Unrelated ramblings

I had never lived in a city before coming to Cincinnati. The closest I came was my previous BVS site in the booming metropolis of Alamosa, CO. (pop: 8500). Thinking back, I can recall being excited because they had city blocks. Yup, that's right. City blocks. I associate much more with being a country bumpkin than a city kid, no contest. So why is it that I haven't gone stir-crazy living in a city of over a quarter million people? Seriously, I've only left the city three times since I got here - 1. The afternoon church service at the Brethren home in Greenville; 2. Driving out to a fellow church member's house for Man Night (it was cooler than you'd think); and 3. Going to the Outdoor Ministries Association conference at Woodland Altars (thanks, Swatara!). That's not a whole lot of time away from the asphalt and constant background noise of living in the city... yet somehow it's working for me. I sure didn't expect this aspect of living here to be such an easy transition. Did I miss part of it or has it just not hit home yet that I actually live here?

Katie and I recently (re?)discovered a love of hot chocolate. If you've never tried adding milk and a few drops of some flavoring extract - we've used vanilla so far - then you are totally missing out on some chilly weather wonderfulness. It's nice to have housemates who geek out over the same stuff I do sometimes.

Anne, Laura, and I went down the street to Mirror Lake on Saturday for the spectacle known as "Balluminaria". Around dusk there are a dozen hot air balloons that inflate without taking off and line up along one side of the "lake" (it's actually a cement pond thingy, but I suppose "Mirror Lake" sounds way nicer than "Mirror Cement Pond Thingy"). The reflection is quite spectacular and makes for some great photographing opportunities. While we were freezing our hindparts off listening to microphoned singers and waiting for the balloons to inflate I actually ran into somebody I knew. Ken, a University of Cincinnati student who volunteers at my job, was there with a friend. For a moment I had a faint feeling of small-town living again where you see people you know wherever you go. Then he walked off to a different vantage point and I didn't see him the rest of the evening, swallowed into the mass of the thousands of other spectators.

We've had a warmer than usual November from what I understand. I didn't need my jacket to walk to church on Sunday. If it weren't for Daylight Savings Time then I would be out running way more than what I am now. Regardless of how prepared I was for it, I decided to go on a long run on Sunday afternoon since I hadn't been on one in a while. One of my favorite things to do when running is to head in a direction I'm sorta familiar with but don't know exactly. I headed down Victory Parkway and turned onto Madison. When I got to the intersection where I usually turn around or take a right to make a loop I kept going straight instead. At some point Madison curved and I didn't; I ended up in Norwood. I don't think I'd ever been to Norwood before. The general rule of thumb that I follow when I have no idea where I am is that you turn the same direction at major-ish intersections until you recognize an area or a road name. Left. Left. Another left. Ta-da! Welcome to Montgomery Road. I honestly couldn't remember exactly what it connected into, but I knew that if I took a left onto it then I should make it back to some other road that I recognize a little better. Sure enough, Montgomery ran into Gilbert which passes a few blocks from our house and took me back without any problems. I've done this a few times in the last six weeks and it's an adventure every time. This one was a 9+ mile adventure. That totally justifies the piece of Laura's chocolate mousse pie that I had later that evening, right? Yeah, I thought so, too.

This past week was my turn to lead our house devotions. Inspired by the latest issue of Messenger I came up with the following five questions:

1. What makes the CoB (Church of the Brethren) important to you?

2. Why do you stay in the CoB?

3. What frustrates you about the CoB?

4. How do you think your life would be different if you weren't a member of the CoB?

5. What ministry would you like to see the CoB enthusiastically pursue?
We spent some time writing down our thoughts before we began conversing. I wish I could have had some sort of voice recorder in there to catch everything we talked about. There was a lot on our minds to discuss and it was good to hear ideas, reasonings, and concerns about topics that often end up running through my head. I wonder what would happen if more CoB young adults - or any age - sat down informally and let loose with their unrestricted thoughts on some of those topics. Oh, the possibilities...

