Saturday, December 30

Hello, dear ones!

Well, it's the last Saturday before school starts up again! I'm going to leave in a few minutes to go walking and to get some work done so that, come Wednesday, things aren't quite as stressful when I go back to school. :)

The Wedding

It's a strange, interesting day! Today is the day thatMarkus and Jen get married. My family left about an hour ago to head up to Jerome for the wedding and I'm here solo to do my work. The excellent thing is that they left their digital camera, so I will be able to use it today!

I made a little green, beaded ornament for Markus and Jen and I sent it to the wedding with my folks. (I think that green is the color of peace, and the three of us need peace.) I got a little heart bead and I added it to the top. The sad thing is that I just decided to do it yesterday, and I was still working on it four minutes before my parents left to go to the wedding, so it turned out a bit loose. That just goes to show me that, when I make these, I need to give myself enough time. The one I made for my cousin turned out beautifully because I was very careful and I measured everything. I still have one more blue one to make for my cousin, Dane. It needs to be done by Monday, so I will be sure to be careful on that one.

I will be sure to say a prayer for Markus and Jen today. For a long time, I was very upset and very angry about them, but I think it's high time to heal from it. So I will pray for my own healing as much as for their marriage. I'm not one of those people who "gets over" things. It's always a process. And some things it's easier to heal from than others. This sort of thing is the most difficult for me.

Which brings up thoughts about the MFZ. I think the MFZ is more than a commitment to choices. I'm starting to think that it's a commitment to God to accept his will for my life. . .to accept my calling, whether it turns out to be "for now" or forever. It's not really up to me and I think it's that acceptance that God is trying to move me toward. Though I hope he doesn't mind a few complaints along the way.

The Party

Strangely enough, though, the "other" German couple, Petra and Hubert, is having their Christmas party today! That will be a great diversion. I will go to that this evening with the little gift I have put together for them in tow. I will undoubtedly provide pictures of the event for a future post.

Optimism

My mom got me some books about becoming optimistic, something I must admit I need! So, I will be spending a bit of time working on that too!

Well, that's all for now! Have a good Saturday and I'll catch up later!
Elisabeth

Post Christmas Post

Hello, all!

Christmas was a blast! My immediate family all came to my parents' house and we all gave each other lovely gifts! For my sister I had the collage of the family and an extra frame with some family pictures, for my mom -- and it's sad to say! -- nothing, except the promise of two napkins and two placemats which have not yet arrived in the mail! For dad I monogrammed four handkerchiefs (he didn't like those so much. It's hard to blow your nose on something pretty), and I got him a pair of rubber ice-gripping soles for him to strap onto his shoes when he walks in the snow (a definite winner!). My parents got me some jeans, a coat, a small roll-away suitcase (for when I visit Misty in March), a pair of fleece pyjamas, and an all-in-one car emergency kit. (First aid, a flashlight, blanket, etc.) My sister got me an MP3 player (nice!) and a picture of us as kids in a nice picture frame. It was great!

Wesley didn't care much about his new tooth brush or his new, retractable leash. He was more interested in the Christmas left-overs.

I spent the first week of break doing crafts i.e., working on Deniz' dresser scarf (almost 2/3 done!) and beading ornaments for my cousins. Last week, my mom decided to start beading, so I went with her to the bead store. There, I bought some beads and a book which explained how to make a lovely, easy (it claimed) beaded ornament. I made the first one for my youngest cousin, Jonathon. Jonathon loves BSU football so I made the ornament in blue and orange and I added a little football to the ornament hanger at the top. Well, the beading process is not as easy as the book claimed; My cousin's ornament took me two days. Yesterday, I decided to see how long it would take me to make a second one, since now I knew what I was doing. Without a hitch, the process took a day. Way too long. Even so, the ornaments I have made are lovely, I must say. Following is a totally ripped off picture to show you what they look like.

But my beading days are done for now. I truly need to get back to the grindstone and start mapping out some of next semester's units. I went to school today and got all the stuff I'm going to need. I then came home and, instead of getting to work, I went to coffee Jennifer D. After that, I tried to get some insurance stuff out of the way and I tried to decide how I was going to get down to California to see Misty. At this point, it seems that driving is the only real way I'm going to get there.

Now, I'm sitting here working on my scholarship app for the masters program at Boise State. I'll finish it up tomorrow. It's getting late!

Elisabeth

1/2 Day!

All right! Half day tomorrow and then we're done! Woohoo!

Today was okay. We had a party in my class and students brought food. It was pretty sweet. Olga dropped by "just to visit" while she was supposed to be at her science class. I had to send her back, but it was sweet nonetheless. It's nice that students sometimes think, "I think I'll go visit Ms. Skoro" even if it does have the added incentive of getting out of class. :)

My first goal for the break is to get Emily's collage finished. I have the frame, and I've chosen a bunch of pictures. Now I just have to figure out how they could fit, and probably buy another collage frame. There are simply too many pictures for the one frame I have. It's okay. They're 50% off at Michael's.

