Back Again

Well, here they are. All six cousins and grandma. Is she out-numbered or what?

It's been a bit of a break since I last wrote. Last weekend in DC was a really great experience, except it was definitely one (or two!) night(s) too long away from Myles. I was like a little addict there at the end, especially as my flights back into Asheville from Charlotte are always delayed, this time it was just by an hour. Still, I was fidgety, tearful, and praying that God would just get me home to my baby.

On the other hand, it was fabulous to see Liz and her belly! She looks beautiful, and it brought back so many sweet memories of that wondrous, uncomfortable, confusing time of pregnancy. There's nothing quite like seeing an old friend pregnant with her first baby...

This year, Ecumenical Advocacy Days (the event I attended in DC) was about climate change. We talked about the reality of climate migrants, the effects of climate change on poor communities and especially women. The workshop I led was on the environmental impact (or eco-footprint) of war. And one highlight from the weekend was hearing the personal testimony of a woman from the Marshall Islands, named Lemeyo. Lemeyo was in her teens when the U.S. tested a nuclear weapon on her island. Her island community was not forewarned, they were not evacuated until three days after the test. By this time, radioactivity had seeped into their organs and bones. Lemeyo's father died a painful death by way of stomach cancer. She has had her thyroid removed and confessed, for the first time in her life in a public forum, a series of miscarriages. She has no children. On the Marshall Islands, those who were directly exposed on the island where the testing occurred were stigmatized by other islanders, told they were "poison." And so there was a lot of shame in Lemeyo's symptoms, and it was an act of real courage for her to share her testimony with a bunch of Americans, and also with members of Congress. After three years, Lemeyo and her fellow islanders were returned to their homes and mistakenly told the land was safe. But it was not safe. And in the 1970s, Greenpeace conducted tests that determined they should again be moved off of the island. Lemeyo still has not returned home. I am grateful she was willing to share her testimony. She is a member of the United Church of Christ (my denomination), and it was the UCC that was able to bring her to the U.S. for Ecumenical Advocacy Days and the opportunity to talk with members of Congress.

It's been a lazy, homebody weekend here the past few days. I'm so happy to be with my boys, and share some quality family time lying low. This morning we got in a 4 mile run through down town with Myles in the jog stroller, and it felt really good.

Mylestones: Somehow "no" has turned into "note," and "beep" has turned into "beek" so it takes a translator to understand what Myles is trying to convey. Tonight at church we had a sweet moment when he said "Bye Jody" to a member of the church who is a teenager with down syndrome...they made a connection and it was fun to see it happen. We've been reading a book about manners and so Myles is saying "peas" a little more lately. He's also picked up on my expression "sweet!" We occasionally find him repeating our words when we didn't know he was listening, so we're getting to that stage. He can be fairly insistent at times and I'm more of the softy while Seth holds the line, the exact opposite of how I imagined we would parent.

The coming week will be a busy one. On Friday we're headed for Richmond to see Seth's brothers. Seth plans to run a 10k while we're there. On Sunday morning I am guest preaching at Umstead Park UCC in Raleigh on the tenth anniversary of their start as a new church. They have gifted Land of the Sky UCC with hymnals, and it was such an amazing gift to arrive on our doorstep! Afterward we hope to visit Robby, my pen pal on death row. It will be the first time we've met in person, so I'm hoping it all works out (the red tape involved is something to write home about) and we have a good visit.

Hope all of you are well...thanks for tuning in.