April 2013

Starting a new term

Kailey, Seth and Jordan heading back to Hogwarts Kimbolton for the next term. 











We lack only new wands...

We stayed at the Quarr Monestary

Alan found an Abbey on the Isle of White that has an apartment for families to stay in.  He thought it would be interesting to go and visit an Abbey and get a glimpse into the world of a monk. 

Abbey on the Isle of Wight.

 

Prayer is an essential part of abbey life and services are held seven times a day 

 

 

I was going to write a summary of the life at the Abbey, but, I found an article in a paper that did a nice job, so, of course, I copied it...

By Simon Horsford  Telegraph

3:21PM GMT 07 Feb 2011

1 Comment

The chance to sidestep the distractions of a frenetic world is rare. It's reassuring, therefore, to discover that there are places where the outside world need not intrude. A retreat can offer spiritual sanctuary, perhaps, but above all, peace, quiet and even silence.

Quarr Abbey, a Benedictine monastery on the Isle of Wight, is one such refuge where solitude and contemplation are the order of the day. I spent five days at the abbey to see how easy it is to shut out normal life, to be away from family and friends and, for a short time at least, to avoid the stresses and demands of modern living. What, I wondered as I made my way to the monastery, would it be like to give work, television, radio, the internet, the pub and shops a break, and to be alone with my thoughts?

Initially, it felt just like going back to school. The neo-Gothic Quarr Abbey – pronounced "Corr" – dates from 1912 and is an imposing, red-brick edifice designed by a monk, Dom Paul Bellot.

Its formality and rigid lines – and the cold corridors – had more than a whiff of the scholastic but Father Nicholas, who oversees the guesthouse where retreatants live during their stay, soon dispelled any such associations.
He also encapsulated the monastery's purpose as a place of contemplative prayer and reflection by recalling the words of American Trappist monk Thomas Keating, who said that it should "provide a calm space in a world of clutter and noise".

The Benedictines have long welcomed guests, and the tradition of monastic hospitality goes back to the desert monks of third-century Egypt; Saint Benedict himself is regarded as the father of Western monasticism.

Guests are left to their own devices by the monks, so offering the chance to wander the 180 acres of beautifully kept grounds. Alternatively you can explore farther afield (the town of Ryde is nearby) as it's by no means a requirement that you stay on abbey premises, although doing so rather can ruin the point of the retreat.

Only 10 monks currently constitute the community at Quarr and their day-to-day life revolves not only around prayer and contemplation, but also activities as diverse as bookbinding, running the bookshop, overseeing a tea shop, gardening, beekeeping and rearing pigs and cattle.

Prayer, of course, is an essential part of abbey life and services are held seven times a day beginning with Vigils (at 5.30am) followed by Lauds, Mass, Sext, None and Vespers until Compline (at 8pm) in a sublime setting notable for its imposing arches and rows of exquisitely carved choir stalls". 

 

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Some 250 people stay in Quarr's 10 guesthouses each year

Working in London

I love riding the train.   I can't really explain it.  I am sure it has something to do with the fact that I grew up in the expanse of the Western U.S. where everyone has a truck but the train is not a feasible option.  I love cities.  I love the noise, the architecture, the possibilities, the inconveniences, the pace.  Cities are invigorating for me... I must admit, I can take them only in small doses.  I don't know if I could live in a large urban area with my family and still find it so charming.  For now, I love trains that take me to cities, particularly London. 



I leave my house on Wednesday mornings at 7:15 to get to the local train station.  I have figured out the best routes and where to stand on the platform so that I am in good position to grab an available seat during the rush hours of the morning commute.  I always bring a book (actually, I usually haul about 5 books, one doesn't want to run out of good reading material and who knows what mood I might be in once I actually get on the train) and a notebook ready to  spend 40 uninterrupted minutes reading, thinking and writing.   I like the notebook approach to writing on the train.  For practicality purposes, I seldom actually have my computer fully charged and I seem to forget my chord or adapter more often than not, so, back to the old fashioned, and in my romantic, nostalgic mood of train rides, more soulful approach. 

