Shoveling Out

Snow began falling about 4:30 p.m. Friday night. Finally sometime between Saturday and Sunday, after 18 inches had fallen, the snow stopped. Butch and I shoveled snow a lot of the day Sunday and helped a couple neighbors and him get out. My car, being much farther from the road, was much harder; I think we shoveled a path that would have gotten it out but I'm not sure and left it sit.

Yesterday we did a couple errands by foot and walked all over Broadway; we called that exercise as we couldn't run on the snow/slushy roads or snow covered sidewalks and track.

But today I had an appointment in Harrisonburg and actually got the car out! Just knowing I can come and go again is such a relief. While in Harrisonburg we went to the track at EMU and got in a good hard run. Left at 9:00 a.m.; besides my appointment, running, picking up some groceries, and a couple other errands, I got home at 2 p.m.

Butch has an appointment in Harrisonburg, so we plan to run at EMU one more time before the university is locked down for the holiday. After that I'm hoping we can run outside again.

I sure hope this isn't a sign of the Virginia winter to come.

Christmas Letter & End of Year Thoughts

There have been a couple major changes in the family this year that I am pleased to share with you.

Anna Maria has been accepted to a low-residency MFA program in both nonfiction and fiction writing at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Classes begin at the end of December. She was also a runner-up in Ruminate magazine’s 2009 short story contest and wrote a monthly gardening column for a local newspaper.

Her husband Steven still teaches visual and communication arts at Eastern Mennonite University, but is now the chair of that department. He also continues freelance photography -- shooting weddings, senior pictures, publicity photos for musical artists and whatever else his lens finds to do. His biggest freelance successes were getting nature photos published in Orion magazine, an environmental magazine, and in Blue Ridge Country, a regional magazine.

Eliza Grace, now eight, and Magdalena Hope, now six years old, still have sleepovers and campouts with “Gramma Nete”, whom they have re-nicknamed “Graham Cracker” and visit often. Both enjoy taking ballet classes and drawing.

Ana (Sam) and Chad Updyke’s son Thaddeus is now a year old and walking everywhere and climbing on everything. Chad is an electrician for a salt manufacturing plant in Watkins Glen. They moved into their first home and now live in Millport, New York.

I am still employed part-time as an adjunct paralegal professor at a vocational technical college in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and do a little bit of freelance writing and editing. I appreciate the support and encouragement from my friend and neighbor Butch. We run together four days a week. He also stayed with me when I was in the hospital for three days this year with pneumonia and fixed meals for me upon my return home. Then, too, we enjoyed a trip to Florida where we ran a half marathon together, and to the Virginia Beach area where we also saw the Jamestown settlement, Williamsburg and Yorktown.

May God bring blessings and joy to each of you this holiday season and throughout 2010.

Thanksgiving Day

I used to celebrate Thanksgiving with my birth family in Iowa. Dinner was turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and, when she was alive, Mom's pumpkin pie plus whatever creations the other cooks in the family brought. After a long, leisurely dinner with lots of story telling we always went for a long walk -- usually about 30 gathered for the meal, and most of those also went for the annual walk.

For the past four years I haven't made it back, and each year away is harder than the last. I miss them all so much. I tried to call my sis today, where everyone is gathering, but it was hard to talk through the tears. So I kept the conversation short and just told my sis and her son to tell everyone hi for me when they get there.

A teen once said that my siblings are all "river rats with manners." I guess that describes them pretty well. They love being on the river fishing, primarily for catfish. And do they know how to cook it--melt in your mouth sweetness.

My daughter says my birth family is like the Mafia except legal. I know what she meant. Nobody messes with anyone else in the family. We're all pretty protective of each other. Those marrying in sometimes have a hard time finding their place, but once they do they have the privilege of protection and belonging, too. And if anything needs to be done, somebody in the family can do it -- from plumbing, to carpentry, to car repair, to computer tech support.

