“Daddy,” LightGirl twinkled and spun, “do you have ….

… any money?”

The adults nearby sputtered in laughter. One looked at me and said “Daddy?!” I rolled my eyes … she knows how to twist her father around. But he can handle her. It reminded me of an experiment my mother and I did on my father a few years ago.

Not too many years ago either, LightGirl was alive, but I don’t think LightBoy had yet joined us. The first part that you have to know is that I barely remember a time that my father (the GrandPea) was not hard of hearing. However, he only very recently got hearing aids. This experiment happened before hearing aids. LightMom and I did this in a number of different settings and it was successful everytime. She would call his given name in increasing volume and he did not hear. She would even whistle and do some fairly loud things to get his attention. Nothing, no response. But if I would say, “Daddy” in a regular tone he always heard me right away. “Dad,” sometimes got him too.

That’s what it takes. That’s all it takes for my dad to turn and come out of his reverie. A simple “Daddy.” I haven’t lived at home in over 20 years, but his ear is still tuned for it. I’m a mother now myself, but he is still listening.

It occurred to me when I was retelling this story to my friends that when God, “Abba” or “Pappa,” or “Daddy,” He is tuning in to us in the same frequency. When S/He gave us permission to call Her by a familial title of love that was indeed the moment of adoption.

Do we have what it takes to use it?  It takes courage, familiarity, sass and desire to use a “small” name for God.  To pick Him out of the crowd of all the smaller gods we venerate everyday, lift Her up and worship only Him, by using a familiar title … Daddy.  S/He’s invited us to do this.  And is waiting with a listening ear.  The question now is, will we?

UPDATE – Saturday early afternoon … I had a voicemail from LightMom at around noon. It was crackly and hard to hear in the noise of the ice rink. But I think GrandPea is to be discharged today. He will go back for stress tests and further follow ups. But for now all is well. Apparently during the high drama yesterday a doctor asked him if he knew where he was and he replied, “Well, I know I’m not in heaven.” So, through it all his sense of humor was intact. Today he’s up walking around and reading his beloved NYTimes. So all must be right with the world. And LightGirl scored a goal in the game her team won this morning! As Scarlett O’Hara might say … Today IS a betta day.

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Today saw some changes afoot in the LightFamily. We packed our bags and took it on the road.

I’m writing in a hotel right now. LightGirl is playing in a hockey tournament this weekend. She played as goalie in a game tonight. They lost. Pheh.

During our travel time (which took far too long due to rampant Washington DC traffic) the GrandPea was undergoing some rather routine surgery. Nothing terrible and none of us were too worried about it. He was mostly kinda wigged out about the spinal he had to have. I tried to tell him (having had one during labor) that it’s not so bad.

LightMom just called and said that well, the surgery is now small potatoes. GrandPea’s heart stopped in the recovery room and though they got it started again, they really don’t know why it did that. So even though The GrandPea doesn’t think it will do much good, would you please say a prayer for him and his doctors and even the LightMom. Pray for wisdom for the doctors and peace and comfort for my mom and dad.

This month’s synchroblog was to have been posted on Wednesday evening for those us who live in the current iteration of the Roman empire … the U.S. I failed. We’re to write this month on neo-monasticism. I was excited about this subject; it is near and dear to my heart. But my thoughts failed. A more appropriate description is they scattered like chicken when a thunderstorm is coming. And I could not round them up (chickens do not like to be rounded). Friday morning came and technology failed. Our internet provider is fritzing AGAIN!

So here I am in a new (to me) independent coffee house. With my plain coffee. I just looked up and saw this sign on the wall: “Behind every successful woman is a substantial amount of coffee.” No. Lie. It’s inspirational. So here are my random scattered thoughts on neo-monasticism (in no particular order), followed by the links to my fellow synchro-bloggers, who wrote much more engaging articles than I did and I know this because I read theirs first.

I love the idea.

It scares me to death.

Those who embark upon it need to be very careful of not turning the idea of community into an idol. This is much, much easier than you’d think.

