iBeth

Dr. Feelgood?

I think the graphic on this ad for faculty services at my university's health center might be sending the wrong message.  Or maybe it's the right message for this crazy time of the semester . . . .

There You Are

Amelia likes to hide.  The other day I followed the giggles to discover her in her favorite hiding place, her closet.  When I opened the door, she exclaimed, "There you are, Mommy!  I've been looking all over for you!"

Too Much Fun

Bad enough to get a sinus infection.  (I am STILL fighting that infection.  I hate my sinuses.)  But even worse, shortly after the antibiotic did away with the 103+ degree fevers, I woke up to find my eye sealed shut.  Yep, that's right . . . not only did I have a sinus infection, I also got PINKEYE.  Really, there's such a thing as too much fun.

Been Sick

whew . . . a nasty upper-respiratory thing has really knocked me off my stride.  Now that I've started a course of antibiotics, I expect that it won't be much longer before I can respond to all the great comments and emails (thank you). 

Seeing the Doctor

No doubt about it, Amelia was sick, so we decided to take her to the doctor. 

"No!" she sobbed.  "I don't want to see Dr. Voma!"

We reassured her, recounting step-by-step all the things that would happen.  We would wait in the waiting room and play with the bead toy.  The nurse would call her name and she would stand on the scale and hold her tummy. We would wait in the examining room and the nurse would take her temperature.  Dr. V would enter and say, "Hello everyone, hello Mom, Dad, hello Emma, hello Amelia!"  etc. etc.  "You like Dr. Voma!" we reminded her.

Our visit unfolded entirely as predicted.  After the examination (double pinkeye, double ear infection), the doctor wrote some prescriptions and left. 

Amelia looked up into my face, and asked intently, "Who was that guy?

Learning More About Jesus

Awhile ago, after a priest suggested that I read the gospel of Matthew, I posted some of my reactions (and received varied responses in the comments).  Since then, I've returned to talk to the priest.  His explanations were pretty interesting, I thought, so I'm posting them here:

Parable of the Two Sons:  I was completely puzzled by this parable, even after I looked at several different translations of it:

For example (Matthew 21:28-32) a man had two sons and he asked both of them to work in his vinyard.  The older son told him that he would not do it, but then changed his mind and did.  The younger son said he would, but didn't go.  Jesus asked, "Which one of the sons obeyed his father?"

"The older one," I thought to myself, and sure enough, Jesus' listeners answered the same.  Then Jesus told them, "You can be sure that tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you ever will!"  In other words, wrong answer.  But why?

Father C explained that it wasn't the wrong answer--it was the right answer.  But two different audiences were listening to Jesus ask the question.  One audience, the answering audience, contained tax collectors and prostitutes.  The other audience, the eavesdropping audience, contained members of the religious establishment.  Jesus was telling the religious establishment that the tax collectors and prostitutes would get to heaven first because they were willing to believe.

Fig Tree:  I also remarked on the way Jesus became much more crabby as the crucifixion approached.  Since I hadn't thought much past the smiling, gentle Jesus of popular culture, I was quite surprised to see him attack a fig tree in Matthew 21: 18-22.  He encountered a fig tree that didn't happen to have any fruit at the moment and angrily told it, "You will never again grow any fruit!" and the tree dried up. 

Father C suggested that either the fig tree was a metaphor or symbol used in other myths of the time, or the fig tree was flawed and barren.  Farmers know better than to care for a plant that will never bear fruit, he pointed out.  Later, my husband offered a different, narrative explanation--that the point was that Jesus didn't attack his crucifiers as he attacked the fig tree.  He clearly had awesome powers, but didn't use them.  All of these explanations seem plausible to me.

Open-Mindedness: I was impressed by the open-minded nature of Jesus in Matthew.  I just couldn't believe that this Jesus would insist that non-Christians would be inevitably damned--he so clearly respected faith in all people.   Commenters found this particular observation to be controversial . . . but Fr. C agreed with me!  Wow.

So I was going to read the book of John next . . . I even have a complete set of podcast readings . . . but so far it's rough going.  "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."  Whew.   I need frequent breaks to uncross my eyes.

Your Spiritual Birthday Candle

Amelia was a handful in church this morning.  Before the service, she spied the baptismal font and rushed over.  "Look!  A tiny sink!" she exclaimed.

