Advice for Seniors
Friends, it's going to be over before you know it. Blink once, and you'll find that that thesis you don't have a topic for has already been written, the stresses of moving in and moving out are both over, and your Gamaliel Painter's cane is hanging on the wall gathering dust. Some of you will be headed off to grad school, others traveling the world; some will have high-paying jobs and others non-paying jobs. Whether for the short or long term, your "future" will be settled. It is a darn scary thought, but I can speak from experience - whether you like it or not, college ends.

I don't think I'm very good at witholding my feelings, so to be honest, I'm often quite depressed these days. We have been lucky - or more acurately, we have been blessed: not everybody loves college like I know I did. Even back in May, though, I wasn't too sad - I was ready to be done with the papers, and I was proud of what I'd accomplished with your help and the Lord's. For some reason I had a heapload of faith that God would provide for me in the way he did after high school - four years ago he gave me a whole new collection of friends that became in many ways bigger and better than the set I'd had before. He taught me more than I could have hoped for and took me places I never would have dreamed of going to. He carried me through the transition relatively smoothly and painlessly. Thus when I said goodbye to you guys, I was confident that I'd see you again soon, and that bigger and better things were on the way.

I hate to be a realist, but this transition hasn't been smooth for me, and it may not be for some time. I think that somehow I'm in the place where God wants me and needs me at the moment, but I don't like it much. I want you to take a good long look at what you have at Midd and love it and live it with all that you are. While God's love is something that you will have forever - from which neither height nor depth nor angels nor demons nor life nor death can separate you - Midd is something that you will have to leave. Granted, it will still be there if you want to come back and relive the glory days (which I'll be doing when it is my three month alma mater and has been in session for only about three weeks without me), but once you have your cane in hand, the visits will always be tastes and samples of someone else's experience, not your own. So here's a list I'll share of some things I'm really GLAD I did at Midd, and some things I WISH I'd done before my four year term was up:

Things I'm GLAD I did at Midd:

• brought speakers and performers I wanted to hear and helped arrange events I wanted to see happen
• at least once tried to give a talk to CF on something that convicted me
• took every opportunity to sleep outside or go for a hike
• started (though later than I would have liked) to feel really connected to the church community
• started (though later than I would have liked) to feel connected to some professors and my department community
• made friends with people who will be at the school or in the area for much longer than four years
• sacrificed my work every once in a while (HA!) for some experiences that would be far more memorable (heck, so far Phi Beta Kappa hasn't done me much good in the job market...). Some examples are 24 hours of praise, retreats, concerts, relay for life, xenia events, and just long conversations into the night...
• took the opportunity to learn a lot about leadership, even if it meant being really burned out every now and then
• studied abroad
• journaled consistently
  
• never put fun at the bottom of my priority list (or almost never) and somehow maintained relationships enough to have many shoulders to lean on when the going got tough!

Things I WISH I'd done at Midd:

• make my physical health and wellbeing more of a priority
• seek more actively and early on the wisdom and guidance of older mentors (like those lunchtime meetings with Deb Dickerson, or going to Matt's office or Sister Diane's or Laura Lieber's, or Laurie Jordan's, etc. etc. with questions about life)
• pray more with my friends (this especially slacked off my senior year)
• get more involved in Xenia
• maintain individual relationships with non-Christians the way I did with Christians
• start Spanish my freshman year :)
• volunteer more in the Addison County community
• fix my ski bindings (to save my knees and mego's) and ski more
• do my homework earlier so I wouldn't miss a single breakfast accountability meeting
• watch the sunset/sunrise from one of the chapel cupulas
• know every moment what a blessing it is to be alive in such a magnificent place

SO...your experience may be very different from my own, and hopefully you'll be a little more ready to graduate next year than I was in May and am now - actually, you guys are probably the main reason I'm wishing I were going "home" in a couple of weeks...but I just thought I'd share the little bit of "wisdom" that I've acquired from the senior experience. Of course, your elders will always tell you that things are harder than you think, so I'm sure this advice is not all that surprising. I've just found, though, that despite what our parents always tell us about planning for the future, senior year is also VERY MUCH about the PRESENT. You'll keep most of your friends after you leave, but you won't be able to wander across the hall into their room, or call them spontaneously to join you for a meal. There won't necessarily be 30-person Sunday brunches with strawberry-topped waffles or crazy awesome concerts and lectures for free at your finger tips every day of the week. There probably won't be a gigantic community of curious intellectuals, and their may not be Christians your age who you can both party with on Friday night and share a pew with on Sunday morning. Their WILL be ways to learn and grow and become more of the woman that God wants you to be, and their WILL be people to help that to happen, but the concentration and proximity of opportunities is bound to be less than at Midd. Make that last $40,000 worthwhile and try your darndest not to let anxieties about NEXT year ruin THIS one!

