Weird Bird in Love

Wow, it’s been quiet around here lately. On the blog, I mean – not in real life . Not sure where I’ve been. Sick (persistent cold), and trying to go to bed early-ish… and my work schedule’s been all weird, lots of Saturday work stuff… anyway. Here I am. Wanting to write a little about my son.

He found two sticks a couple of days ago on our way home from a walk, and announced that he wanted to make them into a cross. I tied them together for him yesterday afternoon, and he immediately announced that he wanted us to have a Peace Corner at our house like they do at his school, and we could use this cross instead of the Peace Rose. (I gather that, at his school, when you’ve had a fight with someone and want to make peace, you bring them the Peace Rose and then go into the Peace Corner together to talk it out and make up. Sounds great, doesn’t it?) I agreed that a Peace Corner sounded like a nice idea, though I’m not sure we have a corner to spare.

Then he started explaining the cross to me. He said that the four spaces defined by the arms of the cross were Life, Love, Water, and Ability. I asked him to explain Water and Ability. He said Ability was when your head and your heart are the same, so it’s like you’re thinking about yourself. And Water is because God created water. Makes sense to me. Read the rest of this entry »

Last week was busy – and, probably as a consequence of my going back to work full-time, my son’s been extra “mama-ish,” as my natal family calls it  - so I haven’t had a lot of space to complete a thought, let alone blog it, lately. But I want to put down at least a few notes about our Bean as she passes the 3 month mark – inspired by Zag’s baby book (wow, we had a lot of energy back then, or something…) and by my friend S’s lovely blog documenting her daughter’s days.

The Bean is big and healthy and beautiful and alert and cheerful. Knock on wood, we’ve lucked out – she’s really a relatively easy baby, as was her brother. Read the rest of this entry »

Zagazoo, our 4.5-year-old son, has a nemesis.

Zag attends this wonderful tiny Montessori school, a four-minute drive from our house. So does R, a six-year-old who is making Zag miserable. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s a looong time since I posted a tutorial or even anything particularly crafty… but I finally have something to contribute, and time to write it up!

Going through a box of family hand-me-downs and heirlooms, I found this adorable red wool cap, which belonged to one of my aunties as a child. I love the shape and detailing, and resolved to figure out how to make it. My mother pointed out that it’s basically a sock heel, and after looking at some flap heel tutorials online, I understood how the hat was constructed. Here’s how I made my own. It’s more of a how-to than a pattern per se, but I don’t really like knitting patterns that only work if you’re using that exact yarn. Read the rest of this entry »

During his bedtime songs, after tonight’s chapter of Prince Caspian, the second of the Narnia books, Zag started planning ahead for next year’s Christmas pageant.

Zag: Next Christmas I want to be King Edmund. Not an angel, and not a donkey. I want to be King Edmund. And not a sheep, either.

WB: Is King Edmund part of the Christmas story?

Zag: No, but I want to be him anyway. With his helmet and his sword and his shield. And his armor. And his leg things, if he had them.

This will be quick, as I need to each lunch & then spend some quality time with my son before heading out (baby in tow) to help lead a youth retreat this weekend.

Yesterday Zag was helping me construct a wooden cross – a 4×12 board, with 1-foot square pieces attached either side to be the arms – which the kids will decorate on the retreat. (At least, I hope they will.) He asked if he could draw on the back, and I said he could, because his drawing would be behind the cross and wouldn’t get in the way of the big kids’ art project. So he took a pencil and drew a wonderful Jesus, complete with crown of thorns, filling the back of the cross. He also added small Mary and Joseph figures, one at the end of each arm of the cross, beyond Jesus’ hands. It’s terrific. I want to make another wood cross that Zag can decorate for our house.

While he was starting Jesus’ feet, he looked at me slyly and asked, “Is God behind everything?” I said, “Maybe he is!” I can’t remember his exact words, beyond that question, but we talked about it a little more and it was clear he was thinking theologically. He was playing with the idea that the reason we can’t see God, even though we know God is around all the time, is that God is hiding behind everything.

I like that a lot. If you’re looking for a theology, you could do worse.

The news from Haiti runs through everything else, an undercurrent of grief. Facebook is subdued. I’m taking in news in careful doses, not too much at a time. But life with our kids goes on.

Zag’s growing mind is doing the busy and important work of forging connections, and now and then the wires get interestingly crossed. Today he came home from school and asked me with great earnestness whether we had any books by Jan Luther Brett. He had read a book of hers at school and really liked it – something about a mitten. Tilt got on Google and confirmed that there is a children’s author named Jan Brett. We didn’t really think anything of the “Luther” part until an hour or so later, when Zag asked us about the upcoming church service for “John Luther King.” Or somebody like that. He was trying so hard to remember two new names, and that “Luther” just migrated between them… Read the rest of this entry »

… at my desk, in my office. Away from my family. With my calendar beside me, wondering what the weeks ahead will look like.

I was going to start back yesterday, but my boss pretty much told me I had to work half-time for the rest of the 3-month leave I’m entitled to – until Feb. 3 – and that I should start back today, for some chunk of the day. So, OK. I’m here for the morning. The rest remains to be figured out.

(I’m listening to the parish administrator and the sexton discussing my car. Whose car is that? – the silver one? – I don’t  know – could it be Weirdbird’s? – oh, yeah, I think the Boss mentioned she might be in today… and here comes the parish administrator to say hello.)

My spiritual director asked me, when we met in December, what gifts of this time of sabbath do I want to carry forward as I return to work? A good question. Read the rest of this entry »

Zag: Did you know there’s a story about Jesus and the house by the river? I heard it once, but I forgot.

WB: No, I don’t think I know that one.

Zag: They were in a little house right next to a very deep river. There were crocodiles in the river. And there was going to be a big fight. They put a sign on the door that said, “Bread and wine.”

WB: I see.

Zag: And they stayed in the house all day, because of the war that was outside. Except one brother, whose name was Joseph. There was an aunt there too. And that’s where Jesus was born. Did you know that? Read the rest of this entry »

I’d love thoughts from the two wise storykeeping grandmas who read this blog, Baba Yaga and Herzliebster, but welcome everyone’s experiences and ideas…

So Zag, like every imaginative kid, spends a lot of time playing stories with his Lego and Playmobil figures. And often he wants us to play with him and “talk” one or more of the characters (or at least hang around nearby and listen to the story he’s playing out). Well and good.

What’s troubling me is how often his stories involve violence against women, and/or women in a passive, victimized role. Read the rest of this entry »