Boring Love

Lately, I've been carving out time in the wee hours of the night to read some interesting books that are causing me to look at relationships and love in a whole new way.  It is funny that I should be doing this now, at what should be the busiest time during the semester in wrapping up the course I'm teaching and putting on the finishing touches of my dissertation defense in less than two months.  However, strange travel directions are dancing lessons from God and I'm just going to roll with it.  Back to tonight, as I took a break from dissertating, I came across this beautiful posting that you can read here.   You can also hear some nice music (if the classical genre is your thing) as you read.  ;)

If you don't have time to read the whole posting, see below for some of my favorite words from this thought-provoking article.  Yes, give me boring love over head over heels love any day.

How a man proposes isn’t what makes him romantic. It’s how a man purposes to lay down his life that makes him romantic.
 
And a man begins being romantic years before any ring – romance begins with only having eyes for one woman now – so you don’t go giving your eyes away to cheap porn. Your dad will say it sometimes to me, a leaning over – “I am glad that there’s always only been you.” Not some bare, plastic-surgeon-scalpel-enhanced pixels ballooning on a screen, not some tempting flesh clicked on in the dark, not some photo-shopped figment of cultural beauty that’s basically a lie.

The real romantics know that stretchmarks are beauty marks and that different shaped women fit into the different shapes of men souls and that real romance is really sacrifice.

Grown up Advent Calendar

 

Quick, someone go buy me 19 more bottles before December 1st so I can do this as my Advent Calendar this year.  Who's with me?!  ;)

Wise Words

Better Together

 

I came across a really interesting article tonight.  Below is an excerpt from it or if you want to read it  in its entirety, click here. 

For many women, getting married would seem just as miraculous. Praise God that He hasn't changed—He's still the same wonder-working God who walked with Peter on the water. He still does the unexpected. But we have to do our part. We have to keep our eyes on Him. In the process, He may change our attitudes, our expectations, our habits, our health—whatever needs changing. He can do anything—He's God. You can trust Him and count on Him. He is faithful.


When I read that part about the changing, it struck a chord in me.  The last 1,170 days (thanks Dad, for realizing that last night..ha!) have been nothing but change for me.  I've 177 days until I face yet another huge change.  178 days from now, I've no clue where the changes in my life will lead me.  Earlier today, my brother asked if I am going to babysit his children for the 7th consecutive summer.  I had to say I wasn't sure since I don't know if I will be employed, job hunting, or moving back to PA to live with my parents until I figure out what the next step is....?!  I'm not looking to walk on water or have a miracle happen; but knowing where I'm going next would be nice.  However, it's not time for me to know that yet.  Who knows what next month will bring?  Or next semester or tomorrow for that matter?!  

Yet, when reflecting on all of this, it all comes back to a six-letter word....c-h-a-n-g-e.  

However, something that will not change will be the reason why I've taken on some of the biggest changes of my life to date.  

I'm so excited about being able to teach and continue pursuing my line of research should I be given the opportunities to do so.  Yes, I hope to someday be a wife and mother but in the spirit of embracing my life as has been and as is, I'm thankful for all that I've been honored to have done not only during my time here in the South but also at my old job and everything I've done up to now. 

Someday my passion for family and love will come together when the timing is right and if it's what God wills.  If not, then I will continue serving as spiritual mother (look for an upcoming blog posting related to what I learned about that at NCSC back in September), friend, daughter, niece, and aunt.  

I would like to think this quote applies to all forms of love, not just the love between a husband a wife but also familial and friendship love because really..we're all better together don't you think?

Back to the Future!

Tonight, while chatting with my Dad, I made the comment that 177 days (and 40 minutes) remain until graduation.  He responded, "Yes, but 1,173 days already completed...3 years and 3 months".  Am I my father's daughter or what?  So, we wanted to figure out the actual number (he's a retired accountant) but I couldn't remember the actual first day's date.  So, I sifted through old emails and found this one.  I used to send updates to my friends back home before I got into the blogging..back when I used to have an inbox of 0 unread or needing to respond to messages.  It's funny to read these words as a first week doc student and think of my first impressions of the program.  So much has changed yet some thing don't change.  Enjoy this email blast from the past!

*  Please excuse the mass email...it was easier to send it this way than to email everyone individually...

Hi All,

I hope that everyone is doing well and wrapping up their summers with a bang! 