Take the time to thank God for all that Midd has to offer - in April's words, the good, the bad and the random - and expect a double ring every once in awhile when your old friend Devo wants an update on the news. I want to do my best to be there for you guys this year like you were there for me last year, and my ears are always available for any vents you want to offer them. I'm home pretty much every night of the week after 9 or 10 CST, and I'll try to be better about leaving my cell phone on so you don't have to worry about waking up my folks calling the land line after 11. You girls mean everything to me, and I'll miss you like you can't imagine!!!
- posted by Devon @ 12:30 PM 0 comments

 

Showing off (and stepping on) the finished product...and now I must move on to my next craft project: Andrew's wedding present...
- posted by Devon @ 8:08 PM 0 comments

 

Does she not look like her Auntie Maria??! And they both invent their own fashions and love green...
- posted by Devon @ 8:06 PM 0 comments

 
the DL from Devo
helloooo! I'm back. Actually, I tried to be back about a week ago, but after typing a very long post, my computer decided to freak out (or the blogger website more probably) told me the blog I was trying to post on didn't exist. It lies!!! You are still here, and hopefully, this post will turn out more successfully. Anyhoo, things...

Maria, one thing we certainly have in common is getting a pick-me-up from your niece. Granted, I have never met her, and she's your niece, so the nature of our encounters are probably a little different, but just a few days ago when I was feeling really really blah and having no desire to be a part of the world, I went to Isabel's blog and looked at all the posts for the last 3 months. I felt better immediately!! I think I'm gonna put one on our blog to show people (now that she's showing up lots) because I think she looks a lot like her auntie in it!!

Aside from admiring babies I've never met, though (I hope that's not too sketchy), I've been sewing (I'll post a picture of the outcome), dancing, sleeping, selling family heirlooms on ebay (or trying), and generally wasting a decent amount of time. Some details: I finally finished my wedding present for my best friend and her husband, and I'm giving it to them tonight (only 6 months and two weeks late!). I made a quilt, and I'm telling you - I'm NOT doing that ever again, or at least for a very, very l0ng time. It is a rewarding task, but obnoxiously time consuming and at times more frustrating than it's worth. Overall, though, I'm thinking that it might be my second-greatest accomplishment after, of course, the 185 page thesis. Anyway, the title "Quilt in a Day" is complete BS if you were wondering. It took me 7 months!

Dance-wise, I finished up the summer program with the ballet studio before I went to Minnesota to chill with the chicas (and missed others!). On the day of the final performance (in which I danced a measly two numbers, but it was fun nonetheless), the jazz teacher (this huge intimidating black dude that looks way more like a football player than a dance teacher) asked me to come to some classes and rehearsals with the company he directs (which does jazz and modern pieces). Somewhat honored by the invitation and without much else to do this month, I've been going to rehearsals with that company 4 times a week. It's a good workout, and I'm really challenged by some of the acrobatics and weird stuff that they're making me do, but it's also showed me that (though I guess this isn't that new news) I really need more ballet in a company!! I'm not a kick-butt ballet allstar, but I'm better at that than the other stuff. So I don't think I'm going to join this guy's company for life, and I'm still deciding if I'll stay with him for the year, but for the time being it's helping me diversify my talents I guess - something we all need now and then. Week after next I start teaching ballet to little kiddies...I'm a little scared, but mostly excited - I'm really just itching to serve some people and do a real job and have some new interactions!! It's gonna be tough, but I think it's also going to rock.