Thanksgiving is upon us and we're all heading separate directions for the holiday. Laura is somehow transporting herself up to northern Indiana to chow down with one Miss Sarah Hall while Katie and Anne will be flying home to spend time with their families. I'm getting picked up by my good friend, Heidi Bailey, whom I haven't seen in over four years. She lives up in the Dayton area and we'll be partaking in the appreciative consumption of vittles with her family. Yee-haw for good friends. Wherever you are, I hope you have a warm Thanksgiving in good company.

I Am Not Their Mother, But....

Now that we have been in Cincinnati over a month, Laura and I have started to really get to know the children with whom we work. The funny thing I wasn’t quite expecting, but love none the less, is how much I really care about these kids. My connection to them is kind of hard to explain, so I thought I would continue the trend from last week and give a list of examples of just how I feel like a mother, or at least a big sister, to these kids.

- I am genuinely happy for Cameron when he exclaims happily that he gets to light the candles on the altar at the beginning of the church service on Sunday. I watch intently and with a big smile on my face as he carefully lights each one.

- My heart just melts when I hear the kids shouting “Miss Anne, Miss Anne!”

- I worry about Andrew when he misses a Sunday and the Halloween celebration. Though my worry is relieved when he walks through the door for breakfast the next Sunday morning.

- I don’t know quite how to react when Jermaine tells me he was suspended from school for a few days for getting into a fight. I settle on a little admonishment about how that isn’t very good, and that he can’t get suspended again because he has already met his self imposed quota of one suspension a year. Big sisterly enough, but not quite motherly, I’ll leave that to his real mom.

- I happily praise the toddler girls as they come down the big slides at the park with smiles on their faces and land chest deep in leaf piles.

- On a Wednesday afternoon at my dining room table, I try really hard to think back to 4th, 5th, and 6th grade and how I learned division and multiplication because there is homework to be completed before we can eat the cookies Laura has baking in the kitchen.

- I fall into bed on a Sunday evening, tired and hoping that I’ve had a positive impact on the kids today. However, I realize that as much as I love these kids, I have just satisfied any momentary desire I might have for children of my own, and I am quite happy for the silence in the house as I drift off to sleep.

Note: The names of the children have been changed because I wouldn’t be motherly unless I thought about protecting their identity :)

Blessings,

Anne

Happenings

This past weekend was a warm and beautiful one. We spent some time eating brunch on the back porch and posing for a group photo, hope you enjoy the photos!

Only awake after 1o:30!

Brunch Biscuits

Don't we look like professional models?

The Ohio River and Kentucky in the background.

Goodness.

Hello All.

Cincinnati has graciously welcomed in some warm weather and sunshine this week, and it has done everyone here loads of good. I hope your step is as springy as mine.

I must make clear from the very beginning, blogging isn't one of my favorite pastimes. Not that I want to keep you in the dark, but it takes an awful long time for me to feel ready to post my thoughts for all the world to see.
However, my housemates have been very adamant about their desire for this to be a communal effort, and I must concede. Consequently, when it's my turn to share in digitized format you'll see more pictures than words and read more recipes than anecdotes. There might be a link once in a while to shake things up. Are you up for it?
Me neither...

Anne and I find ourselves making a lot of lists these days.
Grocery lists, Sunday lists, errand lists, email lists...
Most recently was a two pager on what was to be done before our "Halloween Block Party". The party was something of a trial-by-fire/indoctrination that gave the answer, "Don't worry. You were given the right placement." to my question, "What's going on?!?"
The list included things like Eat lunch, Cut out big poster board pumpkin, and Buy plane ticket.
Full week.

Luckily, I like lists.
And I'm going to make one for you!
It's called:

This is Good.

No. 1- There's a backyard.
What?
There's a backyard. And you know what else?
What?!
We might be able to plant a garden in the spring.
(speechlessness.)


No. 2- The Conservatory is free.
As it should be.

No. 3- This is the view from the roof,
conveniently flat and easy to
laze upon on your day off.

No. 4- My housemates cook things like mango salsa.
On a stipend!

No. 5- My housemates let me cook things like
buttermilk pie.
Even on a stipend.

No. 6- Fall.
Everyone can agree on this?

No. 7- My job includes planning
educational activities.
Like this.

No. 8- These kids.

When I think about good things here,
these faces flash through my mind. You could
take everything else on this list-- even the pie--
and because of these kids,
Cincinnati would still be a Good place for me to be.

Blessings,

Laura