Today I just want to say thanks for each one -- Anth who listened and listened when I was in one of the darkest places in my life; Pear who always calls me "beautiful" and can't say a bad word about anyone; Paul the older brother who somehow keeps us all together and knows when it's time for the family meetings; and Annie who knows how to just be with a person and pray for them. Each is also much more than what those pithy statements portray, but they're a start.

And a start is all I can do on this short blog. I can't describe all each sibling means, nor is there room to go share about all the in-laws, nieces and nephews, great-nieces and nephews or even my own daughters and their families.

Happy thanksgiving to you all.

Paradigms

I ran in long sleeves and long pants this a.m. Fall is here and winter is coming, which means another year is nearly over. Everyone is talking about how fast the year has gone, just like they do every year. It's amazing to me how some days can seem so incredibly long (like when I'm teaching for 12 hours straight) while, at the same time, a year seems to fly by. How can both be true? But life is full of paradoxes, of truths that seemingly contradict each other.

One of those truths has to do with faith. How can God be both of a God of love and grace, yet allow so much evil in the world. Why doesn't he intervene now and make things right? And yet every now and then, we see evidence of an opposing truth -- God really is still in control.

I just finished reading Heart for the Harvest: Stories of Vision, Faith, and Courage by Jeff Farmer and Andrea Johnson. One story that amazed me was that of a missionary couple who planted a church in India, yet somehow that church became totally disconnected from the Open Bible Church that had supported the missionaries. Years later, through a divine coincidence, an Indian pastor connected with Open Bible leaders. . .and the leaders learned that the single church plant in India had grown to 61 churches. Unseen by the mother denomination, the Open Bible movement in India had kept growing.

The book holds similar stories of leaders sacrificing for something they believed whether or not they saw results from their efforts. It also tells the rest of the story -- the stories of what happened after the years of sacrificial effort. And in so doing, Heart for the Harvest instills hope.

There is so much that we don't see. That is the essence of faith -- believing in spite of contradictions, believing in spite of what seems so obvious as we walk in blind faith, believing in spite of seemingly opposing paradigms. Sometimes we get a glimpse of God at work, as did the leaders of the Open Bible movement; the rest of the time we live by faith, knowing in our hearts that God really is working behind the scenes, even during the times when we can't see it.

Ponds of Fog as Seen from Afton Mountain

We were up before the sun for the Pepsi 10K this morning near Crozet. Took these photos from Afton Mountain.

Historic Tour

We're on day four of a historic tour, having seen Antietam, Williamsburg, Yorktown and Jamestown (settlement and historic). I've taken lots of photos, so many they can't be posted here. But they are visible on my facebook page: www.facebook.com/anieta.mccracken. When Butch and I return, I'll try to post at least a few of them. For now, however, perhaps you'd enjoy seeing a couple turkeys at least. (That's Butch on the left).

Road Trip

Butch and I are headed east -- first to Antietam for a five mile race tomorrow (Saturday). We're both hoping for a good finish, but facing reality as well. His calf is bothering him and I'm still struggling just to do three miles. Even a minor bout of pneumonia knocks the wind out of you -- literally!

After the race we're going to tour Jamestown, Yorktown, Williamsburg and Virginia Beach where we plan to do a little sight seeing, but mostly relax, rest and recover. I am so very tired.

We'll return in time for me to attend a meeting on Thursday, the official start of a new term at school. I'm not feeling prepared for that either as I'm teaching seven classes this term. I don't even have the books for one class yet, although that should be the easiest of the seven to teach. I have taught the class several times before; I'll just most likely be using new books. I have read all the other texts except for a criminal law class, which I'm taking with me. I should be able to finish it before Monday, the first day of class.

So prepared or not, the next term will come. And I wonder if a person ever really feels adequately prepared for the next project, term, responsibility? I think not. I think that's where faith comes in. We do all we can to keep some margin in our life and to prepare for tomorrow, but in reality we're never really prepared and have to just trust that everything will be okay somehow.