Yes, well, there isn't much other news here (hence the lack of post-age)...I did decide yesterday, after successfully selling a good number of my school books on half.com, that I wanted to try ebay...I put up this old picture that was in my basement that my mom's been trying to get rid of. It seemed a bit wacky, though if it sells (no bids so far) it will be a bummer to ship. It's an experiment, though, and I got inspired by watching Jay Leno's segment on "Things we found on Ebay" where a guy sold a giant bag of marshmallows that he hand-picked out of Lucky Charms for like $100 and another guy sold his sister's most despised high school picture for $250. You just have to be creative...

Also, some prayer requests: My dad has a very hopeful job prospect (yayayayay) which, if it pans out, will mean that his commute will shrink from 2 hrs each way to 15 minutes each way. He'd be a partner in the company, too, and it has stemmed out of connections that seem really reliable and go way back, so this could be a welcome miracle!! Um and my two grannies need prayer - one (my dad's mom) just got diagnosed with bone cancer (myeloma), and it's not bad now, but cancer stinks, and the other (the crazy one that was at graduation) needs company and attention that my family can't give her. We really need to find somewhere else for her to live, but it keeps getting put off, and in the meantime, she's pretty much a danger to herself and others. But I love her! So that's the prayer requests...and my decision about doing this dance company (that apparently doesn't pay) or another part time job (I'm waiting to hear back on some applications) in the fall.

Yay - hopefully my post works, and it's SO good to hear from everybody as usual! Next week Midd comes to my house in the form of a bachelor brigade - Evos and Amay are road-trippin across America and staying in Wheaton for two days. I'm psyched - it should be sweeeeet. Stay smilin', squirrels - I love you!
- posted by Devon @ 7:25 PM 0 comments

 
"You wish you could fly . . ."
Dear sisters,

Below you'll find some pictures of my wisdom teeth endeavor as well as some lovely adventures with Isabel I've had the past couple of days. I think I may finally be recovering from the teeth surgery, thanks to some good African dancing at Folk Dance camp as well as some time to recover. Since I returned from MN, actually I've felt very much in a fog and kind of silent and reclusive. At Suzuki teacher training I was reluctant to talk to all the adults and was generally restless. Then I got my wisdom teeth out which really screwed with my system (I slept for roughly two days, and my memory is pretty fuzzy and generally unpleasant from that time), Dance camp helped a little bit, but I still didn't really want to talk to people or try new things or get out of my comfort zone. Oh, and giving double red-blood cells on Wednesday was certainly no help to my energy level. Isabel is helping me to emerge from this sort of chrysalus, with her simple childlike interest and joy in everything around her, and the simplicity of social interaction required to spend time with her and I am beginning to have my old excitements and desires back: painting a picture, wanting to get outside and do physical activity, read and think critically about books, try out some greek review, go out with friends, write letters, contact people, play quartets etc. etc. I am greatful to be returning to a more energetic, full of life person.

Anyway, that's what's up with me. I've got to go practice some viola because I'm playing a quartet gig for a good friend of mine who's getting married tonight. I love and miss you guys!

peace and all good,

maria

PS for those of you who haven't heard the new Nickel Creak cd, the title to this post is a line from a song from them that pretty well describes me when I don't have energy. It's a great album and I reccomend it highly, the songs have been running through my head day and night.
- posted by maria @ 6:23 PM 0 comments

 
Isabel, training for the WNBA, courtesy of my mom in the background. Isabel says "Baah!" When she sees the ball and has almost walked on her own to get to it. Technically, she can walk by herself, but she prefers to have a finger to hold on to, so for the past couple of days I've been just walking around the house with her holding my finger. 

- posted by maria @ 6:17 PM 0 comments

 
Ok, enough wisdom teeth (I didn't look that different before and after anyway). NOW FOR THE CHUBBLES!! (or at least, that's what John and Terri call her) Here we are in the backyard petting Max the neighborhood kitty. Isabel gets really really excited when she sees any four footed mammal. Her particular favorite are dogs.  

- posted by maria @ 6:11 PM 0 comments

 
Third day post surgery with full view of swellage. At least I could smile . . . 

- posted by maria @ 6:08 PM 0 comments

 
Complete with gauze, headgear and swelling. (the thing tucked into my shirt is a makeshift bib because I couldn't feel whether the smoothie I was eating was getting into my mouth or not.) 

- posted by maria @ 6:06 PM 0 comments

 
The morning of, just before surgery. 

