lamott

lamott
Originally uploaded by amy joy.

as i mentioned earlier, this weekend i had the chance to finally read anne lamott's new book, "plan b: further thoughts on faith"... anne is one of those women whose writing makes me want to write more, and who makes me want to be her best friend. she's extremely honest and funny and smart, and isn't afraid to laugh at herself. anne is also a christian - evangelical, jesus is lord kind of christian. but she's also very politically liberal, and that combined with her honesty can make some evangelicals doubt whether or not she truly is a sister. i'm happy to call her my sister, though.
i was a little nervous when i started reading plan b - her earlier books are so good that i was afraid i'd be disappointed. "traveling mercies," her previous memior about faith, is one of the three books i took with me to india, and one of those i'm constantly trying to get others to read. this one will be the same.
anne is older than she was when she wrote her earlier books - just over fifty. and her son sam is a teenager now, which definitely impacts the tone of her writing.
anne is not afraid to express her fears, and to ask hard questions. this is reflected in most of her essays, which were written around the time the war started in iraq. her questions and thoughts reflected a lot of my own, as i was reading them on the two-year anniversary of the invasion. be warned - if you are a republican, you may disagree with a lot of her political thoughts. but there is much more than politics to think about as anne reflects on growing older, learning to forgive, following a call, building community, etc.
in short, this one is a keeper.

happy monday, dear ones! what a great weekend - nathalie was here and it was so good to have girl time with her. we had sushi, chai, and saw a great movie. the film made me want to be in india NOW. but first, there's grad school to get into and finish. it looks like i'll be getting my master's in counseling from the university of dayton on the campus of capital university. (which is only ten minutes from our house.) i was headed towards ohio state, but dayton is much more flexible and geared towards non-traditional students - in other words, they leave space to work and be married and be with our community. we were with our community last night for our last lenten gathering before easter. good food, good times. i love these people. they are what makes columbus feel more and more like home. (them and my husband, of course!) daniel finally got his valentine's gift on saturday. it's so much fun to watch him play with it - it's one of those keyboards that plugs into the computer so that he can make music. the only downside is that i have less computer time now - but that does leave more time to do things like read anne lamott's new book, which was the best housewarming gift i've gotten yet. (from nathalie.) i'm feeling lighthearted today. tonight is crafty beaver time with sharon and suzanne. i actually have a real crochet project to work on, with a pattern and everything. exciting! hmm...question of the day for those of you who've read this far - what movie or book most closely reflects the life you want to live? (example - "born into brothels" made me want to have a life like zana briski. "dead man walking" made me want to have a life like susan sarandon's character, living in the projects and playing with inner-city kids.) and, break.

just testing out the new, weak wireless signal that we found in our house. it's bedtime, and we're in front of the fireplace after house church. i love those people. nathalie, one of the most brilliant friends i have (truly), is coming to see us this weekend. hooplah! she is getting ready to graduate from medical school, and finds out where she matched for her residency on thursday. it's been too long since i've gotten to spend time with my sister....she might even go see "born into brothels" with me, since my lovely husband doesn't really like dramas... i must go to sleep now.

i love my job! **warning**this post may be a bit difficult if you're looking for something super-cheerful! i just got off of the phone with a woman whose 17 year old daughter has been AWOL since last friday, after she beat up her 15 year old sister and left the house with two boys in a stolen car. this is the same girl who is always sweet and polite and really likeable, even when i walked in on her trying to get rid of the marijuana smell in the house before her mother got home from work a couple of months ago when i made a surprise visit to her after school. i actually do like her, even when i'm having a discussion with her about why she keeps getting STDs. last week i had a treatment team meeting with a 15 year old girl who is in residential treatment. she keeps cutting herself, runs away almost weekly, refuses to go to school and take her medication. oh, yes, she's also decided that she is a vampire. (seriously) today i met with a 14 year old girl who is furious because the magistrate has ordered her to have no contact with a particular 20 year old boy who she insists is her best friend. we suspect she is a bit more "involved" with him, and the magistrate informed her that "a 20 year old has no business being friends with you." i met with her after a court hearing with a father who allegedly raped his 12 year old daughter after giving her sleeping pills. thank goodness the same magistrate once again ordered absolutely no contact between father and daughter, unless a therapist is present. this afternoon, i talked to a mother who was literally days away from having her four children returned to her when her own mother kicked her out of the house and now she's homeless. aargh. sometimes i forget that my perception of what is normal and part of a day's work really isn't... but i really do love my job! go figure.

good morning. we're having a lovely little surprise weekend in cleveland, courtesy of the brownstone inn and its proprietor, robin, who invited us up at the last minute to work out a web design deal with daniel. as it happens, this weekend is our six-month wedding anniversary. (thanks to bekah for reminding us!) yesterday afternoon, robin gave us a driving tour of the city for a few hours, providing a lot of insightful background about the city's history and where it's headed. it's a cool place - grey in a way that reminds me of detroit/chicago/cincinnati...since it was cold last night, we stuck to having thai food (yummy!) and catching a screening of "sideways" at an independent theatre. i liked the movie. daniel didn't so much. maybe it's because i'm closer to the age of the characters than he is? anyway, after a home-cooked "traditional american breakfast" this morning followed by daniel striking a business deal while i read the sunday new york times and caught up on blog reading, we're off to the rock and roll hall of fame. um, never mind. i just checked the admission prices, which are $20 each. so we have just changed plans to spend a mere $4 each to go to MOCA, the museum of contemporary art. see you soon!