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Am I talking to myself?

Posted on March 1, 2017by sue boardman

I’ve been reminded, lately, of the old saying: “When the student is ready, the teacher will come.”

In my world, there have been teachers falling from the skies!

The glitteratti cast from my recent trip to Sister Giant…U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, James Forbes, Jean Houston, Marianne Williamson, Michael Lerner, William Barber, Cenk Uygur, first year Congressional Representative from the State of Washington Pramila Jayapal, and on and on.

More familiar friends like SARK & Dr. Scott Mills & my Planet SARK writer buddies, Anne Lamott, Walter Brueggemann, Frederick Buechner, Todd Jenkins. You get the drift…

If you need a good book, look up some of these folks!

And, a bit closer to home, huge dogs and mighty mini women.

Contemplations Grandmothers

One (big) change and an invitation!

Posted on February 26, 2017by sue boardman

If you’ve been reading along for a bit, you’ve heard me tell the story about my high school biology class and the project that involved trips to the beach and setting up, balancing, and maintaining aquariums. The big thing I learned was that one change in a system changes everything.

This is my life at the moment!

Luther is our one change. Our newest rescue Newfie. Young. Shy with moments of boisterousness. Clueless in many ways. Increasingly mouthy. Omnivorous. (Inhaling what falls in his bowl. Treats. Gnawing on toys. Pillows. A couple of attempts on quilts, which is a non-starter around here. The metal legs on a table near my chair.)

Phoebe is still recovering from surgery and doing really well on the four-footed injured-reserved list.

Sarah, on the other hand, is our everything changes girl. Explanation to follow. First a memory.

Twenty-seven years and two weeks ago, I preached my senior sermon in the chapel at Columbia Theological Seminary. It was quite a day.

The morning began with tornadoes in the area. Dave, who was 10 at the time, had to go to school dressed as his favorite book character. Being a bib overall kind of mom, I was hoping for Tom Sawyer. Or Huck Finn.

Contemplations

Do You See It?

Posted on February 20, 2017by sue boardman

The photo, above, is of a folk art piece I’ve had for years, by an artist named Paul Flack. I have quite the collection. Or fetish, if you prefer.

This piece hung, for 10 years, or so, high on a wall in my studio space, kind of out of the way. Until just recently.

I’ve been moving things around. Furniture. Art. Quilts. All in a Feng shui inspired sense of what’s next in my journey. A few weeks ago, these particular angels moved to the north wall of my studio space. The wall of the future. Lower on the wall. Closer to the traffic pattern.

And then I saw it. Just to the left of the lower angel’s head.

Do you see it? The navy blue blob. It’s a Newfoundland dog.

Really.

In the future.

Contemplations Grandmothers

…the world will know peace

Posted on February 13, 2017by sue boardman

The year I was in the fourth grade, my grandparents came to Chicago to stay with my sister and me while Mom and Dad went to Florida for a meeting. When my folks came home, Granny pointed to me and proclaimed, “This child can’t see!”

It seems she had noticed that I sat close to the TV and squinted a lot, especially when I was reading, which was most of the time. Apparently a conversation with my teacher confirmed Granny’s diagnosis. This being ages before one-hour opticians, it took about two weeks before I had my first glasses.

Contemplations

“The people don’t stop!”

Posted on February 6, 2017by sue boardman

This morning I sat in a hotel ballroom in Washington D.C. for the third day of the Sister Giant conference. It’s been amazing! The enthusiasm of the speakers has been matched by the enthusiasm of the listeners. Ideas flying around the room. Questions bouncing in hearts and minds. The occasional bouts of singing. Almost an old-fashioned southern tent meeting and yet bigger, somehow. Bigger in the contemporary quilt of humanity gathered in that room. Bigger in the things that are required of us in these days. More, at this time, than most of us can remember.

Contemplations Grandmothers

Different Can Be Safe!

Posted on January 29, 2017by sue boardman

Today, Squirrel came to visit.
And yesterday.
And the day before.
And, in all probability, tomorrow.
At first, I barely noticed.
Mostly because Squirrel is same.
When Hawk came, he was different. Novel.
Today, Squirrel came to visit.
He brought no missing puzzle piece.
No sudden insight.
Just a reminder.
With, perhaps, an old truth for this time.
And, oddly, with a call to action.
Help heal the world.
Today, Squirrel came to visit.
Chattering and sorting the bounty of the winter garden.
This to keep.
That to toss away.
Choosing same over different,
As we learned at the beginning of time.
Squirrel. And you. And I.
Today, Squirrel came to visit.
Living both the beginning and the healing of fear.
Of racism and other stubborn plagues of our world.
Same is safe. Different is not.
Deep in our DNA.
Our history.
Our stories.
Today, Squirrel came to visit.
And so I went,
The Fiercely Compassionate Grandmother,
Having a blast, waving at babies.
Becoming more familiar.
More safe.
Smiles, too, of course.
Today, Squirrel came to visit.
In case you missed him,
Won’t you join me, waving at babies?
A little more fun.
A little less serious.
Through new eyes, different can be same!
Different can be safe!

Read more at Grandmothers Are In Charge Of Hope, pg. 73-74.

https://www.amazon.com/Grandmothers-Are-Charge-Hope-stronger/dp/0998340103/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485489263&sr=8-1&keywords=grandmothers+are+in+charge+of+hope

Contemplations Grandmothers

Despite Our Fear And Anger

Posted on January 22, 2017by sue boardman

They say everybody needs a hobby. If you’ve been hanging around for a bit, you may have realized that I have sort of an odd one. I watch West Wing.

Some of my friends have suggested that it may be more of an addiction than a hobby. They might be right.

For years now, I’ve watched West Wing. A couple of episodes most nights. More when Guy’s Grocery Games is the only thing on Food Network for 12 hours in a row. Lest you miss the magnitude of what I’m saying, this has been going on for years.

I’m not sure how many. Enough to have worn out seven seasons worth of DVD’s. My kids got me Netflix so I could keep watching. I, who was definitely NOT the president of the AV club in high school, actually learned how to make it work, just so I could watch some more.