- posted by maria @ 6:03 PM 0 comments

 
yaa walnutee...
so Erin forgot the most important part of this tutoring gig she has going with the Yemenites (Yemenis? Yemenans? ...people from Yemen.)--one of them is named Hamza!!! Oh my freakin' gosh was I excited (and you all should be, too). We now have a founding member of the support society my first-born-child will need with a name that either means "fake letter of the alphabet" or "five." (either way, perfect for my first-born).
- posted by the moj @ 10:17 PM 0 comments

 
Goin' Dancin'
hullo squirrel sisters! Laura, definitely keeping trey and all you mums at Casa in my prayers. This past semester I happened upon a quote from mother theresa that I thought was really helpful when you're in a situation you wish you weren't: "God has willed me where I am, he will offer a solution." simple, I know, but therein lies the beauty of many of Mother Theresa's words. He's got you and Trey in his aweseome, huge, understanding and MERCIFUL hands.

Well, it's official, my neice is freaking cute. She is currently *running* around the house with my mom (who, of course has renewed her besottedness with Isabelly) closing and locking doors and uttering unintelligible alien sounding syllables. We are about to head out the door for August camp to do bulgarian and african dancing and it's going to be a great time (Thrusday through Sunday). I need to let John (BROTHER IS HOME!!!) have the computer because he wants to check his email. I love you guys!
peace and all good,

maria
- posted by maria @ 10:40 AM 0 comments

 
Toothless and Chatty
Hullo sisters! So I have just returned from my first encounter with anesthesia. Not to worry, nothing serious, I've just lost two and a half bits of wisdom from my jaw (a.k.a. got my wisdom teeth out). I had one large one and two little nubs that shall no longer trouble me. Yay! Now I get to eat a whole bunch of Haagan Daz and watch movies all day. Though, even as I type, the numbness is beginning to be replaced by pain. *sigh* Anyway, before I got my teeth removed, I just returned on Saturday from a week in Santa Fe where I was taking Suzuki Violin Teacher training for Book 1. It was because of this event that I was not at the lake last weekend with Laura B, (though I did get to see her the weekend prior, as well as Lauren N. :) :) :) ) Devon, and Lizzy :( but it was a very informative and learning week, I feel far more prepared to teach the ten year old violin student Cara handed off to me to teach this fall. It's going to be great. I have all kinds of new ideas and methods.

Before Santa Fe, I was at the lake with Laura loo and her fam, and her friend Ann, chizzillin, skiing, kneeboarding, tubing, turtle racing, eating yummy yummy food and hangin' with the fam. I love Laura's family, they're awesome. I got to hear about Ally's (Laura, is your sister's name spelled with an i or a y or an ie?) SCA experiences (and smell them, whew!), dance lindy with Eric so much so that we roused Laura's dad from downstairs (apparently the cieling was shaking), heard a bit of Dana's violin practicing (Rode etudes! Yeeha!, I feel your pain, Dana), talk religion with Aunt Nancy, Laura's mom, and Grandma Jean, help supervise the lifting of a very large oil tank onto a trailer with Laura's dad, bro, laura and ann, (in our pajamas no less), see the skiing superstar that is Laura's dad, (way to slalom, Glen!), witness the crazy/hilariousness of laura's cousin Ryan playing the accordian, tube (or perhaps fly would be a better term, we got some sick air) side by side with Ann behind Laura's dad's excellent boat driving, and stay up late into the night putting together a noodle-puzzle with Laura, Eric, and Ann, jiving to Eric's sweet (albeit only a remnant) music collection. It was a good time. The whole time I felt so at home and relaxed, which is kind of unusual for me around anybody but my family. I just felt like I could be myself, not feeling obligated to be talkative and social, but not too shy to never say anything. It was so peaceful. I hope all you kids who came on Friday and after had a good time too. Share your stories and pictures!