And I am no longer waiting for Aron Ralston's e-mail. In my experience, if a person doesn't do something right away, it usually doesn't get done. If he had gotten my letter right when it came, he probably would have done his e-mail over the weekend . . . and when you're in the first few days, I think it makes sense to wait and anticipate. But any longer than that and you're simply wasting your time waiting for something that might not happen. It doesn't mean I'll never get one; I'm just not waiting anymore.

This Sunday, a young couple at Church lost their little 2-year-old. They were frantically running everywhere looking for him and they had other couples searching too. When I realized what they were doing, I decided to search in the church since the pews and everything provide a lot of little, dark places that a 2-year-old could hide. When I entered the church, I noticed that my mom was working near the altar with a couple of student readers. I went to tell her what was going on, and I noticed a little, blond, cherub face with ruby lips to her right behind the organ. There I found the two-year-old boy, totally engrossed in pushing the buttons and pulling out the stops on the organ. He seemed absolutely oblivious to the panic he had caused. I picked him up and we got him to his mom. He was gone for 15 or 20 minutes and his parents were pretty freaked. It reminds me of the story my grandma told me about when my dad disappeared when he was about 2. She found him sitting in the cupboard eating an apple, oblivious to the search that was going on for him. It was pretty cute, and it was nice to be able to help those guys.

Today I got a letter from my friend, Monica, who I haven't seen since college. I really miss her so I'll definitely give her a call as soon as I have a block of 3 hours to spare. Monica once told me, "Elisabeth, I'm so glad I finally found a friend who talks more than I do." I talk more than Monica does? If that's true, then we're in trouble. Even so, I really can't wait to talk to her and I will call as soon as I have the energy to spare!

A+
Elisabeth

Hello, My Dear Fans!

Or . . .fan!

I'll have to get my mom to tell some of her friends about this blog.

Well, folks. 1.5 days of school before Christmas Break. I've been noticing that I haven't been eating as healthy lately, drinking a lot of caffeine, etc. I thought about it and I realized why. I am so absolutely tired that when I come home I'm just a useless lump, and I hate that because it makes me feel sedentary and because it gives all sorts of time for my tired ergo depressed brain to think.

So I drink caffeine to make my body want to get up and do something.

And, caffeine makes me nervous so I want to eat, and, for some reason, I always want to eat sweets.

So, no more caffeine.

But it's Friday night. I'm so tired!

I know this goes totally against my MFZ (actually, it doesn't, since I'm mostly just dying of curiosity) but I haven't yet heard from Aron Ralston and I'm getting impatient. Am I getting impatient because it's taking a long time? No. It's still early actually. I'm just an impatient person.

So, as we wait, why not listen to smidgeon of an interview he gave for NPR a couple of years ago? Here's the link:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3915323

Now I'm just so tired, I guess I'll go watch TV because I don't feel like going anywhere. Viva la Tuesday!

Elisabeth

Thursday before Christmas Break!

Hey!

For the last couple of days, I have had a sub at school and I have gotten the opportunity to go with a bunch of other teachers and correct Direct Writing Assessments. I'm really glad I signed up! I have learned a ton and spent some quality time with my co-workers over the past two days. The longer I teach, the more I learn about teaching English, and it's really helping me to develop a sense for what I'm doing. I feel like a more competent teacher everyday!

I'm especially excited because our last day of school is on Tuesday! Yeah! So there are just 2.5 working days until I get some time off!

Other than that, it's just the same old, same old . . .Things are going well. Wesley is freaking out I think because my mom just drove up. I received a Christmas card today from Erica with pictures of her two cherubs -- Paige and Samantha -- on it. How cute!

Later!

Another Week in Pre-Christmas Idaho!

Hello all!

Christmas

Well, the Christmas shopping is pretty much done. I wasn't able to get the embroidery projects for my mom and grandma after all, since the ones they chose had been discontinued. So my mom chose and different pattern and my grandma said to just choose a different one for her. So, now, following are the ones I will embroider for Christmas. The first is for my mommy, and the second is for Grandma. (I will try to figure out how to do it in blue, since that's really what Grandma likes.)

Reception chez Wilhelm with the Intellectual Crew

Last night, Jeff Wilhelm (my professor) and his family had a little family concert and then a reception at their house. It was a bit uncomfortable for me, since all the guests were at least 15-30 years my senior and since they were all education folk, many with Ph.D.s, who were shining in their field, were well-published, and all of whom had long since mastered the art of teaching. There's a certain level of pleasant conversation required when you're hanging out with a bunch of academics. There's also a certain amount of friendly arrogance; They know they're good at what they do, and it's almost like they have a club mindset: bad/inadequate teachers not allowed. (In this case "inadequate" describes any teacher not using the inquiry approach.) As a second year with lots of insecurities, this group can be a little intimidating, but I did my best, and I don't think I stood out too much.

