On Christmas Eve I dropped my mp3 player. Sad! It had survived so much. I'd had it for exactly two years (it was a bit of a dinosaur) and it served me well. I am now observing a period of silence, living without music - but not really. I just have to use cds all the time and my family has been exposed to my musical tastes more than usual, for better or worse. (Adrian complains that all my music is too sad.)
I've ordered a new one, though, and it's on its way. Yipee! I have to work for my dad to pay for it, but it'll be worth it. It has more functions than my old one and is smaller, but still 30GB. Hopefully that's enough for a while. My last one was more than half full . . . now I have to load my music library again, which may be time consuming. I'm hoping it shows up before school starts again; I don't think I could survive the next two terms in studio without music. Scary thought! I just have to be very very careful not to drop it like the klutz that I am.

My weird, music-related anecdote for the day: In all the news coverage about James Brown's death he's hailed as the "godfather of soul." I thought out loud and had to ask my brother who, if Brown was the godfather, was actually the "father of soul"? We googled it and it's Ray Charles. Now I know. And I guess there's no mother, but Aretha Franklin has been called the queen of soul (to Elvis' "King"? But he's a different genre! I'm confused.) Ask a silly question . . .

I pick Molly up from the airport next week. I was insanely jealous when I dropped by her place at the beginning of break when she was packing up that red backpack to go to Germany. When I saw her throw on that pack (my old friend!) I have to admit to a sharp longing to pick up and leave again. It's not like I wasn't invited (they tried very hard to convince me to go), it's just the pursestrings holding me back. I guess while they all met up in Germany, the crew decided to plan another reunion in Alaska this summer. I hope that if it actually comes together I can go. I'd love to see all those folks again! -and do some sightseeing too. Nuria's already saving up.

So here's to 2007!

We are the hoarse whisperers.

A hushed conversation my brother and I had in the hallway this morning.

Adrian: "Psssssssst"
Me: "hey---"
A: "Did you get anything for Nadine yet?"
M: "No.
pause
"Did you?"
A: "No.
pause
"Did you get anything for Dad yet?"
M: "No.
pause
"Did you?"
A: "Me either.
"Did you find anything for Mom yet?"
M: "No.
pause
"Did you?"
A: "No."
M: "Maybe we should go Christmas shopping today."
A: "Yeeeeeeah."

Only 2 more shopping days and the traffic was absolutely crazy.
Adrian is used to this last minute gift-shopping pressure though. Last year my mom and I both got Elvis themed gifts. My mother a lovely calendar (huh?) and I got an elvis deck of cards. We still don't know why . . .

My oma passed away earlier this evening. She'd been suffering from dementia for a long time and things had steadily been getting worse. When I visited her back in October, she didn't know me anymore at all, didn't interact with me or try to talk to me. She just pointed at my very pointy shoes (I'd rushed there straight from church) as if she wanted a pair too.

But today she is with the Lord! Her struggles against mental and physical infirmities are over.

We are all flying out to Ontario tomorrow morning and we'll be there for a week. My parents have just finished all the arrangements and we have to start packing. We're leaving for the airport in something like 4 hours.

On this, my last Christmas break --the last time I might be "home" for any length of time for Christmas -- I'd been beginning to realize that life gets more complicated and takes unexpected turns. I was looking to the future and wondering what was in store . . . not knowing, not understanding.

But I love this quote. I found it last week when I was reading Derek Thomas' sermons on the ascent psalms.

"I've learnt something. I've learnt something about trusting God, of who He is and what He's like, that I don't concern myself about great matters. Because there are things that happen in my life that are incomprehensible to me. I cannot make sense of them, even if I were to spend the rest of eternity trying to unravel all of its parts, I still couldn't make sense of it. But I'm not called upon to make sense of it. I'm called to believe that God makes sense of it, and that He works all things together for the good of those that love Him, and that He weaves a pattern that is so intricate, and yet so loving and gracious, that in every thread of your life there is a gold line in it of the grace and mercy of God."

Dr. Derek Thomas, in a sermon on psalm 131.