Happy holidays to you

No matter your faith, no matter your color,

This holiday season’s about loving each other!

Whether Christmas or Kwanza, Hanukkah or Festivus,

Let this holiday season bring out the best in us!

Happy holidays from my house!  I wish you good cheer!

A good holiday to all, and a happy new year!

- written by a new friend who wishes to remain anonymous

(This is a more concise and poetic version of what I have tried to say at various times - about what this holiday season means to me. "War on Christmas? Bah humbug" is one of my long-winded versions of a similar sentiment.)

Global culture - and rice and curry

Rice and curry - Yum!

Takes me back to my childhood when a family from India visited our little town. The wife offered to cook an Indian meal for us so my mom took her to the store to TRY to find the necessary ingredients. And so I had my first taste of rice and curry. 

...

Fast forward a few years to when I was introduced to my husband’s aunt and her version of African rice and curry. She had lived in Africa for 40 years and her recipe quickly became a favorite of mine. She often made rice and curry for big family dinners - much to my delight!

Fast forward again to the present time...  




Rice and curry - Indian style again.

Diwali Night in the Grand Ballroom at UM-Flint

We were treated to a cultural extravaganza of song and dance and beautiful Indian fashion - AND rice and curry. 

What a fun evening!  How cool to hang out with such beautiful people.

Pretty much all my life I’ve been drawn to people from other cultures and particularly International students. I have such fond memories from my childhood of students from Africa that my aunt and uncle used to bring to family gatherings. Oh, the exciting stories.

Through the years my wish to hang out with people from other countries has intensified. I am convinced that exposure to other cultures is one of the coolest things that can happen to a person - of any age. 

The memories of those guys from Africa who came to our family gatherings with my cousins have stuck with me to this day. Because of those encounters we chose to be intentional about finding ways to welcome Internationals into our family as well. Oh, how fun it is to have friends on six continents!

...

And NOW…

One of the things that attracted us to our current location was the proximity to the universities in Flint where lots of Internationals study. Getting to know some of them has been one of our top goals. And that is how we ended up at Diwali Night.  What a privilege to enjoy this celebration of one of their biggest cultural events, the Festival of Light.

I am thrilled to have made this connection with International students - first when they gave us henna tattoos at the Flint Farmers’ Market and now at Diwali Night. 

This event also provided connections with students from other countries as well - so I'm hopeful that this is just the beginning.  In fact, I just learned that there might be a chance to include some new friends in our Thanksgiving plans again.  Wouldn't that be fun?  Sorta' like old times! 

...

I guess I had some pretty good insight when I was a kid.  I thought it was just about the coolest thing ever to know somebody from another country.

Sure enough. 

Now I know it is.

I also know what a privilege it is. And I am grateful.

Where's the magic? I wonder

I’ve been wondering about something.

And I’ve been noticing some things.

I’ve noticed that sometimes we get all passionate and loud about things at election time. We vehemently proclaim that this one particular thing is THE MOST IMPORTANT thing.  That nothing else matters as much as this particular thing.

We get so passionate about THAT THING that we will go against our own better judgment on other very important things.

I think I get that - although it seems to me to be an unfortunate way to live.

I wonder if we are missing something.

I wonder if we are being unwise and untrue to our own conviction when we use this "all or nothing" approach.  When we put all of our hope and faith in one person or one party.

...

Yep, I wonder about things.

That's a big part of what this blog is about.

You are welcome to listen in to some of my wonderings, but I should probably warn you that this one might get a little long.  Because yah, I seem to be wondering about complicated things lately. Things that don't have simple solutions.

I wonder for example about those of us who are pro-life. We celebrate the sanctity of human life and we might say that this is THE most important issue - so important that we even consider putting someone in office that otherwise we really do NOT want. Someone that we would be ashamed to tell our grandkids we voted for.

I wonder about other examples - like Black Lives Matter. I could wonder if this is THE MOST IMPORTANT issue - and can understand that it IS for many people. I can even understand how someone could be so passionate about this that they can barely think about anything else.

Or maybe my issue is the refugee dilemma.  Maybe we believe that welcoming refugees needs to be a top priority. Maybe we believe that it is foundational to who America is. Or maybe we believe that we have a Biblical mandate to welcome the alien and refugee.

...

I get it. 

I get that we can become pretty passionate about the issues that we think are the most important ones.  And I think that’s a good thing.

But the thing I wonder about is how we can get so passionate and so loud about our most important issue at one time of the year - and yet at other times of the year we don’t seem to be doing anything about that issue.  

Do we think that the ballot box is magic? 

Do we think it is the only place to connect with that “thing” - and to pour out our passion? 

Are we maybe even a little bit happy to “forget” about that passion and tension the rest of the year?