I have friends with whom I dream of beginning a neo-monastic community. We’ve drawn up plans and everything. The plans include a large communal kitchen, vats for brewing organic Belgian beer and textile arts, music and recording arts, a foot bath and plenty of room for just hanging around. We do some things together. We hold a common purse (sort of). We hold some things in common. We raise our children together. The children (all 7 of them from three families) call all three of the mothers, “Mom.” I am “middle Mom.” There is also “short Mom,” and “tall Mom.” There are only two dads. Both are bald. But only one wears glasses.

We eat together at least once a week. Sometimes more than that. We keep each others children in times of crisis (of course). And when things are going well. The children know the expectations at all the houses equally. So do the adults. We all clean each others kitchens and bathrooms (or at least instruct the children to do it, because they are now old enough 😀 ).

All of that sounds wonderful.

But I think I’d be a failure in a neo-monastic community. I’m too selfish. I like having my own time to myself. Even in my own family (of my, LightHusband and LightChildren) I’m too mean and grumpy for my own skin. I don’t know how I’d manage with other people around. I love the idea of a “rule of life” and the routine it implies. But I don’t know how I’d manage with it. I think I’d have to ease my way into it.

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Phil Wyman at Square No More: SynchroBlog on Neo-Monasticism
Beth at Until Translucent
Adam Gonnerman at Igneous Quill
Jonathan Brink at JonathanBrink.com
Sally Coleman at Eternal Echoes
Bryan Riley at at Charis Shalom
Cobus van Wyngaard at My Contemplations
Mike Bursell at Mike’s Musings
David Fisher at Cosmic Collisions
Alan Knox at The Assembling of the Church
Sam Norton at Elizaphanian
Erin Word at Decompressing Faith
Sonja Andrews at Calacirian

LightHusband loves gadgets. He especially loves electronic gadgets.

I may have mentioned that I lost the battle over the large screen television. Did I mention that? He got a lovely bonus this year. I lost the battle. When we got the television, we got a new gadget to go with it. It’s called Apple TV.

Apple TV is a network device designed to play digital content originating from the iTunes Store or another computer onto an enhanced-definition or high-definition widescreen television. Apple TV can store content on an internal hard drive or stream it across a network from another computer running iTunes on either Mac OS X or Windows.

LightHusband thinks this is the coolest thing since sliced bread. I am much more understated.

However, last night we were able to go to iTunes on our television screen. Did you see that?? On our television screen … which is as hugelynormous as a small wall. So, we’re at iTunes. We look for movies. We find movies. We search them for a few minutes and find one that looks interesting. We rent it. For $3.99. It downloads. In less than TWO minutes we are watching the movie. No driving. No boxes to lose. No movie to return (or not … ). No fines to pay … and trust me – we ALWAYS pay fines, because we are 12 and not that organized. We/I can watch that movie as many times as we/I want in 24 hours. For three dollars and ninety-nine cents. Amazing.

So, we rented Kingdom of Heaven, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Orlando Bloom, Liam Neeson, Eva Green, and Jeremy Irons. It came out in 2005. It was an excellent movie … but beware. It is not for the faint of heart or queazy of stomach. It is a movie which does not hide the violence or filth of the times from the viewer. I wondered if Orlando Bloom washed his hands at any point during the making of this movie as I watched.

It was thoroughly enjoyable. However, without some knowledge of history and/or the religions involved I’d imagine a viewer would be thoroughly bored. But I loved the fact that for the first in history there was a movie made about the Crusades in which the thoroughly evil people were not the Saracens but the Knights Templar. Those radical fundamentalists who could not live except when they were killing innocents of another race. Hate and fear had twisted their faces.

If you love history, the history of Christianity and/or Islam this is well worth a watch. It is historical fiction and the writers have played with some of the history. However the main characters are all real people who were in and around Jerusalem. Who played a part in the fragile peace of Jerusalem in between the 2nd and 3rd Crusades. Who’s to say they didn’t believe they were bringing about a kingdom of heaven?

Me (upon finding a strangely shaped blue plastic piece on the kitchen counter) “What’s this?”