Once I get to London, I move my way through King's Cross and head into the underground--or, as is more commonly known in London-- The Tube.  I am quite proud of myself for being able to comfortably navigate London on The Tube.  I know, those of you that have grown up with trains and tubes and cities are nonplussed by things such as an Oyster Card, but, I am speaking more directly to those that still find the whole idea of living close enough to London to be able to jump a commuter train and end up there in less than an hour-- rather intriguing and somewhat out of reach.   Let the city dwellers roll their eyes, but, I am just so pleased to have my own Oyster Card and to know how to use and load it. 


Now, all of this travel tidbit is not even the real reason that I love to go to London.  I actually WORK in London.  Ok, it's just one day a week, Ok, it's just one class, so, in the end, I teach a 3 hour class in London at Syracuse University London center one day a week.  LOVE teaching the class.  I am teaching a leadership class which means I have an excuse to read everything about leadership-- one of my favorite obsession subjects-- and then meet with students that are interested enough in the topic to take a class on it!  I love everything about teaching, going into the city, having a day that is different and stretches me and gives me an excuse to spend hours doing what I like to do. 

Wednesdays:

So, I have yet another layer to this bonus day of the week.  It's on Wednesday--which is matinee day in London.  My plan has been to place the class on Wednesday mornings so that I can take my kids down to London with me occasionally and sneak in a play or a museum or some other fun event  afterward.  Do you understand what that means?  My children will have stories about when they took a day off school and went down to London with Mom and did something exciting and memorable!  That sentence and the prospect of that reality takes my breath away.  It is beyond my expectations and fills a part of me that I didn't even know I hope to fill or needed to fill.   That's something that keeps happening as a parent for me.  I open up a little compartment in my heart that I was unaware existed.  The first time I went on a field trip with Kailey to London, it was all I could do not to stand in the middle of her third grade classroom and weep (I know, Alan tried not to laugh at me too when I explained it to him).  I have moments where I am simply, deeply grateful that I have an opportunity to be part of this sacred thing called childhood.  I am in charge of shaping experiences and events and a safe and good place to grow, and sometimes, I just do it in a way that is so much better than I imagined.  There are the quiet, good moments too, like when I am reading a great book to them and they are all sitting around the table drawing, those moments are also breathtaking.  It's the realization that we are in the middle of something really good and I pause life to fully experience the moment. 

Another goodness for Wednesdays is Alan's attitude towards them.  He moves everything in his life around so that I can leave early and, sometimes stay late.  I leave for London and Alan takes care of the morning routine and gets all of the kids to school with all of the things they need for the school day.  If someone is sick on a Wednesday, Alan will stay home from work so that I can go to London.  This arrangement would be difficult, except that it's not.  Alan has made sure it is not difficult.  he wants me to have the opportunity to teach and go to London.  So, he makes it work.  Some days, that means he leaves work a little early so that he can pick up children from school and make dinner.  There are days when he has needed me to come right home after class because he has work commitments, but, he does everything he can to make Wednesdays work for me.  This gesture is such a gift.   

Some days, when my class is done, I have the opportunity of spending a few minutes with my dear friend Meredith.  She is the director at Syracuse London and so, there are days when the stars align (well, usually we have to plan the star alignment thing) and we can go to lunch and spend time talking.  Talking to Meredith is like breathing pure oxygen.   She gets me, I get her, we are different in many ways and yet, we are so very similar in the realization that there are some things that simply fill our hearts and that's enough of a reason to proceed with them.  Of course, parenting is one of those things that shows up on both of our lists.    Marriage, spirituality,  balancing lives to make sure our values are leading, reading, writing, experiencing...these are topics that further link us. 

Do you see why Wednesdays are such a gift?  Because it's once a week, semester by semester, there is less danger in having this fabulous day become ordinary.  It's not that the day and the blessings or opportunities of the day would change, but, my attitude and awareness of the beauty wrapped up into this experience could go away.  That is a risk I shall guard against. 

January 2013

December 2012

November 2012

October 2012

Kailey at the Castle

September 2012