Five years ago today, I joined the world of blogging with the birth of the Snippets of a Splendid Summer. It's purpose? To share my summer 2010 adventures in DC with my family and friends. I had just completed my MA thesis and was finally free to roam about the country. So...I set off to live the life I'd always imagined--working and living in the city I'd fallen in love with nearly a decade earlier. It was that summer that I discovered my favorite spot on planet earth:
Belle Haven Park (once the post comes up, scroll down to the entry for July 1, 2010.)
Belle Haven Park (once the post comes up, scroll down to the entry for July 1, 2010.)
Last Saturday, I found my second favorite spot:
a little trail that breaks off from the main trail around Lake Jyvasjarvi.
This last week I celebrated another anniversary: returning home from serving as a missionary in the Chile Viña del Mar Mission. (Viva Chile!) It was a gift to be able to serve with and among the people of Chile. Truly, it was the opportunity of a lifetime.
It also happens to be a very special day for this handsome gentleman (happy birthday Ed!):
And, this year, while spending time working on a family history project with my sweet G'ma, I came across my grandfather's university records and discovered that he graduated on the same day that I returned home. What a sweet gift to discover!
During a Skype visit with a dear, dear friend of mine (who just successfully defended her dissertation and is now off to BYU to begin her career as a tenure-tracked professor!!), I was reminded of the address Gifts of Love given by Henry B. Eyring in 1980 when he addressed a group of university students. He noted the importance of dedicating time to 'writing and to learning much'--and how that will prepare them to be much better gift givers. Here's what he said:
"You could start back in your room today. Is there an unfinished paper somewhere in the stacks? (I assume there are stacks there; I think I know your room.) Perhaps it is typed and apparently ready to turn in. Why bother more with it? I learned why during a religion class I taught once at Ricks College. I was teaching from section 25 of the Doctrine and Covenants. In that section Emma Smith is told that she should give her time to “writing and to learning much” (verse 8). About three rows back sat a blonde girl whose brow wrinkled as I urged the class to be diligent in developing writing skills. She raised her hand and said, “That doesn’t seem reasonable to me. All I’ll ever write are letters to my children.” That brought laughter all around the class. I felt chagrined to have applied that scripture to her. Just looking at her I could imagine a full quiver of children around her, and I could even see the letters she’d write in purple ink, with handwriting slanting backwards; neat, round loops; and circles for the tops of the i’s. Maybe writing powerfully wouldn’t matter to her.
Then a young man stood up, near the back. He’d said little during the term; I’m not sure he’d ever spoken before. He was older than the other students, and he was shy. He asked if he could speak. He told in a quiet voice of having been a soldier in Vietnam. One day, in what he thought would be a lull, he had left his rifle and walked across his fortified compound to mail call. Just as he got a letter in his hand, he heard a bugle blowing and shouts and mortar and rifle fire coming ahead of the swarming enemy. He fought his way back to his rifle, using his hands as weapons. With the men who survived, he drove the enemy out. The wounded were evacuated. Then he sat down among the living, and some of the dead, and he opened his letter. It was from his mother. She wrote that she’d had a spiritual experience that assured her that he would live to come home if he were righteous. In my class, the boy said quietly, “That letter was scripture to me. I kept it.” And he sat down.
You may have a child someday, perhaps a son. Can you see his face? Can you see him somewhere, sometime, in mortal danger? Can you feel the fear in his heart? Does it touch you? Would you like to give freely? What sacrifice will it take to write the letter your heart will want to send? You won’t do it in the hour before the postman comes. Nor will it be possible in a day or even in a week. It may take years. Start the practice this afternoon. Go back to your room and write and read and rewrite that paper again and again. It won’t seem like sacrifice if you picture that boy, feel his heart, and think of the letters he’ll need someday."
Perhaps this explains why the name of my wireless network at my new place (I moved into my own flat this week) is 'Writing Today'. Writing is a labor of love. And let me tell you--those labor pains are, at times, excruciating. Which is why I've been doing a lot of running around the lake and through the forests. Deep breaths, deep breaths. :)
I made a remarkable discovery this week about the writing process: the lessons I've learned writing a weekly (or nearly weekly) blog post have helped me in my academic writing in very concrete ways. I love it when I'm able to see these connections!
Here are some of the other highlights from these last two weeks:
Got in some Jumppa (traditional Finnish) dancing as part of the end of year festivities for the College of Education.
I've stopped to smell the...
roses?? as spring is in full bloom around here...
even outside of the post office. :)
Two weeks ago I discovered that our offices have...
a shower and...
a changing room! This has meant that I've been running here:
around the Mattilanniemi campus (one of three JYU campuses). Yesterday I ran around half of the lake!! I didn't have enough time to make it around the entire lake (as I'm guessing it'll take close to 1.5 hours to make it all the way around on foot).
Late night writing sessions have meant that this is what I see:
calm waters as the sun sets...
behind the trees as I bike home.
These photos were taken around 10:00pm on Friday evening.
The amazing weather last week (highs in the low 60s; it hit 70 degrees once this year)...
meant enjoying lunch outside. :)
And...
This week I moved into my new flat and enjoyed...
a home made gluten free pizza.
I loved it almost as much as I love the new VIEW!!
(Yes, that is a balcony you see behind the glass).
I also got to meet baby Dlaske for the first time!! He's too precious to be captured in photos. Here's a birds-eye view of the fresh fruit salad with whipped vanilla cream on top--and a yummy herbal tea that said baby Dlaske's mother had waiting for me when I went to visit.
The highlight of the evening was getting to help out with the bed time routine. Baby Dlaske has now been properly serenaded with 'Deep in the Heart of Texas' and 'Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree'. Love that little tyke and his AWESOME parents!! Thank you Kati and Henry for such a splendid evening!!
I loved being able to have some face time (I mean, FaceTime) with Baby Compton (AKA My Little Army Ranger) and his rockin' Aunt Lisa. He was enjoying oatmeal--a breakfast of choice for those Army Rangers!
I also got in some much needed (but never enough!) time with the other Compton kiddos. I couldn't get my phone to take screen shots very well while My Best Bud and My Little Sweet Pea were on the screen with My Little Yogi (featured below). I guess this means we'll just have to have some more face time 'til I get it figured out. Darn!! ;)
In the last three weeks, I've also been able to FaceTime with ALL of my aunts and uncle on the Compton side the family. I've LOVED catching up with Aunt Claire, Aunt Sandie & Uncle Earl, and Uncle Paul & Aunt Suzanne. I. love. mun. perhe. (my. family.)
Feeling grateful for the gifts of love I've been given--gifts that come in the forms of family, friendship, time, technology, wisdom, beauty, nature, memories,...and the list goes on!
It seems fitting to end this week's post with these words from five years ago:
"I hope that this summer you, too, will live the life you've
always imagined and record the insights, impressions, and blessings you receive
along the way."
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