Finally, an explanation.

My brother Keith and his wife Marisa recently visited my Kooistra grandparents in Iowa.

They were shown some old pictures, which Keith has been scanning and sending to the rest of us bit by bit.

Today this one appeared in my email:

I saw it and I said

"ah-HAH! Now I under-STAND!:

Look at that HAIR!!!!!

It also explains a bit of our Davy:

Alas, we do not fall far from the tree.

(And, in case you'd like some further explanation, the picture was taken early on in my parent's married life, and involves my aunts and uncles on both sides, as well as my grandparents on both sides. It reminds me of my childhood when they were all around, and is a keeper for sure!)

Sure on this Shining Night

I spent my weekend in Harrisburg, for what could potentially be the last time this semester. Though a bitter reality, it caused me to be aware that every moment was especially precious.

My first priority: Neato Burrito. I walked in at 7:57 and, though they close at 8, the lovely man behind the counter welcomed me with a smile. I knew exactly what I wanted: the GRINGO AUTHENTICO, the Friday special of the day. The technical description has something to do with steak and lime, cilantro, chipotle. I, however, simply refer to it as a bit of heaven in a tortilla. It's easier.

(It was also a bit of heaven to share this eating extravaganza with my dear Mrs. Noll, not pictured here, but an excellent photographer.)

Saturday brought a breakfast date with my good friend Faith at the Panera on the West Shore. I drank a ton of coffee while we caught up (since we hadn't in awhile), and filled each other in on how we see God moving in our lives, changing our hearts, letting us know He sees us. (Let me tell you something that I have learned: God is at work, end of story. I will never doubt that again.)

I then got in my car and drove across the river to the Panera on the East Shore. (They should really pay me to advertise for them...)

There I drank more coffee (decaf this time) and had a heart to heart with my friend Abby who was 12 when I first met her, and is now a mature and thoughtful 16. (She is also a driving 16. I'm not sure how I feel about that...)

The afternoon brought a meandering shopping trip with Marina that included a round of ice cream from Friendly's. I have to say, I was not overly enthusiastic when Marina mentioned the possibility, but I'm glad she convinced me. Pistachio ice cream is pleasantly pleasing.

Then, we picked Amanda up, went over to Marina's new school building for a tour filled with appropriate oohs and ahs and overall appreciation for the various colors of paint coating the various walls. Consensus: We approve.

We went back to Marina's and cooked up some dinner:

Chicken and Rosemary Ravioli, salad, garlic bread....YUM.

We filled in the gaps of life that we haven't had a chance to fill each other in on for awhile and (though it may have been the wine) I felt warmly blessed to be with such good friends.

When Liz arrived we shouted Hooray! and moved into the movie theater Rick and Marina have in place of a more traditional family room. We curled up on the uber-comfortable reclining chairs, armed with glasses of water and vats of the best caramel popcorn on the planet that Rick had graciously made for us. (Sadly, I have no picture to fully depict to you the stuffing of the face that occurred during this time...you will have to use your imagination.)

I reflected on the gift of these precious friends as I reclined in my chair, and would not have chosen to be anywhere else but with them. God has been good to me.



Sunday brought a visit to the church that Abby has been going to, which I found to be an insightful and worshipful time. Then I charged over to the West Shore again for Juice and Java (a name of a small cafe, and not an indication of what I had to drink). I found a new favorite food:

Toasted pretzel roll with cinnamon cream cheese.

(My apologies Panera. You probably shouldn't hire me after all....)

My reason for being at Juice and Java was to meet up with the lovely and gracious Dorea, and to hear all of the wisdom that she has collected since the last time I saw her. That girl is full of wisdom, and I am fortunate to learn from her.

Then I raced down the street for lunch with Julie at Isaacs, the place she and I seem to choose most often for our getting together. I drank my fill of iced tea and then raced off for the official reason I was in Harrisburg in the first place:

Dorea's mother Sue, who is also lovely and gracious and full of wisdom, decided to give a recital in honor of her
50th birthday. The songs were chosen to depict the seasons of life and she asked me to accompany her as she sang.

