Jim and Jubilees

  I don't know when Jim will retire--or if he will retire.  I have joked that I can't even get him to retire from the church's softball team, let alone Notre Dame.  However, I do not think he will play softball this year. He SHOULD NOT play softball this year!  I hope he will be content to sit in the dugout and keep the scorebook and yell out the batting order.


Last night our former small group at church  invited Jim to talk about Jubilees, the book that has been the basis of much of his life's work.  I was very happy to listen to their wonderful questions--some about details, some about the bigger picture and context of the book.   I learned things that I had not known before (or had forgotten!) and I have lived with Jim and Jubilees for 40 years!  It was a very good experience for Jim to have such interest expressed in his work.  I felt regretful that I have not always expressed enough interest and have tried to do better during this time of retirement.


Jim wrote his doctoral dissertation on Textual and Historical Studies in the Book of Jubilees.  25 years ago he published The Book of Jubilees: A Critical Text.  At one point he wondered if he would live long enough to finish the commentary he is working on now but as he is on chapter 46 of 50,  I think and hope he will make it!  In fact, he is beginning to think about what his next big project will be.

It is a privilege to be able to enjoy one's work as much as he does.  I do remind him that his research does not have to stop just because his employment at Notre Dame stops.  In fact, he'd have more time away from classes and meetings to do his research.

In any case, last night was a joy for me to hear him share his work and to love our former group members for their interest in his work and their affirmation for him.

Saturday Morning Pancakes

Breakfast on Saturday mornings may be be a symbol for our marriage of 46 plus years.

We have pancakes, often blueberry pancakes, and we enjoy breakfast together as we always do on the weekends.

However, Jim makes his own Mrs. Butterworth Buttermilk Complete (just-add-water) pancakes.  After he puts on the buttery spread, he pours on (I mean pours on) Spartan artificial butter and maple-flavored syrup.

I use my Purdue extension recipe for Better Baking Mix that is a combination of whole wheat flour, oatmeal, and white flour.  I have real butter with real maple syrup--delicious!

Jim says, however, and I quote, "We do our own things, but I do it so much better."  Humpf!  I don't think so!

The Velocity of Autumn

I am more aware of articles that have to do with aging.  I read one recently about men who become Grumpy Old Men at age 70--and hope that doesn't happen to the one I live with.  (I'm not too worried actually!)

http://www.npr.org/blogs/theprotojournalist/2014/04/14/301769284/the-grumpy-point-when-a-man-turns-70

Yesterday's NYT had a review of a play called "The Velocity of Autumn."  I'm not sure if I should be encouraged by it or not.  The title refers to the "speed with which the frailties of old age can descend." In the play, Alexandra, played by 86 year old Estelle Parsons,  refuses to go to a nursing home and would rather blow up her Brooklyn brownstone with Molotov cocktails than give in.    At one point she says, "What the world is taking away from me, what time is taking away from me, what God is taking away from me--is me!"   Charles Isherwood, the reviewer, states that "Mr. Coble's play rises above its slightly formulaic structure to become a dry-eyed, moving rumination on the hard fact that the progress of human life being what it is truly happy endings are rare indeed."

So that's the negative part--but that is the play, not the reality.  The reality is that at age 86, Estelle Parsons is given a rave review by Isherwood for her "starchy, sentiment-free performance...."  He says that at the end of a 90 minute, two-actor play, she appears ready to run a half-marathon as an encore!

Good for her!  Maybe Alexandra is more typical than Estelle, but I think I'll ruminate on the reality, not the play.

 http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/22/theater/estelle-parsons-with-explosives-in-velocity-of-autumn.html?_r=0

68 Going on 70

My birthday is almost over.  Last night I did not feel upbeat or contented about this whole aging process.  I kept thinking that 67 rounds to 65, but 68 rounds up to 70 and that seems old.

My sister (two years younger than I am) said that most of their friends are 70 plus and they do just fine!  Jim and I, however, are usually the oldest ones in any group that we are a part of--church, work, friends, and family.

It was a good day nevertheless with several calls and cards.   We "celebrated" by having dinner in Kalamazoo with Jim's mother who never got her hearing aids from the nurse today.  Conversation was difficult!  We'll celebrate later this week with a dinner with friends, so I can look forward to that.

Playing the Organ on Easter Morning

I am playing for the service tomorrow morning.  I practiced and chose music before I left on our trip.  I practiced again this morning and felt pretty awkward at first after ten days away.   The Easter service is full of music. There will be brass and strings and drums and guitars--all of which have their assigned stanzas for the singing.  I will be playing at the piano for three of the contemporary songs--using chord notation only.  I can do it, but it's not something I do easily.

I have special glasses to use for times like this--so I can read the music but also look through the mirrors and see David, our worship director.  Fortunately he uses large gestures and is easier to follow than many conductors.

It is not a performance and I don't feel pressure to be perfect.  But I pray to have the energy and stamina and concentration that is needed to be a good leader in worship.  I don't want to be surprised, as I occasionally am, by some stop I have pulled accidentally.

I have written warnings to myself at the top of my postlude (and it is also true for my prelude and offertory):  "Don't hurry or you'll be sorry!"

Sometimes I think about retiring from this service to our church but there are no easy replacements for me at this point.  So I'll just keep practicing and choosing music that is within my abilities to play--and I'll keep praying to be able to help God's people at the South Bend Christian Reformed Church praise him--especially on Easter morning.

Traveling with Kids--Not!

While traveling with just the two of us, we have enjoyed watching and listening to families with young children on this trip.  We find ourselves grinning a lot--and sometimes offering to take photos as our small part in their adventures.

Bits of conversation we overheard on the trails in Zion National Park:

Mother to son:  "You intentionally didn't smile for that picture."

Mother to daughter:  "Sarah,  you have to hike, not look at ants."

Daughter contemplating a park brochure:  "This trail is a lot longer than it looks on the map."  (Maybe needs to learn about map scale!)

Father to son just a few feet down the trail:   "Are you taking a break already?"

There is so much joy in sharing experiences with one's children.  There is also great freedom in traveling with just one other travel companion.

Me and My Laptop

We're travelling and for two nights in beautiful, amazing Bryce Canyon, we had no wifi access except in the main lodge lobby, a short walk from our room in another lodge.   We also had no TV and pretty poor satellite coverage for our iphones.  I was OK for about 18 hours and then I woke up feeling withdrawal!  I am addicted to being connected with friends and family and to having the world of information at my fingertips.  I wanted to know what was going on at home and in the news;  I wanted to update my photos on Shutterfly; I wanted to check potential routes for getting back to the airport.  I wanted to blog!

Having this limited access made me realize how important my little Chromebook is to my leisure time in my retirement.  It keeps me from feeling lonely.  It gives me opportunities to learn.  And it gives me opportunities to express myself.

I felt much better after I walked down to the main lodge, sat by a lovely fire in the fireplace, and connected with the world again for about an hour.

I don't like thinking of this as an addiction and my time can be wasted online, but having this wealth of information and ability to connect with others is a blessing for each of my days in retirement.