LightHusband, “I found it in the bottom of the dishwasher.  If I were a ‘real’ husband I’d know what it is.”

Me, “Oh dear … I have a faux husband.”

LightBoy (upon realizing that I have just snipped a small 1/8″ amount of his boisterous hair), “OH! Now look!  You’ve gotten bits of hair all over my logic book.”

Me, “That’s what’s known as hairy logic.”

At which LightGirl fell out of her chair …

Crankin’ out the love.

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This post is part of the February Synchroblog. This month we’re posting photos with very little explanation. We’re leaving it up to you, the viewer, to bring your own context, perceptions and voice to this project. Below you will find a list of links of the other blogs participating this month.

As for me, I would be delighted if you’d tell me the story of this photo in my comments. Many of you know that I am married to an amateur photographer and I have access to literally thousands of photographs. But this spoke to me of love. In what ways do you see love in this photo?

Phil Wyman at Phil Wyman’s Square No More
Jenelle D’Alessandro at Hello Said Jenelle
Billy Calderwood at Billy Calderwood
Sam Norton at Elizaphanian
Sally Coleman at Eternal Echoes
Mike Bursell at Mike’s Musings
Julie Clawson at One Hand Clapping
Steve Hayes at Notes from the Underground
Sonja Andrews at Calacirian
David Fisher at Be the Revolution
Erin Word at Decompressing Faith
KW Leslie at The Evening of Kent
Paul Walker at Out of the Cocoon
Reba Baskett at In Reba’s World

Because I needed a good giggle … here’s a look at how I grew up. At least two of my readers will get these, the rest of you will wonder how I’m still sane, or perhaps begin to understand my lack thereof. For the record, I have direct, personal experience with all of the below … yes, all of them.

Subject: a Vermont check…

Forget Rednecks ….

Here is what Jeff Foxworthy has to say about Vermonters……

–If your local Dairy Queen is closed from September through May, you live in Vermont.

–If someone in a Home Depot store offers you assistance and they don’t work there, you live in Vermont.

–If you’ve worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you live in Vermont.

–If you’ve had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number, you live in Vermont.

–If you measure distance in hours, you live in Vermont.

–If you know several people who have hit a deer more than once, you live in Vermont.

–If you have switched from “heat” to “A/C” in the same day and back again, you live in Vermont. (note – this would mean “in the car” because no one has a/c in the house)

–If you can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching, you live in Vermont.

–If you install security lights on your house and garage, but leave both unlocked, you live in Vermont.

–If you carry jumpers in your car and your wife knows how to use them, you live in Vermont.

–If you design your kid’s Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit, you live in Vermont.

–If the speed limit on the highway is 55 mph — you’re going 80 and everybody is passing you, you live in Vermont .

–If driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow, you live in Vermont. (my personal favorite)

–If you know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, mud season and road construction season, you live in Vermont.

–If you have more miles on your snow blower than your car, you live in Vermont.

–If you find 10 degrees “a little chilly”, you live in Vermont.

–If you actually understand these jokes, and forward them to all your Vermont friends & others, you live in Vermont …

I’ve left this go too long, but now I need to ask …

On Tuesday, my younger female cousin was rushed to the hospital with chest pain.  It was discovered that she had a blocked coronary artery.  This is somewhat frightening as she is younger, slimmer and has always been more fit than I.  She is two years younger than I … the same age as my brother and my husband.

Other than the blocked artery her heart is in “pristine condition,” and the doctors are mystified as to the reason for the blocked artery.  She was released from the hospital on Thursday, but rushed back again today.

Please pray for her and her mother (her father passed away several years ago from cancer), my aunt.    Thanks tons …

I listened to that song approximately 3.7 times the other night as I drove LightGirl and a team mate to and from a hockey game. The band is Family Force 5 out of Atlanta, Georgia. They are LightGirl’s current second favorite band. Her first favorite is ParaMour. I not only listened to the song, but I listened to LightGirl sing it. She has been blessed with the same singing ability that I have.

She will be keeping her day job.

