Pride and Prejudice

"There are such people [those who make a joke of even the wisest and best people and their actions], but I hope I am not one of them. I hope I never ridicule what is wise or good. Follies and nonsense, whims and inconsistencies do divert me, I own, and I laugh at them whenever I can."

This is one statement of Elizabeth Bennett's that relate very much to. 

Some of the most frustrating things in life are the inconsistencies of people. Unfortunately I don't always just laugh to divert myself, but use such inconsistencies as food for sarcasm. I am trying to keep my snark to a minimum and keep mum when I think of something snarky to say, but sometimes I really get myself into trouble... not unlike Elizabeth herself.

News Update!

We have wireless internet at our house! So now I can browse the internet far into the night....

Les Miserables

After 11 years of wishing, Friday evening I saw a production of Les Miserables.

I was first introduced to Les Miserables in 1998 while on a mission trip to Jamaica. At the time, I was really into Phantom of the Opera, and a man who was part of the church let me and my friend borrow the two CD set over night. We had a portable CD player and a set of headphones. We turned up the volume and got as close as we could, each sharing an ear of the headset. It was, of course, hard to listen that way, but it intrigued me.

My senior year, the highschool choir I was part of "sight sang" a medley of Les Miserables music, but it was still rather unfamiliar. When I got to college, one of my roommates had a CD of the "best numbers" that I borrowed and memorized. I also read various synopsises of the musical and want to see it, but I was a poor college student without the funds to even buy my own CD of the music. I also watched the Liam Neison version of the story, and felt like it ended in an odd place, but I didn't know that half the story was missing. Shortly after that, Focus on the Family Radio Theater did a recording of the story. I listened to it again and again, and the differences between the various versions was enough to make me want to read the book.

During the year before I got married, I began the book. I loved it. I remember very clearly sitting in the Philadelphia airport, reading about the battle of Waterloo while my flight that was going to take me to my fiancee got delayed again and again. I didn't finish it before we got married though, but my wonderful husband got me two CD sets - one the complete recording, the other the 10th anniversary recording. The following summer, I finished the book. I cried and cried as I read the ending. It was sad, but I cried because it was beautiful. I loved it. And knowing all the backstories that you get in the book, the musical was all the better.

Since then, I have listened to the CD's many times, found out after the fact that it was being performed nearby, missed another performance, and hear about many of my friends seeing it.

Then we were invited to watch it this year. Unfortunately we couldn't go with the group of friends, but we were able to go this past weekend. And that friend who I shared headphones with, so many years ago, and her husband met us there.  Isn't that pretty cool?

The performance was amazing too. The story and music are great and this performance did it justice. I am thrilled just remembering it. I would go again if I were able to, but I now am interested in watching another performance and see what else can be done with it.

But, you know, somewhere, in my castle in the clouds, I am part of a performance, singing my heart out.

Main Pictures

My sister and me! And it looks like I am taller - kind of funny if you ask me.

Thomas way of enjoying the ocean - throwing rocks - or conjuring them back to shore...

The boys on the Bar Island Cairn.

The girls on the Bar Island Cairn.

Collecting shells, rocks, living creatures...

Pemaquid Point, one of our favorite places.

The waves were magnificent. You could catch the scent of the roses mingled with the sea smell.

Questions

For God so loved the world...

What does it mean to love? And how does it apply to the world? Does it mean only people? Or does He also love the plants and animals and pieces of art and technology?

that He sent His only begotten Son...

Did Christ's death and resurrection somehow redeem not only people, but also bring plants and animals and arts and technology and everything else back into a correspondence with God?

And what does it mean to love? Does this love only apply to people? Can I apply the love chapter (1Cor 13) to movies and books? Am I making a stretch here? Or can this train of thought be expanded?

Maine Trip

I love Maine. My favorite part is the ocean. The smell. The endless beating of the waves against the rocks. The spray.  The rhythm of the tides. The depth and wildness, danger and excitement. The little animals on rocks and in tide pools. Standing on the edge of a rock knowing that if I took two more steps I would be swept out to sea, but I am completely safe where I am. Feeling the wind pull stray hairs out and coat them with salt spray. Breathing the tangy dead fish air, and being glad that I don't have to eat anything that tastes that way if I don't want to.

This year was no different. I love the ocean. I didn't sit and watch it for as long as I have in the past. I felt like I had to keep moving and keep track of where everyone else was so I wasn't holding them up, or so Thomas wasn't too far away and was enjoying himself. But that was ok. I enjoyed it in a different way. I enjoyed watching others enjoy it in their own different ways. 

We didn't hike as much either partly because it was raining for half the week and partly because I twisted my ankle on Wednesday. It hurt like crazy for the first minute or so, but then it began to feel better. I had to baby it (and sometime still do) but I had gotten some high top hiking boot/sneaker things so they supported it amazingly. The next day it turned nice and black and blue, but it only really hurt if I put my full weight on it all of a sudden, like when I stepped down. It was good for me though, because I had to be more careful rather than try to keep up with my brother and sister. It really didn't keep me from much that I really wanted to do.

The vacation also made me realize that though I am still part of my family, Thomas and I are starting our own family. We do things certain ways, we think and plan certain ways and it is different from our families and that is good. I have been noticing how similar I am to my mom and dad, but it was also eye-opening to see how different my life has become. Daddy said that this would probably be our last family vacation and he is probably right. It is time to start our own traditions and journeys. That realization gave the ending a bittersweet feel. 

But it all fell into the proper place as I reached my own home and hugged my family goodbye as they went to their own homes too.