Moving and Me

July is flying by quickly and I feel like my life is at a standstill.  It has been paralyzed by boxes of stuff (how did I ever accumulate so many things?) and the deadening emotions I feel from being overwhelmed.  In one sense the lack of things in the house creates the false notion of simplicity.  There are very little things out except the big furniture.  Very little knick knacks and trinkets and what-not are around to annoy me.  And there is frankly too much space--like 3000 square feet of space that I have never had the privilege to exploit with the ever-growing pile that typifies American homes today: junk.  And so I feel hope that I can overcome this mountain of unpacking that still needs to be done.  And yet the emptiness in the house reminds that I have so much yet to do...

Meanwhile, can I share with you that I have been trying to distract my mind of this obligation by walking the dog with the family every morning and evening; by taking my Greek final exam online which I have the entire summer to do; by sneaking in instant movies on Netflix while I wash dishes, fold clothes, mop the floor and dust the blinds; making sure I read to the girls at least twice a day; and meeting with new friends at my home church. 

I guess the best part of this new post-seminary life is that R works at home.  His designated office where people are actually sent to visit with him is in a bedroom down the hall, doubly accesible to the public and to us. To be sure, it has been an adjustment having R back in our daily lives.  I have been doing a lot of things on my own while he has been in school but now, I am learning to work with him and around him in the house.  But there is also more time together, more prayers together, hugs together, meals together, words together, together, together, together.  I like that word.  Juntos.  Ensemble. Sumpantes. Together.

Another Confession:

I am an asipiring classicist but I have an Eastern fetish.  While cooking dinner, washing dishes, unpacking boxes, and folding laundry, in between hugging/kissing/staring/chasing/yelling at the children and walking the dog, I have been watching these foreign films thanks to Netflix:

Water is a film about the plight of widows who are forsaken by their in-laws at the death of their husbands.  One of the most beautiful things in this film is that it dignified the conditions and plight of outcast--even in its cinematography-- and decried one of the many logical conclusions of a false religion whose practices can lead to the tragic suffering and death of its adherents. 

Balzac and the Little Seamstress is a French film about the penetration and eventual triumph of Western civiliation and technology over a little rural village.  It actually pokes fun at the irrational and oppressive way of life of those under the Communist regime in China. 

Kinamand (Chinaman) is a Danish film about a man who marries a Chinese woman so that she can stay in the country.  He falls in love with her--her food, her mystique, her culture but loses in the end.  Poignant but still heart-warming.      

June 2008

This month was about:

celebrating R's graduation from seminary,

moving out of our old home

touring a bit of SD

lazing around at the beach and staring at sand crabs,

watching others fall in love,

witnessing our baby turn 2 as she eats life,

and catching a bit of Shamu action while thanking God that we don't work anywhere near killer whales. 

Polygamist Sect Part 2

I have mixed feelings about the final decision to return the children to their polygamist parents of the Fundamentalist LDS church in Texas.  On one hand, it is reassuring to see judicial restraint and accountability.  The courts could not find any evidence of immediate danger to the children and hence found the State of Texas overstepping their bounds in the seizure of the children.  What a relief to see the state government actually question itself,  admit its error and furthermore, seek to rectify its mistake.  In an age of liberalism and increasing sentimentality to socialistic programs--in my opinion, a naive, maudlin but grossly uninformed, short-sighted effort of liberals to save the world through government intervention-- I am so happy to see that the USA has not totally gone to pot.  Yet on the other hand, the church's recent decision to ban the marriage of underage girls is basically an admission of the regularity of this practice of coerced marriages and statutory rape.  As a Christian I cannot help but revile at the thought of such practices and have sympathy for those children who have already suffered such abuse.   Not to mention the polygamy... 

I think that many of us have to remember that freedom, such as the religious freedom these polygamists are claiming as their right to exercise even in their immorality, can only thrive under people exercising moral self-discipline.  Rule and order are needed for stability for any land but many old-fashioned Americans like me would rather that we ourselves as individuals would do that rather than some outside force or institution imposing it upon us like a dictatorship, tribal/ clan-like oligarchies, or a nanny-state government would.  Nonetheless, freedom thrives in people controlling themselves.  And if the people can't control themselves, it is the prerogative, nay the obligation of the government, to step in and protect the innocent. 

Sparkie

The big grad day is tomorrow and poor R can't relax yet because I need his help to set up for our grad party.  It was a crazy week:  not only did he have 2 finals yesterday, R had to help Pastor Adam officiate over the funeral of the young man that was killed in the car accident.  Instead of studying for his finals, R spent 4 hours translating the pastor's sermon into Spanish so that the mourners at the funeral could understand. 

It's been rough for him, so I hope next week he can get some down time.  Sometime during that week, we'll get to hang out with Pastor Rand and tour a bit of San Diego with him while he is on vacation.  He was the former pastor of our home church and is now pastor at Covenant Reformed Church in Toronto.  We'll be happy to see him after all these years. 

While I am back here running around with my head cut off getting ready for the party, I can't help but miss my quiet times with our new dog whom I left behind at my parents' because of our move.  There is something really special about walking with a dog at my side: a very peaceful and unique dynamic of dog and master.  Here are pictures of the new member of our household:

A happy but submissive girl with her tail up and her ears down.

Sparkie licking her chops after eating some chicken!

Sparkie trying to show calm submission.