The Art of Observation of Truth and Subjectivity

I am 3 weeks now into my docent training at the North Carolina Museum of Art. And to say I am enjoying it is an understatement. The "art cup" of my soul runneth over. Every Tuesday for two wonderful hours, we meet with two museum educators in the main galleries. We start with discussing business items, then some educational methodology and theory. After that, we are taken on a tour, but one that is trying to teach us a specific skill or tool. We just happen to learn about art as we do it. These skills are useful and could very well be applied in any other area of life for teaching/communicating or trying to engage and draw a listener/visitor in.

The class is primarily 25 students all over the age of 60. There are probably 3 other women about my age. The demographic is all white, except me and another Jackie who is from the Dominican Republic. We are all women except for two men who are retired college professors. One of them has a lovely Scottish accent too. Some are former teachers, retired IBM execs. Its an interesting varied group.

I love love love love love this experience. Right now it feels like its too much fun. I don't know what it is about art that makes me light up, but it is really one of the things I love most in this world. I'm grateful God wired me that way. And I confess, there's something so familiarly comforting about wearing a museum badge again....

One of the skills we are learning is the skill of observation. What things are obvious about looking at art? What things are not? Take time to LOOK. Take time to SEE. Don't take for granted that just because you know about something, you might not miss something there.

Interestingly enough, that is also the skill I am learning in my Bible study "Living By the Book: The Art and Science of Reading the Bible" by Howard Hendricks. I did this study 3 years ago with Sue at her church when I first moved to Raleigh. Back then it was done in 1 semester. It is a pretty intensive study and so now they have it as a two semester class.

This study is one of the single most important classes I've taken in learning skills on how to independently read and understand scripture. Its like a mini-seminary class that is much more practical and hands on for the average Joe, or Jackie in my case. The class is taught by the same lady as before and she is not only gifted at teaching, she knows her Bible. There is significant homework and its not the fill in the blank kinda stuff. I have and continue to recommend this to any one I know. My hope is that God will prepare me to be able to teach this to other women. It has made me excited about God's Word in the same way I am excited about art. My "learning how to learn about God's Word" cup runneth over!

One of the unexpected blessings of this class has been the other women. Okay, so I confess, I usually have a strong aversion (read: bad and judgemental attitude) about women's Bible study gatherings. They are usually women I have little in common with, older, and all like pretty dainty bad pastel fashion. There. I've confessed my horrific heart. Are you shocked?

There are total of 12 of us in the class. ALL grandmothers, except 1 mom of high schoolers and 1 young mom (late 20's/early 30's) and of course me. All white (with white hair too). I have never been more grateful for a group of women in my life. Each week I am thrilled to sit among these disciples of Jesus who know Him in ways with their lives, I have yet to understand. There is so much wisdom and humility and kindness and hospitality and silliness and I can't drink up their fellowship enough. Good, good stuff.

"Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the (wo)man who takes refuge in him." Psalm 34:8

A LaHoma Visit

Many of you might remember, that years ago when I first bought my house in Burke, VA, I had a roomate. We both worked at the Freer/Sackler together and ate lunch everyday and commuted together, that it seemed like a good fit for her to rent a room from me and me to take her cash!

LaHoma became family to Lauren and I and the three of us had some good times, just hanging, eating and talking. After a couple of years living with us, she moved back to the West coast where is from and got married (so she claims -- I have yet to meet the "husband"). She was actually in Raleigh last week for a work trip and it was great to see her again.....and EAT :)

She is allergic to cats and for some reason when she lived with us, she was able to endure Bitty. It was hilarious when she was here and saw the Bitty: "Ahhh. We meet again for the first last time."

Go Skins! Beat Dallas (oh yeah!)

This empty nester thing is keeping me much busier than expected. I am wayyyy behind on blogging (again) and must get up to speed.

