New Blog on Social Justice, etc

Ken has kicked off a new blog called transforming society. Check it out and leave feedback.

New and Improved Tennysonian Blog

As you may have noticed the Tennysonian blog's format has changed in recent days.  Along with the visual changes, it is also changing a bit in conception.  Going forward both Maranda and Ken will be posting on this blog, primarily about family adventures, news, and other things within the orbit of our life in Northern Virginia. 

 

Ken has created a new blog for posts that regard social justice, sustainable living, politics, human nature, spirituality, and so on.  Much thanks to those who helped me choose the title.  I will be posting the link to the new site in a few days.

First Trip to Chuckee Cheese

So the first trip to Chuckee Cheese was an unmitigated success for a certain 1.5 year old in my life. Daddy was still ordering food when baby hit the ground running and disappeared into a kalediescope of flashing neon lights, droning arcade music, and screaming toddlers. Daddy popped an anxiety pill and rushed in pursuit. Although mommy careful timed her arrival around food, she did not escape the throngs, ending up clambering through the overhead tunnels trying to keep little feet in sight (Daddy did not appear to have the necessary physique to accompany his son on this adventure). Here are a few cell phone shots.

I need your help

I am going to create a 2nd blog for more formal posts on social justice, sustainable living, human nature, and other light topics. I have found two possible blog names that are available, but can't decide which one I like best. Give me your opinion!

rethinkingtruth.blogspot.com

transformingsociety.blogspot.com

Angels of Bread

My friend Tara shared a powerful poem on her blog by a North American poet Martin Espada.

To read the poem in its entirety click here. My two favorite passages are:

this is the year
that shawled refugees deport judges
who stare at the floor
and their swollen feet
as files are stamped with their destination;

this is the year that the eyes
stinging from the poison that purifies toilets
awaken at last to the sight
of a rooster-loud hillside,
pilgrimage of immigrant birth;

This poem reminds me of the terribly real suffering of those in every society who are marginalized and oppressed. Whose very lives feed the machinery of other's success. Yet my soul sings at the heart rending beauty in these images of justice, of the triumph of weakness over power, of the victory of love over hate and domination. I still believe in such foolish ideas.

Truck Burning

Interesting sight on the way to work this morning. I had a fire extinguisher in my truck but there was no way I could get across. Fire Fighters showed up shortly as you can see in the clip. It was a full size truck and the front tires and entire hood were engulfed in flame.

Nuggle Me

As I prepared to go to work this morning Kieran heard my movements and sat up in bed to watch me. Already running late I leaned over the bed to give him a kiss goodbye. Instead of kissing me he laid down on the bed and looked up at me with big blue eyes and said "nuggle me daddy." Wow, I couldn't resist such a request and laid down with him and mommy and snuggled him for the next 10 minutes or so. As I arrived at work 20 minutes late I though to myself that for once my priorities were exactly right!

Double Amputee Might Make Olympics

What a cool story!

Good Post on Forgiveness

Check out this post by maker of Dilbert, Scott Adams.

Therapist has Cancer

I am sad to report that my therapist has an aggressive form of prostate cancer. He goes in for operation in the morning. The good news is that Doctor's are optimistic that the cancer has not spread from the prostate. He is a very person and has been very influential in my life. While there is nothing that can be done but wait and hope, it helps to share my feelings of helplessness.

Puppy from Last Litter

Here is a picture of a puppy from Alexa's first litter, she is around 8 months old when this picture was taken. What a beautiful dog she is!!

Home Grown Chicken

Yesterday afternoon we enjoyed the company of friends over some tasty chicken and equally tasty brew. The chicken was from our own coop as we had intentionally raised both hens and roosters with plans to have a chicken barbecue when the roosters were grown. I realize that this likely offends some folks and I do understand and respect that. I can only say that it was very satisfying to have carefully raised and provided for these birds, before humanly killing and consuming them. It is akin to laboring over a garden all summer and then enjoying the "fruits" of your labor. Far more satisfying and respectful of the animal then simply showing up at a grocery store to buy some "meat."

