Countdown to the Holidays

The last time I did a count-down, it was not a fun one: Chantel was moving to the East Coast. Now, however, I'm doing 2 countdowns: one til the end of this semester (14 days) and one til I hop a plane for Baltimore (21 days). I have two big papers left to write, one for my 18th Century Novel class on the book Fanny Hill which is a graphically sexually explicit and problematic text and one on post-colonial issues in African communities. I have my choice of topics to write about for both classes, but I found Fanny Hill to be so problematic, stereotyping both male and female sexuality, that I decided to sound off.

As soon as school is over, I can concentrate on the holidays. I love the lights and the music of this season. I've never been to the East Coast and I can't wait to be with my muffins, Owen and Soren.

My mom is still here. I got up this morning at 4:45 so she could be to the airport on time, but she is ill and having trouble breathing. I feel bad that she is sick, but honestly, I'm glad she is still here. I don't get enough time with my mother and the older we both get, the more I appreciate her role in my life.

Gratitude

I am so thankful for my family. I know that's a phrase that gets tossed around a lot sometimes, but I wonder if my family really knows how much I love each of them. You, and you, and you, and you...My Mom flew out from Utah this year. She's such a little bird now! My older sister Madelyn and her husband Jeff flew down from Washington, and their son Alex came out from Nashville. There were 14 of us around a giant table in Marty's new house. Madelyn made a toast "to all the family who aren't here today," then names came up individually all around, "Leah...Brother John and his family...Chantel and Austin...Owen and Soren...Larry...John and Jasmine...Estee and Mike..." I sat and listened, watched faces, heard names, and I felt so blessed to not only love my own family, but know that my brothers and sisters feel the same way. We had an amazing meal (Bruch women can cook!) and Rachel taught Andrew how to dip truffles. He's a natural at it! I will try to get a photo from Rachel or Sheila and post it for y'all to see. Anyway, if you're reading this post, know that you've touched my life, from you I have learned, and for you I am thankful. I have many other things to be thankful for as well, but nothing is as important as our love for one another.

1st Post, Thank you!

After following Chantel and Austin's posts for almost a year, I decided to jump on the wagon (where did that phrase come from anyway?--I'll look it up and let you know) and create a blog of my own. I'm in my last year of school at Mills, but I feel as though I'm already out of there because I'm in the process of applying to grad school. I've chosen the University of Montana, Missoula; University of North Carolina, Wilmington; University of Baltimore; West Virginia University; Emerson College in Boston; University of Iowa, and University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; I will be pursuing an MFA in creative non-fiction. There are plenty of creative writing programs out there, and all of them offer MFAs in fiction or poetry; only some offer an emphasis in non-fiction, and that's where my interests lie and, apparently, my talents. Angels on Earth magazine will be publishing another true story of mine this coming Spring. I gradutate from Mills on May 12. I can't believe how fast the time has gone by. So anyway, thank you, Chantel and Austin, for showing us all how it works. I love my family and I'm grateful to live in a time when technology allows us to keep in contact in a variety of ways.