I spent this past weekend leading worship for a retreat at a Catholic monastary in Cullman, Alabama. A full-fledged Monastary/prep-school/tourist attraction/retreat center. I met a monk named Brother Brenden. I had spoken to him over the phone prior to our trip to inquire about Audio/visual capabilities of the center. This was a very funny and frustrating conversation as I tried to ask about sound system cords and outlets ...."oh, it's just a cable with an end that looks like you would plug it into your Ipod or Discman, a headphone jack basically....do you have that for audio for the projector? and then I'll also need a DI box, mic stand, etcetc..." I didn't realize until after I got off the phone with him that I had been talking to a MONK for goodness sake. He didn't know what a headphone plug looks like, and I'm sure he doesn't own an Ipod. I'm an idiot. Anyway...upon meeting Brother Brenden on Friday night I had a face to go with a voice and he was everything I had imagined a Monk to be. At the risk of sounding judgmental and harsh, I will just say, use your imagination.
I met another old monk with a walker and a black monk too. In CULLMAN, ALABAMA!!.....who knew?
The retreat was held at St. Bernard's Abbey http://www.stbernardabbey.com/ home to the Ave Maria Grotto (Grotto means "cave" in latin). During free time on Saturday a group of retreaters toured the Grotto....it's basically a walk through the woods where Brother Joseph so and so made a bunch of miniature cities, towers, memorials, etc. I'll insert a picture or too later because there is really no other way to describe this. It struck me as completely random, but I just kept thinking what else would a monk in Cullman, Alabama do to spend his days? Build a miniature Holy Land? Sure! Why not?!
Anyway....it was an interesting weekend. I was sans nicholas so I was a bit lonely and had a hard time sleeping without him next to me and with a big Crucifix hanging above my bed. Jesus IS a comfort to me... but naked, dying on the cross, is not the way I like to think of him the majority of the time...I like the RISEN Jesus myself. Catholics apparently like naked-Jesus dying above their beds. That's a whole other can of worms.
I'm glad I was exposed to this very hidden way of life. I have a lot of questions about it's purpose and necessity, but hey....It is in fact "the same Spirit working in all of us." Monks are cool.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Rainy Day Mood
Rain has this powerful affect on me. It's weird. If it rains steadily like it has since late last night, then my mood usually matches the weather. I feel lazy; it's too cold and wet to really get out and do anything. I feel frustrated; i can't stand getting splashed in the eyes with big 'ol drops of water or that misty, windy rain that slaps me around. And, when I DID get out today, I drove to a meeting that isn't happening until NEXT Tuesday (ughh..) and I went to a store that had NOTHING I was shopping for. AND let's talk about driving in the rain for a minute. No no no, let's talk about OLD people in Birmingham driving in the rain. (ok before I vent, I must tell you that I really enjoy the elderly, they're fun to talk to, wise, etc, etc and I know that one day, God-willing, I will be one but....) I am absolutely 100% for re-testing drivers over the age of 65. It's horrible. Especially in this old-money town in the middle of the day, IN THE RAIN. They wait til the very last second to cross two lanes of traffic, right in front of me, to turn....like they just realized they are where they need to be. They also drive no faster than about 35 mph anywhere! If that. Their reaction time is horrible, their vision is terrible....WHY do we allow them to get behind the wheel of one of the most deadly machines created by man??!!
Anyway, I'm done. It's the weather.
Anyway, I'm done. It's the weather.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Our Fall Day of Fun!
Friday afternoon, while walking into Publix past their outdoor fall display, Nick asked "wanna get a pumpkin?".
Oh huh uh. You don't buy pumpkins at a grocery store! You PICK them from a pumpkin patch! duh.
"Let's find a local pumpkin patch tomorrow and go PICK one!" I suggested.
So we did. Here we are in the corn maze at Old Baker's Farm in Harpersville, Alabama. It was SUCH a fun day. There was a petting zoo, a giant hay mountain,
a hay ride, a cotton jump (they had a cotton field and they picked the cotton and put it in this cage for the kids to jump in!), and much more!