She sang along and she danced in the front seat. I worried because the dancing vaguely resembled a seizure so I had to keep interrupting the song to assure myself that she was indeed alright. I suggested to her that the dancing resembled a seizure, she thought it was a joke and referred me to the video.

Here are the lyrics … they’re not so bad (she says through gritted teeth):

“Love Addict”

Hold up, wait a minute, put a little love in it

Doctor, Doctor, I’ve got an emergency
It seems I’m head over heels, a case of L-O-V-E
It’s like I’m glowing inside
Yeah, a light I can’t hide
And if this feeling is bad then I don’t wanna be right
What I’ve got in my soul gives me the highest delight
Oh yeah it’s better than drugs
In fact it’s sent from above, huh huh

Hold up, wait a minute, put a little love in it

Hey, Can’t kick the habit
Yeah, I got to have it
Yeah, I ‘m what they call a
Love addict, Love addict
Hey, can’t live without it
Yeah, G’on shout about it
Hey, I’m a symptomatic
Love addict, Love addict

Need a refill cause I just can’t get enough
I’ve got a fever, oh yeah, and the prescription’s love
So lay the truth on me
Cause that is all that I need

Hold up, wait a minute, put a little love in it

Hey, Can’t kick the habit
Yeah, I got to have it
Yeah, I ‘m what they call a
Love addict, Love addict
Hey, can’t live without it
Yeah, G’on shout about it
Hey, I’m a symptomatic
Love addict, Love addict

I’m blessed, I must confess
My heart is pounding in my chest
Cause this love’s the best
I’m just a love addict

Coming down with something outrageous
Lookout now cause it so contagious
This feeling’s got me reeling
So amped up that I hit the ceiling
Gotta clear my throat
Huh huh, now I gotta have some more

Hold up, wait a minute, put a little love in it

[Chorus x2]

It had me thinking as I organized and stuffed directions for quilt blocks yesterday about love and Love. I remember my first serious boyfriend just after highschool had a favorite line that I thought was seriously romantic at the time: “And in the end, the love we take will be equal to the love we make.” (the Beatles).

Thinking about that again, I think it’s still true. But not in the physical sense. Back then we grinned with anticipation when it was said … Given the milieu into which that line was written, I’m fairly certain we were not missing the mark. Then again, thinking spiritually and emotionally … the love we take will be equal to the love we make.

So I listen, again and again, to Love Addict with Light Girl. I know that she is wishing her teenage girl boyfriend dreams. But I read those lyrics and think different thoughts, about being a Love Addict of a different sort. I wonder about living life with a glow inside that I just can’t hide. What would it be like to love that transparently, foolishly, reeling around dopily? How would the world be different if we all acted like that?

Today is LightGirl’s 14th birthday. I write that in a much more understated manner than I feel. What the h e double hockeysticks happened? Where did the time go? How did thirteen whole years go by so fast? Why is she wearing so much makeup? So many, many questions with no answers. I feel all gulpy inside. Some days I want to hold her close and make certain that nothing bad ever happens. Most days I know that’s not possible; I have to know that she has a good head on her shoulders, a sprout of faith, and the best I can do as her mom is to prepare her to handle life with grace and aplomb. The rest is up to her. But I still feel all gulpy inside.

So … in order to deal with that feeling of gulpyness here is a list of my personal favorites from last year. These are not necessarily the posts that got the most hits (in fact some of them barely got any), or the most comments (again, most of them got zero), but they are my favorites because they are the posts that I still think about. I may revisit these ideas this year in other forms, you never know …

On The Ways of Geese – perspectives on leadership
Losing Ground – decision making
My Vision – for faith communities
Shavuot-The Feast of Pentecost the Megillah of Ruth
Slice It, Dice It, Anyway You Want It … social, cultural constructs for looking at the Bible
Book Review – Organic Community – surprise! A book review.
Christendom? Post-Christendom? – a look at labels.
Critique, Criticism and the Gong Show – what’s love got to do with it?
On Creating Space – what do hockey and church have in common?
Living Within The System and Non-Violence – a look at living in the world but not being of it.
Good Gifts – every parent desires to give good gifts, but what are they?