One of my new favorites:
The Consent
Howard Nemerov
Late in November, on a single night
Not even near to freezing, the ginkgo trees
That stand along the walk drop all their leaves
In one consent, and neither to rain nor to wind
But as though to time alone: the golden and green
Leaves litter the lawn today, that yesterday
Had spread aloft their fluttering fans of light.
What signal from the stars? What senses took it in?
What in those wooden motives so decided
To strike their leaves, to down their leaves,
Rebellion or surrender? and if this
Can happen thus, what race shall be exempt?
What use to learn the lessons taught by time.
If a star at any time may tell us: Now.
11.27.2011
11.26.2011
A family...
"A family is a place where principles are hammered and honed on the anvil of everyday living."
Charles R. Swindoll
Charles R. Swindoll
11.24.2011
11.20.2011
Poem of the Week CXXII
The second in John Stone's November pair--
2. LATE
John Stone
Out in the weather
the waterproof birds
hoping together
exempted from words
this is my time
the fall of the leaf
that imperfect crime
finale of grief
summer's illusion
a figure of speech
August's intrusion
cast off on the beach
December ahead
white as the distance
frost overspread
at winter's insistence
the chances of spring
little more than a guess
whatever the question
the answer is yes.
11.17.2011
11.15.2011
11.14.2011
A few of my favorite things...
With the risk of sounding materialistic, here are a few of my favorite things (yeah, things, just stuff). I could live without 'em, but I sure do like 'em.
1. Downy lavender fabric softener
I love the way it smells. Getting into my bed with sheets washed in this is magical. Seriously. Doing laundry, really magical.
2. Crest (Extreme) Herbal Mint Toothpaste
They just changed the name from "Extreme Herbal Mint" to "Herbal Mint" which really threw me off at the Target the other day. I stood there for a good five minutes scratching my head in the toothpaste aisle. However, a little rebranding makes sense. That whole "extreme" fad is out, but this flavor is not. Man, my mouth just doesn't taste clean with any other toothpaste. Also, Emeril Lagasse used to do the commercials for goodness sake. Bam! What's not to love?
Old package (twin pack!):
1. Downy lavender fabric softener
I love the way it smells. Getting into my bed with sheets washed in this is magical. Seriously. Doing laundry, really magical.
2. Crest (Extreme) Herbal Mint Toothpaste
They just changed the name from "Extreme Herbal Mint" to "Herbal Mint" which really threw me off at the Target the other day. I stood there for a good five minutes scratching my head in the toothpaste aisle. However, a little rebranding makes sense. That whole "extreme" fad is out, but this flavor is not. Man, my mouth just doesn't taste clean with any other toothpaste. Also, Emeril Lagasse used to do the commercials for goodness sake. Bam! What's not to love?
Old package (twin pack!):
And new package:
3. LOFT petite modern slim pants
I may be a lunatic for the following statements, but it is so hard for someone as short as I am to find pants. I am actually on the tall end of the short people, so "short" pants are generally too short, and "regular" length pants too long. These pants are the perfect length. My mother is grateful she no longer (hehe, that's a pun) has to hem pants for me. I don't buy pants at other places. I talk to the LOFT employees about how I wish they would carry these pants year round.
My legs look nothing like this, but man, I love these pants:
4. Slim hangers
I fought with my mom about this a long time before I finally conceded to try these trendy hangers. They really work. My junior year of college when I worked as an RA I was stuck with a wardrobe rather than the two closets (spoiled) I had the year before. I was having a really hard time fitting all my clothes in the wardrobe. I do not like to put anything but pants, pajamas, undergarments, and socks in my dresser so my closet is normally really crowded. Switching out the hangers was initially a hassle, but entirely worth it in the end. I can fit so many more clothes in my closet, plus they are really lightweight, so they don't put me over the poundage limit when I travel with them. I should do infomercials. Love them:
5. (real) Books
Now, I'm not (entirely) knocking the e-book craze, but I love to have a real copy of a book. I love to own it, to be able to write in it, to flip through the pages. It also helps me remember good quotes because I can picture where the words were on the page.
On a related note...
