Story time

Gentle Reader,

So if there is one thing to know about The Mod Sub, it is that she loves a good story. Always has, and one suspects, she always will. There is no distance too great that she would not search for the elusive yarn. It is why she perennially posts to this blog that is read by a precious few. It is why she interviews guests on her podcast, Well, Don't Tell the Kids!. But for more than these reasons, she has come to discover that, actually, she IS the story. Astounding.

There is a concept that stories follow a common thread. The protagonist in a given initial state is challenged, repulsed by the contradiction to her expectations, expends much energy running away from it, only to be transformed, and returning to the original challenge with a new outlook. We see the pattern with Jonah and Nineveh via the belly of a leviathan; with the prodigal son by way of loose living; with Elizabeth Bennet through the Lake Counties.

The Mod Sub is one for established tradition, security in the mainstream, rising adeptly through the ranks to general good regard. Imagine her dismay and utter surprise when these prejudices were overtly challenged and riotously overturned. One can spend a lifetime running from the astonishing. But the Lord pursues and while not onerous, remains persistent. The Mod Sub attributes the persistence to the character of the original master Storyteller.

As Ever,
The Mod Sub

Port in the Storm

Dear Gentle Reader,

Holiday greetings.

So, I’ve been attending early services at the Cathedral for a while now.  I find the more relaxed, jazz atmosphere in the choir loft to be more manageably sized for me. Sometimes, I do like the all out, high church service an hour later.

                At the 9 o’clock service, there are American Sign Language interpreters for a parishioner and of course, gluten free wafers for those who need them. But there have been two persons in particular who caught my attention.

                Today, the Dean of the Cathedral preached on the concept of ubuntu, without explicitly invoking the word. He said that we are only as well in being as our neighbors are well in their being. He quoted French President E. Macron on the centenary of WWI, that a nation, should it turn inward at the disregard of other nations, risks losing its moral integrity. In the end, Dean Randy was highlighting the building and ushering in of the Kingdom of God.

                So, there are some persons in real need that come to worship, as I’m sure you are well aware. Today, a man dressed in para-military garb sat in the first row. At first, I thought he was conducting the choir; but then he suddenly clasped his hands at his mouth as in prayer. Let’s call him “Dan”. When the congregation laughed politely, at an appropriate level at a turn of phrase from the preacher, Dan laughed louder and a little too long. He walked toward the altar to “instruct” someone during prayers. Upon crossing the midline of the church, Dan dropped to one knee and crossed himself in reverence. Dan picked up a dime off the floor, held it up, and inspected it, before placing it between his feet.

                In prior weeks, there was another gentleman, let’s call him “Patrick”. He wore a giant, green down coat, almost like a sleeping bag with sleeves. He removed his knit cap. Patrick said hello to me. Patrick crossed himself and bowed his head as the cross went by.

                The striking thing to me is that Dan and Patrick clearly are churched, and know what to do and when to get to service on time; they respond to internal cues, even above the din and competing chaos of poverty and perhaps, mental illness.

I once heard a quote that the distance between the greatest saint and the biggest sinner is miniscule from God’s point-of-view. Maybe, even with all our education, training, trappings of first world affluence, we sit metaphysically close to Dan and Patrick--and God shows mercy to all of us?

                                                                                        Peace and thanksgiving,

                                                                                        The ModSub

Advent III

Well, Gentle Reader, fear not, here is my annual post in the season of waiting. These are a couple of quick sketches that have been on my mind the past week. Majestic Mint man is an industrious gentleman who is a regular outside of a coffeeshop that I frequent. He always has a publication in his arms that he politely vends upon request. I asked one day if he needed anything and he said he was all set. Upon further reflection, he asked for a refill of Majestic Mint tea, informing me that it was 55 cents. The next week he greeted me with, "Happy to see you again." So am I.

A Plethora of Posts (or when it snows it blizzards!)

Ski Equipment c. 1970's

     Well Gentle Reader, steady your heart as you read a second post from the ModSub in as many days. What can be said except that the inordinate amount of snow lends itself to either hibernation or creative essays. Witness the latter in this humble offering. The children's skis belonged to my brother and me. My mom and dad took us to the Ski Chalet to acquire proper ski equipment. We were fans of "Ski East", frequenting the icy slopes of Ski Liberty and Blue Knob and Seven Springs. Most of my memories from these adventures center around the ski lifts themselves from the rope lift to the button seat lift to the granddaddy of lifts-- the chair lift. Actually, the precursor to any power driven lift was my dad pulling me up the bunny hill by the end of my ski poles.

