Much Yet to Learn

Every time I go to an historical site or a museum here I come away thinking, “Wow, I would really like to learn more about x__.” From the Liberty Bell to Napoleon to Impressionism to American History to Galileo, I obviously have a lot of reading to do. I keep having to remind myself: one book at a time! I finished 1776 by David McCullough this week. I loved it. Reading about the American Revolution makes you realize how much of a miracle this country really is. I know it isn’t politically correct to acknowledge God in our country anymore, but reading about the situation in the early revolution you quickly realize that it was only through His power that we exist. They knew it back then. We have just forgotten. There is a reason our motto is: “In God We Trust.”

I found a fun group to ride my bike with this week. It’s an all women’s group called the "Sturdy Girls". I rode with them twice, once in the evening and once early in the morning. The only down side is they are done with their organized rides for the year. Nice timing on my part. Maybe I’ll stick with the old men in the Philadelphia Cycling Club for a while this Fall and pick up with the Sturdy Girls in the Spring.

Joshua finished up pre-term at Wharton. This week was a simulation where they competed against other groups. Each member of their learning team was assigned a department of the company, i.e. marketing, finance, hr, etc and then they tried to run a company together. Each day represented a couple of years. They were given information and had to make business decisions. I’m not doing the best job of explaining this, but hopefully you get the idea. Josh would come home pretty excited about it every night and tell me how they analyzed the data and what decisions they made. Next week begins the real shebang in school. Josh worked hard during this warm up month and had some good experiences, but I think he is ready and excited to jump into the real thing now.

Part of pre-term included information sessions on different industries in business. Josh went to several, but one he has particular interest in is energy. Because of the contacts he made at that session he was selected to join a 4 person team representing Wharton at an energy competition next weekend. The participating teams are given a business problem that they have to analyze and for which they propose a solution. Then they present all of their ideas at the conference. Josh came to tell me about it half bubbling over with excitement and half scared to tell me he was going to be extra busy this week. When he sort of asked if it was okay if he participated I had to tell him it sounded like a no brainer to me! This will give him a chance right at the start to get a feel for an industry he thinks he may be interested in. Hopefully it will be a great experience.

Because of Labor Day and the break before Fall Semester begins, Josh had a couple days off this weekend so we had some fun as a family. We went to a Phillies game (Mom, that is the professional baseball team here in Philadelphia. Big doings if you are from Philly.). We ended up buying standing room only tickets and slumming it on the cement. I’m not sure that was the best way to save a little money, but the girls didn’t seem to mind. We also went to the Franklin Institute, the science museum, and saw, among other things, one of the original Wright Brothers’ airplanes. The highlight of our adventures though was going to a farm where you can pick your own fruit and vegetables. The girls loved it and so did we. It was good to be outside in some open space and get your hands dirty. We picked and ate and ate and ate and picked berries. I know we ate at least as many raspberries as we got in the bucket. We came home with tomatoes, eggplant, peaches, pears, apples, strawberries, raspberries and peppers.

Interestingly enough the biggest struggle I have had in Philly since walking into an old dirty house and pulling the mattress through the window has been with my calling in the ward. Maybe it is because I was looking to the ward as a source of strength rather than a stretch, but I am having a horrible time with the idea of being in young women. It just doesn’t seem like what I have to give is what the program needs. I have been trying to get some spiritual confirmation that this is where the Lord needs me but so far I haven’t had much luck. I go and out of duty perform what needs to be done but I’m definitely not on the magnifying trail just yet. I tried to talk to the bishop about it today but just made a fool of myself. I just needed him to tell me that he had prayed about this calling and the Lord wanted me, but instead I just muddled my thoughts and probably gave him the impression of a certified basket case. So far all I have gotten from the ward is several sleepless nights and equally as many crying sessions on the way home from church. I guess I just have to get over it and jump in, trusting that the Lord will provide a way. I’m not there yet. I can’t tell you what a struggle this has been for me.

To conclude on a happier note I’ll give you a cute girl update. Jane is starting to talk. Her cutest word right now is “peaches.” She says it as clear as a bell. Her other favorites are “tickle, tickle, tickle” while she wiggles her fingers near you, “shoes,” and “Bapa,” meaning Grandpa. She loves to read books, especially anything to do with animals. And, she has started identifying body parts: toes, nose, hair, tummy, knees. She is one cute little one.

Kate is energetic and smart and has an imagination that goes wild. She loves doing workbook more than anything in the world and has mastered opposites, same & different, matching, etc. We discovered water ice this week, which is a Philly frozen treat. We were all sharing one and Kate said, “This is the goodest juice, Dad!” She has started asking real questions like “How do flowers sleep?” and “Where does rain come from?”. I answer them as best I can and if I don’t know how to explain something I tell her to ask Grandpa when he comes. She is beginning to recognize landmarks in Philly like Boathouse Row and the Art Museum. Today at lunch a shadow crossed her face and she said, “I miss my Gracie!” but most of the time she is happy and ready for any sort of adventure.