The Story of Ger In Ten Objects

100 or 10 items…what does it take to completely describe a person, a place or even the entire world?
The British Museum has featured an exhibit entitled The History of the World in 100 Objects. The exhibit is now a show on NPR. The objects include tools, pots, artwork, coins, weapons and even a solar lamp.  Each item reflects a particular achievement or other event of historical value.  Can we capture the world in 100 objects? Can I capture my life in a finite set of objects? Hmmmm…lots of different things come to mind. I would probably choose things that are connected to people as the priority for my list.

I will  start with my wedding bands, my own and my maternal grandmother’s which I wear together. My life as part of a couple shapes most of what I do every day. Marriage is joyous, fun  but also at times requires a bit of work, a lot of patience (never my strong suite), and love…love that fills your heart to the point of brimming but also love that sometimes needs to be nudged back to the surface.  Anyone who has ever been married will know that I am not being negative…I am being honest and simply being someone who is in love and wants to stay that way for many years to come. I never lost my individuality when I became a couple, I just added to it... and that addition has been tremendous and one for which I am truly grateful.

As I write this is it clear that my laptop is a must for this collection. It is how I do most of my writing, all of my research, and a significant means of my communication with family and friends.  It also reflects my job. I just left the freelance world which I wasn’t very good at (well not good at getting freelance work, once I got a job I was good at the work) and am now working for one organization. I do fundraising and program development with an international non-profit (no I am not a nurse as other’s thought based on my last post though I do work within healthcare).

Let’s add a bookshelf to this collection. I haven’t gone electronic yet with my books; I am sure that will happen soon enough but I doubt I would ever want to give up “real” books.  I love holding a book in my hands, I also have been known to write in books (gasp goes the crowd...the big crowd of about four people who will read this). Yes, I have been known to write in books of non-fiction. The bookshelf represents reading and learning, both of which are so important to me.

 Another contender for the exhibit would be an oversized antique steamer trunk. I store blankets in it but it would represent a connection to things past. If you read this blog then you know how important that connection is to me.  The steamer trunk was always in my basement when I was growing up; I am pretty sure my mother kept blankets in it as well.  I also believe that the trunk came from Italy with my paternal grandmother when she moved to America as a young bride. That must have been some adventure. 

Speaking of travel and adventure, my own passport will make this list as it would obviously reflect my love for travel but also my interest in other cultures…especially the food from other cultures! Is there such at thing as a food passport?  And along those lines I would include my dining room table; I love to entertain, especially love to have our family and extended families over for dinner.  It’s getting harder and harder to have all three kids over at the same time but it is fun when it does work out. The two boys have gotten into cooking so I have turned my kitchen over to them on occasion and that has worked out quite well!  Elizabeth, my (step)daughter doesn’t really even boil water but she is a doctor so she can afford to get take-out whenever she wants! Besides, working a 12 hour shift is not really conducive to coming home and cooking.

My husband’s desk would be a featured item. It reflects many things, not the least of which is my husband himself! It also reflects his tremendous work ethic, his actual job which has afforded me the ability to be unemployed at times. The desk also reflects intangibles as well such as the feeling of contentment that comes with those moments when we are both working from home, both computers going… sweet.

I have two crucifixes in my house that have great meaning for me. One comes from Peru, a gift from my father and the other from Brazil, a gift Elizabeth brought back from Semester-at-Sea. The connection to my faith and to the people who gave them to me is what makes them special.  Unfortunately the crucifixes are just so, well, Catholic, and my faith isn’t limited to the church I attend each Sunday. I grew up with the crucifix as THE symbol of my religion, grew up wearing one around my neck but the problem I have with the crucifix is that it doesn’t reflect the Risen Christ; it doesn’t reflect the amazing hope that comes only because of the Third Day. OH well, just the same, they are included as one object (I am counting them as one) in my Story of Ger in 10 Objects. I probably wouldn’t include a Bible despite its importance to me. I feel rather like a heretic making that admission. Much of what fills my soul in relation to the Bible comes from study, from commentary and books that put the Bible in context…now that is very Catholic! 

