Totally random Tuesday...

(I took this picture of the pier @ Tybee when the Anderson girls came to visit back in the spring)

As you can tell, I've changed the blog format a bit. I've been thinking quite a bit recently about what it's like living on the coast. Perhaps it was spending a warm and slightly breezy day at the beach on Saturday staring out into the Atlantic - pondering the vastness of the ocean, but quite content with the simple feeling of sand between my toes. More than likely, however, it's the tragedy in the Gulf that breaks my heart a little more every time it's on the news. Being born in the Panhandle and growing up in Central Florida, I've spent my fair share along the Gulf Coast, and it breaks my heart to think about what damage has been done - and worse yet, what damage we've yet to discover.

While I've never really lived very far from the beach, it's an entirely different experience to live this close. If I've had a bad day, I don't have to think twice about going out to take a walk on the beach to decompress. A while back, a friend was soliciting advice on how to leave work at the office and not carry that burden home every night. I fail greatly most of the time when it comes to that, but I also try to make a conscious effort to breathe deeply when I cross the Intracoastal every night on my way home and let go and say to myself 'it will all be there in the morning.' And, unless I absolutely have to, I really don't like to cross back over it on the weekends (church is a different story - it's on another island, so, unless I take a boat, I don't really have a choice).

I know I'm not likely to stay in Savannah forever, but, I have learned in the 18 months I've been here that it will be really hard for me to move inland. Sure, it makes hurricane season a little more nerve-wracking, but that's completely out of my control. All I can do is enjoy what I've got while I've got it - that feeling of cool sand under your feet, seeing dolphins in the river while you're eating on the dock at AJ's, cool breezes even on balmy summer nights, and perhaps the most therapeutic of all, standing on the water's edge realizing that we're all just little fish in a great big pond.

I beg to differ...

In this Thursday's Wall Street Journal, Allan Barra wrote a piece on "What 'To Kill a Mockingbird' Isn't". The essay caught my attention because, TKAM is, without a doubt, one of the books I loved reading the most in school. It helped that, when we read it in 8th grade, Mrs. Parker read it aloud to us in her thick Southern accent and made the story come alive. Harper Lee's only published novel brought to light so many social issues in a segregated South that some recognized but few were willing to talk about. TKAM  teaches us about racism, hatred and injustice. But it also teaches us a great deal about forgiveness, compassion and grace.

Mr. Barra argues that because 'we know exactly what we knew at the beginning: that Atticus Finch is a good man, that Tom Robinson was an innocent victim of racism, and that lynching is bad', TKAM can't possibly stack up to the 'moral ambiguity' that remains at the end of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or The Great Gatsby. As a result, in Mr. Barra's mind, there's no way that TKAM can possibly be a 'timeless classic that ranks with the great works of American literature.'

I don't think Mr. Barra could be more wrong. While TKAM may be quite simple in its delivery and allow the reader to grasp sound conclusions at the end, it tells the story of a very sad chapter in the history of the South - and it's a lesson we can never forget. So, if you're looking for something to read on a lazy, hazy summer day, dust off that old copy on your bookshelf, and remind yourself that 'you never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.'

Prayer Requests

"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole." - Roger Caras

Just a few prayer requests on this Monday. Dana said goodbye to her dear Pugsy this afternoon. She rescued him while he was living in Austin and moved with her to Orlando several years ago. Pug had been sick for quite some time, but was such a sweet dog and so full of love. Some of my favorite Pug memories were nights she'd bring him over to our house for dinner and he would try to hide under the coffee table from Trooper (our 85+ pound Golden). Trooper is such a love sponge in his own right and we knew he just wanted to play - it was just the cutest thing! I know that saying goodbye to Pug was one of the hardest decisions Dana's ever had to make, but I pray she finds comfort in knowing that she was the most loving mom to him and he's at peace now.

