A dry spell
A dry spell. That's all I can think to call those times when I stop writing. I go through these same cycles with my private journal. Once, after writing almost daily for over a year I just stopped. Sometimes it's because I get too close to something and would rather run away than face it. Other times it's because I just need a break. I tolerate these spells, and yet I'm always painfully aware of them when they're happening.
So, why haven't I written a word for precisely a month and a day? I'm just not sure. This time I think it's mostly because I've been so busy with work and other things. It's been all I can do to sneak in time to sew or print. Writing has taken a backseat. Now I'm starting to get the feeling that the writer in me is tired of sitting in the back of the bus.
For these last few weeks busy has included course work for my last year of a 4-year extension course called EfM--Education for Ministry. It's adult learning at it's best: lots of reading and discussion, but no tests or papers. In 4 years you cover a survey of the core seminary curriculum, without the preaching, field education, and the like. The first year of the program is Old Testament (mostly Torah and the prophets, with a bit of wisdom literature). Year 2 is New Testament. Years 3 & 4 are church history and contemporary theology respectively. It's a nice overview, but how much of Hegel and Kierkegarrd can you really pick up by reading one cursory chapter on each. Anyway, a night of reading and a night of class effectively kills 2 nights out of the week from now until early June.
I also somehow managed to accept the "opportunity" to co-chair the Rector Search Committee at my church. Our Rector left over the summer. Now that we have an interim in place, this Committee is conducting a search for a new permanent Rector. It's sort of like an executive search only many more people are involved, it takes 12-18 months, and it's a lot of volunteer work. And I said yes to this because...?
Just so you don't think life is all work, I must confess that I've been having some fun. Dan and I spend last weekend in New Jersey. Friday/Saturday we were with Dan's brother, our sister-in-law (Omie) and our niece and nephew. It was Omie's birthday so in addition to the family celebration, she and I slipped away for a couple of hours in Clinton. We went to see Kerr Grabowski's show at the Hunterdon Museum. It was fantastic. The show was called "Art To Wear". It should have been called "Art to Die For"--or may dye for. I'm always amazed to see work that I instantly recognize, something that bears the mark of the maker in a way that's unmistakable without being cliche or repetitive. In this case you look at the work and say, "This is Kerr's".
I desperately need a new camera that takes something besides fuzzy pictures, but you can still see even in these mediocre shots that the show was amazing.
The weekend ended on a delightful note. Sunday, on the way home Dan & I stopped to visit Rayna Gillman & Marty and shared a delightful little brunch. "Come by; I'll get some bagels" turned into a banquet. She was such a wonderful host, and we had great fun sharing art and telling stories. I'm smiling as I write this. It really was a great visit.
This weekend is equally full of promise. We leave early tomorrow morning for a whirlwind visit to Philadelphia. Dan is being so indulgent. We going to see the Nancy Crow show at the Snyderman gallery, then heading off to the convention center for the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show. It only occurred to me after we'd made the plans to check the lineup of artists and I was thrill to see that we get to visit with our friends Randy Darwall and Brian Murphy. It should be a blast.