I realized I am sort of brain dead right now, and not feeling particularly “thoughtful” or interested in writing. But then I also realized that I had a good week full of good, normal things to be grateful for, and if for no one but me, I should remember that and write them down. So here’s to normal, good weeks, and not missing the ‘living’ in the midst of, well, life!  Â
– I gave and graded my first midterm to 37 college freshman; overall, they did quite well, but a few did fail (which, surprisingly, made me sad!) I got some good feedback from students on how our course is going as well and feel like I am connecting a lot more now that they know me/vice-versa, better.
– We explored the Garfield Park Conservatory downtown, which was gorgeous and relaxing on a breezy, summer-like Saturday, and featured South American art by a visiting mosaic-sculpter-impressionist kinda artist (hard to describe). Â
– I heard a great version of “His Eye is On the Sparrow” (one of my all-time favorite songs), that I purchased and have been singing along with all week.
– Our godson was dedicated this Sunday and we went to their family’s church for the occasion, celebrated with his extended family, and got to remember how neat new little lives can be!  Â
– I got through several of my comp study questions – and loved the answer I found related to “What is justice/the history of social justice?” (a la Troeltsch, Neibuhrs, Rawls, and Bell.)
– Had a great dinner out/played darts with my brother/sis-in-law/friend and later on made homeade apple crisp while singing along (loudly) to Moulin Rouge.
– We’re leaving for Italy in less than a month! (We’re taking a 10-day trip over Thanksgiving.) We got a fresh infusion of travel books/maps from friends along with info that Peter downloaded this week, so we now have a rough outline of what to do in each city that we’re adventuring into (Rome, Florence, short day in Sienna, and Venice). It feels like a REALLY good conclusion to my studying to look forward to.
– Peter’s sister got engaged! 🙂 Woo hoo!
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It’s good to be grateful for normal things. No need to wait for a miracle to thank God. Thanks for the reminder.
liz – i’m so excited for your trip to italy! while driving through spain last month i thought several times that italy must share with it a great deal of similarity. hopefully i can get there to compare for myself someday. 😉 we’ll have to make good on our talk of getting together when you return so i can see pictures!