When I explained what it was for, she responded, "Oh, I love baptizing!" and tried to splash her hands in the font. 

After the baptism*, Father C carefully held a lit candle out to her.   "This is like your spiritual birthday candle," he told her.  "It means that--"  POOF! 

She blew out the flame.  The congregation was hugely amused.

"You get your wish!" Fr. C said.  "Congratulations!"

*The ceremony went fine.  I only felt a little awkward.  Sunday logistical difficulties are resolved.

Emma Learns About Race

Because our neighborhood is fairly mixed (at least six different nationalities on my block alone), I think (hope) that Emma's experience of race will be different than my own.  I remember when my mother, a schoolteacher, had one black student in her class--it was an Event.  She was thrilled.  I was intrigued; my school was completely white except for one black teacher--I wondered what it would be like to know an actual black kid.

So far, Emma doesn't use the words "black" or "white," but she clearly is aware that people have different skin colors.  Check out this picture she colored in Sunday School.  The true colors may not show on your screen, but she has clearly used a much darker color for the girl and baby than for the boy and Jesus. 

When I need to describe someone's appearance, I try to refer to their "blonde hair" or "brown skin" rather than using racial terms; dunno why, I guess I'm just trying to teach my children to view others as unique individuals rather than as representatives of their race. 

Emma prefers different terms, retrieved from her coloring box:

"Mama!" she told me the other day.  "You know how you told me you like Keisha's pretty braids?  Well, I found out today that peach people can braid their hair too, not just brown people!"

Listening to Podcasts

I admit, I thought podcasts were a dumb idea.  Much as I enjoy reading different blogs, I couldn't imagine wanting to sit and listen to them.  I read much more quickly than I can listen, and I like to control my own pace.  Heck, I can barely sit through an entire tv show.  (And don't get me started on teachers who think lecture podcasts will guarantee engaged students.  I grant that they'll have their uses, but the technology alone won't grab students' attention.  Frankly, I can think of few colleagues whose podcasts wouldn't leave me searching for the nearest window.  I know I wouldn't want to listen to me while I work out.)

But on a whim, I subscribed to a few podcasts in iTunes . . . and now I'm a convert.  Some of these podcasts offer great info, much more interesting than my local Clear Channel radio stations, plus I can choose the length of podcast based on the time I have available to listen.  Sure, the production quality isn't always the best, but the convenience can't be beat.

Here are some of my current favorites:

43 Folders: Witty--and concise--ideas for Getting Things Done.  From the blog of the same name.

Book Voyages: A children's librarian reviews books and interviews authors.  Only six episodes into it, and my daughters are already reaping the benefits.  (Me, too.)  One of these days, I'll be well-read enough to identify the mystery book of the week.

CrossLeft:  It's hard to imagine anything more liberal than Jesus' teachings.  This podcast features a different progressive Christian minister, activist or musician every week.

Mom Talk Radio: Great topics, great guests, a great (real mom) host, and since this podcast is also a radio show, great production values too.  I prefer my podcasts in 15-minute-or-shorter bursts, so this one is definitely on the long side, but because Maria Bailey usually covers several topics in one show, it's easy to subdivide.

WDW Today: high-quality information about Walt Disney World.  Not the "Disney-ized" info, but the real info researched by people who aren't under the thumb of The Mouse.  They have good guests, too.

The Word Nerds: Interesting reflections on language from two North Carolina brothers, one a high school English teacher and the other a professional magician.  No, really.  (He's also a German teacher.)  Again, this podcast is longer than my ideal, but it's good for listening at the office while doing brainless tasks.  Except for the "euphemisms" podcast--that one will make your computer smoke.  (Though there is a certain entertainment value in listening to two high school teachers explaining the origins of the phrase "sloppy seconds.")

All of these are well worth bringing to an iPod near you. :)

Post-Hurricane Greeting Card

Finally got the scanner to work . . . and I can show you this wonderful greeting card that Emma made for me and her daddy after Hurricane Wilma:

The drawing on the left (the back of the opened-up card; front of card is on the right) represents the accordian corrugations of our new hurricane shutters.  There's a flower next to the shuttered window.

Inside, she drew a rainbow with a pot of gold at one end and signed, "Love, Emma." 

Hallmark ain't got nothin' on my girl.