      I was instructed to grip the rope lift (where were my poles?), which, as soon as I dutifully grabbed on, I was jerked up the hill with quite sore rope-burned palms. My small sense of payback was when, upon reaching my destination, I kept a hold of the rope until much yelling from others to "let go" caused me to let go. One can imagine the rubber band twanging effect that the other poor saps felt in my wake.

      The button seat lift was even more challenging. Somehow, after straddling the circular "seat" suspended from a rope, I was moved to a higher potential energy point. However, it was a fine balance to counter the pull of the seat and not to actually sit down and be dragged in the snow in utter embarrassment.

       One day, I miraculously found myself ready for the two person chairlift. On my maiden run, I found myself next to my first instructor, my dad. Instructed to "look behind me and have my hand ready to grab the side of the chair", I was startled at the speed at which the chair approached and scooped us up in one fell swoop. Wow! Such exhilaration; such a sense of accomplishment! The bar came down and I was able to rest my booted skis on it and to revel in the safety so far above the skiing ants below. We approached a giant turning horizontal flywheel and my dad lifted the bar. What the.... My dad got up and went down the small debarkation hill. "Very nice," I thought. More yelling; really, why is skiing so vocal? Still in the chair myself and rounded the flywheel to the return side, I had neglected the crucial step of getting out at the top. After the ski lift operator, who was busy earning his minimum wage with me, ground the cable to a halt and put the works in reverse, I was able once again with extreme trepidation to disembark with a modicum of dignity.

Faithfully recounted,

The ModSub

Blizzard Redux!

Winter Oil Painting by my mother, RCK

     Well, gentle reader, it has been a season of frozen posts from the ModSub; but, not to fear, there is a thaw occurring even with the onset of a historic blizzard. We haven't seen snow fall like this since 2010 (Original Blizzard Post  ) and 1978. I do have good memories of rolling large snow boulders with my brothers in the front yard of my home in the late 70's. We used up every available inch of snow to construct Fort Mandan, much to my dad's dismay since the sheer weight was grass killing. The snow battle that ensued with the neighbor's kids was, as my son would put it, epic. The best part of this recollection was the sheer solitude near the oak in the backyard with only the sound of the whipping wind to comfort my pioneer mindset. I read a lot of Laura Ingalls Wilder back then; but didn't everyone? As I was saying, the best, best part was returning inside to the centrally heated home to have hot chocolate and marshmallows with my mom inquiring as to my brothers' whereabouts. My response was invariably, "Dunno" or "Outside". There is something to be said for a childhood before the virtuality and pervasiveness of screens.

The ModSub

Not So Required Reading

Kind Reader:

How long has it been since the ModSub posted anything here? Well, fear no more! Celia (thanks, C!) had a great idea to go book clubbing from the comfort of our own desk/sofa/metro seat. This combines many of my favorite pursuits: reading, photography, blogging, noshing, and cooking (not-so-much), and anything to do with Julia!

So borrow, buy, download this book and let's talk amongst ourselves! We can comment below and let our thoughts be known :)...

Faithfully,
The ModSub

New and Old

It's Advent II and the Modern Suburbanite has turned philosophical as she is sometimes wont to do. We lit the second candle of our Advent wreath calling to mind our tradition. A new skinny frosted tree brings a little glamour into the scene. Now I don't think the birth of the Christ child was to usher in bling and tinsel. But maybe the neo-tree can remind me of Jeremiah saying that the Lord is doing a new thing. Let it be so in our hearts and world.

Blessings,

The ModSub

PPPST! October 2014

Welcome Intrepid Parents!
Happy Anniversary to us; it's been a year of learning and breathing together. What a blessing and an honor...

We met once again and started with a centering breath exercise taken from p. 107 of A Wing and a Prayer written by The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church (and marine biologist/pilot). Presiding Bishop background The chapter is entitled, "A New Thing".

"Try this exercise. Close your eyes. Relax your body. Ease into your chair. As you breathe in, hear God saying to you, 'I love you.' As you let your breath go, focus on letting go with it something that binds you--an old hurt, a sin that's hard to forget, your frustration with your own or someone else's imperfection. As Jeremiah said, God has already forgotten it. God remembers only the promise. Even in the midst of our current global anxiety, God is doing a new thing."

What a comfort. God is doing a new thing. How does that relate to raising our children? Does that letting go allow for a moment of grace where we can "come to our senses" (a la the bereft prodigal son)? Katharine speaks of a "reckless love"-- a love that "doesn't count or reckon the cost". What does that mean for our children, our families, our communities? What does that mean for ourselves? Yikes! Big questions...

