Before we leave Thanksgiving behind completely, let me write one more blog post to capture some of the moments.
--I finished the week-end by conducting a baptism as the Synod Authorized Minister at Faith Lutheran Church. It was an amazing experience, the first I've ever done. For more on that experience, head over to this post on my theology blog.
--I spent every morning reading instead of bopping around on the internet. I snagged a copy of Wellness, by Nathan Hill, from the public library, and it's a big book, so I was glad I had a chance to focus on it. It was both delightful and maddening in several ways. It's a great analysis of our current society/culture, in the way that Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections was (and any number of other big books that seem important at the time, but may or may not seem important in coming decades/centuries).
Why was it frustrating? In two main ways: it was show-offy and it worked out the plot complications in was that seemed contrived. Of course, in real life, we sometimes get weird coincidences that would seem contrived if it was part of the plot of a book. But the way the plot lines worked out just seemed too contrived. That's not a deal breaker for me.
There were moments when I wish the book had had a more severe editing. There were places where the reader was left hanging, while we had a 40-100 page digression, on the different ways we've understood child rearing or the different ways we understand the algorithms of social media and the ways that the algorithms understand us. That, too, was not a deal breaker, but it was one of the places where I stopped reading and started skimming. There's a piece of creative writing advice that tells us to cut out the parts that people would skim, which I thought about as I was skimming. The writing was skilled and interesting, but I wanted to get back to the real plot and find out what happened.
--I know that the next generation is growing up because there were more devices. In the past, we'd have been playing board games or games with a ball. There was less of that this year. I feel a bit sad, but I knew this day would come.
--The next generation is now the group that is most excited about Black Friday deals and most tireless in seeking them out.
--We did not have a chance to actually make any of my grandmother's recipes, but that's OK. I did a bit of piecing work with fabric, but I wasn't as inspired as last year. I'm also OK with that.
--We had good conversations as we tried to sort out what's happening in the heartland of the country. My cousin, a high school teacher and coach, asked if I had seen Jesus Revolution, which I had. He thinks that students are desperate in similar ways, and I don't disagree. He seemed to suggest that I could be part of the team finding a way to bring that kind of Good News to disaffected people. I suspect that my message would be one of broader inclusivity than he's thinking.
--I feel fortunate that I was caught up with my grading and seminary work, which hasn't always been the case. I was able to be more present more often particularly as I knew going into the week that I wouldn't have the kind of internet access we've had in the past.
--I felt sadness as the week came to the end. It's clear how our family situation is changing as we all become older. It's clear that the odds will be increasingly steeply against us gathering in this configuration: children will go off to college, and our elders will have health issues, and there's the spectre of death that's never far away.
--And I felt sadness at my favorite holiday coming to a close. As in past years, it's not only the holiday that I've enjoyed, but the eight weeks before Thanksgiving. We've had a wonderful autumn in so many ways, and I hate to see it go.
--It's also nice not to be returning to a workplace that fills me with despair and dread. It's sad for me to realize how many years I've been returning to a place that wanted to kill my soul, but I'm happy to have escaped.
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