Excerpts from April 12, 2007 Newsletter "Barns Burnt Down, but Now I Can See the Moon"

We have our new line "Quotable Cards" coming any day. These are probably my favorite cards I've seen in a long long time (that Stu & I saw in Chicago at the Art Museum). They include journals, address books, magnets, and wall murals of famous and thought-provoking quotes. One quote I think I bypassed when I ordered, for it didn't strike me at first, kept replaying itself in my mind over the last week. Strange how our minds work! The quote was, "Barn's burnt down... now I can see the moon." If it's early and you're like me (it takes awhile to "get it") here is the basic idea. Something very bad just happened in my life, what's the flip side? I was taken back in time to a memory of when I taught in California. The husband of one of my teaching friends was killed in a motorcycle accident at the beginning of our school year. Each day that year we all had lunch together. We would see her cry, we would see her silent, we would all cry when she would tell us of her dog's waiting at the door for him, etc. Then one lunch she got the giggles. We all just looked at her, wondering, "What in the world is Linda laughing for?" She exclaimed, "I just realized I can get a cat! Jim hated cats!" I always remembered how we all just laughed, for time always continues on, doesn't it? As Aldrich states, "And the years glide by." - I am so glad that time continues, for no matter what our personal "barn burning" experiences are, we can KNOW that if we just continue to get up - life will go on & we will eventually see the beautiful moon! Hang in there! Don't forget to drop to your knees, it's such a short drop - and we don't have to wait for our view of the moon to find our comfort there.



Excerpts from Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson November 29, 2007 Newsletter
(describing the kitchen scene after the death of the father)...Never since they were small children had they clustered about her so, and never since then had she been so aware of the smell of their hair, their softness, breathiness, abruptness. It filled her with a strange elation, the same elation, the same pleasure she had felt when any of them, nursing, had fastened her eyes on her face and reached for her...her hair, her lips, hungry to touch, eager to be filled for awhile and sleep.

She had always known a thousand ways to circle them all around with what must have been like grace. She knew a thousand songs...In the summer she kept roses in a vase on the piano, huge, pungent roses, and when the blooms ripened and the petals fell, she put them in a tall Chinese jar, with cloves and thyme and sticks of cinnamon. Her children slept on starched sheets under layers of quilts and in the morning her curtains filled with light the way sails fill with wind. Of course they pressed her and touched her as if she had just returned after an absence. Not because they were afraid she would vanish as their father had done, but because his sudden vanishing had made them aware of her.

The chapter goes on in detail the calmness they surrounded themselves with the next few years before the girls married. I just loved the way she described how the mother made their lives beautiful. I especially love how she described their new awareness of each other. That line in itself was what I have desired - to be aware of details, to be aware of touch, to be aware of colors, to be aware of what seems to be such "trite" parts of our lives, when those are the most beautiful pieces in our lives if we truly think about it. We must surround ourselves with what we love. Details. Details. They make us aware. Make us truly live regardless of what is going on. Mrs. Coffee is doing that next door. She is quietly surrounding herself with what makes her aware. Blooming cactii, flowers, smells of cooking. She is loving us differently - taking the time to ask me to coffee, for she isn't afraid of my vanishing, she is now aware of what she has that is beautiful to her. hope that made sense! I still haven't dared to be aware of the beautiful flavor and effects of my perfectly brewed coffee, for I don't want to wake up Camden! But I am aware of the silence in my living room. The only silence for my day. I pray that you will be aware of the silent presence of our God today. That you will be aware that you only must drop to your knees or look up to the heavens - such joy and peace and comfort are right there!