9/19/17

Gathering Graces 9/18/2017

*The rain came down all night, and it was pouring when I got up this morning.  Nikki and I decided we didn’t want to walk in a downpour, so we canceled our walk this morning.  But I did enjoy sitting in the living room, cozy in a blanket, listening to the rain fall down.  Cosette knows I love the rain, and shared this word with me on my Facebook page today.  Yes, I am a Pluviophile.
*Another wonderful day at work, getting seniors registered for the ACT test coming up, and again meeting with some one on one.
*I love stories.  I love to hear stories.  I love to tell stories, write stories, read stories.  As I have been meeting with the students one on one these past few days, I am hearing parts of their story that I hadn’t heard before.  Many have dealt with very traumatic things.  Many are excited about their future.  It also warmed my heart as one student praised Paul, and talked about how he is one of his favorite teachers.  And I get the chance to sit and listen, every day, to the stories these wonderful students have to tell.
We are all storytellers. We all live in a network of stories. There isn’t a stronger connection between people than storytelling.” --Jimmy Neil Smith, Director of the International Storytelling Center
*I had a rather interesting experience listening to another story today.  NPR is usually the radio station that I listen to in the car.  As I was in the car coming home for lunch, a man was being interviewed about a book he had recently written about Patience Gray and sculptor Norman Mommens, and about their time living in various places in Italy including Carrara.  I was taken aback for a moment, realizing, about two months ago, I was walking the streets of Carrara and looking up at those beautiful marble mountains with April, Eric, Tina and Kellee.     Oftentimes I look back on that trip, and it seems more like a wonderful dream I experienced than reality.  But it was reality, and part of my story.

The marble mountains of Carrara, Italy

*Our living room was also a place of storytelling tonight, story telling of the musical variety.  Tim, Gordon, Ken, Roger, Cherri and Norma gathered with Paul and I to share some musical stories as we continue to rehearse and prepare for the fall show at the Sixth Street Theater.  What a joy to have our home filled with the sound of four strumming guitars, and voices lifted up in song....all with a bluegrass flavor to them. 
*We ended the evening with some stories from our girls.  We have started a new thing where we use the Voxer app, which records voices, and everyone in the family records their story of how their day went.  It was fun to hear how Molly was feeling better, and Travis was looking forward to their upcoming trip to Salt Lake City.  Zoe woke up late, and Jason was excited to share about doing lights and sound at the auditorium at Meridian Middle School.  Cosette is struggling with a cold, and trying to feel better before she leaves for Salt Lake City.  Paul and I ended our storytelling to them singing our own version of the Eddie Rabbit hit I Love The Rainy Nights.

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