I was trying to order checks (they no longer carry the University of Michigan checks, so I'll have to find a new design, sigh) and realized I didn't have to change my address, we've been here for 3 years! I have only lived in one other house/apartment for 3 years in the last 18 years!
When I lived in Utah from 1991 - 1999, I moved to a new apartment every few months. In Ann Arbor we were in our first apartment for 2.5 years and then our townhouse for about 3.5 years. After that we lived in Texas for only 11 months. We rented when we first came back to Utah and then moved in to our current home in January, 2007.
I have yet to feel like I'm somewhere permanently, it's that restless feeling that grows in me that won't allow me to think I'm here forever and it's the "I can't believe we came back to Utah" part of me that feels the need to run, quickly, away from this crazy state!
And yet, we love so much about our home...the physical house and the town. Our house is 1800 square feet, built in the 1950s and still has red shag carpet in the basement. We have a breezeway that I can't wait to get closed in, a kitchen that I did not finish painting so it still has some blue trim, some white, and my favorite feature: a laundry chute. The best part of the house is the neighborhood. The homes are all older and there's a great mix of young families, older people and some singletons. We live within walking distance of a handful of parks and we're literally 5 minutes away from the mountains.
As for Logan, Sophie goes to a great public school, Steve loves his job and I have a great mix of work, volunteering and now furthering my education. We love the small town feel, but know we have all the amenities we need. We've taken advantage of some concerts and productions that are far less expensive to see here than most other places. We're very lucky and with the frustrations that arise with one religious group being dominant, well, it definitely keeps things interesting and there is always something to talk about!
So, this might be the place I live the longest...actually, with my previous stint in Utah combined with my current 3 years, it is the longest. Wisconsin was 10 years, Pennsylvania and Michigan 6, Texas just 1 and New Jersey 2, but I was only 2 when we moved away, so I don't count that. Does this make me a Utahn? Could definitely be a lot worse!
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Friday, January 1, 2010
Jada
Jada often gets left out of the equation, whether it's talking about the animals or being left home when we go on vacation. We just got back from a 5 day stay in Colorado and Jada was desperate for attention when we returned.
I never considered myself a cat person and still do not completely understand cats, but Jada has been through a lot with us and has earned her keep. She was uprooted from Texas and then had her home invaded by one dog, which turned around and had 8 puppies! I swear Jada was wondering what was going to come next.
We keep the dogs away from Jada for the most part, but occasionally Lucy and she will end up in the same room and it's fine. There is definite curiosity from Lucy, but we can't tell if it's that she wants to play with the kitty or eat her. There have been a few times in which Jada has hissed and brought out the claws, letting Lucy know who was here first.
Sophie took this photo of Jada looking out the playroom window. The dogs were outside at the time and Percy and Winston came up to the window, sniffing. I love that Soph took this photo, because Jada is often looking out windows and someday I hope to find out if she's sad that she didn't get to explore the big, old world.
I hope to find out all kinds of things about what our animals have thought and can only believe in a god that brings humans and animals together. For now I will just take comfort in the fact that I get to share my home with 4 crazy and always entertaining creatures who walk on 4 legs.
“Animals are such agreeable friends - they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms." George Eliot
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Ringing Out the Old
Wow, December 31, 2009. I keep thinking back to where we were 10 years ago: Ann Arbor, Michigan and awaiting the arrival of Sophie. We had moved to Ann Arbor only 4 months before and there was so much that was still so new. I never, never, never (can I stress that enough!) thought I would be bringing in the new decade in Logan, Utah!
The past 10 years have included: the birth of Sophie (January 25, 2000), living in Family Housing at the University of Michigan (1999-2005) and working at the preschool in the community; saying hello and good-bye to many friends who studied at the U of M or were married to someone studying there; moving to San Antonio, TX in 2005 and working at Trinity University; moving back to Logan, Utah after realizing we wanted a home, not to keep moving around and grasped for something...anything that we could cling to for awhile; practicing many religions; adopting a cat; adopting a dog (pregnant, didn't know...now we have 3 dogs); some traveling with lots of museum visits; joining 2 non-profit boards; getting my first bachelor's degree and working on another; making many batches of playdough for Sophie; celebrating many birthdays and anniversaries; taking a yoga class; studying Japanese; protesting at the University of Michigan; reading Jane Austen, finally; taking piano lessons after a 27-year hiatus; blogging...
I thought today about my goals for this decade: getting my teaching certificate; losing 30 pounds (or more!); traveling outside of North America; fixing our home; reading more Jane Austen; and all of these are worthy and hopeful endeavors, but most of all, I want to live mindfully and with purpose! If I do those 2 things, the rest will follow.
The past 10 years have included: the birth of Sophie (January 25, 2000), living in Family Housing at the University of Michigan (1999-2005) and working at the preschool in the community; saying hello and good-bye to many friends who studied at the U of M or were married to someone studying there; moving to San Antonio, TX in 2005 and working at Trinity University; moving back to Logan, Utah after realizing we wanted a home, not to keep moving around and grasped for something...anything that we could cling to for awhile; practicing many religions; adopting a cat; adopting a dog (pregnant, didn't know...now we have 3 dogs); some traveling with lots of museum visits; joining 2 non-profit boards; getting my first bachelor's degree and working on another; making many batches of playdough for Sophie; celebrating many birthdays and anniversaries; taking a yoga class; studying Japanese; protesting at the University of Michigan; reading Jane Austen, finally; taking piano lessons after a 27-year hiatus; blogging...