This past week was my first week of my assistantship at University of North Carolina Greensboro (UNCG).  The small office in which I work feels a lot like the LIU office I worked in...it is small with no windows.  There are 6 computers we share with each other.  So far, not all of us have been there at the same time so I've been able to use the same computer each day.  I've already had to do multiple projects and tasks for my 2 faculty I am a grad assistant for this semester.  

There are girls from all over the place in the program....Japan, Romania, North Carolina, etc.  There is only one other full time doctoral student in the program who is focusing on Special Ed.  She is a local married Mom of 2 and is expecting her 3rd baby in February.  Sheresa and I have bonded this past week since we have all of our classes together and are new.  She has an advantage in that she got her Master's here and has already taught a few classes at the college.  I'm told that there are a couple of part time doctoral students and now only one other Deaf Ed. student besides me.

There are 5 full time Master's girls as well.  We'll be working with them since this is a low number for both programs of students coming in..so we're sharing some of our faculty we work for (due to our assistantships) with them.  They're all local or within an hour's drive from campus.  The up side to the low numbers is that our stipends will be slightly higher than what we were told for this year.  The girl I share a professor with is really nice and pretty.  She just relocated from Greensboro (where school is) to High Point (where I now live).  She is working on her Master's in Special Ed.  Tiffany is the epitome of what I picture a Southern Belle to be and it's fun hearing her NC accent.  The professor we share is Dr. H.  It is his first year teaching here but he came to UNCG from teaching at Gallaudet University.  Yes, he is Deaf and I MUST use my horrible sign language skills to communicate w/ him.  I hope to learn a lot from him!  Tiffany knows no sign language and I suspect my advisor assigned us together so that I would have no choice but to use sign.  For those of you who sign, you should skype me so we can practice!    Anyhow, Tiffany and I both work 10 hours a week for Dr. H and then I work 10 hours a week for my advisor as well.  It'll be interesting to see how that arrangement works with having to make sure that each person only gets 10 hours.

Classes begin this coming Monday.  Tentatively, my work schedule will be

Mondays:  1-3pm, class from 4 to 7pm

Tuesdays:  10 - 3pm, classes from 4 to 7pm

Thursdays:  work 8:30 - 4:30pm.  

I left Fridays and Monday mornings open to try to complete my own work and classwork if I can't get it all done over the weekends because I'm told that come Monday, my time is no longer my own and life as I know it will change.  I got a sneak peek of what the courseload looks like for my Monday night class and yes, it's going to be a killer.  If that is all the work that is due for one class, I'm scared to think of what the work for the other 2 classes will look like on top of the research I have to be involved with (through the 2 faculty I work for) and carry out my own research....but there is nothing I can do about it right now.  So, I'll continue listening to Delilah on the radio with Dusty curled up in a ball asleep at my feet.  

Thanks for all the encouraging words and kind thoughts this past week as I started out on this new path last week.  The drive down on Saturday was really rough...I really wanted to just hop on 83 S instead of continuing down 81 S.  I think I still need prayers and good vibes sent my way so please keep them a comin'!  

Love, Meg

Remembrance Day / Thank you to our Vets!

Today I'm super duper thankful to our vets, near and far, for our freedom and the sacrifices they have made.  All of our vets, both those currently serving and in the past, deserve our utmost respect and thanks regardless of views on war, politics, & military action.

I wish I had pictures of my grandfather and Mom's uncles to share here but for now these ones of my Dad and my Uncle Johnny will do.

I can't get over the resemblance to my little brother here.  Countless times I have seen this smirk on Patrick's face.  Hehe.

My Dad looks so proud and happy in his uniform in this picture!

I think this was when we lived in Ohio...or was it Delaware?  How handsome my Dad was both in and out of uniform!  The other night, friends and I were chit chatting about childhood memories of our parents and what came to mind for me is how I loved to try to hold all of my Dad's fingers in my hands, which seemed impossible due to how big they were compared to mine.  One of my favorite childhood memories is how I would hold on to his finger (preferably his thumb) instead of his whole hand as you can see in this photo.  Ah to be small and not have a care in the world other than trying to grasp all of your Daddy's fingers in your tiny hands again!  I'm so lucky my father was spared and able to serve and be home with us unlike so many other young children who had to grow up without a parent...

This is a familiar hat; nine times out of ten Dad will have it perched on his head and I automatically think of him when I see other vets out and about wearing theirs.  This is one of my favorite pictures snapped on Father's Day in a quaint little mountain town we love to visit back home called Jim Thorpe.  We had just done a historical tour in the Asa Packer Mansion and were about to make our way back down the mountain to the square and train station when we snapped this photo.

