Are those raindrops on my car?!
Rain, rain, come our way;
‘else my grass resembles hay!

We did get a very light sprinkling in the wee morning hours, but a few drops on the car windows were the only sign. Someone mentioned this weekend that we need to quit praying for rain and pray for snow, instead. I like that way of thinking. 😉

It’s still Monday, at least in my time zone, but I normally post much earlier than this. Sorry this is so late; surely you haven’t been holding your breath all day waiting for my Monday post! 😉

I just got home from five nights on the road between Texas and Georgia for my twice-annual Residency Weekend trip. This is the first (and last – LOL) time that I’ve driven instead of flown. The roadtrip had its ups and downs, and I don’t regret driving, but I’m glad to be back in my own home with my own bed & pillow.

Unfortunately, I came home to a 6yo who had urgent-care dental surgery this morning to repair a displaced permanent tooth that he knocked out of sorts on an inflatable yesterday. Instead of coming home to relax, I had to figure out how to make do with school lunches for the next two weeks when he can only eat liquids and soft foods. His lunch bag tomorrow consists of pudding, applesauce, diced peaches and a drink. Poor guy – he’s taking it in stride, though. Now that it doesn’t hurt anymore, he’s riding the novelty wave of being the first one in the family (including me) to ever have  braces. Thankfully, they’re just temporary, but still – they had to wire most of his top set of teeth, since he’s already missing so many from recent baby teeth losses. I’m very thankful that they were able to salvage the tooth and reset it.

All that long story is to say: I got nuthin’ for you today. I don’t have the energy or creativity to write a poem. I’ll try to pick back up with Monday Musings next week.

I’m still reading Dune, though I’ve made a lot of headway and hope to finish it this weekend, before the fall term officially begins on Monday. I shared in my last post about the book that some of the sayings from the story really stood out to me. Today, I wanted to share one more. This particular saying is a mantra that the Atreides and Bene Gesserits learned as a reminder to put aside fear, which only serves to cripple the mind and destroy confidence.

Just this week, a friend shared a Bible verse with me that resonated in my spirit, so when I came across the fear litany again in Dune (it’s a recurring issue in the story), I thought it was worth noting.

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you” Psalm 56:3 (NIV).

“Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past me I will turn to see fear’s path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain” (Dune).

As a believer, I know that the God I serve is bigger than any enemy, real or imagined. I say imagined because oftentimes, our fears are self-imposed (are they not?). I’m the type of person who likes to think through every possible scenario, but the fact is that there comes a point when the decision (no matter how big or small) must be made in faith. That is where fear likes to trip me up. Will I walk fear’s path, or will I stand boldly and defy it?

Summer winding down,
One and a half weeks to go!
Students, on your mark …

Yes, the summer break is nearly over, and the boys have mixed emotions. They are excited about going back to school and seeing old friends & meeting new ones. They are reluctant to give up swimming nearly everyday and staying up a little later than usual. One good thing about day camp is that the little three still have to leave the house when I head to work in the mornings, so they haven’t been able to stay up too late. Anytime we can survive the break with some semblance of normal sleeping habits is a good summer! 😉  (I can’t claim the same success with the older two, who seem to consider it a challenge to see how long they can sleep. LOL – I remember those days!)

Somewhere along the way, I reckon I’ve read a good many of the literary “classics.” (I didn’t say that I remembered them all, just that I read them, at some point.)

I’ve only recently (as in, the past 10 years or so) gained interest in the fantasy genre (thank you, Harry Potter), and although I’ve always been a bit of a science geek, it might surprise you that science-fiction hasn’t really been my forte. To clarify, I would say that science-fiction is fantasy, but not all fantasy is science-fiction. I like Star Wars, but mostly for my kids’ sake, because they are such huge fans … and, ok, fine, and Harrison Ford — I like Star Wars because of Hans Solo. [Let us all pause for a moment and swoon, shall we? *sigh]

Back to the point, I have never read or seen the movie Dune. One of the courses that I’m taking this fall, Culture of Formal Work Organizations, actually requires the novel as one of our texts. I thought that was a bit odd, until I remembered reading Brave New World in high school and talking about the present-day implications of Huxley’s futuristic society. How crazy is it that Brave New World was written a full 33 years before Dune? These guys had amazing imaginations, for their days — just think of the technologies that had not even been invented yet!

I’ve only just begun reading Dune ($2 at my local mom & pop used bookstore — woot!), and I have already noticed a few gems that I’m going to note for class. Following are two quotes that resonated with me:

The first was an excerpt from a historical text within the story, and it read: “‘The Reverend Mother must combine the seductive wiles of a courtesan with the untouchable majesty of a virgin goddess, holding these attributes in tension so long as the powers of her youth endure. For when youth and beauty have gone, she will find that the place-between, once occupied by tension, has become a wellspring of cunning and resourcefulness’” (p. 21)

The second was spoken by this Reverend Mother to a young man in training (for what, I don’t yet know): “‘A world is supported by four things … the learning of the wise, the justice of the great, the prayers of the righteous and the valor of the brave. But all of these are as nothing … without a ruler who knows the art of ruling'” (p. 30).

The first passage spoke to me as a woman and encouraged me to see my trials at this stage in my life as preparation for the life I have yet to live. I love the concept of the “place-between” where the tension resides. Sometimes, it’s easy to get bogged down in things that seem so pressing and frustrating right now, but really, I’m still young. I still have a lot of career, a lot of child-raising, a lot of living to do. Lord willing, I’ll grow as old as the Reverend Mother and be able to impart my life wisdom to my granddaughters (and grandsons, of course, but y’all know that I’m holding out for girls in the next generation!).

The second passage piqued my interest regarding public policy & administration — you know, this degree I’m seeking. Governments don’t function in a vacuum; there are many moving parts. Sometimes, the parts get jammed up and don’t work right, but this machine we call a democracy is still the best model on the planet.

Only 474 pages of tiny print left to read, then I’ll let you know how I liked it. My goal is to finish it before the fall term starts in about three weeks.