I thought today about my goals for this decade: getting my teaching certificate; losing 30 pounds (or more!); traveling outside of North America; fixing our home; reading more Jane Austen; and all of these are worthy and hopeful endeavors, but most of all, I want to live mindfully and with purpose! If I do those 2 things, the rest will follow.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Servings of Religion
I often tell people that I look at religion as a big buffet, and I take a little bit from each of which I learn. This past week has been about dipping my ladle into 2 religions whose services I had not previously attended.
Last week I went to my first Mormon service. I've been to blessings before and even a baptism, but had never gone to a regular Sunday service. I purposely went to a Fast and Testimony Service because I heard that people spoke spontaneously and that is what I like! Prepared talks are good too, but I wanted to see what really moved people.
I felt at peace at the church, it's physically very similar to the churches I attended as a youth (Methodist and Presbyterian) minus the crosses. I was surprised how noisy it was during the service, and as I glanced around, I often felt people were not really paying attention to the speakers. Maybe they'd heard a lot of the same type of talks before, maybe they were distracted by their children, or because it's a service during fasting, maybe they were all just hungry! Anyway, the speakers got up without much pause between them, and most spoke of their belief in the Mormon Church being the true church, their gratefulness for the temples and their families. All good things and all similar to what members of other religions would say, I believe.
I appreciated the bishop, my friend's husband, speaking to me both before and after the service and I felt his welcome was genuine and without an agenda. Most people know I've lived in Utah long enough that if I wanted to convert to the dominant religion, I probably would have done so by now. I appreciate those friends I have who will answer questions, discuss their viewpoints and listen to mine without feeling they need to show me the way.
I was surprised by how content I felt at the service. I realized that all religions have the same intent, to lead their members to a better life and existence. The differences are in the details and really, those details are so insignificant when one looks at the source of each religion.
The second service I visited this week was at the Islamic Center in Logan. A friend invited me and I went to Friday's prayer at 1:45 p.m. I met another friend there and she helped me with the formalities of the service. I didn't learn a lot about the religion, but was invited back for the potluck the next night.
So, yesterday I went to the potluck at the Islamic Center and what a good time I had! The women (men and women are in separate rooms) were so willing to share their beliefs and practices and did so without any pressure to conform. I was able to watch the women pray and I admired their diligence and dedication...they pray 5 times a day! The food was not just shared, but rapidly passed to me and put before me and the genuine warmth I felt was so uplifting, I didn't want to leave.
I am so glad I visited both services, as I feel it gives me an opportunity to learn more about the religions by seeing how it really affects the members. I know I have not even scraped the surface of either religion, but I feel I have opened doors that I felt were closed and locked to me, an outsider.
I encourage all people to take the opportunity to visit a place of worship other than the one they normally visit, or if you are like me and don't have one you normally visit, then even better, because you really have no excuse!!
Last week I went to my first Mormon service. I've been to blessings before and even a baptism, but had never gone to a regular Sunday service. I purposely went to a Fast and Testimony Service because I heard that people spoke spontaneously and that is what I like! Prepared talks are good too, but I wanted to see what really moved people.
I felt at peace at the church, it's physically very similar to the churches I attended as a youth (Methodist and Presbyterian) minus the crosses. I was surprised how noisy it was during the service, and as I glanced around, I often felt people were not really paying attention to the speakers. Maybe they'd heard a lot of the same type of talks before, maybe they were distracted by their children, or because it's a service during fasting, maybe they were all just hungry! Anyway, the speakers got up without much pause between them, and most spoke of their belief in the Mormon Church being the true church, their gratefulness for the temples and their families. All good things and all similar to what members of other religions would say, I believe.
I appreciated the bishop, my friend's husband, speaking to me both before and after the service and I felt his welcome was genuine and without an agenda. Most people know I've lived in Utah long enough that if I wanted to convert to the dominant religion, I probably would have done so by now. I appreciate those friends I have who will answer questions, discuss their viewpoints and listen to mine without feeling they need to show me the way.
I was surprised by how content I felt at the service. I realized that all religions have the same intent, to lead their members to a better life and existence. The differences are in the details and really, those details are so insignificant when one looks at the source of each religion.
The second service I visited this week was at the Islamic Center in Logan. A friend invited me and I went to Friday's prayer at 1:45 p.m. I met another friend there and she helped me with the formalities of the service. I didn't learn a lot about the religion, but was invited back for the potluck the next night.
So, yesterday I went to the potluck at the Islamic Center and what a good time I had! The women (men and women are in separate rooms) were so willing to share their beliefs and practices and did so without any pressure to conform. I was able to watch the women pray and I admired their diligence and dedication...they pray 5 times a day! The food was not just shared, but rapidly passed to me and put before me and the genuine warmth I felt was so uplifting, I didn't want to leave.
I am so glad I visited both services, as I feel it gives me an opportunity to learn more about the religions by seeing how it really affects the members. I know I have not even scraped the surface of either religion, but I feel I have opened doors that I felt were closed and locked to me, an outsider.
I encourage all people to take the opportunity to visit a place of worship other than the one they normally visit, or if you are like me and don't have one you normally visit, then even better, because you really have no excuse!!
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