As we had an open invite with flexible time, we ended up with our neighbors, friends Ryan Page, Croghan, and the Doan Boys (all three) wander in at various times of the day. Much thanks for the good fellowship on a beautiful early summer evening. The three or so small boys running around the backyard seemed to have a good time as well, with my son Kieran double fisting drumsticks and his friend Keenan dumping the dogs water dish over both their shoes. Everyone under the age of 5 left with only a few nicks and bruises, so the father's declared it an unmitigated success!

Back to School

I have begun the process of applying to a Master's program with Gonzaga University. It is an two year online program in Organizational Leadership. They emphasize servant leadership and the program is intended to be transformational as well as educational. I have never been attracted to an MBA because it was too "heartless" for me. This program has been very successful and should work well with my schedule. I will start the first 8 week class in June. Wish me luck!

Here is a blurb from the acceptance e-mail:

Gonzaga's philosophy is based on the 450-year Ignatian model that aims to educate the whole person -- mind, body and spirit -- an integration of science and art, faith and reason, action and contemplation. This 36 hour online program is intended to meet the needs and schedules ofworking adults. With Gonzaga's program being the only one in thecountry to specialize in servant leadership, you will enjoy engaging dialog with a high caliber group of students taught by well-seasoned faculty, all with their Ph.D.

Kieran's Baptism Video Clips

The first video contains the family and friends readings. The second video contains Ken's poem to Kieran and the baptism.

Daddy's Poem to Kieran

Daddy read this poem to Kieran during the baptism.

Kieran my son I love you

I love how you scamper to meet me at the door
After a long day at work.
I love your enthusiastic kisses
Even if I sometimes bribe you for them.

I love your relentless quest for 'nandy and cookies,
You have your daddies sweet tooth.
I am amazed at your love for animals,
Owls, Monkeys, Chickens, puppies, and Pigs.

I love your adventurous spirit,
As you woke up each morning in Singapore
Exclaiming go, go, as you pointed to the door,
Eager to see what the day had in store.

I love how when you are outside
Playing with the 'buppies
I hear your enthusiastic discovery
Poopies!

I am thrilled to my very core
When you ask Mommy and Daddy
To both snuggle you on the bed
Laying with a small arm resting on Daddy.

I love how you help Mommy cook,
Standing next to her on a chair,
Covered with flour as you help
Her crack the eggs

Your love for trucks and
Especially motorcycles makes me smile.
A rumbling Harley will leave you
Excitedly chattering for minutes.

I am amazed at how you exclaim “wowww,”
When faced with something new
How you tell me to be shh, quiet
When the puppies are sleeping.

I love how beautiful you are,
How people stop us in the street
To comment on how handsome you are

I laugh at how Mommy nursing you
On the other side,
Has led to constant requests for
Side, side, side.

I love your recent joy at being naked,
The laugh that is in your eyes
As you flee from the pursuing mommy
Exclaiming naaked!

I love that when you have something new in your hands
You have to figure out how it works
Before playing with it.

I have often been startled by how observant you are.
How you can watch me perform a complicated action with seeming disinterest,
And then replicate that action moments later.
How hiding anything from you is futile.

I love how you lay in bed at night,
And ask for Daddy's silly story about boop boop.
How you listen in silence to each word,
Occasionally miming the silly frog's actions.

I love how your eyes squeeze shut
When you know people are talking about you.
I love how you greet people so openly,
How you meet our entire plane during each flight to Singapore.

I love (mostly) how active you are,
Constantly moving, talking, climbing, discovering.
You enthusiast energy is infectious,
Often rousing Daddy and Mommy out of bed on a Saturday morning.

For all the things I have failed to mention above,
Let me just say Kieran,
I love you.

Family and Friend Readings

Here are the text's that were sent for today's baptism service. These were read prior to the baptism. I hope to have the video available shortly.

____________________________________________________

Kieran,

Here are a few words that your uncle Azfar and your aunt Missy and your cousin Salma would like to share with you, on this very special day of your baptism. When you are older and look back on this day, we hope it will be an experience of growth, of coming to understand not only how much you are loved by your family and by God, but also that you will come to know increasingly the true meaning of love. We believe that "love" is not a noun, but a verb—that is, love is something that becomes truly meaningful through actions, not just words. We also believe that love reaches across difference and teaches us not to fear difference but to embrace it. As our favorite Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore puts it:

"In love you do not retreat,
but only stretch the wings of your hope,
and provide light and shade.
In love you extend yourself
across the world that does not fear difference."