Work is now over for me (actually, it's been over for two weeks now), and on Thursday I head south to Socorro, NM for August Folk Dance Camp! yayayay! This year we are doing Bulgarian and African folk dances, and I am really excited because I like the intricate, fast and tricky footwork of Bulgarian (as well as the sweet 7/8, 11/8 9/8 time signatures and rhythms), but I want to get better at the carefree looseness of African movement. AND, John, Terri and Isabel are coming to August camp! Yayayayaay!! Then they'll be in town for about a week, and I'm driving home with them to stay for another week to see their new house (and maybe visit some friends in Texas). I'm not a fan of being the only kid at home, and am a little sad John grew up so fast and had a kid and all and moved away, so it will be really good to see him again. Strangely enough, in some senses, I've been learning in myself what a kind of odd relationship we have. He's my brother of course, but since I don't have a biological father, he's sort of sometimes played that role. Actually, the more I think about fathers, I am kind of formulating a theory that I've just had a bunch of father-figures in my life, from this friend of my mom from folk dancing, to my soccer coach, to my brother, to my friends' dads, to my favorite high school teachers ... it's interesting.

Anyway, I'm just sort of typing whatever comes into my head. I feel pretty chill right now. Oh, so remember when I mentioned I was learning about Meyers Briggs personality types? Well, (and both my mom and Laura S. can testify to this) I got really excited about this personality type idea and just all the different aspects and subdivisions of people's personalities and the way they function and relate to one another as a result. Like, REALLY excited. It's just all so COOL! (so be forewarned, if the topic comes up, I'll go off for a good fifteen minutes or so, it's my latest rant/interest) Anyway, Well I picked up this other book from my church's book fair, "The Other Side of Silence" by Morton T. Kelsey, and I've only just begun it, but it is really cool It's main focus is a handbook for meditation, but he is a very logical, real and helpful author particularly because he is very focussed on integrating ideas from psychology and devotional classics to aid one in one's faith journey and relationship with God. I find it very useful already, and he's only talked about the need for psychologists and spiritualists to compare notes, intimacy in relationships, art and meditation. Man, does he have some cool things to say about art. Maybe I'll post some quotes soon. Anyway, it's a cool book and I'm excited to start it.

Molly, I'll definitely keep Marie and your fam in my thoughts/prayers she's a hero, go her!, BML, I'm thinking of/praying for you and home and God, I have every hope and confidense that our daddy will see you through, Laura S., I pray for your kids and all of the Casa caregivers keep on heapin' up the love, and don't forget to refill, Lizzy, those beeeeautiful loaves are indeed beeeeeautiful and I'm so glad you get to be your awesome Russian self, you make me smile :) keep experimenting with desserts, SOMETHING's bound to taste good, any further insights on the future of humankind? D-vo, how ARE you, girl? How's dancing? How's the life plan, or the day by day?

Ok, I love you all humongously (even more humongously than my cheeks right now, and believe me their growing) << before and after pictures to come!. And, I have to admit, I think there are still some strains of Anesthesia running through my veins because I feel unusually chill. I think I should practice this kind of state of chillness more often, it makes it easier to be open and relational. (but w/o the drug thing)

