To Miss Lizard and Other Postal Poachers

Please leave my sister's packages alone. I did not pick out these gifts for you. You might like Luna bars and the foam stickers could be amusing, but really, what will you do with the posters, books and clothes way too small for most adults outside of Asia? The color of the shirt is wrong for you. The pants will be too short. The artwork from my daughters will just be a puzzle to you, more than likely something you use to write down notes or visit the toilet. Going through someone else's mail might seem a mystery, but it really is a tragedy. Give it back. Pass it up. Let it go. Please.

Again

Everything is faster. My hyped technology-driven expectations are high and my attention span is short. Mike reminds me that we cannot truly multi-task, but that doesn't stop me from trying. Blackberries have given way to iPhones, the next level of substantive technology addiction. I had critical reading skills once and patience to write long hand (and re-write).

Forty days is a long time now. A long time to prepare for anything, we think. Too long. Surely, we don't need 40 days, 10 would be enough. My desire for immediate success makes re-starting each day challenging, humbling.

Today, I again climb out of the rut, the sameness and struggle with my inner voices and the whisperings of email to focus, focus, for just a few moments on just being, waiting, preparing.

The Wish to be Generous

by Wendell Berry

ALL that I serve will die, all my delights,
the flesh kindled from my flesh, garden and field,
the silent lilies standing in the woods,
the woods, the hill, the whole earth, all
will burn in man's evil, or dwindle
in its own age. Let the world bring on me
the sleep of darkness without stars, so I may know
my little light taken from me into the seed
of the beginning and the end, so I may bow
to mystery, and take my stand on the earth
like a tree in a field, passing without haste
or regret toward what will be, my life
a patient willing descent into the grass.

Snow day video

Snow day

N. Virginia doesn't handle snow very well...so we have a snow day today from work and school thanks to the 4 or 5 inches of snow. After suiting up the girls, we went out for some snow fun with some neighborhood friends.

Every girl's dream

MeiLin is in love ... with horses. She draws them, collects them, wears them on her shirts and necklaces and now rides them. Here are a few pictures of her on Harmony. She normally rides Baron, but he has an injury right now. Her instructor says she is doing well, learning the basics, including how to be assertive with a 1000 lb animal.
(Hmm...the video is sideways...not sure if I can fix that!)

A New Camera and a Message

Our new camera came yesterday. Here are some test photos and a message to Aunt Mandy in Namibia.

Lent

Lent is coming. I am puzzled as to why so many Protestant denominations skip over Lent or give it only a cursory treatment through some color changes, flowers and maybe a reminder to prepare for Easter. The monastic and Catholic tradition seems more fitting, giving us time to move from winter to spring, death to life, sacrifice to celebration. Otherwise, it happens so quickly -- 3 days and we are done. Given the importance of Easter to our faith, why do we shortchange the preparation? My suspicion is that we have lost the patience and discipline (or the desire to cultivate either).

The typical preparations for Lent today include prayer, denying oneself something: food, festivities, things and performing acts of penance or charity--all good ideas anytime of the year, we suspect.

Mike and I consciously are working out how to make Lent real for the girls--we've introduced the concept, which they seem to have grasped pretty quickly, particularly the giving up. However, the spirit of the idea might be a little challenging. MeiLin declared that she thought she would give up buying stuff for herself, instead buying stuff for her sister.

For me, I've decided this year I need to focus on others at a practical level. As a result, I'm resolved to not only resist buying unnecessary items (do I really need that pair of jeans on sale or new lipstick?) while also recycling/passing on one item every day that I simply don't use or don't need. I want to find a home for these items. I'll let you know how it goes.

Begin here with me, God.