On this day, we also speak of possibilities and promises of building a better world for humanity. We hope your words, your work, and your world together will contribute to the advancement of suffering humanity and that whatever you choose to do in your life, you will always stand against injustice. In that spirit, we dedicate some more lines to you—lines from the Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet:

"The most beautiful sea hasn't been crossed yet.
The most beautiful child hasn't grown up yet.
Our most beautiful days we haven't lived yet.
And the most beautiful words I want to tell you I haven't said yet."

We love you, Kieran.

Love,
Your aunt Missy, your uncle Azfar, and your cousin Salma

____________________________________________________

Blessings be with you today our grandson
Through your life may our world be lit with love.
May your life be filled with: gentleness, kindness, truth and beauty
Where ever you go and whatever you do may the grace and love of God abide in your heart.

- Grand Pa and Grandma Tennyson

____________________________________________________

Dear Maranda and Kenneth,

My thoughts and love will be with you on this important day.

My prayer is that God will give you great wisdom and love as you raise this precious little boy.

I wish I could see him and hold him but that day will come. He is my precious first great grandson.

May God bless him and guide him all the days of his life is my prayer.

- Love Great Grandma Riley

____________________________________________________

Kieran is a super-blessed child. I pray that he is gentle and kind, a lover of God and man. I pray that he will rise up like Joshua who will stand strong for God. That all who know him will be blessed.

Marilyn Alger, (Doula who assisted Kieran’s birth)

____________________________________________________

To My Wonderful Nephew Kieran

I love you.

Baptism is identification with the death and resurrection of Christ. It is a symbol of being reborn and living a new life by the grace of God. “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” Romans 6:4

I pray that as you grow up you will choose for yourself to follow Jesus Christ and live for Him. I pray that you will know God personally. He has made you. He loves you and has an incredible life for you.

I pray as the Apostle Paul did for the Ephesians in chapter 1 verses 16 – 19a “I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.”

Love Always,

Aunt Trina

____________________________________________________

Dear Kieran,

You are such a blessing to us! As you are baptized today, our love and prayers are with you. We believe that, from your beginning in the womb, God has known and loved you with an everlasting love as he did Jeremiah. (See Jeremiah 1:5 and 31:3) The Bible tells us in Psalm 10:16a that He, "The Lord is King forever and ever." Wow, Kieran, you are loved by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! Our highest hope and prayer is that you will grow to love Him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. We are confident that the deepest love and joy you can know and the most abundant life you can live will be found by knowing Him as Lord and walking in His Spirit. May He bless you richly your whole life long.

We love you very much.
Love, Grandpa Paul and Grandma Kathy (Schmitt : ) (04-15-07)

____________________________________________________

Dear Kieran,

I woke up early this morning (in Tiller, Oregon) thinking of you and praying for you. I pray that as you grow & mature your hearts desire will be to know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. May the Bible, His word to us, be a lamp to your feet and a light to your path (Psalm 119:105) and may the fruits of His Spirit be strong within you. I pray that you will know His love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control and that He will give you the power to live in a way that others will see His fruits in your life (Galatians 5:22-23). I love you Kieran and am looking forward to your visit to Oregon this summer. It was such a joy to visit you and your family in your Virginia home about a year ago. It is hard to live far apart, we do love you so much and pray for you often!

With Love & Prayers, Aunt Paula (XO)

Love from our whole family, Uncle Larry, Nicole & Rachel (XO

____________________________________________________

Dear Kieran,

We wish you and your family a very special day of celebration as you are baptized. I know God has blessed you with immediate family and lots of extended family who will gently nurture you as you grow into your Christian faith and find your own ways to make it personal and meaningful. I will never forget our Thanksgiving together in Oregon in '06 when you were barely a year old. I was SO AMAZED at how much you had to say to the world! I couldn't decipher too much of it, but you seemed to know exactly what you were saying! I can't wait to be with you again when I can try to keep up better and understand all the things in that little head! May your words always be full of joy and may you always know, like "The Velveteen Rabbit," that you are loved (evidenced by having the "fur loved off" over time if you are a velveteen rabbit!) and that in all the universe, that is what makes us REAL.