We hopped on the hay ride and rode to the field where we each picked out the perfect punkin. We buckled up the punkins and went home, carved one of them and made carmel apples! YUM. Happy Harvest!
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Maybe it was the coffee
This is really weird for me. Nick just went to bed, before me. I am still wide awake, sitting on the couch and ready to put on a movie or something and he's brushing his teeth. This is weird.
If we don't go to bed together, I am the one who goes to bed first. Never the other way around.
He did only sleep for a total of an hour and a half last night. (still recovering) And he's probably only slept for a total of 8 hours in the past week. Poor thing. But for some reason I am strangely proud of the fact that I have not felt the first twinge of sleepiness and HE is falling over with exhaustion.
You see, for as long as I can remember I've always loved my sleep. LOVED it. Kept it sacred. I think this is because I know how I feel without it. Like shiz. I feel like complete shiz if I don't get at least 7 hours. It sucks kind of, but it's true. Lack of sleep affects my entire personality, my behavior, my hand-eye coordination...it's awful. So, I try to get it as much as I can.
I was also made fun of several times in high school and college for giving myself a curfew. I would carefully calculate what time I had to get up the next morning, how much sleep that would allow me, and then call it a night when it began to cut into sleep time. For a while I would be offended when friends gave me crap about needing sleep, but eventually I just accepted it as part of who I am (and you can make fun of me all day long, as long as I'm not tired I won't snap your head off or cuss you under my breath, I'll probably just laugh along with you). Sometimes this was mistaken as me being "responsible." Umm..not really, well, maybe, I mean actually it was just me wanting to sleep. It had little to do with my being responsible.
As a side note, this is really funny...since I began this blog nick has called for me from the bedroom twice. Once to tuck him in. Next to bring him his nasal spray. Both times he said "I want you in here with me." Hilarious. I really thought he was mocking me at first but he wasn't! Now he knows how I feel :-)
If we don't go to bed together, I am the one who goes to bed first. Never the other way around.
He did only sleep for a total of an hour and a half last night. (still recovering) And he's probably only slept for a total of 8 hours in the past week. Poor thing. But for some reason I am strangely proud of the fact that I have not felt the first twinge of sleepiness and HE is falling over with exhaustion.
You see, for as long as I can remember I've always loved my sleep. LOVED it. Kept it sacred. I think this is because I know how I feel without it. Like shiz. I feel like complete shiz if I don't get at least 7 hours. It sucks kind of, but it's true. Lack of sleep affects my entire personality, my behavior, my hand-eye coordination...it's awful. So, I try to get it as much as I can.
I was also made fun of several times in high school and college for giving myself a curfew. I would carefully calculate what time I had to get up the next morning, how much sleep that would allow me, and then call it a night when it began to cut into sleep time. For a while I would be offended when friends gave me crap about needing sleep, but eventually I just accepted it as part of who I am (and you can make fun of me all day long, as long as I'm not tired I won't snap your head off or cuss you under my breath, I'll probably just laugh along with you). Sometimes this was mistaken as me being "responsible." Umm..not really, well, maybe, I mean actually it was just me wanting to sleep. It had little to do with my being responsible.
As a side note, this is really funny...since I began this blog nick has called for me from the bedroom twice. Once to tuck him in. Next to bring him his nasal spray. Both times he said "I want you in here with me." Hilarious. I really thought he was mocking me at first but he wasn't! Now he knows how I feel :-)
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Relief
In my previous blog I said I would explain "more on that later." Well, here it is.
Today Nick was able to breathe clearly for a couple of hours after our morning doctor's visit. He's slowly coming back to life. We were having lunch together at Panera when he asked "can I have a bite of your bread?". I immediately tore off 3/4 of my bread and handed it to him to which he replied "woah, what's up with the generosity?". I went on to explain that for the past week I have been in the most servant-minded, generous frame-of-mind and even though he's feeling better, I'm still in the habit of catering to him. So when I said his time of surgery and recovery has been good for us both, I meant we have grown separately and as a couple.
