Entries from May 2006
“The first thing that struck me when I came to live in a house with mentally handicapped people was that their liking or disliking me had absolutely nothing to do with any of the many useful things I had done until then.”
-Henri Nouwen, “In the Name of Jesus”
The first thing I learned when I began to work with people who have late stage dementia and their caregivers is that all my “holy” experiences, all my education and high SAT scores, all the influence I have within my various little communities means nothing. Who cares if I’ve worked in a Mother Teresa home when you think Mother Teresa is the psychic on late night tv? Who cares about my knowledge of Sustainable Business when you carry a baby doll around thinking it is alive and calling it “my precious little washboard”? I am only myself, and a crabby, tired, impatient version of that.
Categories: Love.
Last night I went out dancing with Jamie.
I wore a red spotted scarf around my neck.
People stared at me.
It was ridiculously fun.
I highly recommend it.
Categories: Belly Laughs (or Chuckles).
Keith: “Liz, I’m going to get engaged in a few months.”
Me: “When!?”
Keith: “This fall.”
Me: “Are you saving for a ring already?!”
Keith: “Yep.”
Me: “How much do you have?”
Keith: “Nothing.”
—-
Keith: “I should have gotten gas from Kroger, it’s really cheap.”
Me: “Don’t buy gas from Kroger, they’re the belly of the beast!”
Keith: “How so?”
Me: Explanation of how Kroger is owned by Con-Agra and puts small farmers out of business by underpricing and raping Mother Nature, but still makes a lot of money.
Keith: “Hm. Look, BP is cheap too!”
Me: “No, BP is the belly of the beast! Explanation of how we ended up in the Middle East protecting BP’s interests and why they are also evil incarnate.”
Keith: “Well, I don’t care about any of that stuff, I just want cheap gas, so I can buy from there.”
Categories: Belly Laughs (or Chuckles).
Sidenote:
I am trying to post a picture, but I haven’t figured it out yet.
Sidenote to the Sidenote:
This blogging thing is a strange combination of challenging/a huge pain in the ass and addicting/fun. Who knew?
Categories: Belly Laughs (or Chuckles).
I began this blog because of my wonderful friend Lisa the Knitter (lisatheknitter.typepad.com), who drinks beer, cheers “America!”, says the funniest things EVER, knits snazzy handwarmers, allows me to eat her stale bread and sleep on her floor, and has a German passport. What more could you want? How about adding a little bit of Chester- smart, incredibly deep and thoughtful, generous to a fault, magnificent with the chopsticks, plays the piano, and the type of person that makes you want to hug people more and criticize them less. Then, of course, there is Andy- whose only flaw lies in his propensity to give side hugs.
Together we are complaining about apathy, finding our flaws, and seeing Jesus everywhere.
Categories: Faith. · Love.