God Bless You, Little One! Go with God, and blessings on you,

Aunt Nancy

Kieran's Baptism

Father of the Year entry

So sometimes the stupid things we do as parents take a while to materialize and we are spared for a few years the consequences of our actions. In other instances, the repercussions are quite fast, say 24 hours. The other night I was playing with Kieran and just generally goofing around, I seem to have an enlarged ability to come down to an 18 month olds maturity level! At one point I got this great idea to play a biting game. I would gently bite Kieran's arm until he pulled away, then his foot, ear, and so on. It certainly didn't cause any harm and his peals of laughter were ricocheting of the ceiling. In turn he would also clamber up on me and gently bite my nose, my chin, and so on. I am sure most of you by now see where this story is going...

Sure enough, when I arrived at his daycare the following afternoon, Tina (who runs the daycare in her home) reported that out of the blue Kieran had started biting everyone! She said it was out of character and that a few times the bites really hurt. I reacted in disbelief and said, well kids go through stages at this age (as my mind was racing back to the night before). Tina responded that she figured his back teeth were coming in and he needed to chew on something. Still refusing to incriminate myself I replied, "yes, that certainly must be the problem, it should go away shortly." I sheepishly scuttled out of her home, feeling more than a little guilty that my misguided son had gotten in trouble because of his father's stupidity! So now that I have come clean, I vow in this public forum - NO MORE BITING GAMES! I will at least have to be creative in finding other ways to screw up my son!

I think I am in strong contention for the Father of the Year award, although I do face some stiff competition here and also here.

People Like Me - A poem by Melissa Hussain

My twin sister Melissa is quite an accomplished poet (as is her husband Azfar). Now and again I will share some of their works, as they speak deeply of justice, meaning, and a way of life that benefits all people, not just the powerful.


People like me

People like me
yearn for
the dewfresh sunrise
of another land,
its crystalline consummation
glowing from the retina
of illusion.

People like me
smile and point at
the quaint old woman
who hobbles through the crowd
in the authentic garb of her clan,
a threadbare shawl shadowing
eyes that have not forgotten where home is.

People like me
revel in
the London afterdance of midnight crowding
for a seat on the underground,
a chance to whisper and point
at the man asleep from exhaustion,
lunchpail clutched in his lap
trapped by the nightly repetition,
the rocking tube a harbinger of his monotony.

People like me
are sure that
septembergreen hills and sombre stars
across the blackwake sea
will hold for them a Jericho
of promise fruit
ripe and dripping with lifejuice,
none fallen or abandoned underneath the wet stones

The Real Cookie Monster

Yesterday morning after Daddy had left for work, Mommy was lying in bed catching a last few precious minutes while Kieran played with toys. As he had wandered out of the bedroom, Mommy kept one ear on alert for noises of concern. Particularly concerning noises from an 18 month old are: a loud "uh oh," an interested "wow, poopy," and the sound that was heard this particular morning, a chair scrapping across the kitchen floor.

Maranda snapped up in bed to hear little feet padding in the kitchen followed by soft incantations of "cookie, cookie, cookie" and the unmistakable sound of our kitchen chair being slowly and deliberately pulled across the tile. A smile crossed her face as she realized that Kieran was on a mission to recover one of the cookies on the counter that he and mommy had baked the night before.

In a few moments she had halted the attempted burglary, but didn't have the heart to deny him a cookie as the fruit of his labor. Daddy has smiled more than once at the image of his precious son quietly chanting cookie as he inched the kitchen chair into the proper cookie rescue position.

Who Needs a Truck?

Anyone who has traveled to a country where motorcycles are the primary mode of transportation has likely been amazed at the creative ways that truck worthy loads are transported. Only the first pic is mine, the rest are pirated.

Happy Easter!

"Good" Friday

I have never really understood the name "Good Friday." While I understand that the intent is to look forward to the resurrection event, thus a "good" death on the cross, I still think that a better name would be "Death Friday," or perhaps "Mourning Friday." It is a day to think about the death of Jesus two thousand years ago, a true tragedy from any perspective, as an innocent man was horribly killed. For those from the Christian tradition, it is a day where God's incarnation in the person of Jesus Christ ended in death, a death that for two days seemed devastatingly final.

