The little things in life

"Enjoy the little things in life. 

For someday you will realize they were the big things."

 --Robert Brault 

As the laundry tumbles in the drier and black beans simmer on the stove top for tonight's dinner; as I begin to mentally make a list of things to do and contemplate cleaning the kitchen floor and crafting behavior charts and purchasing stock in companies that manufacture super glue; as little ones slumber and the oldest one listens to "The Wind in the Willows" before we don aprons and bake homemade graham crackers, it is difficult to imagine that just a week ago our family was riding a ferry to Ellis Island, gazing at the magnificence of New York City, pointing out to our children the location where the Twin Towers once stood while inwardly grieving anew for the suffering of this city, and strolling around Liberty Island. How quickly our lives settled back into their daily rhythms.

As I stared out the window into the Illinois fields during the last hours of our trip, I sought to sort through all we had seen and done and felt. There is no doubt that there were moments when our explosive crew managed to mirror Chevy Chase's Vacation movies, when small children mimicked the antics of that great escape artist Harry Houdini, and brought weeping and gnashing of teeth from their parents. That craziness, I hope, will make it into the annals of "Remember whens..." about our vacation and with time will elicit laughs. In the end, I feel immensely blessed. Blessed because of my family. Blessed because of my friends. And how many of you we were able to see on our journey, this pilgrimage. Thank you especially to my mother, who made the trip possible, to my gracious sister and brother-in-law for their many kindnesses and for loving us as we are, as well as to all of you who welcomed us into your homes along the way. To steal from St. Seraphim of Sarov, "Good relationships are heaven anywhere." And that is how I will remember this trip, heaven anywhere.

 

The gravesite of St. Raphael of Brooklyn, the patron saint of our church in Iowa City, at Antiochian Village, Ligonier, Pennsylvania.

Philadelphia, a last minute decision. (Stephanos and Juliana, I promise we will stop next time.) We were not able to visit Independence Hall because tickets were sold out for the day, but we did manage to squeeze in the Liberty Bell, as well as Benjamin Franklin's grave. When questioned who they were viewing while watching a video of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech at the Liberty Bell site, Russell replied, "Grandpa?" then "St. Patrick?" Hmm.

At my sister's home in Bayville, New Jersey: Lots of time in the pool. 

An evening at the Jersey Shore. And yes, we did see Snooki. (Of course, living in the cave as I do, I had no idea who Snooki was.)

Back to Aunt Becky's and Uncle John's for more swimming and crabbing.

Guess who managed to sneak out for a quick trip to the local Goodwill and found a new book for Thomas (and a kitchen rug for herself)?

Happy 19th Birthday to our niece Ali.

Russell modeling one of Ali's birthday presents.

The Johnson family day trip to Staten Island, New York, to visit Catholic Worker co-founder Dorothy Day's grave; to Liberty Park to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island; to visit friends Ian, Shilpa, and Soniya Samuel and eat yummy Indian food.

We belted out a "Holy God" and "Christ is Risen" at her grave. Though Catholic, she was not unfamiliar with the Russian Divine Liturgy and the Orthodox Church so if I were to guess, Ms. Day was smiling.

And of course, more pool time.

Then a final stop in Chesterton, Indiana. Celebrating Elliot's nameday a couple days late with his godparents, Bobby and Paige, and a multitude of other dear friends. Thank you again Paige for the amazing cake.

Happy Trails

Well friends, the Johnson crew and my mother are off today for a trip out east to visit my sister and her family. Since we will be driving (say a prayer for our safety, as well as our sanity), we have broken the trip up into three days. First stop will be Indianapolis, IN, where our dear friends the Larsen's will be hosting us; next stop Pittsburgh, PA, to visit Antiochian Village and pay homage to the grave of St. Raphael of Brooklyn; then to Hershey, PA, where our friends Kim and Doug and their family are presently vacationing. The plan is to be in New Jersey on Wednesday where we will spend lots of time swimming in my sister and brother-in-law's pool, drinking wine, and playing Euchre . Hopefully there will be a trip to the Statue of Liberty, and of course, I have a hankering to visit the Catholic Worker House in New York City and Dorothy Day's grave on Staten Island. Chesterton friends, just a warning, we may be headed your way on the return trip. I will let you know. Anyway, you can look forward to lots of pictures when we get back. Until then, peace and goodness to you.

 

Reunited

The last time we saw them was a year ago at the Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The atmosphere was charged as members of our travel group were in a near frenzy attempting to locate luggage hastily strewn by our drivers into the darkness of the parking lot, as well as board airplanes which would take us from the continent of Africa and land us back to our respective North American cities. Though we had shared an experience which I can only liken to being present at the birth of a child, the chaos of the situation quickly separated all of us from one another and I never felt as if I had properly said good-bye to these newly met but intimate friends. And so it was with anticipation and joy that we were able to reconnect with one of the beautiful families from our group, to "ooh" and "aah" over our two children who had once shared a life together, as well as to meet the other children who make up our families. So special. Thank you again for taking the time to stop and be with us! Peace and goodness dear ones, until we meet again.

Can't Get Enough of that Lovey Dovey Stuff

Perhaps it was the home movie-style flashbacks of a younger U2 - the U2 of The Joshua Tree, the U2 of Achtung Baby - large on the towering screen that took my breath away, that made the passage of time so pronounced and poignant. I felt like I was watching old friends and was transported back to my fourteen-year-old self clutching her very first rock album, drinking in the lyrics and music of The Joshua Tree like an elixir. How did twenty-five years go by so quickly? Perhaps it was Bono singing "Rejoice" or the impromptu playing of "One Tree Hill" or screaming my voice raw with thousands of others to "Pride (In the Name of Love)," "Sunday Bloody Sunday," "Walk On," and "One" that elicited the feeling that time had collapsed upon itself and I was living an eternal moment. Perhaps it was because an Amnesty International sign loomed larger than anything posted for Blackberry, the official concert sponsor, that reminded me this is not just your run-of-the-mill rock band. Most of all I think it was the image of a cross with a heart tattooed on it together with the ever faithful message that love has the power to transcend all our goodness and badness and make us what we were meant to be, partakers of the divine. Because in the end, as Bono said, "all we what want is to dance."