Now that I can walk again, I am ready to talk about my marathon experience. I did it! I ran (and walked) 26.2 miles. A year ago I made a “Bucket List” of things I wanted to do in life. Running a marathon was one of them! Running has been a very powerful spiritual analogy…
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Doctoral Woes, Week One
I’m one week into my doctoral career. Whew. What a week. It seems like at least a month has passed since I started classes. One week down. One hundred fifty to go. I’ve read chapters of books. Learned more about public policy than I ever thought I’d know. I’ve already been through all the emotions. Syllabus shock? Check.…
Iceberg
I feel like an iceberg. Not because I’m cold, remote, or danger-prone, but because people only see about 10% of me. Icebergs barely pop their tops above the water-line. They look small, cute, and manageable. But people miss the 90% lying just below the waterline. For me, this is especially true at work. I am…
Florida Snow
It has snowed in Florida… once in my lifetime. I remember the wide-eyed glee looking out our window and seeing this strange precipitation that I’d only heard about before. It was 1989 and I had an ice fight with my dad in the front yard since none of the snow stuck. I’m pretty sure we thew more…
Calculus
Asymptote. Logarithm. Derivative. I have not seriously interacted with such words in over a decade. And yet here I sit, in my brother’s undergraduate Calculus class, listening to a lecture filled with mathematical jargon. I watch as the professor — displaying an infinity necklace and a love of numbers — goes over the quiz, engages with questions,…
Mood Swings
I am surrounded by children. I joke that I have 81 babies, but they stay at the hospital so I sleep through the night. And I’ve noticed that babies and children have an uncanny ability to change moods quickly. They can cry and smile within a few seconds. They can fight and be angry, throw…
The “Gift” of Singleness
Singleness: The dreaded gift. People joke all the time, “If singleness is a gift, what’s the return policy?” I’ve thought about this for fifteen years. One summer I read the entire single living section of the Christian bookstore where I worked. I’ve heard authors for years tell me that singleness could be a blessing. But…
Beginnings
Happy New Year! Yes, I realize that it is September. Even though I’ve been out of school for quite some time, the fall still feels like a new beginning to me. My brain still functions on a semester schedule, even though my schedule doesn’t look much different in June versus October. I’ve been trained through years…
Time, Energy, and Money
You have a few resources always at your disposal. These items are frustratingly limited: time, energy, and money. At most, you can have two of these resources at a time. Sometimes you have just one, but very rarely do all three show up concurrently! When you are young and fresh you have scads of energy…
Juxtaposition
Juxtaposition is one of my favorite words. It ranks in my mind alongside onomatopoeia, hyperbole, and synecdoche both in multi-syllabic rhythm and definitional genius! Juxtaposition is the perfect term for certain situations. It is a noun meaning “an act or instance of placing close together or side by side, especially for comparison or contrast.” Two things that shouldn’t…