Today is also a "good" day to reflect on death and mourning in our own lives. This is something I tend to avoid, as such reflection can be rather painful and deeply saddening. Indeed, I have even been known as someone who avoids most funerals, as the profound helplessness that overcomes me is often too much to bear. I think of my own life today, there have been some deaths in my life as of late, both literally and metaphorically. Some physical deaths that come to mind today are my friends Mike and Stacy's son William, who died at four months of age last year. I think of my good friend, Dale Rocheleau, a fit and cheerful man and father in his forties who passed away from a heart attack the evening after I visited with him. I think of a high school friend, George Ritchey, who died in a car accident a few years after high school. I think of Erica Pierson, the daughter of family friends who passed away from a mysterious liver disease before the age of 30. I think of Jacques Deale, the previous pastor at the small Nazarene church that our family moved to in 1995, how he said goodbye to his three teenage boys as he lay dying of cancer.

There have been other deaths in my life. Some dying that has occurred on the inside as I have struggled with depression, my own character flaws, and dreams that no longer seem possible. Right now these things seem to pale in comparison to the tragedies I listed above, but I would be hasty to pass these over, as they leave a profound and lingering mark on my life. Death of any kind has a way of crystalizing things for those left behind. Physical death causes family and friends to remember and cherish the aspects of the person who has passed away. Internal death leads one to determine what has survived, what can be healed, and what is gone. It is a reorientation of sorts, perhaps a preparation for new growth of some kind. But today I hesitate to find the silver lining. Instead I recognize death for what it is, an utterly terrible loss.

Everyone's a music critique!

So during an American Idol commericial break I went upstairs with Kieran to get him a warm bottle of milk. On the way up the stairs I was belting out my favorite song from the nights performances, enjoying the full sound of my cords swelling up the stairwell. My son turned to me with a concerned expression on his face and quickly covered my mouth, stating very clearly, "no noise!" Okay, that's it, no more Simon Cowell for this baby!

Spring Cleaning and the Chainsaw Vortex

Thank God for Craig's List! This weekend I finally got around to advertising some items that have been gathering dust in our garage, several for 2 years! In short order a functional fridge, cabinet, futon mattress, and large desk were carted off from our home. Our 2+ car garage actually has standing room now! If we could only get up the gumption to move my sister's families worldly belongings (left when they went to Bangladesh) up into the attic, we could start using our garage for *gasp* parking our cars!

I bought a chainsaw last year because we have so many large trees/shrubs on our property that trimming them with a hand tool would be a nightmare. What has occurred is very surprising, as I have suddenly found that a chainsaw can be used for many, many different things. Indeed, the presence of the chainsaw seems to be enough to bring my way an endless number of things that need chainsawed. For instance, the crepe myrtles that are in front of our house needed trimming due to lots of growth where they had previously been topped off, chainsaw to the rescue (picture me on a step ladder leaning precariously with an 18 inch bar chainsaw in hand).

A floor joist above the stairwell has been difficult to cut due to the small access area, suddenly it dawned on me, chainsaw to the rescue!! Since I bought my saw a little over a year ago, I have felled over 8 trees on my property!! Maranda has become acustomed to coming home to find a new victim of my voracious saw. Now before you complain about my disregard for rooted dwellers on my property, do note that in all (or at least most) cases the trees needed to go. Indeed, I even had the approval from our favorite arborist on most of them. I have removed two diseased plum trees, one stunted apple tree, a pin oak that was growing next to our deck and was being killed by the Sycamore's shadow, a maple that was under the front yard powerlines, and a "tree of heaven" which is an invasive species that provoked an especially harsh appraisal from our favorite arborist.

So if you are ever passing through Catharpin on a warm summer evening, be prepared to hear the sweet hum of a troybilt 18 inch bar chainsaw as it finds its next project.

Kieran's first sentences!

Right around our trip to Singapore (about 5 weeks ago), Kieran started using sentences for the first time! Since that time he has really expanded to using more and more sentences, many developed without any coaching! I know this is supposed to be normal child development stuff, but I find it truly amazing! Most of his sentences are 3 words, although he has managed a couple longer than that.

Some examples:

Want cook (I want to help you cook)
Want see puppies
See light (pointing at the little light on the baby monitor)
Shhh, quiet
Bottle hot! (or cold)

Now I know that every baby develops differently, so of course that fact that our boy is a little ahead in the talking arena is just a random occurrence in baby development and says nothing about his inherent genius or his parents amazing child rearing skills! ;)