The Latest with the Wilsons

We moved!

Even better, we own a home!

And we're in love with it: the front yard, the back yard, the shed, the deck, the garage, the laundry room, the kitchen with its beautiful cabinets and island and dishwasher!!!, the second bathroom, the walk-in closet, the jet tub, and the extra bedroom we acquired, not to mention the many windows that actually open to let in fresh air and sunlight all through the house. Most of all, the fireplace. 3-sided and visible from living, dining, and kitchen areas (which is really just one big open space).

With the fantastic help of my parents, sister, a guy from church, a neighbor, and Sara W., we were able to get the kitchen unpacked and functional in one day, and the rest of the house was fairly put together, though strewn in boxes. We have continued unpacking, having systems checked out by professionals, and purchasing the little things that I suspect homeowners are used to doing (but we haven't a clue about). Walking in from the garage every day after work has been awesome. To finally be home.

We are so grateful for God's provision.

I wonder how long it'll take before we no longer feel like we're staying in a vacation home! Any ideas?

Best of all, Quincy loves it too! He wouldn't leave our bathroom for a full day, but when he got brave enough to venture into the living room, he found so much space in which he can run around at top speed, play with his plastic milk jug rings, and a lot more counter space to explore (and be scolded for doing so continuously). A few nights ago, he discovered the tops of the washer/dryer--they are very high, and subsequently, he discovered the top of the cabinets just above the washer/dryer--a perfect corner space where heat from the dryer rises while he sleeps very soundly (despite the constant train traffic on the nearby tracks). He also loved the open windows on Wednesday--blew his mind! (and ours)

Reading as of Late

As you might expect for a person who is in grad school for literature, I read a lot. But this semester, I'm reading for fun while I'm reading for school. How often does that happen? For me, not often.

I just finished another amazing novel. I want to read it to my nieces, but I don't know if they will get scared by it or not.

I have loved Neil Gaiman since roughly 2006 or 2007 when my mom and I took a road trip to AZ, where I was going to live for the summer. We gathered a slew of books on CD for the car ride and headed out. One of our favorites was Coraline by Gaiman. We loved it so much we would sit in the car when we reached our hotel to finish the chapter, wishing we had a way to take the CD in and listen as we rested prostrate on the beds. After being in a car for 10+ hours, this is a miraculous occurrence, to stay in the car for a second longer than needed. But we loved it. We both wanted to listen to it again after we finished it, but we were done road-tripping at that point.

Fast forward many years and a plethora of grad classes later and I haven't gotten back to Gaiman, though I smile every time I hear about Coraline, book or film. Graveyard is a similarly awesome book; a must-read and phenomenal.

I have also read, up to this point, the following other books:

 While Looking for Alaska was very deep and moving, it is not for everyone. There is a lot of adolescent delinquency in it, and while I believe the ultimate message is one of redemption and hope, conservative readers will not make it through to find the phenomenal ending.

True Diary is another well-written and surprising YA novel. Although Alaska was Green's debut novel, Sherman Alexie has been around for quite some time and has established a firm reputation. There is so much tragedy in this novel and yet, similar to each book listed above, there is much to gain, as well. Hope and redemption are necessities and are well-woven centralities in the life of young Junior.

One book of the four so far covered in my course has been terrible, and thus I'm not mentioning it here. I was sad to read it, as my course is Award-Winning Young Adult Fiction of the 21st century. How did it win an award? Well, it was a minor award and the book is lame. Enough said.

I'm excited to move on to the final two novels and to have time to explore the common themes in today's young adult fiction. This is my favorite grad class ever--and it just so happens to be the last one ever. A fabulous combination!

Because sometimes, you just need some hilarity in your life...

I wouldn't say that we're obsessed with our cat, but most of the pictures on both Kyle's and my phone are of Quincy. He's so funny.

What I love about cats are their quirky personalities; you never how they will respond, when they will go running by and busting through the closed-but-not-latched bathroom door, or when they will curl up and give you the best purring heating blanket of fur on your lap.

We have always wanted to capture what Quincy does when we turn the faucet on at the bathroom sink, but this video of other cats and their water-play will have to suffice for now.

Enjoy! (You don't need sound to enjoy this.)

Hey, Sisters...

Remember this?

Pretty in Pink!

Family

Although this is several months old and it was not from a happy event, here is a photo of my siblings and me.

I like us.

Life Lesson #1348: Things They Never Tell You

Sometimes it seems as though the world chooses to omit details about growing up that would have been very useful to know years ago or, in the very least, before a situation hits you smack in the face.

My first example stems from my early post-college days, when I walked into a dermatologist's office extremely self-conscious and upset with my skin. The doctor examines my face and says to me: "It is common for women in their early twenties to develop acne, even those who never had it in adolescence."

Really?? How did I not know this? How is this not something that is shared in the annual period / sex talks in school from the 4th grade up? How was I completely unprepared to face terrible acne at 23 without knowing that it is a common occurrence.