A couple of weekends ago, we headed to NoVa and stayed at the Rumbaugh Hotel, where Kristy and Matt were kind enough to host us. We were also there to attend the Redskins vs. Dallas game.
By now the entirety of the world should know the Skins beat those pansy Cowboys (girls). Yeah....um how 'bout them Cowboys, again? Ha! Victory is delicious!

For those of you from my McLean Bible Church days, we also went to church there with the Rumbaughs. Danny had never seen Lon in person and was surprised by what he saw. My thought was, "Wow, he's aged." But that is not fair considering I haven't seen the man in 20 years. I've probably aged (a little?) in that time as well.

It was a sweet visit for me to catch up with Kristy. She has been a faithful friend through the years and I am always blessed by the heart she has for others. Her life is plenty busy with her girls Ally and Lexy. You'll see in the pics they are adorable! Matt is working on his MBA at Mason and so he spends lots of time at the library. Like most of our out of town friends, this is a couple we wished lived closer to us :(

As far as the game goes, it was a fun experience. It was my FIRST ever NFL game and although we had fun, it is an environment much to be desired. It is always shocking to "enter into that environment" where rampant drunkenness and debauchery and male ego and hoochie mammas seem to be the norm. In fact, the couple sitting next to us were passed out before the 1st quarter was over.

Its sad to think this kind of experience is not a family event. Expenses not considered, you certainly don't want your daughters (of ANY age) there, or your sons. I don't mean to be catty or crass or terribly critical, but I am appalled by what women of all ages and shapes and sizes are willing to wear in public. Or rather what they are willing NOT to wear. I guess if you have the money to spend on the really, really GOOD seats, you are somewhat "removed" from this scene, but there's no shortage of projection of Redskin cheerleaders showing way too much of their Skin. Save yourself the money and just buy your teenage boys a Playboy instead of spending money on tickets so that they can see the cheerleaders and their booty and boobaliciousness all over the place.

I got some great pictures of McNabb McFabulous (which is still to be entirely proven). He is a smiley man. Also, I was aghast at how HUGE these professional football players are. I had no idea they were all Goliaths. They do not even look human.

Overall we had a great time. I always have a great time with Danny. And no matter what the environment we're in, this man makes sure I am safe. It is such a blessing to be married to your best friend :)

On our way back to Raleigh, we stopped in Richmond and met up with Beth for lunch. As usual it is always a joy to get some Beth time :) !!

P.S. It was a good football weekend also because JMU beat VA Tech!!!

Big Sister, Big Influence

As some of you might remember, I meet weekly with a young lady I call "Kim." (See this post for the back story.) Well, I have spent lots of time with her since that post and we are fast friends, if not more like little sister and big sister.

Yesterday, I picked her up and she spent the day at my place ..... like 8 hours. I enjoy hanging out with her, but usually after about 4 hours or so I am exhausted. Why? It takes a considerable amount of mental and emotional effort to be engaged with her, mostly to explain "life" and how it works.

Simple conversations cannot be taken for granted. What does compassionate mean? What does grateful mean? How do you explain thankful? How do you explain how a mortgage works? How do you explain why I don't need to hang out with "guy friends" now that I am married? All this to a young lady that lives a large part of her life in fear because she knows she's "slow" or "different" and because she just doesn't understand life and how the world works.
Don't get me wrong ...... I love my time with her. She is a joy. But I have a new appreciation for parents of children/adults with mental disabilities or even children with emotional issues. This doesn't even compare to what they might experience. We have a lot of fun together.

"Kim" is in a state of big sister Jacqueline worship. You would think I'd like this, but it makes me increasingly uncomfortable because I know that I must be very careful in how I influence her. She wants the same car I have. But did she want a Toyota Corolla before or after she knew me? She likes how I dress and thinks everything I do is great. She wants to live in my neighborhood and wants to buy a townhouse just like mine.....

There is great responsibility here. I know that my words and actions could sway her in the direction of good or bad (whether intentionally or not). I am praying for wisdom from God as He has created a situation I was not prepared for. This is different than training a child, because she is not a child or my child and I need to treat her as an equal, an adult.

