Flies

I heard a fly buzz when I died;
The stillness round my form
Was like the stillness in the air
Between the heaves of storm.

The eyes beside had wrung them dry,
And breaths were gathering sure
For that last onset, when the king
Be witnessed in his power.

I willed my keepsakes, signed away
What portion of me I
Could make assignable, and then
There interposed a fly,

With blue, uncertain, stumbling buzz,
Between the light and me;
And then the windows failed, and then
I could not see to see.

~ Emily Dickinson

I've Been Gainfully Employed

As a nanny! Yay!

This family has relatives with colitis, so they understand the bit about occassional internal bleeding.

They are currently impressed with my childcare prowess, because I got the little boy to eat an apple. (I convinced him it has special powers to give him muscle.)

Yesterday he said: "Strongness is the power of apples!"
Me: That's right.
Him: "I like apples."
Me: Oh really? Because they make you strong?
Him: "No, because they make me stronger than everyone else."

The Courage to Comb a Stranger's Hair

A lady at my book club told us this story.

She was at the airport, waiting to board a flight. She noticed an older man sitting nearby, completely disheveled. Anyway, she was praying, as Catholics at airports are wont to do, and the thought came to her: Go comb his hair. Oh no, God, she said. I don't want to do that. Please don't make me do that.

Finally, feeling utterly stupid, she walked over asked the man "Sir, may I comb your hair?"

At that point, the gentleman nearly burst into tears. He'd just been on a long-cross country flight, which is why he was out of sorts. Because of his age, and an old accident, he was unable to lift his arms above his head to straighten his hair. He was embarrassed and afraid, because he was meeting someone at the airport that day, and he wanted so badly to look nice. But he didn't know what to do, because he felt silly asking someone to help him. So he was just sitting there.

Isn't that beautiful?That's the power of prayer ... God will let you know what you're supposed to do; but then you've got to have the guts to do it.

I've decided I'm definitely going to do whatever dumb stuff God asks, going on the theory that He may have things figured out way better than me.

Renovation Complete! (Mostly)

I hope you like the new format. I decided to test drive the beta version (well, now the "new" version) of blogger ... Some nice features, but I'm not sold on blogger widget templates. I'd almost rather type out all the code myself. Seems less complicated that way.

What do you think? Over-cluttered? Too much pink?

The red roses are not long lost. If you can't stand this and long to have them back, speak up and I'll make it so.

Please notice the nifty third column.
Oh-la-la!

Under Renovation

Pardon the digi dust

Present!

If you ever teach, there's an easy way to spot the insurrectionists from the start. If you take roll call, the vast majority of students, happy conformists, will respond with a complacent "here." But Mr. or Miss. Subversive can't resist replying "Present!" or "Attending!"

Having been in a convent for 1.5 years renders one rather oblivious where pop culture is concerned. Whenever a cultural reference comes up, folks feel the need to inquire: Do you know who Hannah Montana is? Were you here for this movie? Did this song come out before you went in? Have you ever seen the Colbert report?

Just recently I learned that Joseph Lieberman is no longer a Democrat, but an Independent.

It's amazing how much useless knowledge one misses out on.

Equal Does Not Mean "the same"

Men sweat. Ladies perspire.

Men wash. Ladies bathe.

Men landscape. Ladies garden.

Men clean. Ladies tidy.

Men walk into barbershops. Ladies make appointments at salons.

Men are late. Ladies are fashionably late.

Assisi

It was so beautiful when I visited, I never want to go back, lest my memory be spoiled by the presence of tourists or poor weather.

I remember one fellow American pronouncing it "A-Sissy," as in, "my frail, sickly cousin was a sissy." No amount of cajoling would convince him. A-see-see, you goose! Long I!