Long weekend. We did our big family outing yesterday, roaming around the Missouri Botanical Gardens in the still-summery heat. Today, "Team Stroble" stayed around the house, worked projects, went to Ted Drewes for concretes, and relaxed, especially because a big and busy week is ahead.
I became blue in the early afternoon and took a drive. Although as far as I can tell I'm well-liked in my circles, after a few years in this community I wish that I had more close friendships locally. Sometimes I become blue because I've reached out to numerous people, whether in care and concern, or for a favor, and sometimes in the hopes a friendship may emerge. But so many people don't even answer emails or Facebook messages, and I lose self-confidence. And yet, as I say, people like me. I'm not always the best correspondent either…
I miss my parents, who are gone now---Mom just three years ago. I don't think I've properly grieved, in fact I know I haven't. Happily, our little family is all healthy and doing well.
The news is filled with distressing stories concerning the Syrian crisis. Facebook and various online pages contain many articles regarding racism, #BlackLivesMatter, the benefits of unions, women's and transgender issues. Too many of these stories and discussions make me feel emotionally overwhelmed; I realize that my feelings are minor compared to the pressing nature of these issues; I still feel overwhelmed…
Although I regularly pray and do devotional readings, I think it's time again to renew my spiritual life. A call to creativity, and a call to ministry-service, are each powerful "drives" and each can make a person kind of crazy, in the related motivations to be both Mary and Martha. I'm glad that the upcoming semester is busy but not as super-busy as the spring. Summer has, in this unofficial way, ended now, and (to me) autumn is often an excellent time for renewal.
Finally: the other day I purchased an enjoyable book and have been browsing through it. The cover of which reads, "Despite moments, of clarity, there is no 'ism' in this book." That's not the title: the book is 100 New Artists by Francesca Gavin (London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd, 2011) and concerns the contemporary new wave of art---"post conceptualism, post-minimalism, post pop"---and artists from a variety of countries. A nice guide if you'd like to know more about the current art scene.
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