But then there’s something else I wonder about.  

What about the fact that we sometimes collectively elect “the right person” that is supposed to fix this thing - but then it doesn’t get fixed? What happened to the magic?

By the way, I’m preaching to myself here.  I’ve been around this election cycle a few times. Well, and I’ve lived similar cycles in my own life. My own personal priorities. I can generate passion and lots of noise and determination for a season - only to realize months later that I’ve lost the passion or have forgotten to follow-through - or at least that the magic didn’t happen.  

...

Maybe I mostly wonder if there is anything that we can do about it all.

Are there other ways to “fix the problem” beyond that one moment? 

Other avenues besides (and alongside) the voting booth?

...

Okay; let's take these examples one at a time...

I remember a long, long time ago when I was a loud pro-lifer and was confronted by a couple different people who quietly challenged me and the harshness of my words. That was probably when I began to wonder if there were other ways to make a difference.  Maybe even better ways.

Back in those days, our wonderings led us to challenge ourselves. To do some research. To take some risks. To fill our house with kids who needed a family.  

But now at this moment I wonder again. I wonder what else I can do to value the sanctity of human life. I’m not up to taking in any more foster kids, but maybe I can find ways to reach out to the single moms in our building.  I can offer words of encouragement to the frazzled mom with a bunch of kids in Walmart rather than express my silent impatience with her or them.

What about you? If you consider yourself pro-life, what can you do besides that one moment in the voting booth?  Because here’s the thing.  If we find a whole bunch of other things (or even one or two!) that we can do to protect human life…  AND if we actually DO them… Well, do you know what? We can do those “other” things NO MATTER who gets elected. And maybe... Probably... that's where the magic comes.

…

Or what about my other examples?

Maybe we passionately believe that black lives matter.  

I wonder what we can do about that.

I DO believe that black lives matter and my heart is crushed about the fear and the agony and pain facing black mommas across the country. Well, and not just black mommas, but also white mommas with black sons.  I am saddened about the hopelessness that so many black teenagers face and I wish that I could make things better.  I know that so many things don’t work, and I can’t help but wonder what WILL work. 

More specifically, I wish I knew something that I can do personally. After living in white farm country all my life, I now live where I actually see black faces in my neighborhood and at the store, but still I wonder.  I often feel clueless.  As I’m out for my walk, I watch for opportunities to bump into my neighbors and wish I could find ways to reach out to them. Sometimes I “rehearse” kind things that maybe I can say. Yah, maybe I’m silly, and I sure feel like I'm not doing much, but I want to make a difference. To affirm value.

What about you?

Do you live in circumstances where you can make a difference for black lives? 

Have you found ways to reach out and lift someone from discouragement or fear?

Maybe we can teach each other. 

I wonder.

…

And what about those refugees?

When we see the bruised and bloody faces on TV, it can be so overwhelming.

What in the world can we do?

How can we help?

When I feel like I can’t make a dent in this horrific mess, I sometimes have to remind myself that maybe I can make a difference to one. And maybe to another. 

Maybe I can speak a kind word to the girl wearing the beautiful hijab at the Farmers’ Market.

Maybe I can offer a chair or a smile.

When I read about ex-pat families who are driven out of their homes because of the relentless bullying and even violence, I wonder what in the world I can do. 

And so I continue to think and ponder and wonder.

I can watch for faces and listen for accents that are different than mine and try to offer human kindness.

I remember what it feels like to be the ex-pat.

That feeling of being a spectacle. All. The. Time.

An outsider.

May I never forget.

I want to do what I can to welcome those in exile.

But I make mistakes.

Goofs. Big ones

Faux pas

But hopefully I do more to make people feel welcome and affirmed and valued than I do to make them feel like outsiders.  Hopefully.

Certainly one moment in a voting booth is not going to be magic.

Maybe the only way to make the magic happen is to do it in real time.

In real life.

Maybe we can find one REAL thing we can actually DO to make a difference in the area that we think is so important. 

To make the world a better place for one of these human lives that we are passionate about.

To be a real-life super-hero...

…

Remember that I’m mostly talking to myself here.

Wondering. Pondering.
But maybe you wonder, too.
Maybe you can help me think of things that I/we can actually do.

When I hear myself saying that I am passionate about “this” or "that"…

When I notice myself getting worked up about whether my candidate will win…

When I begin to tune out heart-breaking news stories because I feel overwhelmed…

I wonder…

I wonder what I can do. Besides the voting booth.

I wonder who I can help.

I wonder how I can at least promote civil discussion.

I wonder if I can be a catalyst to find common ground so that we can work together.

We might say it is the least we can do, but I wonder if maybe it is the best thing.

The best place to start.

Because I probably can’t do much by myself.