In the penultimate paragraph she writes, "That abundant life is ours for the asking, and the letting go. It's as close as our breath. The act of breathing is itself a small dying and invitation to new life. Letting go of our breath is a radical act of trust. It's a dying, but a dying for, so that we have room for a new breath."

Let us carry that around with us and try it on for size...

Peace,
The ModSub

11/9 is the Annual Meeting.
Date and time for our group TBD.

Dahlia etudes

Late summer bloomers, geometric and full of impact. Gotta go with the showy, splashy dahlia. Sure to bring on a smile...

PPPST! September 2014

Welcome back, Intrepid Parent to a new year of our small group for the Parents of Young Children at St. Patrick's. New year, new service times, new digs... We are now meeting on the second Sunday of the month in the Day School Library, which we have found to be light-filled and full of comfortable armchairs. Continental breakfast served after 9am service in the Great Hall; our group convenes at 10:10am-10:50am.

A quick review of ground rules for the health and growth of our small band:
    Confidentiality expected and respected-- these are closed door sessions to promote sharing.
    Let's be quick to listen and slow to speak-- everyone should feel like there are opportunities to share what's on their hearts.
    We refrain from unsolicited advice giving. Beginning somewhere
    We leave our judging attitudes and negativity at the door. We bring our open hearts and minds to share.

This session we read aloud from Brian D. McLaren's We Make the Road by Walking, a recommended book by The Right Rev. Mariann Budde. In Chapter 2 this summer, I made a most astonishing discovery that in the Garden of Eden, there were, not one, but two special named trees! Where have I been? Not only that, but there are two creation accounts in Genesis... live and learn, I suppose. Back to the trees-- yes, The Tree of Life and The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The author makes the point that the former is life-giving and constructive; the latter is, through a judgmental path which humans are prone to take, quite destructive. I wonder what that means for us as parents and caretakers?

If the Spirit leads, please join us on the second Sunday in October (10/12) at 10:10am in the Day School Library. You can contact The Rev. Loren Lasch ( loren@stpatrickschurchdc.org ) for more information.

Peace and Blessings!
The Mod Sub

PPPST! May 2014

Welcome, Intrepid Parent:

On a lovely spring morning that we thought would never arrive, we met to share our thoughts, our stories, ourselves, really. The quote for the morning is:

"The first duty of love is to listen." --Paul Tillich

The Difference between Listening & Hearing:

"There is a difference, strong but not always noted, between listening and hearing. You hear the pneumatic drill, though you would rather not listen. You listen for your children's voices in the playground, but you can't always hear them. In urban environments, there's usually a surplus of sound -- so much, in fact, that it often becomes difficult to hear anything at all. But if we become too good at filtering things, have we also damaged our capacity to listen?"

Be the Change:

Take a few minutes today to stop whatever it is you are doing and just listen.

http://www.dailygood.org/pdf/dg.php?qid=5424

Paul Tillich as another oft-quoted Christian theologian Tillich information.

Last month we contemplated T. Merton's Suscipe prayer Merton Prayer.

With all of the exterior and interior clamor of our modern world, we must be intentional in our times of stillness and silence to attend to those important to us. This can include our family, our friends, our neighbors in need; most present and perhaps, most elusive, our God.

So let us be gentle with ourselves and those around us; sound a bell and "stop...and just listen."

Let us gather once more on June 1st before the summer hiatus (with snax!).

Peace,

The ModSub

PPPST! April 2014

Well, it happened again; the small group for the parents of the very young met yet again at the top of this new Spring month to compare notes, to encourage each other, and to eat snacks!


We took a moment to take some deep cleansing breaths and to center ourselves for a moment before reflection.

This month's passage is a follow-up to the March session's prayer of Thomas Merton. PPPST! March 2014 . Basically, we take solace in the fact that Jesus' yoke is light and burden easy. Merton prays, "But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you."  Rev. James Martin, SJ, wrote The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything, where we can find resonant ideas on the path to freedom through Christ.

"But there's more. Within that final contemplation is one of the most famous, and perhaps most difficult, of all Ignatian prayers. It's often called Suscipe, taken from the first word of the Latin prayer. ...Like many of the Ignatian ideals--including indifference, detachment, humility-- this prayer is a goal.

       Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty,

       my memory, my understanding, and all my will--

       all that I have and possess.

       You, Lord, have given all that to me.

        I now give it back to you, O Lord.

       All of it is yours.

       Dispose of it according to your will.

       Give me love of yourself along with grace,

       for that is enough for me.