What started out as something that was slightly out of my comfort zone and fun, has turned into a situation I feel a great responsibility for -- I am not complaining. I marvel at the hand of God.

Remember, she is Chinese and was adopted by an American father and Iranian mom. Although she is Chinese, she has been raised Muslim. But she is definitely American in lifestyle.

I love that God is not random. I love that God has assigned her to me to sanctify me. I love that what I expected to be an occasional fun outting has turned into a humbling relationship that requires me to depend on Him because I am accountable to Him.

The Effects of the Fall

If Adam and Eve never sinned, do you think they would be hard bodies at 40? Last night, Danny and I went to our first kickboxing aerobics class together. Another result of empty nesting.

After last night, I am wondering why we didn't sign up for a basket weaving class instead. This class is through the rec center and has about 20 students. Danny is only 1 of 2 men there. The Asian instructor is in her 40s if not older and pretty impressive. With a full on 80s club playlist, we did warm-ups, punches, kicks, etc. We had a good time considering the pain I was in afterwards. Danny loves all things physical excercise-ish.

It was sad to see how out of shape and uncoordinated I am. Sigh.

I could barely walk. There are only so many squats this sista can endure. But it did make me miss my Tae Kwon Do days..... you know, when I was a young 30-something....

Dawgs, Dogs, Football, Birthday, Tools

This past Labor Day weekend the Dulins headed for some long overdue fun time with the Gardners. This weekend was the kick-off of football season and it was Bear's 9th birthday. How perfect is that?

To say there was an over consumption of calories would be an understatement. Zoe made that famous Pralle chocolate cake but also added her own twist with homemade peanut butter icing for Bear's birthday celebration. Are you kidding? Homemade peanut butter icing? Just attach 10 pounds directly to my butt, thanks. OMG it was divine stuff.

There was also a lot of dog action too. We had a chocolate, black and blonde lab. Hours of entertainment aside from football. And yes, LOTS of football. GA Bulldogs won so the Gardners were quite happy. UNC (University of Non-Compliance) almost won, and we were proud of the tough fight they put up. Ugghhh.... hey, you, football player Tar Heel guy. Don't cheat in college.

Poor Zoe was struggling from a case of bronchitis, but still managed to do what I love to do best -- SHOP! Seriously, I love to shop with that girl. It is pure consumerism joy. And I only spent $16! She found herself a lovely dish for her dining room table at Pier 1 --- its gorgeous! What great taste you have!

The plethra of Gardner kids are always a joy. Except two of them aren't so "kid" like anymore. Josh is about 6 ft tall and a man-boy or boy-man but definitely no kid anymore. Mac is a close second as she is taller than me!

There were also long overdue haircuts for Zoe and Luke. My work is never done. And the weekend ended with Mac finding the infamous "hands" sculpture in her bed. (Which lucky Wine-price girl will get them next?).

The joy of friendship is wonderful. The joy of having your hubbies be close buddies is also amazing. Thank you Gardners for being our friends!

Demolition Dulins

We have literally and virtually been continuing to progress with our home improvement projects. Namely, we are ripping up floors due to wear and tear and damage thanks to the Bitty (yes, she's still alive) and some BamBam causes as well. The carpet is/was all low end contractor grade that I did not get to spec out before I bought the house, so is it beyond the vacuuming and rug cleaner solutions.

We are getting laminate in the basement (and the animals can do whatever they want, it will wipe up and not scratch). Our living room will get hardwoods that match the hall and dining room. The hardwoods will continue up the stairs and in the hallways. Both bedrooms will get new carpet and a color a little more "pet" friendly than the existing cream color that now bears lots of stains.

I am looking forward to reducing my vacuuming by a lot. Okay, so Danny does the vacuuming, but it will be nice to just sweep up animal and Jacqueline hair.

In addition, I will be doing some "virtual" improvement on this blog as well. It is way overdue for a new look and I'm liking the "interim" site, we'll see what I come up with.