2nd prayer request - Mary is officially overseas. You can follow her journey over @ Bloom Where We Are Planted. Right now, Mary's planted in Iraq, and I have no doubt that she will undoubtedly bloom there and bless those she's deployed with. While she's gone, please keep her in your prayers for safe journeys while she's deployed and for a safe journey home (hopefully by Christmas!) Below is the prayer for those serving in the Armed Forces from the Book of Common Prayer. I'd encourage you all to add it to your daily prayer time for Mary & all those serving our country at home and abroad.

Almighty God, we commend to your gracious care and keeping all the men and women of our armed forces at home and abroad. Defend them day by day with your heavenly grace; strengthen them in their trials and temptations; give them courage to face the perils that beset them; and grant them a sense of your abiding presence wherever they may be; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Wednesday Whimsey

If you live anywhere in the SE, you're painfully aware that the dog days of summer are upon us (even though summer technically doesn't start till next Monday!) Not too much going on around here, but since there's so much sad news out there right now, I thought it might be fun to just share a few things that are making me happy this week:

• Top Chef, D.C. premiere tonight - Joe & Mika are guest judging this season, so it should be good. 
• Summertime music - I love, love, LOVE the new Train CD Save me, San Francisco. I'm sure you've heard 'Hey, Soul Sister' on the radio, but the rest of the album is equally fun - a few great slower tunes, but I really love the turn-the-radio-up-sing-out-loud fun songs!
• Only 80 days till Gator football. This is been a most unusually interesting offseason, but nothing can beat that first game in the Swamp.

And, probably what I'm most excited about...only 18 days till we leave on our pilgrimage to Italy. It is such an awesome privilege to help chaperone this trip, and I will post more about it before we leave, but I'd just ask you to lift up the 12 kiddos and 3 chaperones over the next few weeks as we get ready to leave.

Happy Hump Day - hope you're having a great week!

Show Us Your Life - China Patterns

This week's "Show Us Your Life" over @ Kelly's Korner was about china patterns - and after reading posts from a few sorority sisters, I decided to jump on the bandwagon. As a single girl, I haven't had a chance (yet!) to register for fine china (but I have picked out my pattern - the ultimate classic...what else would you expect from me?) and everyday ware, but I do LOVE dishes. I'm convinced that it's completely hereditary. My friend, Dana, and I often joke that my mother has enough dishes to entertain a small army, and no one would have to eat on paper plates.

Here in Savannah, my 'everyday' dishes are Pottery Barn knockoffs my mom found at Old Time Pottery. They're nothing fancy, but definitely serve their purpose, and since they were a bargain, if something happens to them while I'm moving around, life will go on. My dad's sisters did give me my Christmas dishes for my birthday several years ago. It's Wedgewood's 'Sarah's Garden' Christmas pattern. I don't have a complete set in terms of serving dishes, but do have 8 dinner and salad plates and 8 mugs. I think it's a lovely Christmas pattern, not too fancy, and is a great start to my dish collection.

I'm a believer that every Southern woman should have her everyday dishes and fine china, but I also love the idea of having fun dishes just because. Besides helping create wonderful tablescapes, I think certain dishes are great reminders of family and wonderful memories. One of my grandmother's cousins gave my mom her Louisville Stoneware Bachelor Button dishes. My mom even designed the dish rack on the built-in sideboard in her kitchen so they could be on display 24/7. Every time I see Fiesta ware, the first person I think of is my grandmother. She had this wonderful collection of yellow and turquoise Fiesta - and while those colors may not be the most practical, they were her absolute favorite, so I can't help but love them.

I do love dishes, and I love having a set table. But I think it's important to not get too caught up in what the table looks like, but remember who gathers around it and what happens at the table. 'Peace Meals' - the Junior League of Houston's cookbook - has a wonderful forward which includes the following quote:

"Because daily life is where Life happens. And inside the patchwork of countless ordinary moments are moments of singular extraordinary beauty, luminous instants of connection that, when we experience them, revive and restore our souls. Moments like these can happen anywhere at any time, but it is not surprising that peace so often steals over us when we are gathered together around a table breaking bread."

Breaking bread with each other is incredibly sacramental. So, the next time you sit down to eat, be it by yourself or with your family, let peace steal over you and give thanks.