How Was YOUR Thanksgiving?

Ours was good.

We had the Thanksgiving holiday at my sister's house. Her boyfriend's family (two brothers & their SO's), along with Mom & Dad and the Typhoon. My sis lives in the hills outside the metro area. It was misty and foggy up there, but that helped set the tone of the holiday.

Sis raised quite a bird for the event: a home-grown, range fed 50-pounder! The cooks opted to cut the bird in half and *only* serve up 25 pounds of roasted bird.  And it was GOOD!

R and M were the only children present. They spent most of the afternoon playing in the pole barn with my sister's barn cat (really, just a very socialized kitten) and rough-housing with the four dogs. But then there were the horses.

See, my sister built her horse paddock in such a way that three sides of her house are contained within the paddock.  That's not such a big deal,except that the horses and my sister have developed a trait in which the horses feel safe sticking their head inside one of the windows, looking for a treat. Sort of a horse-based fast food drive-up. The kids really got a kick out of that!

Football was on, naturally. That took up the attention for the three brothers, and Grandpa. I watched some, but took the opportunity to take a nap as well. M brought her Whoonuu game, which got a lot of play with the ladies.

The kids got to play some Nintendo Wii for the first time in almost four months (ours has been put away until just this weekend - parents had to make a statement) after all the football games were done. So, we didn't leave on the 30 mile drive home until almost 11pm.

It was fun, though. It was a good time. Thanks for hosting a nice, jovial, harmonious event, Sis. We sure appreciated it.

The Ruhi Signature

We've been hosting a Ruhi course at our house. It's a Baha'i thing. Ruhi is an institute that puts together mateIrials intended to provide a consistent and measurable set of spiritual deepening for Bahai's worldwide. Think 'prepared Bible study' and you've got the right idea...except we're not studying the Bible. We're studying Bahai Writings.

This has been a major touchstone for me recently. I thank God that the Ruhi class comes to us. If I had to travel to get there, I probably wouldn't go -- too distracted. Instead, it comes to us: adult classes; children's classes and guitar players, piano players, violin/cello players. and a roomful of people unafraid to sing.

Every Friday evening, our house fills with people, love, joy, music, laughter, and spiritual work.

I'm glad for this because we're putting our spiritual signature on the house we restored. We built it with our hands; with the Ruhi courses, we're signing it with our hearts.

May the energy of these evenings  become part of the vibrations withn this house. I want that to happen. I want that very much.

Thanks, Maggie. I needed this right about now

Devon Gundry - Armed

Devon's a Baha'i. This song is a Baha'i prayer set to music. The actors are all Baha'is, and not professional acting talent. For those of us in the Baha'i community, we can spot Red Grammer as the man in the suit who helps the mugging victim. Don't know who Red Grammer is? Look him up here.

I Must Not Fear...

“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear... And when it is gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear is gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”

Thank you, Frank Herbert.

Scientists say Copernicus remains, grave found

 

Researchers said Thursday they have identified the remains of Nicolaus Copernicus by comparing DNA from a skeleton and hair retrieved from one of the 16th-century astronomer's books. The findings could put an end to centuries of speculation about the exact resting spot of Copernicus, a priest and astronomer whose theories identified the Sun, not the Earth, as the center of the universe.

Scientists say Copernicus remains, grave found

Yes, Comes The Thaw Indeed

This year, R's 'struggle subject' has been Spanish. He has a 'struggle subject' every year. Last year it was writing. The year before that, math. He struggles, he breaks through, and he blooms afterward.

We've been hunkering down for a long, seige-like approach to Spanish. Each time we've had a 'Struggle Subject' in the past, it's taken most of the school year to fix it.

So, imagine my surprise to hear last night that R had his breakthrough yesterday in Spanish. He not only participated in the 'championship' competitions, but he won. Twice. And he served up the first defeat ever to the reigning undefeated kid! R came home full of pride and motivation for the study of Spanish. In three weeks he transformed himself from and 'F' grade to a contender for the head of the class.

THEN we went to Boy Scouts.

A large group of Webelos visited Troop 22 last night. When it came time to line up for the flag ceremony, R, a first year, was surprised to find that the senior troop leadership picked him to act as Patrol Leader for most of the Webelos. He stood there, at the front of the line of scouts, with a look on his face that said 'how did I get here?' And he dutifully paid attention to the proceedings - not his habit when he hides in the crowd. In the crowd, he loses focus and daydreams.

After the flag ceremony, the troop announced the wreath sales contest winners and awarded prizes to the top scouts. R was not expecting to win a prize. But he did, nonetheless. $15 at the Scout Store. Another reward for his hard work and effort. A successful outcome for his first foray into the neighborhood, on his own, to deliver on a fundraiser. That made a good first impression for the Webelos: they were lined up behind a young man who also was a real leader.

We celebrated Spanish and Wreaths after the meeting by going out for ice cream!

If my kid sloshes water out of his shoes as he walks through the house. If he leaves a damp spot on the sofa when he gets up... I won't mind. It's just the melting away of his reticence. The real R is steadily emerging.

Comes the Thaw

R had a Boy Scout campout this last weekend. The troop went to Camp Meriwether, on the Oregon coast. I went along. He had some good decompression time with his 'boys'. He's starting to get the hang of it within the troop. He's not yet contributing as his full potential, but he's starting to be proactive about some duties, and also starting to show his true colors within the troop.

He often hides his skills. They're there, though. Like something valuable, frozen deep inside a block of ice, we all can catch obscure glimpses of those skills, but cannot reach them. People don't know how to utilize him because they can't get a good handle on what we can or will do. Boy Scouts, however, is starting to melt that facade away, starting to call him out as a doer and a leader. He won't fully thaw for some time, but the shell is getting thinner with each campout, each merit badge.