A is for...

Abode: I've worked for and dreamed about this place where I live for many years. I don't know why it is (though I'm sure there's some deep-seated explanation rooted in my childhood), but having a home--not just a house--is very important to me. I'm strongly drawn to create environments for myself and those I love. I'm happy to say that the tenuous relationship I've had with my home these past few months has been resolved, thanks to the love and generosity of amazing people, so I'm thankful for my home and for God's people.


Absent-minded: Lately I've found myself to be more forgetful than usual, losing track of what I'm doing from moment to moment, step to step. If I don't make a grocery list, I may completely forget why I'm there, and even if I remember, I may forget between the time I remember and the time it takes me to get to the right aisle, even if it's only one aisle away.


Abundance: One day I'll think I have so much and another day I'll fret over having nothing. What's up with me? The truth is that I'm blessed with an abundance of love and I have everything I need. Mostly.


Ache: My body. My hips. My neck. My head.


Acquaintances: Thank you so much, God, for the people you've brought into my life. Some people aren't quite friends yet, but I'm so glad for these acquaintances.


Acorn: I hold tight to the promise of the oak within the tiny acorn. Something I heard recently that really struck a chord with me was that as soon as an acorn sprouts, it's an oak tree. I could be one day old or one year old or one hundred years old, and it's still an oak. My home is dotted with acorns, real and represented in different forms. There's one oak tree on our property which must be about 25 or 30 years old because it just started bearing acorns a couple of years ago; my understanding is that they get acorns after 25 years. See The Sprouted Acorn.


Adolescents: There are two of these in my household. Who they are is both a mystery and a comfort to me. I find that I have so much more in common with them now, that I return to the fondness I had for them when they were very young, a fondness that got a bit muddled during the pre-teen years. That's not to say there aren't difficult moments and days; it's just to say that there's more communion now than there has been in recent years.


Afford: If I had more money, I'd buy a compressor for our central air system, a new van, a front stairway, a side patio, a back deck, a clothesline, a banjo, a dulcimer and a set of drums. I'd get good furniture (an antique table and chairs big enough for the whole family and a comfortable couch where we could all read together), I'd finish my dad's kitchen and trimwork, and I'd give lots and lots of money away to people who need much more than I do.


Affluence: I struggle with how I feel about this. Sometimes I wish I had more. Sometimes I despise it. I'm trying to learn not to covet.


Aggravated: No matter how hard I try to please my father, he never sees anything but my faults. In turn, I become more faulty as my anger overtakes me and then he has so much more to talk to his sister about during his morning phone conversations. If he had any idea how wrong he is about me and the things I do, I wonder if he'd stop tearing me to pieces with his words.


Agriculture: Can this be in someone's bones? I think it's in mine. If it can be, does it come easily? Because it doesn't for me. I'm always trying to find that ecobalance on our mini-farm, but there's always some animal or plant trying to buck my system. Will it ever work?


Air Conditioner: Don't have one. Not in my car. Not in my house. It's not so bad today, but it was earlier this week. It's the next big thing on my list that I hope to save money for. Are the dog days over?


Alec D'Urberville: I'm reading Tess of the D'Urberville's for the first time and am at the part of Alec D'Urberville's conversion. Where has Thomas Hardy been all my life?!?


Amusement: Ever been to the State Fair? This year was my first experience there and we had a pretty good time. I never would have expected a cow and calf made entirely of butter. I tasted my first fried cheese curds; saw my first freak show; watched my son lose his head at the hands of a stage magician; met Gloria Rodin, the "world's smallest woman" (a Jamaican who is actually just one of the world's smallest women) and talked to her about her conversion to Christianity while she was touring state fairs in a little people's reggae band; bought a banjo-mandolin made from a board, a cigar box, staples, linoleum tacks and banjo strings; took my adolescents to see Weird Al Yankovic live (they loved it!); and, as I do at every fair, bought maple sugar candy.


Anabaptist: We've been attending a Mennonite church for about a year and a half now and I'm reading several books about Anabaptist roots and beliefs. It's where I fit.


Ancestors: Being adopted makes me feel like I'm missing out on a heritage. I wish I knew who my real ancestors were. Yet at the same time I wonder...why does it matter?


Anger: I struggle with this a LOT.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: New book by Barbara Kingsolver that really helped nudge me closer to eating locally. I buy all of my produce from local growers now, except for what I'm growing in my own yard.

Animals: They're taking over! Goats, pet rats, cats, dogs, lizard, birds, chickens, potbellied pig. Being in the midst of flea season, I'm working very hard to do non-toxic flea control right now. Lots of laundering, vacuuming, bathing animals, combings. It's endless!

Ankle: I've always wanted a tatoo there. What prevents it? Fear and indecision.

Annoying: Fleas. Gossiping father. Judgemental people. August heat.


Antibiotics: Have only used them probably five times in our family in 18 years. Twice for strep and three times (same time--three different people) for a Christmas of pneumonia/bronchitis/sinusitis.


Antiques: I could spend all day in antique shops. See "afford" and "affluence."


April: My birth-month. One of my children share it.


Arguments: We have too many of them in this house. Are we too comfortable with each other, or are we too uncomfortable?


Armoire: Found a vintage one today at My Favorite Thrift Store. Was marked $65 but since it was Pink Tag Day and it had a pink tag, it was half-priced. Monet doesn't have a closet, so this will go to his room, as long as he takes care of it.


Armpit: What The Baby calls tattoos. I don't know why.


Artists: Love Monet, Mary Cassatt, Van Gogh and my son.


Asparagus: Fell in love with it this year and planted a whole bunch of it. Can't wait to harvest it next year!


Aspiration: I have to think about this one.


Authors: Barbara Kingsolver, Anne Tyler, Thomas Hardy, Shakespeare, Solomon, Walter Farley, James Thurber, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Charlotte Mason, William Wordsworth, C.S. Lewis, Laura Ingalls-Wilder, Anne LaMott, A. A. Milne, Elizabeth Enright, John Holt, Leif Enger, Madeleine L'Engle, the bloggers on the left.


Autumn: My favorite month. Nostalgia overcomes me when the leaves turn. A trip to the farmer's market for pumpkins and corn stalks lets me drink in the colors like a mug of mulled cider.