A Great Adventure

I'm feeling anxious. In the near future, my husband and I will be boarding a plane with seven (not a typo) S-E-V-E-N children 12 and under. It is a 5 hour flight. Although I am terribly excited about reuniting with family and creating memories for my own children, I am terribly nervous about the travel and being away from home. Sometimes I think--no big deal, it's very likely everything will go fine. Other times I think, how am I going to keep it together if my little people decide to play tag through the terminal, or worse, shrivel into convulsing shrieking over-tired masses when their ginger-ale spills? I think perhaps the anxiety is really coming from the fact that we are not a traveling family. I've never flown with more than 3 kids and we haven't taken many road trips. We just don't have much experience being away from home. Although I have been given some good advice (to which you may add in my comments section--please!), I'm still unsettled--I guess it's just fear of the unknown.

Come to think of it, not only am I not a traveler, I rarely venture beyond the comfy little parameter of school, church, Target. And I can see Target from my bedroom window. (In fact, I have passed up many low, low prices because 4 blocks is just too far.) Oh well. I will try to view this journey as a great adventure. After all, the main purpose of the trip is to see my clever, beautiful, loveable sister-in-law get married. She will be a stunning bride. And it gets better--ALL of my husband's 8-kid-family (with spouses and children, mind, you) will be there. They are incredible. When we're together, the kids play like they are the best of friends even though they rarely see each other. We have fun, and we laugh--a lot. So what's a few hundred miles, a few hours in the air, and a few days of being away from home to be with people you love?

Worth it.

A Tribute

I'm still feeling the shock of it. Cjane is on hiatus. What?! Can she do that? Almost every day for about six months now, I have been enlightened and entertained by her delightful blog. Cjane is a natural storyteller. A literary alchemist, she can take ordinary experiences, then infuse them with keen insight, tender feelings, and witty humor to produce little bloggets of gold. Some of her best have been posted on Segullah and she has even been a guest blogger on another site. If you haven't experienced it for yourself, check out a few of my favorites. One, two, three (for #3 scroll to the second entry entitled "She Wore Lemon"). I'll miss you cjane. Thanks for sharing.

Book Club

Mind if I wade through my thoughts for a bit?

It's my turn to choose a book for book club. I'm stumped. I want to pick something good, but it can't just be something I like--I want everybody to like it. ( I love my pick to get a high rating--oops, there's that vanity again.) I thought about Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. I could read the same sentence or paragraph in that book over and over just for the sheer beauty of the language. Besides, my copy started to fall apart, and after painstakingly replacing the pages several times, I finally gave up when my kids played "book blizzard" and I threw the copy out even though I still hadn't finished it. I'd like to finish it. But I wonder, would it be too much language and not enough story for the other readers? Don't know.

I also like young reader fantasy books like The Book of Three and Howl's Moving Castle. It's so fun to be transported to another world, but they are for juvenile readers. Are they too simple? Maybe.

What about Sense and Sensibility or Emma? Loved those, but we have already read Pride & Prejudice.

We just had a poetry reading and I thought Love That Dog might be fun. I love how the boy is changed by poetry and reveals himself through his own. Another juvenile read and very short.

Suggestions?
Which one would you want to read?

For the Joy

What am I doing?

I wanted to write and now all I can think about is--what if someone reads it? What if no one reads it? Private or public? Over the last several months I have been experiencing a blogging metamorphosis. Stage I -- lurker. Stage II -- commenter. Stage III -- blogger. Or maybe that should read "wannabe blogger." I have been moved, entertained, and even provoked by some very well-written blogs. It's infectious--I want to be a part of it, but why? Yes, I like how writing clarifies my thinking and even inspires new thoughts. I also like to connect with people and to learn what they are thinking. I'm just a little concerned about how much of this is vanity for me. I want to be cool too. I know I could just put all this in my journal, but then there wouldn't be any hope for conversation. Feedback is fun.

So, I've been worried. I can see this venture becoming consuming if I am not disciplined. Maybe even becoming an escape that I might turn to when there are other less enticing tasks to do (dishes, for example). Then, I read this, "Attempt to be creative for the joy it brings. . . . Select something like music, dance, sculpture, or poetry. Being creative will help you enjoy life. It engenders a spirit of gratitude. It develops latent talent, sharpens your capacity to reason, to act, and to find purpose in life. It dispels loneliness and heartache. It gives a renewal, a spark of enthusiasm, and zest for life." (Elder Richard G. Scott said that in the April 1996 general conference and I read it from the Marriage and Family Relations manual.) Hmmm. I like it. Whatever other motives might be floating around in my brain, I choose joy. I'm doing it for the joy.

And the comments.

Kicking Off My Shoes

Finally.

I love the feeling of taking my shoes off at the end of the day.
In fact, most of the time, I just like my shoes off.
Freedom.
Comfort (although slightly vulnerable, perhaps).
Me.

I also like the feeling of shaping my thoughts into words.
So, this is it.
I'm going barefoot.