An item that definately represents fun is a beach tag, specifically a beach tag from the Erskine Lakes Property Owners Association—ELPOA. The tag lets me into a small lake a few “blocks” from my house (we don’t actually have blocks, or sidewalks for that matter, but you get the idea). I spent every summer of my childhood on/in/near this lake and it is the definition of home to me.  I am related to about 35 people within a few miles radius of my house.  I was a lifeguard on this lake way back in the day. Yep, definitely will include a beach tag in this exhibit.

So far I have included items that reflect my family (past and present), work, faith, fun…what else, what should I include for my tenth item? I JUST turned 51 years old so what would be appropriate would be my eye-glasses but those just depress me. Any other suggestions? What are some of your items?

You are welcome to visit the “exhibit” anytime by just walking around my house, you can come for dinner.

M is for Mend

M is for Mend…I am on the Mend! Last week I was felled by a wicked stomach virus. I was truly knocked out. Is there anything worse than stomach stuff? Well of course, but seems like not when you are in the throes of such an illness.  My poor husband got it the week before while I was out of town. The illness is why I skipped the letter L in this meme series and hopped onto M.  We think the culprit was one of our peanut sized grand-nieces who came over one evening and promptly informed us that the night before she “spitted up a lot!” Thanks for sharing Dani!

For as miserable as I felt ( I am not a good sickie, just ask my husband), the feeling of joy was even greater at the moment when I realized I had turned the corner, when I reached that point in time when I realized that I was in fact  on-the-mend! With a little help from a prescription my wretched stomach had calmed itself enough to begin the process of mending. I couldn’t have been happier though tired, wiped out even, but indeed grateful that the worst was now behind me.  I was on the mend to being made whole again.

We spend a lot of time as human beings on-the-mend, though I am not sure we realize it. We spend much of our time healing from the small and not small tears in the fabric of our well-being. Those scrapes and bruises that come from daily contact with other human beings.  We bristle at the coworker’s indifference, get irate at being cut off on the highway, frustrated by the young person’s teenage eye rolls, or whatever happens to get under our skin. For the most part we are able to release these things and not even realize that our bodies processed pain, released it, then, even on a cellular level, began to repair the damage that the stress has caused. We are in a state of constant mending.

Marriage is filled with times of being on the mend. Not major events of some consequence but rather moments filled with simple opportunities to mend. We tick each other off only to realize that  we were wrong, by our action, inaction, or reaction, then apologize and begin the mending process. A simple heartfelt apology sets in motion momentous mending.  Most often it’s something so inconsequential that it doesn’t even warrant a discussion but the mending process is no less real. 

Marriage isn’t a series of negotiations but rather an ongoing recognition of the need to mend. It’s the recognition that both partners are fragile, easily torn but that with each tear, the person and the marriage become stronger by the opportunity to strengthen the binding. Of course some of the tears are deep, but fortunately rarely so permanent that love’s binding qualities can’t repair. I am not saying the repairs are always instantaneous; the tear may stay torn for awhile. No doubt about, we are not perfect, just people on-the-mend.

This Palm Sunday (actually every Palm Sunday) the Passion was read. At the moment of Christ’s death we learn that the curtain in the temple is torn in two, from top to bottom. This is the curtain which separated the Holiest section of the temple from the rest of the sanctuary. Prior to this only the High Priest was allowed to enter this area and he only once a year.   The tear of course symbolizes the end of the old ways of keeping the people from accessing God. Christ’s death opens a pathway to the Father. HE IS the pathway. Although it is symbolized as a tear, Christ’s death and resurrection actually heals, binds, mends.  His resurrection sets in motion the process by which we continually seek healing from our often self inflicted tears because we are people always on the mend. Fortunately, we believe in the great tailor who is capable of mending whatever shredded garments we bring His way.