch restaurant

Good Day, God!

I noticed that in this photo the flowers are out of focus but the leaf in the lower right with the hole in it is sharp.

How like our Human Focus, that is, God! It is all too easy to focus on small imperfections and not on the glorious and delightful “flowers” in our lives.

I am here with daughter Suzanne. I think Suzanne is derived from the word for Lily in Hebrew. In any case, God, Suzanne is a Delightful Flower — not just loved but also admired and enjoyed by me.

So, I here I am, On The Road Again! After Eleven days at home to “recover” from London’s 11 Time Zones I am traveling toward Grandson Ian’s high school graduation. First a stop with daughter Suzanne in LA and then on to Tucson and Sandy and family. How VERY fortunate I am to be doing this, God! I even got upgraded to first class on the way over. I really enjoyed First Class.

And, although I bemoan the One Percents incredible gains in wealth over the last few decades — I have to face the fact that I (and a large percentage of Americans) are in the World’s Top One Percent.

This is a sobering thought, God. From out of my Childhood as an Episcopalian comes the verse “Those to whom much is given, from them much is required.” Hmm. The verse goes on to say basically that those given even more — will have even more required of them.

Yikes! I feel “nudged” by You, God. But I feel so overwhelmed. Well, yes, of course I do. Feeling overwhelmed is a lot better than grabbing a simple answer. I suspect it might involve combining at least ten different responses. Ah, but now, God, I am going to go on a short jog. I shall do what I CAN!

Tagged with: Daughters, responsibility, Sobering Thoughts, The One Percent
Posted in complexity, daughters, responsibility

The Voice of the Poor and our Hoping Machine

Posted on May 15, 2012 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Woody Guthrie

Good Day, God!

I was surprised to find an article about Woody Guthrie in Christianity Today! Woody Guthrie? But, having the author, Jeremy V. Jones, compare Woody to a prophet made a certain amount of sense — once I thought about it.

Much as we’d like to forget it, God, Your Prophets came down pretty hard on the Rich and Powerful. And Woody wasn’t too happy with them either.

He wrote a lot of his songs during the Great Depression. He wrote about the poor — about the jobless and those working for very little money. And, as Jones pointed out, here we are in the worst economic times since the Great Depression. We still have the jobless. We still have the “working poor.”

How DO we bring Capital and Labor together, God? How can we avoid economic BUBBLES that are fed by greed and folks who just want to “game the system?” How can entrepreneurs be encouraged and workers be invited to participate together in our economy? How can we work hard at working together?

These are useful questions, God. But not easy ones. I confess that I’d rather turn aside and not think about them. Maybe that was why I was so happy to read the article in Christianity Today. I know that I need to listen to the prophetic voices who caution us to care deeply about our fellow humans.

The article in Christianity Today ended with a marvelous quote from one of Woody’s songs, The Hoping Machine: “Don’t lose your grip on life and that means / Don’t let any earthly calamity knock your dreamer and your hoping machine / Out of order.”

Please, God, fill us with HOPE. And help us keep on hoping — so we can keep on working together for better solutions.

Tagged with: hope, our Dreamer, our Hoping Machine, prophetic voices, Woody Guthrie
Posted in Possibilities, Prophetic Voices, The poor and underemployed, Work

Circles of Friends

Posted on May 14, 2012 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Morning Swim — a pastel by Ann Peters

Good Morning, God!

Yesterday was Mother’s Day. Kit and I took Mom down to a big lunch in her dining hall and then we went back to her apartment for Scrabble. Tomorrow I take off to see our grandson Ian graduate from high school — visiting both daughters as part of the trip. I am blessed with Family.

I am also blessed with Friends. And, God, mostly they are Long Time Friends. LTFs. How good it is, God, to have extended histories with people. After the symphony last night we had dinner with an LTF who used to go to childhood birthday parties with Kit. Still, although the passage of Time helps to deepen friendships, it isn’t essential. Sometimes we meet people with whom we instantly “click.”

Friends are incredibly important to me. Perhaps that’s why when I saw this pastel I called it a Circle of Friends. I am so fortunate to have Circles of Friends. Kit and I have a Circle meet in our kitchen every Monday for breakfast. Then I have the Women’s Wednesday Morning Prayer (and Comedy) Group at church. Everyone is welcomed to that circle, God. It is such fun to discover a New Friend as we are joined!

And, God, just last week a friend showed me how to use the Facebook app on my iPhone. Oh?, I said. It can do THAT? So, who knows, God, maybe I will be able to extend my definition of friends. After all, what could be better for our physical and emotional health than investing in friends!

Tagged with: Circles of Friends, investing in friends, Long Time Friends
Posted in connections, friends, health, interactions

Happy Mother’s Day!

Posted on May 13, 2012 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

A Home-Grown anthurium

Good Morning, God!

It’s Mother’s Day and my wonderful husband Kit has already called our daughters to Thank them for their part in my being a Mother and in his being a Father.

Ah God, surely we come closest to empathizing with You when we become parents! You as our Heavenly Parent are accessible to us in ways that are profoundly comforting. I like that.

I’m remembering my grandfather, Harry Carr. He was a Christian Scientist and when I was a child he often talked to me about Our Mother /Father God. I am thankful for that Inclusive Spirit, God! And I am also grateful for being able to anthropomorphize You.

St. Anne the mother of Mary

You are, of course, AWESOMELY MORE! But, as a human I can’t imagine MORE. Human is as high as I can go. I dimly sense there are many more dimensions involved in all of this. But, I like Job can only cling to the fact that I know that my Redeemer Liveth!

So, God, Thank You! Thank You for Life. Thank You that I am living on this Lovely Little Planet. Thank You for my mother. Thank You for our Daughters . . . and our Grandsons. Thank You for my Being a Mother. As my dear friend Joyce Watson said so long ago, “Being a Mother is a whole lot better, and a whole lot worse, than anyone ever tells you.”

Truly, To Love is to become vulnerable. To have children is to put our heart in their hands. And to hold their hearts in our hands. Ah, God. We humans are clumsy creatures and we often drop and bobble the hearts entrusted to us. I have done that far too many times.

Yet, still You Love me. You Love us all. And Your Loving Kindness renews my Heart — keeps it mostly a Heart of Flesh. So, on this Mother’s Day, THANK YOU, God!