For One More Day

I finished my third Mitch Albom novel this morning, For One More Day and it definitely did not disappoint. I read his previous novels about two years ago and fell in love with the way he tells his stories. Each book is fairly short and a very quick read. The stories are filled with life lessons that make you think and re-evaluate your life and the way you are living it. This book followed the story of Chick Benetto who was a previous professional baseball player who tried to take his life, but failed. He was given a second chance. The book goes back and forth between him telling the story of his attempted suicide and the story of his childhood and what it was like growing up with his mother. He was a daddy's boy even after his father left his family and throughout the rest of his life he questioned the actions of his mother and how she chose to raise her family. The creativity of how the story was told is what amazed me. I finished the book in two days and tried to read in almost every spare moment. I wanted to re-read the other two books as soon as I finished it, but I have so many other books taking up my shelf that I need to read. So I began No Limits by Michael Phelps and will try to read them another time after I've finished a few others.

Listen

Standing in the garden,
left hand laden
with ripe strawberries. The sun

beams off the glassy
backs of flies. Three
birds in the birch tree.

They must have been there
all year.

My mother, my grandmother,
stood like this
in their gardens,

I am 43,
This year I have planted my feet
on this ground

and am practicing
growing up out of my legs
like a tree.
-Linda Lancione Moyer

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

I can't sleep. I woke up not feeling to hot and found out we had a snow day. My first real full snow day while in college. We should have had one yesterday, but I skated my way to and from class only falling twice. I'm so excited about not having my night class that I can't sleep. So I'll tell you about all of the reading I've been doing this past weekend. Instead of studying for my exam on Friday I began reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I have heard off its fame as being a "cult-classic" and always had an interest in reading it,but never got around to it. Finally, when I was shopping for therapy supplies at Target, there it was sitting on the wrong shelf by the childrens books I was actually looking at. It was meant to be. I bought it, waited a few days and started reading Friday afternoon. I didn't want to put it down. It's a short book that kept me wanting more. It's the story of Charlie, a 15 year old freshman in high school. The book is in the form of letters. You don't know where he lives or who he is writing the letter to, but you do know his inner most thoughts. The book follows Charlie through his first year of high school where he encounters the death of a friend, the feeling of an outsider, the love of books and finally new friends who would change his life. You feel with Charlie as you read through his letters. You feel his highest highs and his lowest lows. When he is sad you are sad. It explores the world of sex, drugs and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. While this book led me feeling emotions I didn't even know I had, I am so happy this book finally fell into my hands. He writes as if he is talking. His run-on sentences make you feel as if he is sitting right there with you and his wisdom far exceeds that of a 15 year old boy. If you have the time I highly recommend taking a peak into Charlie's life. It makes you think back to your own time in high school and how it was both exciting and scary to experience so many new and different things with your friends. It is written in the tradition of The Catcher in the Rye, another book I have not yet read. It was on a summer reading list in high school, but I never got around to reading it. It's collecting dust on my shelf at my parent's house so I'll have to dust it off and start reading the next time I'm home. The book also explore's Charlie's love of reading by the books his English teacher gives to him. I've heard of several of them and want to look in on them again once I'm made a dent in the unread books on my shelf.

The Monk Stood Beside a Wheelbarrow

The monk stood beside a wheelbarrow, weeping.

God of Buddha nowhere to be seen -
these tears were fully human,
bitter, broken,
falling onto the wheelbarrow's rusty side.

They gathered at its bottom,
where the metal drank them in to make more rust.

You cannot know what you do in this life, what you have done.

I saw the weeping monk
and knew I also had a place on this hard earth.

- Jane Hirshfield

Lord of Healing

Lord of my greatest fear:
Let in your peace

Lord of my darker shame:
Let in your grace

Lord of my oldest grudge:
Let in your forgiveness

Lord of my deepest anger:
Let in your love

Lord of my loneliest moment:
Let in your presence

Lord of my truest self-my all:
Let in your fullness.

- Alison Pepper, England

My First Mittens

Over Thanksgiving break I found a pattern online for a pair of cabled mittens. Last winter I embarked on my first creative endeavor by knitting a hat with ear flaps. It took forever to finish, but came out beautiful and very warm. I wanted to make a pair of mittens to go with my hat, but I had trouble finding the yarn I bought one year prior. It was a brown alpaca blend with random bits of color woven throughout. I decided to practice making my mittens with a different yarn. I bought a skein of Vanna's Choice yarn and made my first mitten ever. There were several mistakes, but I made it through to the end. From a distance it looks great, but upclose you can see my tiny imperfections. Being the perfectionist I am I decided to start all over with another set with another color. One set turned into three and I didn't end up keeping a single pair. I gave the first to my mom and the next two pairs to each of my grandmas. They turned out great, but now I must find the time among the other three knitting projects I have started to knit my own pair of cabled mittens. No worries, I'll probably have them done just in time for summer when I won't be able to wear them. I'll keep you posted on the progress .....

How Could I Reject Who I Am?

A fish cannot drown in water. A bird cannot fall in the air. Gold is not dissolved in fire - for there it receives its brilliant sheen. This gift is given to everything: To live with its own nature. How could I oppose who I am? I am inclined toward God, and must go through all things into God.
-Mechtild of Magdeburg, Germany, c. 1212-82