reading

whisper

dear book, 

keep me company

in the waiting room 

let me read 

and enjoy the peace of your whisper 

even as you recount war 

What happens?

When your PopPop has MS

and takes a tumble

through the hospital 

and into a rehab center? 

When your Gramma has Dementia

and will stay with you 

for 2-4 weeks 

while he recovers? 

When it's week four of school 

and you have 

six-month-old puppies 

in ninety-degree heat? 

Walk the pups around the block 

Wonder why the leaves are already changing colors

Make tea, trying all three chai kinds in the drawer

Read on the patio swing in the shade, tea in hand and pups at play

Visit PopPop

Write 

Breathe thanks that solving the equation isn't up to you.

getting older, growing up

Lately, I've been seeing a theme of getting older and growing up. . .

• The puppies are over 20 weeks old. They have officially been with us more than half their lives.

• I've been driving. To Bible study. To church youth events. To dance. It's handy, but still gives me a slightly strange feeling.  

• I've begun my junior year of high school. I'm doing pre-calculus, world history and literature, chemistry, and do I really just have two years left of high school?! 

• I finished reading The Lucy Variations by Sara Zarr. It is about a girl who spends the book trying to recognize herself as the protagonist of her story. Interesting to see her growth. 

• I am currently reading The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. One of it's main characters is a French girl, Paloma, who doesn't see any reason to become an adult. 

I've been thinking about the relationship between getting older and growing up. They go hand in hand, but I don't think they are synonymous. I think getting older occurs because of the physical consequences of time, where as growing up occurs through the mental maturity resulting in wisdom.

If those definitions are valid, I agree with the little French girl. There is no point in becoming an adult if it means simply getting older.

I'll happily get older, however, if I also grow up.


(hoping I don't lose any wisdom when all four of my wisdom teeth are removed this weekend. . . :) 

Lit Festival 2013

This year's Literature Festival followed in the footsteps of last year's, as well as the previous year's, with a rainy day and fascinating people. This time around we heard from five different authors and I thought I'd share a few notes on each. . .

Claudia Mills
bubbly : loves candy and named her cat Snickers : has been coming to the festival for 15 to 20 years : dedicated her book Trading Places to the festival : says that every story needs a problem : writes from memories and stories her boys brought home from school : researched at what temperature a pickle explodes for her book Fractions = Trouble : is a philosophy professor at the University of Colorado : drinks Swiss Miss hot chocolate while writing about 1 page a day : has published about 50 books in 30 years

David L. Harrison
has come to the festival since 1978 : comes to see old friends and meet the kids reading his books : is 76 years old and has been writing since age 22 : appreciates that writing is a life skill: lives in Springfield, Missouri : says rhymes "trip off the tongue" : had mother who typed letters to friends in couplets : took as much science as he could in college, then took a creative writing class in which his teacher encouraged him to become a writer : tried for 6 years to become a writer : was accepted on 87th try : was also professional trombone player : wrote book Connecting Dots full of poetry about his childhood

Darlene Bailey Beard
3rd year to come to the festival : fell in love with writing in the 5th grade : was inspired by her teacher who made her write a story with her 20 spelling words each Monday : collected bandaids to wear so kids would talk to her about how she got "injured" : didn't feel shy while telling stories : dedicated book The Pumpkin Man to her 5th grad teacher : keeps an idea file with names and newspaper clippings : her book Annie Glover is NOT a Tree Lover was inspired by a newspaper clipping of a 67 year old lady chained to a tree, as well as a picture of three skydivers dressed as Elvis : calls the 5 senses a writer's toolbox : says to read your work backwards to edit it- last paragraph to first paragraph

Kelly Milner Halls
self-proclaimedly "weird" : was told by her 3rd grade teacher she would be a good writer, but didn't decide to be one until working on her high school newspaper : was given a doll every birthday when she was little, but always enjoyed catching critters better : has a pug, great dane, and rock lizard : rock lizard is named Gigantor, is 4 feet long, and has a cage that replaced the dining room table : has written 1, 600 articles : has gone on ghost hunts, collected the evidence, and written about it : said "research is like a treasure hunt- you never know what you will find"

Roderick Townley
noticeably tall : greeted the group by saying "Wow, I'm really happy to see you, all your amazing faces" : has written seven children's novels, all about quests : says we all have quests, and his is to save his stories by writing them : lives in Kansas City with his wife, who is also a writer : his book The Great Good Thing started as a bedtime story for his wife : daydreamer who writes down ideas and listens to his characters

Hoping that books by these authors make their way to my nightstand. . .

Close Encounters

We began the day driving into Wyoming (another new state to us). . . 

We were impressed with the visitors center. . . 

We headed to Devils Tower National Monument (made famous by the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind- I've never seen the movie, and am not a fan of aliens, but an curious about it now) . . . 

We marveled at the gigantic rock. . .

We drove right by a field of prairie dogs. . .