He's learned how to rest. He spent almost 5 days straight on the couch in our living room. If you know Nick, this is nearly impossible for his ADD, OCD, hyper-active self. But, he has learned the benefit of resting. Although it's difficult for him, he says he wants to really try harder to keep a day during the week set aside soley for rest. We'll see!
And I have learned, or at least been reminded of how serving others is always easy for a couple of hours or even a couple of days but then it gets old. And frustrating. And annoying. And that's when it's real service. That's when the learning comes.
I have loved serving my husband. I LOVE him! And I'm thankful for the time we've had together learning and serving and resting. I AM glad he's better though!
Today Nick was able to breathe clearly for a couple of hours after our morning doctor's visit. He's slowly coming back to life. We were having lunch together at Panera when he asked "can I have a bite of your bread?". I immediately tore off 3/4 of my bread and handed it to him to which he replied "woah, what's up with the generosity?". I went on to explain that for the past week I have been in the most servant-minded, generous frame-of-mind and even though he's feeling better, I'm still in the habit of catering to him. So when I said his time of surgery and recovery has been good for us both, I meant we have grown separately and as a couple.
He's learned how to rest. He spent almost 5 days straight on the couch in our living room. If you know Nick, this is nearly impossible for his ADD, OCD, hyper-active self. But, he has learned the benefit of resting. Although it's difficult for him, he says he wants to really try harder to keep a day during the week set aside soley for rest. We'll see!
And I have learned, or at least been reminded of how serving others is always easy for a couple of hours or even a couple of days but then it gets old. And frustrating. And annoying. And that's when it's real service. That's when the learning comes.
I have loved serving my husband. I LOVE him! And I'm thankful for the time we've had together learning and serving and resting. I AM glad he's better though!
Friday, October 12, 2007
Recovery
Laying on my couch, watching my husband sleep, bored out of my mind; this is the circumstance which leads me to create a new blog page.
I've been thinking about starting a new blog for a while now. I love writing. But, for the past year or so I've found it a struggle to pick up my journal and pen to write old-time style. I have not however, found it hard to pick up one of the FOUR Mac laptops that rest beneath our coffee table. ( I know, a bit extreme that we have 4 laptops...2 are personal, 2 are for work)
So, I thought, I'll write in my journal ON my laptop! Seems obvious. But, it's really not the same you see. I am aware that a Bazillion eyes could possibly read this at any moment since it is published on the worldwideweb....so I will not be writing many intimate, juicy details...I will be filtering my thoughts to make them blog-appropriate.
Nick just woke up so I won't be so bored anymore. He's recovering from surgery he had two days ago to correct his deviated septum. It's been a more difficult recovery than we expected but he will get better. Day by day. And, truthfully, this has been an awesome time for both of us. More on that later though. He's awake and it's time to quit writing. He also just looked over my shoulder and told me he started a blog a few weeks ago on here...by the same name! (soul mates)
I've been thinking about starting a new blog for a while now. I love writing. But, for the past year or so I've found it a struggle to pick up my journal and pen to write old-time style. I have not however, found it hard to pick up one of the FOUR Mac laptops that rest beneath our coffee table. ( I know, a bit extreme that we have 4 laptops...2 are personal, 2 are for work)
So, I thought, I'll write in my journal ON my laptop! Seems obvious. But, it's really not the same you see. I am aware that a Bazillion eyes could possibly read this at any moment since it is published on the worldwideweb....so I will not be writing many intimate, juicy details...I will be filtering my thoughts to make them blog-appropriate.
Nick just woke up so I won't be so bored anymore. He's recovering from surgery he had two days ago to correct his deviated septum. It's been a more difficult recovery than we expected but he will get better. Day by day. And, truthfully, this has been an awesome time for both of us. More on that later though. He's awake and it's time to quit writing. He also just looked over my shoulder and told me he started a blog a few weeks ago on here...by the same name! (soul mates)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)