It was still nice to see Jeff, though, since it has been so long since I have seen him. He's a great storyteller, and, as part of the concert, he read a story called A Child's Christmas in Wales. He did a wonderful job, and the many voices he used to read the characters' speaking parts left me laughing the whole time. According to all I talked to about it, this story is an absolute classic. They were all really surprised I had never heard it before.

If you have any interest in reading it, I have found an on-line version. (Click the title above to go to it.) I think I will use it to practice my storytelling skills, since good storytelling can be powerful. It kept me listening intently for half-an-hour or forty-five minutes last night, and that's pretty good when I'm not decidedly interested going in!

Something Kind of Cool

Last week, I wrote out a little card to Aron Ralston asking for his e-mail address again. I then took it down the Idaho Youth Ranch to see if they would be so kind as to send it to him for me.

I received this little note from the lady at the Idaho Youth Ranch today. Cool, huh?

Elisabeth,

I mailed your card to Aron’s P.O. Box in Aspen, per his request.

I trust you will hear back from him.

I’m glad the event touched you on a number of levels.

Thank you for attending.

Best regards,

Roberta

School

Please don't mention school! This is the last full week my students will have before Christmas and I don't even want to anticipate the mood they will be in!

Other than that, everything is going well! My mom, my sister, and I went to see Harvey Korman and Tim Conway today. Tim Conway is so funny! He made me laugh a couple times. It was pretty much a good day!

Gotta go home and get some shut-eye!



Elisabeth

Why are you cast down, my soul?

It wasn't until Bibly Study after 9:00 mass this morning that I could fully appreciate how much meeting Aron Ralston hit me the other night. I think I had seen Aron as some kind of spiritual powerhouse: a Lazarus figure. I mean, there was NO WAY it was humanly possible that he could survive three days alone in the canyon let alone six, and to cut off your own hand and then have the werewithal to rappel 65 feet alone and walk for four hours . . .the story is beyond amazing.

So I suppose I had in my mind a picture of a man who was spiritually fulfilled. He had almost literally died and come back to life . . .I mean, past the point where any faint glimmer of hope was lost/ where he, himself, had fully expected to be dead. . .and he came back. I mean, I thought meeting him would be inspirational because of all the faith he would have. Or perhaps I thought there was really something amazing about him, like he was some superhuman, Odysseus character who just happened to be somehow superhumanly strong or clever and who just also happened to be the one who was stupid enough to get himself into the situation he had found himself in: the one man in a hundred who had the stuff that it took to get himself out. In other words, I gave him the credit for his survival as if God saves this level of mercy and grace for his special extra-strong, extra-faithful ones; the ones he's blessed with an extraordinary level of whatever thing it is that makes you extra-favored by God. (which naturally excludes me, in my mind, as I don't see myself as epic hero material.)

But the reality was very different, I think. He might be smart, and he might be resourceful, but the guy I heard speak was fully human, fully weak as the rest of us, and, perhaps, just as confused about why he is alive as any of us would be in his shoes. When I met him, I was struck, I think, with just how human he was. He was tired. He had self-doubts about the fact that he had had this vision of this little boy he would someday have and now -- after three years in the public eye -- no potential mother had made herself known. (He said something about how he was "still looking for the woman" to the woman in front of me as he signed her book. She had asked him about the vision of the little boy he had had his fifth night in the canyon; this vision had played a part in the fact that he had not ultimately given up.) I don't know why this struck me so much. . . wait, yes I do. It struck me that this very human guy -- about my age, skinny, tired, with doubt in his eyes -- would have been the one to receive this kind of heavenly miracle. There was nothing superhuman about him. Furthermore, I think I believed that after having experienced practically a literal resurrection, one would be some sort of spiritual powerhouse -- with the kind of faith crises I experience daily as some part of a distant past; as if this sort of experience would banish the struggles you would have with God and with your faith and it would be all smiles and being-born-again stories and evangelism from there on out. And it never occurred to me that someone like that would struggle with the exact same struggles I have in my faith everyday, and that he could have just as many doubts.

And is this fascination simply a cover-up for the fact that I heard him express his sadness over his lack of a mother for his son, and I have spent the last several years every bit as sad over my lack of a father for mine? I don't know.

But I think meeting such a starkly human Aron. A skinny lad with big circles under his tired eyes who had to hold the paper down with his claw so that he could struggle to sign his name with his left hand (he had always been right handed before) was humbling for me, because it showed me a glimpse of the kinds of things God can do, and it gave me a hint that if God cares that much about even a tired kid who has had to relearn how to write his name, then he might also care about a brand new single teacher with anxiety problems who can't seem to get her balance right.

So, for both Aron and me in our respective struggles, I would like to offer this psalm, which gives a voice to stuff I find hard to express and impossible to understand or solve on my own:

Why are you cast down, my soul?
Why are you disquiet within me?
Hope in God; I will praise him still.
My savior and my God..

from Psalm 42