It is now February. My toes and fingers are numb with cold and I can hardly type --not 'cause it's overly freezing out, but because it's warm enough to stay out too long playing in the snow and not realize you're wet and cold. It's actually beautifully sunny!
But last month... last month was wintery. Not just in weather, (though definitely some of that) but in heaviness of heart. So much work and so many details kept Dave and I from playing much, but it was important work, noble work. It was teaching. January is especially heavy educationally at Rosebud School of the Arts because there is no show or Mercantile work. The course load for my Faith and Art class was almost double, and my drama ministry class is much larger than before which calls for a more complicated matrix of dates, balanced opportunities, and readying scripts.
I have enjoyed writing and organizing the first three services for drama ministry, and now I'm excited to turn some leadership and playwriting over to the students and see what they come up with . I've been pleased so far.
The mentorship students are now in New York, so this week I only have drama ministry, coaching and choir. -What I haven't done for too long now is write my play and that feels bad. But I must balance that thought with how much focus I gave the sometimes invisible work of teaching.
I asked for prayer in church yesterday for all the staff and parents in Rosebud that we would have discernment and courage in asking students to continue looking deeply at the hard questions. I want us to be wise and loving and I can quickly get exhausted when I feel judged by a student rather than received.
So it is with frequent sighs I continue to grieve a loss of connection with some, but renew my courage to keep responding to my conscience and check that my vision is clear.
I have had some good luck with making bread from fresh ground whole wheat. My last batch rose so high it lifted the lid! That reminds of mom and her sisters talking about Grandma Armfield's dough that would lift off a 2" wood block while they were at church and come home to the wood lying on the floor. I can picture mom and Aunt Roberta and Aunt Pat telling me the story right now and showing me with their fingers the width of the board: "It was THAT thick!"
I also made molasses cookies again and this time I put chocolate chips on top in smiley faces. I would have made chocolate or peanut butter cookies, but there was no butter in the house! We scraped by for about four days without butter, milk, cream or eggs. Then I broke down and got some at the tiny market in town for twice as much as I pay in Drum.
We had a nice family time swimming in Drum Saturday night and then after we were all craving onion rings and ice cream (Well, Dave and Weston had cheeseburgers and Donovan a hot dog and I had onion rings with Dave) so we went to Dairy Queen after. It was not very healthy, but it was so good and it was fun because we rarely do things like that. The boys went to bed late that night, but slept well.
I just finished reading to them "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH". Great story. They were so intrigued. -I'd seen the movie a few times, but it had been years since I heard the book. I was so glad to get re-acquainted with the details of the real story. Fascinating.
So... my son is home and NEEDS the computer he tells me.
Ta ta for now!
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