Like I said, a tall order. It is a prayer of total surrender...For me, I don't think I've ever been able to say that prayer and mean it completely. That is, I still want to hold on to all those things. And I'm not sure that I can say yet that all I need is God's love and grace. I'm still to human for that . But as Ignatius said, it's enough to have the desire for the desire. It's enough to want that freedom. God will take care of the rest."

Of course, the "indifference, detachment, and humility" that Rev. J. Martin speaks of are not directed at persons in our circle of intimates; rather he is pointing to detachment from our expectations and reactions, a greater challenge than the former, requiring no small dose of humility.

May these words give us comfort and strength as we walk with our families in our daily lives.

Until May 4th (snax de riguer :) )!

The ModSub

PPPST! March 2014

A little wintry mix will not stop us from meeting online to review yesterday's monthly meeting for parents of the very young!

After the customary chiming of the singing bowl (my phone app) to center ourselves, we read the following quotations from the 20th century Trappist monk, Thomas Merton.

We must make the choices that enable us to fulfill the deepest capacities of our real selves.

When ambition ends, happiness begins.

Be good, keep your feet dry, your eyes open, your heart at peace and your soul in the joy of Christ.        http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/thomasmert116013.html

A bit of a follow-up to the vocation conversation of February. The original question was to be, "How do we guide our children to 'make choices that enable [them] to fulfill the deepest capacities of [their] real selves?'" I offered that personally, it is sometimes very difficult for me to let God's plan unfold in my life. Again, the trust issue rears its persistent head. But all is not lost! The subsequent quotes show us a light and easy yoke when we rely on Christ's strength.

For more information on St. Thomas Merton (and more about Forward Movement's Lent Madness) click here: Thomas Merton background

We closed with the Prayer of Thomas Merton (thanks S. Balke, Seminarian!):

“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.” 
― Thomas Merton,        Prayer of Thomas Merton

See you on April 6th! Of course, there will be snax....

Faithfully,

The ModSub

PPPST! February 2014

Hi Intrepid Parents:

We met once again at the top of a new (wintry) month to share in fellowship and respite from the rigors of parenting the very young (and not so young :)!).

After centering ourselves to the sound of the singing bowl, we shared these two quotations from theologian, Frederick Buechner. I was prompted to select the first quote based on a sermon delivered by our Rector, the Rev. Dr. Kurt Gerhard a couple of weeks ago. Follow Me



"The place God calls you to is where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet." Wishful Thinking 

"Grace is something you can never get but only be given. The grace of God means something like: Here is your life. You might never have been, but you are because the party wouldn't have been complete without you. Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid. I am with you. Nothing can ever separate us. It's for you. I created the universe. I love you. There's only one catch. Like any other gift, the gift of grace can be yours only if you reach out and take it. Maybe being able to reach out and take it is a gift too.” Wishful Thinking 

Frederick Buechner
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Buechner

The question that we put to ourselves was what is our calling when it comes our role as parent? There is a certain comfort and challenge in the second passage. Sometimes, it takes a gracious gift of courage to reach out and to accept a call.

Comment if you'd like and see you on 2 March.
Blessings,
The ModSub

PPPST! January 2014

Happy New Year, Intrepid Parents:

We met again this morning and after a quick centering moment, we read the following passage from today's Lectionary. Every time that I read this passage, I question more than becomes resolved. The comfort that I draw from reflection on this Gospel reading is that, although one can be lost so often in life (and in early/middle/late parenthood), we are consistently found as we rest in the every-ready arms of El Shaddai.

Blessings....

The Mod Sub

Luke 2:41-52

The Boy Jesus in the Temple

 Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Assuming that he was in the group of travellers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, ‘Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.’ He said to them, ‘Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?’ But they did not understand what he said to them.Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart.

 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favour. 


The Parents of Pre-pre-schoolers Team at St. Patrick's Episcopal Church (PPPST!) blog entries begin in previous months. Click on link below to read more...
http://jkdesignspot.blogspot.com/2014/01/st-patricks-pre-pre-schoolers-parents.html
BTW, the next session should be on Groundhog Day, Sunday 2 Feb. at 9:15am in Small Group Room.

PPPST! (St. Patrick's Parents of Pre-pre-schoolers Team) 2012

Welcome Intrepid Parents!

Here is a convenient place to meet virtually and to see what was "food for thought" in past months. We meet once a month before the 10am service (9:15 to 9:50am) on the First Sunday of every month. There is a nifty "small group" meeting room just past the office that suits our needs quite well. Needless to say there are snacks to go with morning tea or coffee. Childcare is available in the nursery for a quiet respite from parental duties.