anyway, ta ta for now! peace and all good,

maria
- posted by maria @ 1:31 PM 0 comments

 
Never Trust the Italian Post!
Ok, so I think I'm officially the comic relief here. Before I step into my accepted role, I just want to say that you guys are awesome and amazing and inspiring, and I do hope that someday I lead my life to a greater purpose as you all do.
But for now, I hope to brighten your days with a few events typical of the Nora household.
Well, my little cat Bellaboo (as opposed to my gargantuan cat, Octavius, but better known as "der Panzer," or "the tank" in German) imprinted on me as her mother at a young age because I kept her locked in my room when she was a recently-discovered 3-week-old kitten so she wouldn't get eaten by above-mentioned large cat. Well, this means that sometimes she wants to bring me presents. These presents come in the form of dead animals, or, in the case of the other day, not-dead-yet animals that show some fight. Well, apparently this one (a bird) managed to get out of her reach, so she abandoned it in my room. My mom saw some fluttering when she walked by, and she figured out what happened and shut the door until we could deal with it later. She, Jack, and I never found it, so I went to bed wondering. Well, halfway through the new People magazine, the plants on top of my bookcase start rustling, so I get help so someone could open the window as I throw bird-filled plants out into freedom. My dad thought to throw a pillowcase over it to lull the bird, but it got scared and went for my mom's head. She screamed and ran, with me echoing and following on her heels. I later went back in to open windows and remove screens as my dad chased a poor, chirping, injured (as evidenced by the streak of blood and feathers on my ceiling from when it flew too high) swallow around the room with a broomstick. If I didn't feel bad for the bird (which then hid again until my dad disappeared), it would have been an even funnier sight. Unfortunately, I had to leave the windows wide open in the hopes that it would fly out on its own (it did, around 6:30), and this happened on a chilly (!) day in the midst of the 90- and 100-degree heat we've been having (I love the consistency of Chicago weather), so I got a cold. :( But I saved a bird!
In other news, the title of my post deserves some explanation. Well, I sent several packages, all in the official Italian post yellow boxes, so I was surprised when I got a huge, brown box in the mail. Upon opening it, I discovered what were (mostly) the contents of two of my yellow boxes, with some minor changes. First of all, I got some additional material, as in a Dutch soccer jersey for a player named Der Vandersloot or something like that (Jack envies it, but it's MINE, dammit), really nasty old shoes that look like a cross between wrestling and ballet shoes (and smell used), two letters in German written to "Christmas" (in which the writer wonders if Christmas is still there and if it's been busy with work for the past 3 years... Thanks to Jack for translating), and headphones (cheap airline ones from the looks of it). They also took some things (my heineken pint glass!!!!), but they did thoughtfully replace that one with two vials of dandelion extract. I shit you not. I figure I should write a letter because that was a damn hot beer glass, but it's also pretty funny, and now I'll be safe from liver, gall bladder, kidney, and joint problems while treating eczema, cancer, poor digestion, water retention, and diseases of the liver while wearing a hot soccer jersey. All thanks to those lovely little flowers, dandelions (and my thoughtful thief/christmas penpal).
- posted by the moj @ 12:49 PM 0 comments

 
Interesting Family Developments
Hey all,
so not too much going on in my life, but we got some big family news yesterday--my cousin Marie, who's 18, is going to have a baby in January. I think it's been really tough on her telling her parents (and I think the huge-ass family reunion at the beginning of August is only going to be harder, because this is quite the scandal for the "perfect" Nora family). My aunt and my mom (and others, I'm sure) have been awesome about it (just congratulating her and offering help if needed), but I think that it was hard on her dad and my grandparents especially to find out (and, unfortunately, I have to admit that I think it's harder for my grandparents because her boyfriend's poor and black, and I think there's tension because some people in the family blame Marie's parents for ignoring trouble signs). So I'd appreciate it if you'd all keep Marie in your thoughts and prayers--I give her credit for telling her parents and having the baby, but it's going to be tough for her.
Thanks.
- posted by the moj @ 3:51 PM 0 comments

 
the cookie of the yookie variety
Hey all. Well, I have to admit that the first time I opened the blog after my return in patria, I panicked at how much had built up and closed the window for perusal at some unknown later date. Well, July 19 was that date, baby! I finally sat down and read, entry by entry, what you guys have been up to. You're all awesome and amazing.
As far as an update on my life... hm... Well, first when I got home we had my grandpa's 90th birthday party, which was really fun. We made this memory book in which people put tributes, stories, photos, and assorted memorabilia (and my mom and I discovered how delightfully anal scrapbooking is), which we read to my grandpa. We just had an awesome day.
Then I've been working a lot. It's actually fun working at the bar. And it's a bar/grille, so I'm finally learning how to cook more things, and I'm having fun pouring peoples' drinks. I have to listen to some crack-pot theories on terrorism and the state of our world, but I get tips for smiling and nodding, although when they venture into racist territory, I admit I get a little less patient. But there are a couple of regulars who are super-nice, so I enjoy myself.
Other than that, I have had a barrage of doctors' visits. Turns out after 21 years of life I am now allergic to my cats. And the day I discover this my cats become much friendlier. oh well. I figure some exposure will help me get over this stage. I am determined to have cats! How else will I be a cat lady!?!?
Anyho, that's about all the news from Lake Woebegone. I have been anti-social thus far, but I finally called my high school best friend back yesterday, and it turns out that she took a crash course in Arabic this summer! So let this be a lesson to all--you stop being anti-social and you discover that suddenly you have something new in common with the girl who's been one of your best friends since 3rd grade.
- posted by the moj @ 10:12 AM 0 comments