I was honored to be a part of her celebration, and I found the message of the program to be quite meaningful.
I also found the music to be quite beautiful, and had to choke back a tear or two as I reflected on the journey that Sue has been on as well as on my own.

The theme of my weekend was seeing clearly that God is addressing the pieces of my past that don't make sense to me by showing me the gift of the people that He has brought into my life. Even though I have changed locations these friendships have been preserved, they have grown, and they are foundational to my life.

Sue closed her program with Sure on this Shining Night, a poem by James Agee that was set to music so beautifully by Samuel Barber. Sue used it to express her gratitude for the way God has woven together the seasons of her life, and I am going to steal it from her and do the same.

Sure on this shining night

Of starmade shadows round,

Kindness must watch for me

This side the ground.

The late year lies down the north.

All is healed, all is health.

High summer holds the earth.

Hearts all whole.

Sure on this shining night I weep for wonder,

wand'ring far

alone

Of shadows on the stars.

Come escape with me to a land where picnics reign

Ah, Labor Day weekend. A weekend full of events dedicated to the passing of the wearing of white shoes. If you do not observe white-shoe-wearing in your life (as I do not), then it is a weekend of blissful non-labor in an attempt to avoid reality. (Escapism is really what it boils down to. Tuesday is going to be rough...)

My Labor Day weekend started with 2 picnic-type options for non-laboring on Friday evening. I chose to go to neither, and to instead remain at home for the preservation of my mental health. (My calendar of the past few weeks has been non-stop, and my calendar of the next few weeks promises the same. Therein lies my justification...) I got into my pjs, made myself some food, and gleefully read the night away. (In an effort to be truthful, I should probably mention that I was reading school-work. That, however, would ruin the poetry of non-laboring in honor of Labor Day. You can choose to believe what you'd like to believe about what I chose to read on this particular occasion. Feel free to lie to yourself--this weekend is all about escapism after all.)


Saturday brought a reunion of Harrisburgian friends at the new home of Bob and Tesha Garvin. The Garvins have recently moved to Danville, which forms a convenient triangular shape between State College, Harrisburg and Danville itself. Though the Garvins moved to Harrisburg just as I was leaving it, my few encounters with them (along with the fact that they befriended my friends) causes me to believe that we would have been good buds had we been given the opportunity. Proof was in the naturalness of the laughter we all shared and the ease of just being together yesterday. I felt special to be included on the guest list, and loved catching up with everyone in B & T's lovely home.

(There was an extraordinary amount of children present between the three couples, and it is beneficial that the Garvins new home provided extraordinary amounts of possibility for fun-shaped activities....)

Today brought more food and more easy and fun conversation at the family home of my friend Amy (seen on the left here with another friend, Sharon). We ate a lot of meat (I'm going to become a vegetarian for a month I think, since I have single-handedly significantly reduced the population of cows and pigs over these past few weeks....) and yummy picnic-y type accoutrements.

Another treat was seeing my friend Emily. Emily and I are working together on her recital (happening in November) and we also both work with a choir at school. This means we see each other often, and yet never have real quality time. It was good to just be with her and her husband Aden without feeling like there was work to be done. (Our feelings about this can be understood more clearly if you closely analyse the giddiness factor apparent in the picture above.)

Ironically, tomorrow--the real and true Labor Day--holds no picnicking possibilities for me. Instead, I will be slaving away over my books and computer to make up for the non-laboring I have done all weekend and to prepare for the week ahead. Having arrived at the beginning of the third week of school, I think I can safely say it's going to be one heck of a semester. There is good news however: this is my last fall semester of course work. Ever. I believe I can safely say this for the first time in my life, as I have no plans to pursue a second doctorate. (Let's hope that God doesn't take that statement as a challenge, seeing as I didn't really have many plans to be doing a first doctorate and yet...:-/)

Happy non-laboring!