And we kept driving, back to South Dakota, then on to North Dakota. I did a lot more knitting, and finished listening to The Hunger Games  (As a side note: I was very curious about the story and saw the potential for an incredible good vs. evil battle. Upon reading it I did see and appreciate sacrificial love that was shown, but was not satisfied with the book as a whole. Though there were glimpses of good being greater, I felt that the characters didn't grow and the Capitol was a kind of rotten god who had the ultimate power. I have begun reading the second book, and am interested to see if the series ties things up well. Overall, I think it has a lot worthy of discussion and would love to hear any thoughts you have on it.) I also listened to music. . .  

While stopping at a gas station, we spotted a pony. . .

We drove by fields and hills and heavy clouds that seemed to touch the ground. . . 

We entered Theodore Roosevelt National Park in 58 degree weather and dodged drops of rain. . .

We admired the North Dakota Badlands. . .

We saw a bison way off in the distance (so, not a technically close encounter, but close enough :). . .

We saw the sky grow bright again. . .

I untangled and wound grey yarn. . . 

And we ate a late dinner at a Texas road house in Montana (ironically, we had eaten at one in South Dakota the last two nights- turns out they are helpful with food allergies). . .

So we didn't really encounter any danger, but we're getting closer to the North West- one state, park, monument, gas station, restaurant, and day at a time. Blessings~ Megan 

Beautiful Story

Taking in life as it unfolds and continuing my gratitude list. . . 

877. eating breakfast outside

878. peppermint growing in a pot on our deck

879. beetle at ballet officially smashed with a flip flop

880. dance costumes labeled

881. Youngest Sister reading on the patio swing

882. Hebrew National hotdogs

883. smooth first dress rehearsal

884. time to recover later

885. swimming in the morning

886. watering the tomato plant with the teapot

887. insight on story in A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller 

888. a certain T-shirt coming in the mail (more on that to come. . . ) 

889. practicing cartwheels in the backyard 

890. full, glowing moon 

Blessings~ Megan

Pouring Rain, Books, and Beauty

Last week we went to a literature festival, driving past fields of green. . .

We parked and walked from building to building, hearing from authors and illustrators. . .

I took notes while listening to Jeanette Ingold, Stephanie Tolan, Henry Cole, Leslie J. Wyatt, and Ard Hoyt. . . 

I admired a particularly fascinating tree. . . 

I appreciated this bit of sunshine on the ground, especially as it was a rainy day. . . 

I laughed as I ran through the ran and my umbrella flipped inside out. . . 

 and I took pictures from my seat in the car as we came home and beauty whooshed by. . .

because the path keeps curving and there is so much to see at every now. . .

Blessings~ Megan

Balancing Act

Responsibilities with school and dance
pull at me from different sides,
proving balance tricky to maintain.
But, in the midst of it,
I am finding that these challenges pull me up,
to the One who steadies all.
A wonderful place to be
anytime.

Continuing my gratitude list. . . 

710. comfortable walking weather

711. ballet songs running through my head

712. love

713. a smooth week of school

714. creating collages with friends

715. learning how to do a gel transfer

716. long nap on Saturday-- unusual for me, but very helpful

717. ballet shoes turning grey from use

718. new episodes of True Jackson VP available to watch instantly with Netflix

719. going to a piano concert with my dad for the second week in a row

720. driving on a real road for the first time

721. my dad teaching me patiently

722. a blast at this concert 

725. enjoying Laura Story's testimony, Mandisa's dancing, and both of their beautiful voices

724. camera working after issues with the lens

725. rain clearing the air

Blessings~ Megan

Blurry Beginnings

The beginning of school has always been blurry to me. Homeschooling has allowed us to ease into subjects and routine. It's a process similiar to getting in cold water at the swimming pool-- it takes time to get used to, but eventually becomes refreshing. 

This school year something changed. I wasn't able to wade into subjects. The stakes grew higher, the work harder, and the time I had went quicker. Curricula filled with books, questions, and answers pushed me into the murky waters of high school.  

Slowly the waters are becoming clearer. I'm getting more and more comfortable with the change, but I am still trying to work out some kinks. Until then I am glad that my Multitude Monday can blur into Thursday. 

Again counting my gratitude after a few good, but blurry weeks of activity. . . . .

493. homemade granola bars

494. a new lunchbox, needed a lot this past month

495. running outside, barefoot

496. two pitchers of water with lemon in the refrigerator-- one for my mom, and one for me!

497. a hard teacher who made me grow

498. security in God

499. dance. I have always really enjoyed it, but this dance intensive made me see how much I love it.

500. time at home

501. warm walnut bread with dinner

502. my very own laptop

503. friends moving here from "across the pond"

504. swimming in a lake for the first time

505. watermelon

506. watching The Next Food Network Star via Hulu 

507. swimming with good friends

508. this cream helping to heal my first (and last) sunburn of the summer

509. school starting

510. routine back in place

511. reading about the Gospels (this book gives fascinating insight!)

512. dinner at Dean & Deluca last Friday night-- a nice ending to a long week

513. taking a peek at the dessert display there

Definitely worth seeing. . . 

514. eating the "globes" Middle Sister and Youngest Sister baked using vanilla cake mix, food coloring, and white frosting when we got home

515. the way geography and baking can work together deliciously

516. cucumber plant curly cues

517. rain watering for us

518. Youngest Sister baptized!

519. being on track with school

and, most of all,

520. renewed focus

~Megan