Most recent picture from a visit to NC in Sept. 2013 ~ I'm so lucky to see my parents as often as I do (at least once every 6-8 weeks) while down here in NC.  I pray that this can continue when I land a job for next year...where oh where will I be though?!

Look at Uncle Johnny..he appears to be on a mission!  :)

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to all veterans, their families, and all who served in any shape, fashion, or form.

I know this video above I'm going to play for you is not related to US military but it contains one of my all time favorite singers and the message is the same regardless of country.  Let's all take a moment of remembrance and thank a vet not just today but every day!!!

P.S. --- Just learned this tidbit of info. thanks to a friend's status on Fb that she found on another Catholic blog post.  I couldn't say it any better than she so I hope she doesn't mind I put it here for you all to read as well.  Pax!

Veterans Day is an annual United States holiday honoring military veterans. In other countries, the day is celebrated as Armistice Day. It recalls the ending of World War I at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice.

However, there is a deeper, Catholic meaning to November 11. This day is the feast of Saint Martin (c. 316 – 397) – that godly hermit and bishop who had once been a soldier. Martin laid down the sword in order to live a life of peace and penance under the gentle yoke of Jesus Christ. St Martin is Europe’s chief example of the transition from soldier to saint; from war to peace.

Traditionally, November 11 had previously served as a day of signing peace treaties in honor of Saint Martin. Thus, it was fitting to end Europe’s Great War on this same day – the festival of Saint Martin of Tours. Saint Martin is the ultimate veteran – a veteran from Christ.

Saint Martin, patron of peace, pray for us.

Thank you to those who are/were willing to risk their lives for our nation's safety.

Thank you to those who champion for peace so that lives do not have to be put in harms way.

Thankful

November is upon us. 


My favorite month. 


My favorite holiday is 3 weeks and one day from today. 


I can't wait to go home for Thanksgiving for the first time in FOUR long years. 

The last time I had a Thanksgiving meal in my parents' home was during Thanksgiving 2009.  I had done a 5k that morning with one of my best friends from high school and her husband.  I remember it was freeeeeezing cold that morning but what a feeling it was to do that race then eat all day without feeling guilty...ha!

Look how little Clark and Mason were 4 years ago!  How amazing it is to look at this picture and think that six short months later I would be led to move down to NC to be with them all the time...and that they would have two brothers four short years later as well as a cousin with another cousin on the way.  How incredible a family's love is...I'm so blessed to be part of a large one and to have the siblings & parents I have.

I can't wait to sit at that long oak maple redwood wooden table in my parents' dining room with all of us squeezed in and crowded around it as the loud chatter & conversation gets under way and we sneak extra rolls onto our plate when we think others aren't looking.  I wonder if there will be a ton of pies served after dinner that I will skip because I will want ice cream instead.  Will there be freshly made Boilo and more importantly will we see snowflakes falling?? 

Maybe I'm delirious from all the writing/revisions I've been doing on my Chapter 5 of my dissertation today.  Maybe I'm extra thankful due to the daily reflections I've been composing on Facebook in honor of my favorite month.  Maybe I finally realize that through the trials and tribulations, through the pushing yourself beyond what you thought you were capable of, through still standing even after others have tried to beat you down in all arenas, through losing friends along the way but also meeting life-impacting people on the journey, through looking at all that has happened since that fateful day in early May 2010 when I said, "Yes", to plans that differed DRASTICALLY from where I thought I was heading....maybe that's why I'm extra grateful for the valleys and the hills so that I can more deeply appreciate the good that surrounds us.

A Red Sea Place

Have you come to the Red Sea place in your life,
Where in spite of all you can do,
There is no way out, there is no way back,
There is no other way but through?
Then wait on the Lord with a trust serene
Till the night of your fear is gone;
He will send the wind, He will heap the floods,
When He says to your soul "Go on."

And His hand will lead you through - clear through -
Ere the watery walls roll down,
No foe can reach you, no wave can touch,
No mightiest sea can drown;
The tossing billows may rear their crests,
Their foam at your feet may break,
But over their bed you shall walk dryshod
In the path that your Lord will make.

In the morning watch, ‘neath the lifted cloud,
You shall see but the Lord alone,
When He leads you on from the place of the sea,
To a land that you have not known;
And your fears shall pass as your foes have passed,
You shall no more be afraid;
You shall sing His praise in a better place,
A place that His hand has made.

Annie Johnson Flint