Thankful

Many of my friends on Facebook have been saying each day what they are thankful for. I think this is wonderful and I also think we should think of these things more often. Thanksgiving is two days away and we will be traveling to visit my family in Upstate NY (no this is not by NYC). Life has changed for me in a lot of ways since we moved up to Michigan. I am thankful to be closer to all of our family. Although I do not see everyone as much as I would like... I am thankful that at times like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and other times in between we are able to be together. I am thankful for my husband, Mike. He has moved around the country with me, supported me in my career and life in general, he is truly a blessing. For my friends far and near. I have great friends around the country from my various stages in life. I miss you all so much and wish each one of you would move into my neighborhood yet I am so glad I can call you friend. I am thankful for Zoomer the cat... I fear that he is getting close to his next journey... but I love him in all of his crankiness. I am thankful for Molly the dog. The best dog and pit bull a girl could have. She brightens our lives and snuggles like no other. I am thankful for my running group. They have blessed me with balance, friendship, and have pushed me to be healthier and faster (literally). I am lucky to have found them and look forward to many years to come as we run and share life together. I am thankful for JJ, my awesome two year old son. He brings joy, light, happiness, and frustration and I am so blessed to have him in my life. I hope that I can be the mother he deserves as we all grow together as a family. I am reminded everyday as a chaplain that life is short and we all of something to be thankful for. May you in this holiday season and beyond remember that you too have much to be thankful for.

Jo, Lizzy, and Me

I have not been keeping up with my reading challenge. It has almost been a year and I am still "suppose" to be reading A Tale of Two Cities. Don't get me wrong I have read things but am having a problem just reading what I am "suppose" to read. Yesterday I just finished reading The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott by: Kelly O'Connor McNees (link to book here). I would recommend this book to any lover of the book Little Women. It was a wonderful historical fiction novel and started me thinking. I have always been drawn to Jo in Little Women and Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice. But why? As I read this fictional account about Louisa May Alcott's lost summer I realized the reason... Jo, Elizabeth, and even Louisa May Alcott herself did not fit into the cultural norms for women in their time. They found their calling, who they are and wanted to be, and no one would get in their way. I stand at a point in my life where I feel very much the same. I am a chaplain, an ordained pastor, wife, and mother. I work full time, am the supervisor for my department, and am the "bread winner" for my family. In a world and culture that states it embraces working moms I find that this is not always true. I stand with Jo and Elizabeth seeing that my road is difficult in many ways. I did not know all those years ago when I would read and reread Little Women and Pride and Prejudice that Jo and Elizabeth would be my role models in many ways as are the women who wrote these characters. I wish I could sit down for tea with Louisa May Alcott and Jane Austen and discuss life, the characters they created that mean so much to me, and how to find balance in this very unbalanced world.