Delicious autumn!

Oh how we love pumpkin season. You did know this gourd-ish squash has its own season, right? Winter, Spring, Summer, Pumpkin.... We anxiously anticipate it every year.

~Trader Joe's Fearless Flyer, October 2010

9.11.01

¹ There is a time for everything.

There's a time for everything that is done on earth.

² There is a time to be born.

And there's a time to die.

There is a time to plant.

And there's a time to pull up what is planted.

³ There is a time to kill.

And there's a time to heal.

There is a time to tear down.

And there's a time to build up.

⁴ There is a time to cry.

And there's a time to laugh.

There is a time to be sad.

And there's a time to dance.

⁵ There is a time to scatter stones.

And there's a time to gather them.

There is a time to hug.

And there's a time not to hug.

⁶ There is a time to search.

And there's a time to stop searching.

There is a time to keep.

And there's a time to throw away.

⁷ There is a time to tear.

And there's a time to mend.

There is a time to be silent.

And there's a time to speak.

⁸ There is a time to love.

And there's a time to hate.

There is a time for war.

And there's a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

30 things I learned in my 20's

I'm allowed to post a one man shot for a post like this, aren't I? Good.

I admit that I've been thinking about this list ever since yaya published hers, and come my 30th birthday, I was still stuck at #16.

Maybe I'm growing more and more hard-headed with time? A scary thought. I'd like to think I have just learned SO MUCH over the past 10 years that I could never get it organized into a list of 30 things. Something like that.

Anyway, I think I did learn a few things, and most are things that I am really thankful to have learned.

Here they are:

30 Things I Learned in My 20's

1. Hot chocolate is exponentially better when made with milk vs. water

2. It's worth whatever I might be missing out on ( 95% of the time) to go to bed early.

3. How to appropriately correspond with someone who wants to sue me. Thank you, Matt Jackson.

4. I am, in fact, more like my mom than I thought. And that's a good thing.

5. Root canals aren't as bad as most people think they are. But it is still a bad idea to watch a cartoon video of the procedure the night before.

6. The astounding impact a Volvo can sustain while keeping a person relatively unharmed.

7. That sleeping in my contacts for months is, in fact, a bad idea after all.

8. That I am a lot tougher than I thought I was.

9. That #8 is singularly by the Lord's grace.

10. That children's literature is some of the very best there is.

11. How to negotiate a ridiculous deal with used car salesmen.

12. That being single throughout my 20's is a lot more fun (and fulfilling) than I thought it would be.

13. That cable TV is not worth the money it costs. Nor is Tivo.

14. That I will give up cable TV, but probably not Netflix.

15. That Dave Ramsay knows what he's talking about.

16. The unspeakable value of the oldest of friends.

17. To trust my gut...but only sometimes...

18. Because my gut knows how to play tricks on me (thanks Kathryn Evans)

19. What an overhead projector is, and most importantly is not, capable of (thank you, Graham Bucciantini, for the digging up of this memory)

20. That email will never, ever replace the handwritten, mailed letter. At least in my world it won't.

21. When to speak up, and when to shut up (at least, I think I have a better grasp on this than I did ten years ago...)

22. Cheesy, but this song helps to articulate A LOT of what I learned in my 20's (not surprisingly, it's Sara Groves):

"so conditioned for the win
to share in victor's stories
but in the place of ambition's din
I have heard of other glories
and I pray for an idea
and a way i cannot see
it's too heavy to carry
and impossible to leave
I can't just fight when I think I'll win
that's the end of all belief
and nothing has provoked it more
than a possible defeat"

23. That Clifford IS hilarious and NOT because I was 12 when I discovered it. It really is a work of art. Say what you want.

24. That I will always, always sleep better with clean sheets on my bed. Yes, this took me 30 years to learn.

25. That being a part of a church that I LOVE (by choice, mind you, not because it's got everything together) is something that I need far more than I thought I did.

26. That I can eat on $25 a week if I have to.

27. I consider my discovery of Patty Griffin one of the best things I learned in my 20's.

28. That when in doubt, listen to Dad (I realize most people learn this earlier in life. Oops.)

29. That being tan isn't worth what the sun is doing to my skin.

30. That just like my 20's, my 30's will be fleeting, but that's okay, because the best part is what will be eternal anyway.

Aand, I ended it with a rhyme. BAM.

Here's to the 30's!!

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

I love you dearly.

summer highlights

Ah, lovely June has me in her clutches.

So far, the summer has been filled with time in the park, avocado smoothies, afternoon naps, good friends, a middle school writing class (only eight days; I temper my exposure to adolescents in the summer), morning runs, and today, I watched The Book of Eli and, I hesitate to admit to

you, crafted a cat bed out of fabric and a cardboard box. Because during the summer, there is time for things like that.

Among other happenings:

The baptism of a dear friend's baby boy, Jaxon (Isn't he adorable?? Look at those shoes!!)

The wedding of another dear friend, Amanda Blake. One of the sweetest, most beautiful weddings I've ever seen.

The little chapel

That morning, setting up for the reception

A visit from Dwana, Tyler, & Biggie!! Other dear friends from New Orleans. I lived with them during my time there last summer (you might recall my somewhat dramatic departure).

Visiting 16th Street Baptist Church

And then this.