6. Amazon.com
Oh, man, I can do some serious damage when it comes to this website. The FREE Super Save Shipping gets me every time. Getting to $25 is one of my favorite hobbies. It makes recommendations to me. The customer service is great. One time a book took forever to ship because it wasn't in stock when I ordered it despite the website saying it was, and after a few simple email exchanges Amazon got me my book and sent it with free shipping. They're great.
7. Quaker Oatmeal Squares cereal
Man, these things are good. Good with milk. Good without milk as a snack. They've got just the right amount of sweetness and crunch. Thanks, Chad Michael, for introducing me to my new favorite cereal. Yum.
Last, but certainly not least...
8. My adventure bag
My sweet sister Allison bought me this bag for my life as a missionary. I received it last year at summer training, and it has been well loved since then. It holds everything. Books, Bible, tide-to-go pen ("favorite things" honorable mention), planner, cell phone, etc. It's falling apart, but it's amazing. Here it is making its debut as an activist. Photo credit: Josh Altonji.
11.13.2011
Poem of the Week CXXI
I Slipped His Fingers
from an unknown author, published in Fulton Sheen's Life is Worth Living:
I slipped His fingers, I escaped His feet.
I ran and hid, for Him I feared to met.
One day I passed Him, fettered on a tree.
He turned His head, looked, and beckoned me.
Neither by speed, nor strength could He prevail.
Each hand and foot was pinioned by a nail,
He could not run and clasp me if He tried,
But with His eye, He bade me reach His side.
For pity's sake thought I, I'll set you free.
'Nay-hold this cross,' He said, 'and follow me.'
'This yoke is easy, this burden light,
Not hard or grievous if you wear it tight.'
So did I follow Him who could not move,
An uncaught captive in the hands of Love.
from an unknown author, published in Fulton Sheen's Life is Worth Living:
I slipped His fingers, I escaped His feet.
I ran and hid, for Him I feared to met.
One day I passed Him, fettered on a tree.
He turned His head, looked, and beckoned me.
Neither by speed, nor strength could He prevail.
Each hand and foot was pinioned by a nail,
He could not run and clasp me if He tried,
But with His eye, He bade me reach His side.
For pity's sake thought I, I'll set you free.
'Nay-hold this cross,' He said, 'and follow me.'
'This yoke is easy, this burden light,
Not hard or grievous if you wear it tight.'
So did I follow Him who could not move,
An uncaught captive in the hands of Love.
11.09.2011
Knowing and Loving
According to Fulton Sheen's, "Knowing and Loving":
"The first difference between a man and a woman is that a man is concerned principally with things and a woman with persons. Hence a man talks business and a woman of how another woman is dressed. A man's interest is more remote; a woman's interest is more immediate. A man's interest leans to the abstract; a woman's to the concrete and intimate. A man is concerned with ends, goals, and purposes; a woman with something that is very proximate and close and near and dear to her. Because man centers on things and woman on persons, a woman is more inclined to gossip. A woman does not believe everything she hears, but at least she can repeat it ...
These are differences, but they actually complement one another, and very beautifully. The man is interested in the sowing of wheat in the field; the woman in making the bread. Both the bow and the violin are necessary for good music.
A second difference between the love of a man and the love of a woman is that a man will always give reasons for loving, but a woman gives no reasons for loving.
A man will say, 'I love you because you are beautiful; I love you because your teeth are pearly; I love you because you are sweet.'
The woman just says, 'I love you.' Period.
Man's love is always mixed up with his reasons. Men generally write the love sons. Hence such titles as 'That is Why I Love You' or reasons like these: 'You're the cream in my coffee...,' 'You're my Shakespeare sonnet..., my Mickey Mouse...'
These are not very good reasons for loving, but at least they are reasons. Man's love is always tied up with his intellect; but for a woman, love is its own reason. 'I love you because I love you.' A man gives reasons because he compares one woman with another; a woman just prefers. A man sees one peach in a basket of peaches; a woman sees only the one peach. A father's love for a child varies with the child's obedience to his commands; a mother's love is more immediate and more ready to overlook the faults. If 'love is blind,' it may be because it gives no reason. But it has a reason, which is choice, election, preference. As Our Lord told His Apostles, 'I have chosen you.'
A woman never tells why she loves; she just tells you how she loves...
A third difference is that defects get in the way of a man's love. But defects never hurt a woman's love. A man hears somebody talk about the woman that he loves or is going to marry, and he will say, 'Well, after all, I have got to know that woman if I am to marry her; and I had better listen to this.'
