My Life: The Soundtrack

Next month, Andy and I will be moving to a different part of the city. We're shacking up with our good friends the Campbells in preparation for our eventual move to Australia. In order to prepare for this, we've spent some time sorting through all of the crap boxes in our basement. On Thursday, we decided to tackle our CD collection. Since Andy is a musician and lover of all things music, I knew this was an undertaking of epic proportions. Still, I had no idea that it would literally take all weekend. When we started, things looked something like this:

Imagine this, but multiply it times a million.

  

After several days of work, this is the new state of our music collection:

This makes me breathe much easier!

No Suitable Title

I received word yesterday that a former student committed suicide over the weekend. She was only 15.

I wonder what happened during her short life that made her want to check out so early. I wonder if she showed warning signs that were somehow missed. I wonder what we all could have done to show her how precious she was, and how the evils that she had experienced were worth fighting against. I wonder what it would have taken to make her want to choose life.

Today I am sad.

Revelation of the Day

There are people in my life who would love to help me feel my way through my sadness. However, that isn't possible at the moment. Not because of others, but because of my inability to allow myself to enter into any sort of feeling that isn't controlled.  

The problem here is me.

This revelation brought to you by the letter H, as in "humility". And "hope".

A Day in the Life

On my agenda for today:
1. Drink lots of coffee (check)
2. Continue reading The Return of the King (check)
3. Enjoy a visit with my friend Kara (check)
4. Watch World Cup final (partial check)
5. Go see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 with Cindi
6. Go eat Ethiopian food at Meskerem on South Grand

On Andy's agenda for today:
1. Drink lots of coffee (check)
2. Listen to music (check)
3. Love wife by dropping off items at Goodwill, so she doesn't have to (check)
4. Watch World Cup final (partial check)
5. Drink lots of water (partial check) in preparation for #6
6. Go see U2. Sweat a lot. Drink beer.

This is how we roll.

The Essentials

My happy feet hanging out by the pool. Ah, summer.

This picture was taken while laying by my parents’ pool on a recent visit to Kentucky. There’s a lot going on here, so I’m going to make a list. Here goes:

The pool - Growing up with a pool in the backyard probably was a huge contributor to my love for swimming. There is no better feeling than taking a dip in the water after sitting in the hot summer sun. Here’s the thing though: I’m not a particularly elegant swimmer. I have lots of stamina in the pool and can tread water for a very long time, but I never took swimming lessons. As a kid, my dad learned to swim when someone tossed him in a pond shouting, "you better learn!" He learned pretty quick, and many years later became my swim instructor. My dad never tossed me into the pool like that, but I never learned the proper techniques for all the different strokes. I also never learned how to dive properly. My siblings and I used to have daily pool contests: smallest splash, biggest splash, best dive, best flip, etc. I often won the biggest splash because my gangly limbs simply went everywhere. The same principle meant that I always had the ugliest dive. Imagine a frog jumping into the water. That’s pretty much how it looks. Swimming with me is undignified, which is what I love about the pool.

At a Loss for Words

Two posts in less than 24 hours. I know, right?

I’ve been thinking about words today. Words...language...communication...expression. All of those things have immeasurable worth to me. I am a teacher by trade, and clear communication is essential. I taught English for four years. When I got my first teaching job, I was told that part of the reason was because I was very articulate. Apart from my profession, I’m an avid reader and a good writer. Words...kind of a big deal.

Recently I’ve been exploring some tough issues with my counselor. It’s been a laborious battle, and one that I would often rather not fight. I feel weak and weary, and a bit lost. It’s changed my perception of my closest relationships and also my perception of who I am. It is both helpful and heartrending, all at the same time. There is no suitable metaphor, except to say that most days I feel as if I walk into her office, sit on the couch, and open a vein. Just when I think I’ve (mercifully) bled out, I find that there’s still much, much more blood that needs to be spilled. It feels never ending. It isn’t never ending, but it feels that way.

Listmania

Payton and I during my visit to Mayfield. She thinks her Uncle Missy is very entertaining. 

Hi. I’ve been busy.

I have some feet pictures to upload, but I’m currently visiting my in-laws in Louisville and I forgot the cord to my camera.

What have I been up to? So glad you asked.

1. Master’s classes - I took about two weeks and did literally nothing but write papers and lesson plans for the two classes I’m taking this summer. I was given all of the assignments for the entire summer, so I decided I would rather get them all done at once and not have it hanging over my head each week. I finished one class already, and have only one paper to go in the other.
2. Hanging out with friends - My friend Hannah moved to Chattanooga last week, so I spent a lot of time with her before they left town. I enjoy the freedom of summer; if a friend wants to get a drink at 10:00pm, I can do it without having to think about how tired I’ll be at school the next day. I’ve been doing a lot of spontaneous lunch/dinner/drink dates. It’s good to catch up with everyone.
3. Cleaning my house - I have two cats. They have fur. You see where this is heading.
4. Visiting family - I was in Mayfield last week to see friends and family, and I’m currently in Louisville. Mayfield was fun; I was able to see just about everyone in only one visit, which doesn’t often happen. The visit included food, drinks by the pool, blueberry picking with my friends, and time with my family.
5. Baking - I recently discovered an excellent cooking blog called "How Sweet It Is". I’ve been baking with some of her recipes. You can check it out here.

Events on the agenda for the rest of the summer:

1. Various medical appointments - I like to get these things out of the way during the summer so I don’t have to worry about them during the school year.
2. Visit to Houston - I gotta see my girl Liz.
3. Solitude retreat - This is just a possibility. I really want to do it, but feel like I’m running out of time. I have quite a bit on my mind and would love some quiet time in the woods to read, write, and pray. I hope to visit Mary the Font Solitude toward the end of the month.
4. A brief trip to Chattanooga - I think my friend Jonathan and I might go to see our friends Hannah and Adam. Perhaps.
5. Moving - God willing. I have a suspicion that this won’t actually happen until school starts. And likely on the hottest day of the year.
6. Seeing some movies - Bad Teacher, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, The Help, and Larry Crowne are on the list.

And at some point I need to figure out how I’m going to teach my school newspaper class. Meh.