Please join us! The Rev. Loren Lasch is a good first contact. Ellen Teplitz and I (Janet Lee) are your facilitators.

We start with a centering bell app that I installed on my mobile phone: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.googlecode.mindbell&hl=en .
When I hear it ring randomly throughout the day, I might take a deep cleansing breath or I might say the Jesus Prayer, "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner".





In November 2012, we prayed this prayer from The Book of Common Prayer:
46. For the Care of Children

Almighty God, heavenly Father, you have blessed us with the
joy and care of children: Give us calm strength and patient
wisdom as we bring them up, that we may teach them to love
whatever is just and true and good, following the example of
our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

We asked the question, what does Jesus have to say to us about parenting?


In December 2012, we read this short passage from a book called, What Mothers Do by Naomi Stadlen. It helped us to think about how we can best serve each other in small group. Sometimes all we can do is listen...

Naomi and Ruth. ("Call me Naomi no longer; my name is Marah for the Lord has dealt bitterly with me.")   http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=255773724

"It took me many failures to realize that this silence is healing. It acts as a shock-absorber. No more needs to be said. The crying mother feels less alone, and the listening mothers feel they have taken on a tiny fraction of her lot. All feel lighter and stronger, despite the pain they have shared. After some time, the bitter mother will dry her eyes, thank everyone, and the meeting moves on to something else.

Silence often works better than words. Mothers sometimes use meetings to seek or share advice, but this can easily go wrong. Each mother's situation is specific to herself. Often when one mother learns something from another, it's a tiny bit of information that she finds useful, not the informant's entire system. But when a mother has survived the early months of uncertainty, she can be tempted to believe that she can rescue newer mothers from this difficult time. 

Most of the time, what mothers seem to want from each other is compassion--without any advice. That's why their stories can sound harrowing. The harrowing quality is to elicit pity. A mother may often give a more one-sided picture than is truly the case. This is because the mother longs to be bathe in her listener's compassion. She has probably spent all morning being patient and compassionate toward her child and craves some attention for herself."

Naomi Stadlen

There are related conversations in a previous post:
http://jkdesignspot.blogspot.com/2013/07/ive-been-reading-this-recommended-book.html

Please join us on Sunday 5 Jan 2014; and as always, there will be snax :)!
The ModSub

One could say that my present day has been a lifetime in the making.

Seeds were planted years ago in Seattle when the kids were infants and dreams were nascent.

Course corrections were particularly productive a year ago in summer of 2012. This blog was essential for external expression of interior, amorphous musings. See post: First Thoughts First

Have to give props to T. Mohr for life-coaching from the Ether... Tara Mohr: Going For It

Sometimes, one is brave enough to throw caution to the wind.

From the Road,
The Mod Sub

Little Feet; Footprints to Follow...

I've been reading this recommended book and have found that the author expresses a great many ideas in common with my own.

I would be curious to know what you think of the passage below? Leave a comment; this is a good forum for sharing our thoughts...

Excerpt from What Mothers Do (Author is Naomi Stadlen):

                Taking trouble over a baby is definitely tiring and sleep-depriving. But mothers could probably cope better if we all acknowledged how complex and difficult it can be. If a mother says she is short of sleep, this could be a sign not of her failure but of how well she may mothering. I believe that the real, dreadful quality of maternal tiredness is the mother’s sense of struggling against prevailing disrespect. The baby may tire her, but we, if we aren’t careful, can exhaust her.





Excerpt 2:

The odd thing is that mothers often don’t realize that this is true of many mothers. For example, when a mother takes her baby out to the park or shopping, this can change the mood of them both. Once they are out, the baby seems interested, and the mother feels proud of her achievement in getting them both through the front door. She then feels less tired. This means that when other mothers look at her, they see a calm-looking mother with a happy baby. In the same way, when she is looking at them, she is almost sure to mistake their temporary calm for their permanent state. It won’t occur to her that she is giving the impression of being a calm mother herself. Instead, she may well return home feeling discouraged because she seems to be the only mother who is finding it so tiring.

Click for Post of Interest for St. Patrick's folks and others.

Chartreuse Fractals

Here's something interesting to feast your eyes on from Pike Place Market on Puget Sound. Must be a hybrid of cauliflower and broccoli. Nutritious, I'm sure.

All Hallows' Eve Eve

It's All Hallows' Eve Eve and we are prepared despite anything that Mother Nature may have thrown at us. Here is a trick-or-treater in a costume that she made. Does it make you want to get a cup o' joe and a glazed special?