Three's Company

I had a lovely evening last night, joining in with a friend's women's group from church. As part of the invite, we were instructed to bring three objects of significance, about which we could tell a story.
One hour before the event, I still hadn't even thought about what I could bring (except, briefly, "pictures? Hmmm..."), but I was pleasantly surprised when a quick rummage through my desk drawers and closet revealed at least three items that were both personally memorable and had great stories attached to them.


- Item one: the harmonica
During the spring break of my senior year, my friend Katie, me and four other friends traveled to the west coast (Washington's Olympic peninusla, specifically) to spend a week at Katie's house with her family. One of our adventures while there included a trip to visit Andy Mackie. Andy has spent many of his recent years serving as an advocate for music education. He goes into local schools, he raises money for scholarships, he has created "guitar-in-a-box" kits that can be assembled to create a simple one or three stringed guitar. He also plays harmonica, and standing in his workshop, he handed each of us one of these blue harmonicas in C and promptly taught us how to play "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."
So this harmonica reminds me not only of that trip, which was a wonderful time spent with good friends, but also all the music-making I shared with those friends and at college in general. Harmonica is very accessible, and in some ways symbolizes how my time at St. Olaf made all kinds of music my own.
I also played a fantastic duet of the Hallelujah Chorus with my friend Sarah on this harmonica, but that's another story.
- Item two: the apron
We celebrated six birthdays in about three months in my community house in DC. Each celebration was unique and fun; this apron comes from the celebration of housemate Callie's birthday. We had all baked cakes, in an impromptu "cake-off" and then Callie presented us all with blank aprons, tie dye and puff paints to each make our own apron. Not only do I really like the way mine turned it, it reminds me of the many good times I had living in the Bon House, and the ongoing value of sharing good food with those you love.
- Item three: the mittens
My most recent item, these are simply a birthday gift from my good friend Chris (technically also a Christina). Moving to Vancouver, going to Regent was a huge transition and a large part of the shock came right around my birthday. I had seen these mittens at the Bay and really wanted a pair, mostly because they were really fun and Canadian. They were the perfect gift at the perfect time--a luxury that I wanted, but couldn't afford; witness to a friend's caring about me; and a reminder that living in Canada was not all grey rainy weather, but also something bright, fun and cheerful.

to the single ladies!

Dear Bon House girls,
We've all talked about this before, but I love and cherish you all. I'm going to miss you, as individuals and as a collective.
Thanks for the year.
Love,
Christina

graduate school?

This year of LVC has been like a graduate course in "real life." I haven't missed college this year because my mind has been so engaged with all the new, real-life stuff that I've been learning about through my work, my housemates and living in DC. At our house retreat last weekend, Nora shared something she'd written for her school's alumni network--alums were invited to post mock-courses that described what they were living and learning in their time after college. Aha! I said. It's not just me. So this is my list of "courses" that I have taken this year (with thanks to Nora for originating GWS/MUS 287).

EDUC 350: Advanced Topics in Adult Education (no prerequisites)
RMCS 230: Washington Natives: the story of Washington D.C.'s black community
MATH 005: Elementary School Math for Former Math Majors
ENGL 200: Basic Grammar and Usage for Writers of GED Essays
ECON 215: Simplicity and Sustainability in Collective and Personal Budgeting
GWS/MUS 287: All the Single Ladies: Female Empowerment through Communal Living, Pop Music, and Learning to Like People Different from You Even Though They May Drive You Crazy
PE 207: Urban Biking
HEALTH 115: Cooking for Food Allergies and Picky Eaters
EVS 010: Composting for Dummies

an embarrassment of riches

Blessings of the weekend: having Friday off, having a van, having a van with 7 seats/seatbelts, having a van with tons of storage space (even enough for Alli's bike), having a van with a not-crappy engine, having a van with a/c, stopping at McDonald's on the way out of the city, listening to 94.7 Fresh FM, getting to Callie's family's farm in Palmyra (our destination), lounging in the house a/c, petting the house cat, swimming in the pool, making Emily swim, making gaga faces at Callie's niece Lucy, hot-tubbing, watching a lot of disney movies and then doing feminist critiques of the heroines, playing Beatles rock band, reading books, running around on the ATV, hiking, writing, eating ice cream, listening to our "bon house music mix" on grooveshark, drinking wine and cocktails, having dinner together, having "intimate" conversations, complimenting each other, sleeping, doing Buddhist chant, giving/receiving massages...coming back to a city where we have jobs (at least for another week and a half), a house and hopes/dreams for the future.
For people who only make the equivalent of 4.86/hour, I'd say our lives are pretty good

a hospital kaleidoscope

In LVC we throw around the word "community" a lot but it can be hard to know what that really means. As cheesy at it sounds, this week I got to see community in action.
The setting? One of my housemates was in the hospital. The hospital was far away. We were all busy with work. It would have been easy to just carry on with our lives...but that didn't happen. Everyone pulled together and did what it took to make sure that we made it out to visit--whether that meant missing work or taking two buses back to the house at eleven at night. I was waiting for the bus with two of my housemates after a hospital visit and realized that (at least for a little while) my priorities had become community-first, self-second. For someone who lives very much in her own head, this was an incredible thought. And considering we've only known each other for nine months, I can only marvel at a) my housemates (who are quality people) and b) how we are slowly becoming greater than the sum of our parts.
That realization also made me see how far I have to go. It took some prodding to work up the energy to make the trek to the hospital. I also realized that community-focus and my compassionate attention shouldn't just be a hospital thing. A person zoning out in the living room may need my company just as much as my physically isolated housemate in the hospital.
Our hospital visits also hammered home another lesson that I've been learning this year: the more narrow your "problem" or interest, the wider your world. For example, my job is pretty specific--I teach adults. However, education with adults, especially when centered around attaining a high school credential, becomes a swirl of other issues including parenting, relationships, fair housing, just wages, employment, child care, and much more. In the same way, going to the hospital became much more than one housemate being sick. It made me realize (not for the first time) that there are very few hospitals actually IN the District, especially in the center of the city. Those hospitals that are in the city are generally dismissed as inferior. My housemates and I thought that our hour-plus commute to Sibley was arduous--but for some people, that's how long it takes to get to school/work every day. We spent three days with a 'second job' of hospital visits, but some people spend years visiting their loved ones who are sick. And what happens when concerned family members don't have the privilege of taking two buses to see their loved ones? Or the luxury of taking off work?

All in all, I come away from this week feeling undeservedly fortunate. I think that's what they call blessing.