I burned up some t-shirts this evening. It's not something I do regularly. I'm not sure I've ever done it. They were t-shirts that brought bad memories. In burning them in a ritualistic manner, I was trying to rid myself of those negative feelings. I don't know if it's worked yet. I felt somewhat bad because burning t-shirts can't be environmentally conscious. However, it was very satisfying to watch them catch fire, smoke, and eventually turn into a black pile in the fire pit.

The boys will be home this weekend. I've had a little over a week with just Alexander, and it'll be 2.5 weeks without Dana in the house. I still love my alone time and look forward to their annual Lake Itasca trip, but it is different this time. Not sure exactly why, but maybe it's because I'm working this summer. Maybe it was because I've had a lot to do. Maybe it's any one of a hundred things. The good thing is, I've been working on some art.  I still have to tell myself to stop being so inhibited and perfectionistic about it. I suppose that'll be a lifelong struggle.

Tonight, I have a steak on the grill and mushrooms sauteeing. It reminds me of my time out in Marana. Some Fridays, I'd come home after a long drive from the University and a long week of work and grill a steak and drink a beer as the sun went down. Those are good memories.

History, peace, and acceptance

Alexander, in the middle, with friends and teammates Mitchell and John

Wow, they've made some changes to Blogger since I last posted. Sometimes I wonder why I have this blog, and maybe I've said before, that it's kind of an online journal for me since I haven't been journaling otherwise and scrapbooking has fallen to the wayside. It is extremely important to me that I archive as much as I can for Alexander and future generations. My family is shrinking. There is still a lot of history I can get from my mom (thank God her memory is still sharp, though her views tend to be quite negative when it comes to my family of origin). My brother and I, after some disagreements, have decided to keep our relationship as superficial as possible. Not my choice, and I'm hoping he'll change over time. His wife and I don't talk anymore, over a comment I made that was - in my opinion - misconstrued and blown way out of proportion. Alexander hasn't seen his cousins in several years, and they've never made a trip up here to visit us. My brother admits to always being "out of the loop" so it's difficult to get updates or photos of his kids from him and he doesn't seem to mind or want to change it.
So I try to follow the wisdom of this well-known prayer:

God, give us grace to accept with serenity

the things that cannot be changed,

Courage to change the things

which should be changed,

and the Wisdom to distinguish

the one from the other.

Living one day at a time,

Enjoying one moment at a time,

Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,

Taking, as Jesus did,

This sinful world as it is,

Not as I would have it,

Trusting that You will make all things right,

If I surrender to Your will,

So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,

And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen.
                                Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971)