Flamingos and Penguins

Christmas day 2005 is coming to a close and January of 2006 is coming up with a fervor none of us can quell.

And I? I have found myself sleeping, once again, in the bed that was given to me after I earned the right to move out of the crib. I am sitting atop the twin bed with a cat curled at my feet. Mismatching blankets are half-hazardly thrown about so that my bare feet can seek them out if necessary and my pillows are mostly squished between the little bed and the wall.

The white and pink antiqued bed once wore a white ruffled bedspread and sat in a room with pink carpet, pink walls, and matching curtains. It's whites and pinks have since been worn off in places. The headboard has fingernail polish and a pink X on it. As a child (a little blonde girl, who wore dresses and tights as often as I could) I tried to repair some of the cracking in the paint with white nail polish (it didn't work). Many years later the pink X came home as a black mark on my hand to show that I was under 21 and could not drink while watching The Urge, MU330, 311 and many other bands in cramped bars.

The stories this bedroom set could tell...

As I sit here I wonder what kind of advice these pieces would give me if they could. They have known me. They have survived my wear and tear, seen me cry, held my things, and heard my prayers. Would I be different if they could have spoken up and said something all these years? Should I have been someone different?

And as I sit here- I think they would say, "Charity, flamingos can't be penguins. Nor can penguins be flamingos. Nor would they want to be."

And I laugh. And smile. And even tear up a bit because the next thing that comes to mind is "a foot can not be a hand" and I get up and go to a book shelf. I eventually find it.

Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.
-1 Corinthians 12:14-18

As I go to sleep in this old and tiny twin bed with the cat still at my feet I know - flamingo or penguin/hand or foot - He designed me just as He wanted me to be.

Las Posadas

How important are rituals and traditions to a culture or society?

I have been reading a refreshing magazine called Yes for awhile now. Their motto is "Supporting you in creating a more just, sustainable, and compassionate world". The Winter 2006 Issue is called Spiritual Uprising and I would like to share one article that, I think, is an example of a positive tradition that teaches positive ethics.

In the spirit of the season, please read "A Stranger at the Door".

May you reach out to someone in need this Christmas...and may someone reach out to you.

Got "Tagged"

duff, a very cool roomie from college, tagged me on her blog to answer a few questions.

High Fives All Around- here I go.

10 years ago: I won a Silver Key in Art from the Kansas City Art Institute and a scholarship to study art at a university in Missouri.

5 years ago: I was the President of a creative writing club at college, was preparing my short stories and poetry for a senior reading on campus, and exploring the possibility of an undergraduate research project on sustainable development in Kenya.

One year ago: I was at a Christmas party wrapping presents for a family at a homeless shelter

Yesterday: I wrote a long and cynical email to a friend concerning the movie Syriana and current politics. Poor guy.

Five Snacks I Enjoy:
1. Boneless Hot Wings
2. Corn Chips and Rotel Velveeta Cheese Dip
3. Popcorn
4. Chocolate Covered Cashews
5. M&Ms

Five Songs to Which I Know All the Words
1. "Harder to Breathe" Maroon Five
2. "God Put a Smile Upon Your Face" Coldplay
3. "Where the Streets Have No Name" U2
4. "Given to Fly" Pearl Jam
5. "Crucify" Tori Amos

Five Things I Would Do With $100 Million
1. Invest
2. Start a nonprofit for the uninsured
3. Pay off my parent's houses (they are divorced and have different spouses)
4. Buy myself a place close to the ocean, mountains, and a university
5. Travel- mission trips and pleasure/leisure

Five Places To Run Away:
1. Montana (always)
2. Zanzibar (in times of peace)
3. Jessica's (anywhere she may be at that time)
4. Kansas City (got room on the couch bro?)
5. A cabin in the mountains by a body of water alone or with significant other

Five Bad Habits
1. self-doubt
2. running away from love
3. stubborn
4. making assumptions
5. putting other people first to the point of not taking care of myself (sister advised me of this)

Five Things I Like Doing
1. Writing
2. Traveling/roadtrips
3. Reading
4. Hiking
5. Creating (photos, pottery, etc)

Five Things I Would Never Wear
1.Tight leather pants (chaps are a maybe)
2. Studded collar
3. Military fatigues
4. String bikini
5. Big Johnson T-shirts

Five Favorite TV Shows
1. CSI's
2. Law and Orders
3. That 70's Show
4. Forensic Files
5. Sex and the City

Five Favorite Toys (I am going for the G version)
1. clay
2. laptop
3. beads and jewelry making items
4. camera
5. toastmaster mini electric food chopper

As for tagging others... I don't know if Travis or Katrina will play but I will see...