But a woman won't listen to anybody 'running down' her intended. She knows the man has defects, but she loves him anyway. Her attitude is that of the popular song, 'He's Just My Bill.' He may be a good-for-nothing blankety-blank-blank, but he's my Bill, anyway. A man's love decreases with the revelation of defects; a woman's does not. A woman gets angry when a man denies his faults, because she knew them all along. His lying mocks her affection; it is the deceit that angers her more than the faults.
There is something divine in that kind of love, because God loves us in spite of all defects, our failings, and our sins. A man may stand for the Justice of God, but a woman stands for His Mercy."
Do you agree?
I am not sure what role my feminine pride is playing here, but the way he describes a woman's love sounds pretty accurate to me. I've always felt a little silly saying, "Just because," as a reason for loving, but I've never really had any other reasons. Way to go Fulton.
"The first difference between a man and a woman is that a man is concerned principally with things and a woman with persons. Hence a man talks business and a woman of how another woman is dressed. A man's interest is more remote; a woman's interest is more immediate. A man's interest leans to the abstract; a woman's to the concrete and intimate. A man is concerned with ends, goals, and purposes; a woman with something that is very proximate and close and near and dear to her. Because man centers on things and woman on persons, a woman is more inclined to gossip. A woman does not believe everything she hears, but at least she can repeat it ...
These are differences, but they actually complement one another, and very beautifully. The man is interested in the sowing of wheat in the field; the woman in making the bread. Both the bow and the violin are necessary for good music.
A second difference between the love of a man and the love of a woman is that a man will always give reasons for loving, but a woman gives no reasons for loving.
A man will say, 'I love you because you are beautiful; I love you because your teeth are pearly; I love you because you are sweet.'
The woman just says, 'I love you.' Period.
Man's love is always mixed up with his reasons. Men generally write the love sons. Hence such titles as 'That is Why I Love You' or reasons like these: 'You're the cream in my coffee...,' 'You're my Shakespeare sonnet..., my Mickey Mouse...'
These are not very good reasons for loving, but at least they are reasons. Man's love is always tied up with his intellect; but for a woman, love is its own reason. 'I love you because I love you.' A man gives reasons because he compares one woman with another; a woman just prefers. A man sees one peach in a basket of peaches; a woman sees only the one peach. A father's love for a child varies with the child's obedience to his commands; a mother's love is more immediate and more ready to overlook the faults. If 'love is blind,' it may be because it gives no reason. But it has a reason, which is choice, election, preference. As Our Lord told His Apostles, 'I have chosen you.'
A woman never tells why she loves; she just tells you how she loves...
A third difference is that defects get in the way of a man's love. But defects never hurt a woman's love. A man hears somebody talk about the woman that he loves or is going to marry, and he will say, 'Well, after all, I have got to know that woman if I am to marry her; and I had better listen to this.'
But a woman won't listen to anybody 'running down' her intended. She knows the man has defects, but she loves him anyway. Her attitude is that of the popular song, 'He's Just My Bill.' He may be a good-for-nothing blankety-blank-blank, but he's my Bill, anyway. A man's love decreases with the revelation of defects; a woman's does not. A woman gets angry when a man denies his faults, because she knew them all along. His lying mocks her affection; it is the deceit that angers her more than the faults.
There is something divine in that kind of love, because God loves us in spite of all defects, our failings, and our sins. A man may stand for the Justice of God, but a woman stands for His Mercy."
Do you agree?
I am not sure what role my feminine pride is playing here, but the way he describes a woman's love sounds pretty accurate to me. I've always felt a little silly saying, "Just because," as a reason for loving, but I've never really had any other reasons. Way to go Fulton.
11.06.2011
Poem of the Week CXX
The first in John Stone's pair of November poems, EARLY and LATE (the second to come in, you guessed it, late November, look for it on the 20th).
1. EARLY
John Stone
The earliest leaves are now
starting to fall. Those
that did contrive somehow
in autumn's swift revision
to cling a moment more
have turned in pure precision
burned yellow, brown,
red, ochre, gold
in every part of town
as though replying to
a question I never heard.
If color is a clue
I take all this to mean
whatever the answer was
it couldn't be said in green.
11.04.2011
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