Mother's Day #2

I'm still not accustomed to being one of the honorees on this holiday. So when a nice man cheerily waved and called out "Happy Mother's Day!" to me as Django & I briskly strolled past him on the top of Bernal Hill, what first came out of my mouth might best be captured as "BWAAHA!" -- before I regained my composure and shouted back a more appropriate, "Thanks!!"

I have been really feeling my mom-ness these last couple weeks, in my achy back and my soft & squishy belly. I realize I'm not so fluent in adult conversation anymore, either. But, man, I've got Djanguage down! And, I can lift 30lbs, floor to ceiling, from pretty much any angle, with one hand if completely necessary. So I feel pretty good.

I have been thinking a lot about a favorite teacher/mentor of mine, Herb Kohl, and a book he wrote titled, The Discipline of Hope. Its a book about Herb's career in education, but also about the power -- or, perhaps more accurately, the requirement -- of creativity and faith to transform almost any situation for the better. I've read, and really appreciated the inside of the book, but it's really the title I think about most often. Hope. Discipline. It's so easy to think you either "have" something like hope -- or patience, or time, or even love -- or you don't. But these are really things we make, anew, every day. Or we don't. The title reminds me that hope can be hard work, but good work, and I must. Practice, practice, practice.

On a lighter note, Jesus is in the house, and it turns out he's a WHOLE LOTTA fun. Who knew? (Thanks for putting that action figure in Django's Easter basket, Bubba Mike!)