Yet again a solid month has gone by without any sort of information regarding my life (sorry for my 2-3 readers that I potentially have). Last year when I kept a blog it was easy to update it regularly. On Tuesday mornings I would sip my coffee and type away while I had some free time. There is the secret - I had free time.
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| Best. Place. Ever. |
Though I now work full time, I feel like I am constantly reaching for free time to simply be. With a 40ish hour work week, community obligations, marathon training, and spending time with people who make me joyful, not much time is left to sit with myself and let that be all that there is to my day.
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| Peace Walk with St. Sabina Catholic Church |
All of this being said, I feel like updating this blog is something that should be a priority so here it is.
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| Emmett Till Death 60th Anniversary |
Living in community is
hard, but absolutely
worth it. When I am trying to sleep and your 14 roommates decide to party because it is there day off. Or when we have to make a grocery budget stretch for the needs and wants of 15. Or when I have to admit to myself that my values do not need to be everyone else's values. Or when my roommate comes home after a tough day and just needs to cry and I don't feel like I have any insight and I have to just be. These are all hard things, but all things that have taught me more about who I am and what I need and value. Each of my roommates is unique and brilliant in their own way. Though I find that we argue from time to time and that sometimes they drive me crazy enough to leave our home, they are also beautiful, kind, compassionate individuals. I wouldn't change any of these people for a minute and I am lucky to call them mine.
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| Dawes Park |
Working in residential with 17 to 20 year old boys is also incredibly
challenging, but again
worth it. The young men that I have the privilege to work with have challenged my notion of what it means to need to live in residential care. Hearing their stories and them allowing me insight into their lives has been such a gift. Yes, I often find myself overwhelmed by their needs and feel small in what I am able to offer up to them. Yes, this experience has humbled me. Yes, I often feel like I have absolutely no clue what I am doing (but that is the beauty of it). Last night at community night we were spoken to by Terry Nelson Johnson about intimacy and he told us that in order to fully live life, we have to allow ourselves to be vulnerable and feel in front of other people. If working with the young men that I work with was not a challenge, I would be cheating myself out of life. These young men have taught me so so much already and I look forward to what more I can learn.
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| White Sox Baseball |
Well. That is all for now. I have recently been thinking of all of what I am grateful for, and you reader, know that I am grateful for you.
Paz.
Ps. PLEASE donate :)
http://mercyhomehero.com/i/sarah-kelly#.Vfx_x_7bIdU