I'll admit to you that I doubted his nonchalance, yet I have met fellow sufferers since that time who show me there is some truth to his statement. (Though I deplore that at age 30 I am still dealing with this issue. Come on. Don't we deserve a break at some stage of life?) Awesome. Thanks, Life. Thanks for that one.

The second example I have for you today is related to physical appearance but not at all in the same way. It is yet another decision or a situation where you are forced to ask yourself, How did I not learn about this before now?!

My question is this: How do I break up with my hairdresser?

Now, truthfully, this "hairdresser" could be any personal service provider like a massage therapist, eyebrow waxer or what have you. This is an especially tricky issue when you live in a small town where everyone knows everyone and your personal service provider knows what car you drive and which days you drive to that gas station or restaurant and which you don't.

This has totally happened to me once before with a masseuse; I had been seeing her for a while, but was not highly impressed. One day when I had to squeeze in an appointment with someone else in her building, I found a much better masseuse and I immediately faced the dilemma--how do I switch without being a jerk? It has nothing to do with you as a person, it's just...someone else can meet my needs better. No one had prepared me for how to address this kind of a situation!

This year, I'm faced with another difficult decision of wanting to change hairdressers, but not wanting to hurt feelings. I've been going to the same girl for five years and I feel bad ditching her, but want to give someone else a try.

Life has handed me a card I wasn't anticipating; I've been able to ease the letdown of my departure by playing the "we're moving" card. Part of me feels terrible even though I have a legitimate excuse, but the other half is relieved for the "valid" reason. I'm torn even as I process this tonight: Isn't my desire to find a new hair trimmer enough of a valid reason? Should I feel guilty about attempting to find someone else who can meet my needs or standards in a way more conducive with my ideals?

These are simply two examples of many more that I've come across as an adult, each of which has left me wondering why didn't you tell me? You being Life, Parents, Older cousins who met those milestones first, or Any friend who could have (and should have) alerted me to these facts of life before they hit me square in the face and left me grasping for words.

Upon waking...

I think I've been asleep for the last 2 months, dreaming all that transpired. Today, I feel as if I have wakened from that dream (was it a nightmare?).

My first summer session began on May 14th, before which I was scrambling to finish a rough draft of my thesis. The course -- Foucauldian Thought in Transatlantic 19th-century Literature -- was the hardest and most brain-busting one to date. It nearly destroyed me. But, alas, I did finish the classroom experience last Wednesday and the final paper on Friday, and then I turned off my brain and sat still for a while. I watched countless episodes of TV shows on Netflix, took a nap, cuddled with my kitten, and reorganized my recipes in the Cloud. I scoured three cookbooks, scanning numerous recipes and ultimately deciding one of them needs to be purchased for my gluten-free cookbook library.

Kyle and I have managed to continue living in the last 7 weeks during this course, but it has been exhausting. He took off two of the most recent weekends to give me space and time and quiet to write papers. I had forgotten how grueling driving to class two nights a week can be. But thankfully, that part of my journey is almost over. I won't ever have to drive twice a week again, and I'm not certain how often I'll need to drive in the Fall. The professor who's leading my independent study will have to help me determine that. I'm hoping no more than once every other week. Oh, that it will be so!

This summer, more than last, I realize how much I miss "time off." Since I'm technically a 10-month employee, I should have my June-July-part of Aug away from work. It never ends up that way, or it hasn't much since I began working here 5 years ago. The first summer, I worked through the summer for extra pay. It was fine--I was living alone, paying off student loans, and didn't mind in the least. That second summer, I got engaged and spent most of the time between Arizona and South Carolina and my parents' home getting ready for the wedding. I think I worked through the third summer, again for extra pay, which helped immensely in our first year of marriage. But the last 3 summers have been SCHOOL. And that is NOT a break and it is not fun and I'm super ready for a summer of no school and no work. I dream about vacations, trips, even just spending time with our families, whom I have hardly seen this year.

This month brings a little bit of freedom with it, however, which is much appreciated. My course at UIndy was cancelled at the last minute, and I scrambled to arrange an independent study. Turns out, I scored one here in town that will transfer quite easily upon my finishing it in August. No more night classes! No more 3-hour classes! And I'm studying a 19th-c. Scottish children's author: George MacDonald. He writes fantasy children's novels and stories and poems, but he was also a pastor and author for adults. You may be familiar with At the Back of the North Wind or The Princess and the Goblin. I'm really excited for this change of pace.

I do still need to work on my thesis revisions, which will be intense. Today I looked over my adviser's comments on each chapter and I sank into a mini-depression. It's unreasonable, I know, because my first drafts are always bad. I find joy in the revision process; or I used to. I just need to focus on smaller chunks of the whole, because that picture of 75 pages that aren't worth much is pretty scary. Pray for me, if you think about it. I have a LOT of work ahead of me. But I have more time in which to do it, so that is my greatest summer blessing!