Life Lately

Gather in closely, dear readers, for I have a profound observation to share with you all:

Three and a half weeks can fly by like there's no tomorrow!!!!

You have quite possibly never noticed how a busy schedule can whirl your life away through days, weeks, and months, leaving no time for blogging, little time for picture-snapping, and copious amounts of material for memory-making. The midst of spinning to and fro - this is where friendships are proved, goals are made and met, and where priorities become defined. My past almost-four-weeks have run according to this theme, and I cherish every moment from the decision I was facing in the previous post onward. Now that I finally have a moment's peace, however (although I cannot help but ruefully observe that it doesn't come until nearly midnight on any given day), I am happy to provide the requested "update".

Since May 12th I have...

1. Celebrated a graduation.

*sniff* my li'l bro is all growed up! On May 10th, Ben graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Doesn't he look spiffy?

yes, I know you're distracted by my adorable sunglasses,

but do look at Ben in his boring black robe & funny-yet-impressive

square hat, too.

2) Celebrated a birthday.

Has anyone seen my cane?? My candles read "49," and I was assured this was entirely logical and intentional - not a result of over-estimating my age or having only "4" and "9" candles. Old lady or not, it was a fab birthday, with friends, cake, "The Princess Bride" (thank you, Mr. & Mrs. J, for putting up with me! :p), and a day-before birthday dinner with my parents at a delicious pizza place!

                       dad an' me :)                                                         wood-fired pizza, baked by...Mario??

stinging nettle pizza - call me crazy, but I liked it!

3. Attended an opera!

Pirates of Penzance, to be exact. It was our annual find-something-to-dress-up-for-and-enjoy-an-evening-in-Ptown night. Great singing, great laughs, a fun tramp to a crepe food cart, and dessert at Pix- we enjoyed ourselves immensely!

 the whole gang!

                             besties                                                                       a piece of Portland at sunset

4. Enjoyed Slimification!!

They say it's not a word, but it is. "The are of being slimed," to be precise. While running three miles. And bouncing through obstacles. And slipping down water slides. Pretty much the best race ever. That's all.

 pristinely pre-race

slimey sequels

5. Hosted the "King's Daughters' Tea"

As a final conclusion to our wee girls' Bible study/handwork class, we hosted a tea! Outside, in the sunshine, it was just lovely...breeze blowing, barefoot girls, and fancy dresses: these things are good for the soul. They recited their memory chapter (Psalm 27) for the mums & grandmas, and had their handwork books/pages set out for admiring!

6. Held my Studio Recital!!
These kids...all I can say is they make me proud. Hard work, cheerful souls, beautiful performances - I feel so blessed by each one of these musicians. From the 5-and-a-half-year-old munchkin who proudly played "Mary Had a Little Wolf" to my advanced students whose music swept me away, the recital left me grinning and amazed at the capacity God has placed in these kids to make music. They are so precious to me...

many pictures = enough time to grab a camera and take them

which I didn't have

so I bummed this picture off of dad's phone

and it's all I've got

but aren't they a fabulous-looking gang of music-makers?

7. Made a Trip to Seattle!
Because we could. And we like each other. And the sun was out, and official responsibilities had ended for the summer. So we did! :) Rode the Ferris Wheel right on the water for the first time ~ it was a beautiful view, but my camera informed me that his "batter was exhausted" before I could take any pictures of it! :)

8. Ran Away to the Beach for a Day!
It was cloudy (it always is) but warm-ish and still bright! We picnic-ed, walked to haystack, bought saltwater taffy, patronized the best coffee shop in the world, drank bubble tea, and still made it home in time for Rachel's orchestra rehearsal! :D

everyone knows you bring flowers on your beach picnics, right?

 

 

Besides these 8 things, getting ready for an upcoming trip, raising sponsorship money for a race to benefit Pathways Pregnancy Center (thank you to everyone who contributed!!!!), getting together with friends who have just returned from trips and friends who are about to leave, taking Rachel's graduation pictures, getting a new bookshelf (hooray!!), and starting work at a tea room, I pretty much have just sat around twiddling my thumbs for the last couple weeks. I'm sure you know how that is. Just the story of my life, lately...

Until Monday, dear readers!

One Runner's Thoughts

Photo Credit


When the rain is pounding on the roof so hard it pounds your head,
When the cold and wet and dark have no appeal for you (in bed),
When the wind is howling up a storm,
When this is now the weather's norm,
Then you'll find that, as you sit up, your limbs are made of lead.

When you show great strength by swinging out your weight-feet to the floor,
When you overcome great distances from bed's edge to the door,
When you've put an end to brother's sleep,
And borrowed sweats that stop rain's seep,
Then you'll find that this delay has just encouraged rain's downpour.

When you persevere and don the sweats, and tie on running shoes,
When you tell yourself that going out does not mean that you lose,
When you, sighing, leave the quiet house,
With the rain's one mission: you to douse,
Then you'll find your comfort thinking that the right thing you did choose.

In no time you're a-running 'round and 'round the sopping track,
While the wind is pushing ever, try'ng to blow you sliding back,
And with little droplets, pointed shards,
It cuts you face with every yard...
And you find the wind a-soaking, pulling, like a stubb'rn pack.

But you run your miles, pressing on, contin'ing to the end,
Expertly dodging puddles as you round the final bend,
To finish fin'ly, gasping air,
And head toward warmth with fix-ed stare,
The while saying "I'm crazy - this habit I must end!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What's the definition of insanity?" Ben asked the other morning, zipping up his top-most layer of protection again the torrential rain and driving wind. I was shivering too hard to answer at first, but finally managed, in a small voice, "Doing the same thing over and over again, while expecting different results?" "Yeah, well," he replied as, with hoods already dripping we reached the track, "Something just got added to the list."

You Know That Feeling...

When you ran hard, pushed yourself at the end, and consequently feel rather sick?

That's how I feel right about now.

It's good to run again.
Photo Credit