Maybe you feel like you can’t make a difference.

But what if we keep talking and listening?

What if we work together?

Maybe that’s where the magic is.

I wonder…

Walkable

We just walked to a movie.

We walked to a movie.

That may not sound like a big deal, but it kind of feels like it for me.
Well, at least it seems like a fun thing.

I suppose it has something to do with reading and hearing stories about people who used to walk to the movies in their childhood.  I couldn’t quite imagine that. It was hard to picture what that would have been like - maybe because I wasn’t even allowed to WATCH movies when I was a kid, but probably mostly because I lived out in the boonies where we couldn’t walk to anything.  Well, except to our one-room country school over a mile away.  Well, and half a mile down to my uncle’s place to get our ice cream from their freezer because we didn’t have one.  Wait; did we really do that? Was that really true or am I embellishing that memory?

But yes, I have lived out in the country on a farm six miles from the nearest town for pretty much all my life. 'Twas a good life. A great life even. But we weren't exactly within walking distance of many conveniences.  

All of that has changed in recent years and especially in our current situation.

We are now within walking distance of lots of things.  We have excellent walking options in all directions really.

First there is...

The little plaza across the street 

...which is a skeleton of what it used to be, but still offers several conveniences and services. We like all three of the restaurants - Classic Coney Island, the Clio Roadhouse, and O-Graydee's.  Good food, great prices.

We walked to the consignment store when searching for dining chairs.

When we run out of milk or eggs or snacks, we can walk to Dollar General.

Bob likes the convenience of having a UPS store so handy.

We haven't yet indulged in Extreme Indoor Kart Racing but I bet we will as an antidote to cabin fever once winter weather sets in. The Fitness Center is also right there waiting for us when we can no longer take the frozen temps outside.

AND the theater. When we first moved here we had been told that the movie theater was closed but we later discovered that that is no longer the case. They are open and show some fun flicks - at old-time prices!  Yay! What a fun surprise.

Down the sidewalk to the east:

And speaking of theaters, there is also a community theater offering new productions every couple months - just a couple doors over.

We can walk to the Senior Center to play a piano or an organ or to buy lunch for two dollars!

And the library which is one of the first things I check out in a new community. Yep, it is within walking distance - only half a mile from home.

To the park and downtown and beyond:

The city park has several playground areas, three picnic pavilions and fitness trails that head off in several directions. In fact, if you pick the right one you can end up at Dairy Queen. Yes, we have done that. Walking back home burns off the calories.

We can walk to the restored train depot museum and to the cool old downtown buildings. My favorite is the quaint hardware store with three jam-packed sections.  What a glorious hodgepodge! It reminds me of Barden’s Hardware in Kingston and Schlichter’s in Marlette.  Fun times.  I like the rows and rows of gift items and nifty dishes and kitchen supplies. Oh, and this one has numerous wind-chimes and I can’t help but sample the lovely low-tones. Mmmm… 

The toy section rivals at least some of the toy aisles at Walmart with an impressive array of blocks and puzzles and other educational games and toys. I like that. Ooh; Christmas shopping within walking distance; how fun is that?!?  I might feel like I’m at the Olsons’ Mercantile in Walnut Grove.

Churches:

There are two of them right here beside and behind us.  Besides a variety of worship service styles and times and the daily serenade of church bells - which we enjoy hearing, they also provide playgrounds, ball fields and lots of walking pathways. Yes, we have taken advantage of all of these offerings. Now THERE's something else I had only heard of and imagined (and sung about!) before now: walking to church on a Sunday morning; walking and hearing the church bells chime.

Also we have just discovered that we can walk as far as VG's and the Brough Bakery when the weather is nice.  Yum!

Walkability

While I very much loved living out in the country, I've also always been a bit fascinated with the idea of living in town where you can walk to things. Sure enough we do love our little town and one of the reasons is its walkability.  We often shake our heads and marvel about being within such easy walking distance of the library, shopping for necessities, THREE restaurants, parks and playgrounds for our grandkids and abundant hiking options.

And then, to top it all off, the surprise discovery that this little theater is indeed open again and that we can walk to "the movies"... Well, that's just bonus. I had never thought to add "walking to the movies" to my bucket list, but it turns out to be rather fun!

Fragile & scary...

Perspective

Friends along the Florida coast…

One whose baby was due yesterday

Another whose baby had surgery yesterday and is on a feeding tube

Medical apparatus and technological advances

Wonderful things, but they run on electricity

…

Hundreds and thousands of Haitians

Still living in temporary housing since the earthquake 

Nowhere to take shelter

No resources for the aftermath of this storm

…

Wow.

Just wow.

…

And yet I can get all upset if someone disagrees with my viewpoint

Yep

Perspective