This past week was Spring Break (or as they call it at
Duke, “Reading Week”), and it was absolutely wonderful. Exactly what I needed
to recharge my batteries and get ready for the last 4.5 weeks of the semester.
I had all these grandiose plans of being really productive, and working every
day on my school work, and that worked for a bit… Well, only Monday. Then on
Tuesday (after having a very emotion-filled Monday afternoon/night) I decided
to give myself a break from work (after all, it’s break!), and I started
watching Downton Abbey.
Most of my friends watch Downton Abbey and all of them
have told me that I’d love it. I don’t know why I haven’t watched it before (I
think probably because everyone tells me to watch it! Ha). After the first
episode, I was hooked. I don’t even want to admit to y’all how many hours of
this show I have watched this week, but I’ll tell you that I only have 4 more
episodes to watch to be completely caught up… he he he. This is what I do when
I watch tv shows though- I want to watch it all. I want to see the characters
develop. I want to know what happens next. I want to completely forget about my
life and delve into the lives of these other people. And trust me, that was the
main reason for being so addicted to Downton this week.
It reminds me of how I read Harry Potter (the 6th
and 7th books) when I was abroad in Senegal. There was one week
when I just wanted to be in another world. I didn’t want to worry about what
was happening at school or in my social life, I just wanted to jump into the
world of Hogwarts and stay there for a while (FYI, Google recognizes
“Hogwarts” as a word, but not “Downton.” Ha). Sometimes I need a place to go
that is not my own head. A place where exegesis papers are not stressing me
out, a place where I don’t have to worry about friendships gone array, a place
where I have no responsibility. Oh British books and television shows, you do
that for me. Thank you.
I did some other fun things this week- Rachel came over
for a couple of nights and we watched movies and drank wine. Kat skipped out on
Breaking Dawn Part II (why would you NOT want to watch that classic film? hahaha), but the three of us watched The Prince of Egypt. Great movie. Great
music. The three of us also made a trip out to the mall on Thursday? Was it
Thursday? I’ve been so messed up on my days this week. Today is Sunday, that’s
all I know. Anywho, let’s say we went to the mall on Thursday- I bought a
lovely new dress that I plan to wear to my postulancy interviews next month
(eek! Next month!), and it was great to just spend time with the gals. They are
oh so wonderful :-)
I was also able to go over to Brent and Natalie’s house
with some friends to watch the Duke game on Friday. Sad sad Duke game. I’ve
been at Brent’s house the two times that Duke has lost to Maryland… I feel like
I’m bad luck or something :-P Anywho, we still have the national tournament!
But to make up for the sad Duke game, we all then watched Hercules! I LOVE that
movie. Another one with great great music. We sang along. These times are my
favorite ones in Div School. Disney Movie Sing-A-Longs (and watching Duke
basketball). Yup, life is good.
I don’t know if I’ve told the blog-following folks that I
have a spiritual director now- the same woman I went on the discernment retreat
with, Sister Joanna. She is absolutely amazing. We’ve met twice and I adore
her. Our sessions are so wonderful for me. It’s the perfect combination of
therapy and God. Ha. We had a great conversation this past week, about things
that have been going on in my life, both good and bad, and it’s nice to know
that I can just pour my heart out and she will listen and help me try to make
sense of it all.
God is definitely working in my family right now. Between
my parent’s employment situations, Jenna doing amazing community work at
school, and friends coming in and out of my life, there are definitely plans
being enacted. It’s wonderful when this happens, because for me, I have a huge
burden lifted off of my heart knowing that things are all going to work out,
everything will be ok. Events in my life these past 2 weeks have shown me that.
I am so much happier now than I was the past 5ish weeks. *happy sigh* I was also really really really happy to get
a call from Michelle yesterday (my Michelle from home, there are so many
Michelles!). I miss her SO much and it was great to catch up and talk.
I also got to hang out with Anne this week- she’s the
priest at my church and the new Bishop Suffragan Elect in North Carolina. She’s
the coolest, and we had the most wonderful conversation over breakfast. Yay!
Lastly, I want to tell y’all about the sweater I’ve
started knitting! It’s going to take me forever because it’s knit on very small
needles with yarn that is usually used for socks! But here is the sweater:
And here’s what I’ve done so far
 |
| The beginning of the cuff/sleeve |
(The real reason why I’ve watched so much tv- so that I
can knit!)
There are so many other things I could tell y’all right
now (given that it’s been so long since I updated), but I think this post is
long enough! I’ve had far too many songs in my head this past week, so I will
share one I listened to while studying yesterday that I really like! The Piano
Guys make me really happy :-)
Peace, Love, and always Smiles,
Christa
Love the sweater! Can't wait to see it (and you) in a few weeks.
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