After my dog-training class this evening a woman asked if I was a teacher, or a writer. I accepted being called a writer and asked where she got that idea.She said she has “a sense about these things,” and connected it to my choice of words when I spoke.

“Listening to you talk, I figured if you weren’t, you could be.”

I found it complementary, though I can’t say exactly why.

~

It made me think of a conversation I had before I started blogging (I wrote a lot of e-mails in those days).

I was discussing the idea of writing as a second language with a friend at church, and he said something along the lines of, “You must be really fluent then, because you sound just the same in your e-mail as you do in person.”

This probably applies to my blogging now.

Again, I felt pleased that my “voice” was so consistent.

Though, honestly, one really ought to verify an item is something of quality before being pleased at its easy recognition ;)

Have you ever heard people debating the “unity candle” part of a wedding?

The debate seems to hinge on the question of whether to blow out the two individual candle (implying, I think, the extinguishing of self in the creation of the new “us”), or leaving them lit (letting the individual continue to exist along with the new entity of “us”).

~ ~ ~

At my wedding I received so many admonitions, cards, and printed sentiments warning me not to “lose my individuality” in this marriage, that I was rather shocked. Did people really think I could stop being who I am?

Last fall I thought of these as I wrote the card that was to go with a wedding present. I didn’t keep the words for me, but it went something like this:

Dear [Bride and Groom],

I am so delighted for you and your new life together. Marriage is so wonderful, and I hope you love it.

You may be getting all sorts of warnings and advice about “guarding your individuality” as you transition into this life-sharing that is marriage.

I would urge you to ignore it. You both have had more than 25 years experience doing that. It is your default, instinctual response to any situation. I truly believe your relationship and future will be better served by cultivating and guarding your “oneness.”…

I don’t know about you other wives out there, but in nearly seven years together I’ve become more like my husband, and that is a good thing.

~

For our first dance, Jay and I danced a very fast four-count swing (I don’t know anybody normal who’s heard of this outside of AK) to the song, We Rejoice in the Grace of God.  Jay was very good, and even surprised me by posturing for the applause.

We learned this type of swing dancing before we were engaged, with one of my (eventual) bridesmaids. Apparently his family didn’t know he could dance.  One uncle went to my mom and said, “She does good things for him!” Mom said, I imagine very seriously, “It goes both ways.”

~

God makes each soul unique. If he had no use for all these differences I do not see why he should have created more souls than one.

C.S. Lewis

The Bible reminds us we were created in the image of God. That’s my theory as to why there are so many of us– to show more facets of our creator than any of us could display individually.

For this reason I don’t believe God is calling us to disappear into a blob of non-identity. But neither do I feel that is so much a possibility that it needs to be specifically guarded against.

Our tendency is so much more to jealously guard our rights, when we are told that true love is laying down our lives for one another.

~

We didn’t do a unity candle at my wedding, since we didn’t want to deal with the many guests’ interpretations of an unexplained symbolic act.  If we were to do it now, I think we would both blow out our candles.

I’m cheating. This is not a post about what to do (or get your kids to do) to avoid boredom. It is a reference to an earlier post that talks more about the substance of boredom. What is boredom? Where did it come from?

I understand if you don’t want to think (abstractly?) this time of year. I hear that’s normal. Maybe the heat…? ;-)

Anyway, it is an interesting perspective (not my own, originally, it’s an excerpt from a book) and I hope you click over if the idea intrigues you.

Be sure to visit Rocks in my Dryer for a sandbox of unique ideas for summer.

Blessings on your day!

• I have a storytelling gig tomorrow afternoon (for Blueberry Baby‘s grand re-opening in their new location) and have not practiced. Really.

(Sorry, Lara– I’ll try to be ready. Jay says I have enough in my back pocket already. We’ll find out, I suppose.)

• I totally revised my picture book manuscript yesterday.
• I also went through and found a number a publishers for a second round of multiple submissions
  • My “everything” envelopes (with the cover letter, SASE and Mss.) is just over 1-oz. on my little danglie scale, and I have no un-wasteful way to make postage for that size.
  • So I will be bringing three small children to stand in line at the post office today (hmmm, maybe this will be a chance to practice my stories…)

Ah, yes. Nothing like practicing voices in a postal checkout line to make self-awareness race in laps like a snake inside your gut.

I don’t know how a self-conscious person like me ends up with a singing voice or a story heart.

Right. To stretch me. Whoopie.

Oh! And I’ve got sewing on the brain for the first time in *many* months.

I’m still in the R & D stage, but I may be making some stuffed toys to sell at Blueberry Baby.

I’m still designing the pattern (in my head, so far).

Before I could actually put pen to paper I had to get to a stopping spot in my writing– hence yesterday’s accomplishments.

My goal is to find a design that will be simple enough to be time- and cost- effective while still being a unique and identifiable species.

~

The kids and I spent a few hours yesterday morning at my cousin-in-law’s place.

She watched the girls while I worked detail-stuff upstairs with Elisha nearby.

Great system I think I’ll be using again. (Hers were the boys I watched that day I was so productive.)

If I can get the house whipped together (enough) this morning, I might try some actual pattern-drafting during nap-time.

I’m excited at the possibilities.

I came across this series of articles written by Lara at The Lazy Organizer and liked them so much I wanted to link them here (so I can find them again when I need the reminder):

All about including children in cleaning-up.  But more than that too.  So much good stuff.  Go.  Read.  (Dream of the day your child/ren will be old enough for this to apply.)

• Part I, Whose Job is It?
  
• Part II, Getting Rid of the Clutter
• Part III, Let Them Help
• Part IV, It Takes Time
• Part V, Work Together
• Part VI, Learn to Practice
• Part VII, Make it Easy

The emphasis is on training now, so they’ll be equipped later– not having to figure out on their own so much of the stuff we (even 2nd and 3rd generation!) young homemakers have been working toward.

It’s funny.  I did every kind of job while I was at home, so I wasn’t unprepared that way, but I still had no idea how to put it all together– how to make it regular or automatic (or efficient!).

These are the things I’m trying to catch-up on now, and I imagine the great value it would be to help my children learn  (as Lara puts it so well) while they’re young and have so many fewer distractions.

Its the same principle behind music practice and scripture-memory in childhood, really.

Now if I could only pull myself and my desires into order.  That would make all these lessons more effective…