I've been meaning to share this with you for awhile now...one of my students - I'll call him A - gifted me with this drawing on the last day of school. Let me first tell you that this kid is (and I know I say this a lot) one of my favorite humans on the planet. He's 13, but you'd think he's 8. He's about 4 feet tall and skinny like a pipe cleaner. But what he lacks in stature he more than makes up for in personality - the kid is brilliant. A voracious reader, articulate and dynamic orator, and analyst of global news (he's the one that credited me with the sniping of Bin Laden on my days away from school), he's constantly debating, declaring and proclaiming, and spouting wry commentary about everything. He is truly hysterical. He regularly gets himself so worked up that he breaks his glasses on a daily basis (granted, he sneezes and they break) so half the time he's got them taped up with masking tape, which only adds to his charm, in my opinion.

I give you this intro because I think it makes this even better.

Anyway, if you know me then you know that I have a somewhat distinct, yet unconscious, way of walking, particularly when I'm on a mission. It dates back to high school (or maybe middle school, now that I think about it) when I steadied my backpack and carried books with one arm and would swing my other arm ridiculously fast so that I could maintain my desired pace (which is notably swift).

In college, it was coined by several as "The Gorilla Walk" and "The Speed Skater," among others. At every school I've taught in so far, the kids have perfected it themselves and have taken great pride in showing off their renditions of what has become, to them, "The Hardin." Yes folks, I am a verb.

So you can only imagine my delight when A proudly yet casually handed me this drawing on his way out the door on the last day of school. I love the detail - the cropped pants, flats, and ponytail I always wear + the "swangin arm" and if you look closely...very closely...you'll see there's a worm in my hand.

It's scary how much attention to detail they exercise on a daily basis. Makes me wonder what other evils they've noticed in me, particularly on my worst days. I'm astonished at the levels of grace they give - I've been the recipient of a whole lot. Heaven knows I don't deserve their affection. Pretty sure I teared up when little A handed me this, gave me a hug, and hopped off on his sprightly way.

As grateful as I am for my relationships with these kindreds, I am so, so unbelievably thankful for summer and for the respite it brings.

Hope you're having a happy June - soak it up - can't believe it's half over!

Seventh grade

Just in case you forgot what 7th grade was like (and I know you want to revisit that), here's a list compiled by my kiddos...

You know you're in the 7th grade at JHP when...

1. You hear "tuck in that mini-skirt"

2. You hear "You just got four points taken off your homework average, baby!"

3. The teachers make you sit next to them at lunch when you're in trouble.

4. You hear "Don't even go there."

5. Mr. Edwards takes your food.

6. The trash gets thrown on you.

7. MESS is the only language. (??)

8. People walk around hitting you with brushes.

9. You hear Miss H's bell in your sleep.

10. You hear people just randomly start singing.

11. Ms. T throws away your Powerade.

12. Miss H has her big deerlight eyes aimed right on you.

Obviously 6, 8, and 12 are my favorites.

The Cat Daddy + I started my summer reading a little early

Did you know there is some kind of dance called the Cat Daddy?

Well, there is. And 104 13 year olds cheered and chanted for me to do this strange dance at our honors and awards program yesterday. I declined, made some less-than-witty comment about saving it for the after party and sat down, baffled and red-faced.

Afterwards I gave everyone a stern talking-to about taking me off guard and putting me on the spot like that in front of their families and my bosses.

And then I learned the Cat Daddy. I'd say it's pretty white girl friendly, but apparently it was still the most hilarious thing my kids had ever seen.

I don't know what they were laughing at. I mean, can't you see me killing this?? For a prime demo, go straight to the 2:10 mark of this video.

I'll be back soon to share some more goodies from the last days of school (how did I end up with a job that kills me over and over again every single day and yet I keep going back for more??) but for now, I have a few book reviews.

The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris

I'm one of the five people who have never seen this movie - and I'm not anti-scary movie - I think I've kept it up on a pedestal as the phoenix of all horror, and I somehow didn't think I'd survive the viewing. I did survive the book, though, and loved every page of it. Is it sick to admit that I loved Hannibal Lecter's character? I thought he was hilarious. Again, not sure I should be admitting this, but there it is. Masterful suspense. And, now I understand why people have always greeted me "Hello, Clarice."

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

I've not seen this movie, either, but the book was a very quick and completely absorbing read. Written simply and cleverly, it's the story of a nine-year-old German boy, Bruno, who befriends a Jewish boy, Shmuel, at Auschwitz (his father is one of Hitler's commandants) and doesn't at all have a clue what is happening around him. It's a very innocent account of a child's perspective of the atrocities of the Holocaust, and for that reason it's especially poignant (I feel like such a wannabe book reviewer using that word, but really, it's the best word for the job). I loved everything about this book.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

I guess I'm on a roll here with novels-turned-movies (and hyphens, it turns out). The preview for this movie got me intrigued enough to read the novel (I think people should make trailers for books!) but I'm sorry to report that both book and movie were kind of a let down. Maybe it was that I'd recently finished Silence of the Lambs, but I thought the plot unfolded rather slowly. A lot of times that's okay, but I don't think this guy is a good enough writer to get away with a really slow plot. That said, it was entertaining, and I don't usually take to science fiction, clones, organ harvesting, that sort of thing. I liked it just barely enough to think about reading The Remains of the Day.

The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall

I'm reading this one right now, and as it turns out, so is my pastor's sweet little 8 year old daughter. It's pretty golden - it's about four sisters, their dog Hound, and their widowed father vacationing at a summer cottage where they meet some interesting characters (and two rabbits). I'm of the opinion that the best adult lit usually doesn't hold a candle to really good children's books - it's in the children's section that you find the best stories, characters, humor, wit, and often, writing. The Penderwicks is no exception - I laugh out loud reading it - it's really a treat. I can't wait to follow it up with The Penderwicks on Gardham Street and The Penderwicks at Point Mouette.

Back soon!!