Encountering Normalcy

LA is good.

I'm really starting to feel at home at my work (I'm down to checking Facebook 2x per day vs. 15! ;) ) and things are going pretty well in my house, too. I joined the local Y (for a very affordable rate because my roomies sweet talked the man in charge there!), and it sounds like I'm going to start teaching one of their spin classes pretty soon. There's lots of free stuff to do around here too, although getting there can be a challenge - LA is really spread out, and we're way on the east side, so going any place takes anywhere from 15 minutes to 1 1/2 hours.

I'm slowly but surely meeting new people aside from my roommates, and I'm excited for the day when we all have our own lives and the obligation to invite the whole house to whatever I'm doing ends. I can see that it's starting to happen, and that's definitely a good thing.

The kids I'm working with a great, but challenging as well. They don't have much of a concept of "stick to your word" or consistency, but that's how they were raised. A lot of them struggle with employment for that very reason - they don't realize that people hire other people they can count on, and fire those they can't. I'm excited for the women's ministry I'm helping to start and can't wait to see that baby bird fly out of the nest.

The culture here is a little different than that in the midwest - I seem to get done in an hour what my boss expects will take me half a day to do, so I guess that idea of Midwestern work ethic is a reality. People are rarely on time for meetings, and pedestrians show no urgency in crossing the street, which sort of drives me nuts when I'm behind the wheel. But I've noticed that I now lollygag a bit when I'm in the crosswalk!

Today I had a staff meeting, and beforehand we said a quick prayer, and the pastor who said the prayer said something to the effect of "Lord, let us know and feel that you give us all that we need". Lately I've really been struggling with this gift of singlehood that I've been given , and when the pastor said that, it was like a light went on in my head: A relationship and all the stuff that comes with it isn't something I to survive, or even to be happy. I've got all I NEED - a family who loves me, a God who takes care of me, supportive roommates, a great boss, food in my belly, a roof over my head and clothes on my back. In fact, I have way MORE than I need, and I need to constantly remind myself that for that, I must be thankful.

I'm really enjoying living "simply", probably because it's not that much different from the way I was living before my time as a volunteer started. I'm reading a great book by Barbara Kingsolver called "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle", and it is really inspiring me to eat locally and become as self-sufficient as possible (my new goal is to bake enough bread so that we don't have to buy it at the store anymore, and my next endeavor will be homemade cheese!). We bought all of our fresh produce at a local farmer's market this weekend, and it felt really good to know that we're supporting local, sustainable agriculture. The only down side of this motivation is that I really want to plant my own garden, but that's hard to do when you're surrounded by concrete!

I've also found a new appreciation for the local park, because it's a place within walking distance that allows me to get as close to nature as is possible here and provides some much-needed "alone" time, where I can just be in my own little world and read and write and reflect and not be interrupted by my roommates. I really should go there more often...

Well, time to put my nose to the grindstone, as they say. I've got to find a karate instructor who will donate his time to teach our kids some martial arts and discipline, set up meetings with local guidance counselors, stamp and mail letters to kids who've received scholarships, figure out the logistics of the recycling program I'm trying to start here, oh, and eat lunch!

I hope that you can find some time to take for you; to find some peace amidst the chaos; to be thankful that you've got all you need.