I live in the city. Not just any city though. I live in the city people dream about. I live in New York City. I used to live in the suburbs. I miss the stars, the sunsets and rises, the land, and the sounds of rain on a tin roof and bugs at night. As much as I love the suburbs and country, there is also something about the city. The sounds of the subway train, and the feeling....cradle, rock, rock, cradle, rock, rock. The way the snow falls and the wind blows out of Old Man Winter's icy lips. It is a though snow flakes are just something he makes in all of his spare time...individual, beautiful, and unlike New York, but as beautiful as the country.
By Addison Jones
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
The Return Home
I haven't posted anything about our summer yet. It keeps bothering me. I don't know what to say except it was fantastic. Addison, Parker and I left New York in July to return home for 5 weeks without Brad AND three weeks with Brad. During our five weeks alone, we had a blast. Two weeks were spent at Camp Mikell....our favorite place in the world. One week was spent at my family's lake house with cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. Two weekends were spent in Jasper with grandparents, an uncle, a great aunt, and birthday friends. Then there was time with family friends. We swam and ate and hiked and ate and tubed and ate and laughed and ate and relaxed. Did I mention that we ate? It was a time of what summer is all about.
Brad joined us in mid-August which was a welcome relief. We continued our time with friends and family upon his arrival. It was so nice to be with the ones we love and miss throughout the year. Our trip concluded with Labor Day weekend at camp. We could not have asked for a better way to end our time home. We left with plenty of mosquito bites and a soul that had been replenished with a healthy dose of loved ones. The drive home was uneventful. Three days after we arrived in New York.....school began. We had returned home.
It is weird to type that......we had returned home. As we enter into our second year of seminary, we begin it with a sense of this is our home. Yes, I still say I am going home when I go to Atlanta. But New York City is my home too. It was wonderful to walk into the community and see the faces of the friends and loved ones here. Returning to New York made me realize just how much I missed GTS over the summer. Wherever the summer had taken our friends, I longed to know how everyone was doing. Facebook can only update you with so much.......a conversation while walking to the mailbox is much more enlightening.
As this year began, I realized the growth that had come from the past year. Our family has had to let go of so much in order to be a part of this journey. Yet, we have gained so much by letting go. Experiences, strength, friends, community, etc. have all come from the ability to let go and step into the world of uncertainty. I have greeted this year with with the willingness to explore life through a "new set of eyes". In this exploration, I hope that I can begin to understand the path before our family and before me as I heal from the "blisters" of the past adventures. The journey ahead is never known.... nor is it ever easy. But once I finally make it to the mountain top.....I will be met with an amazing view and a peace that surpasses all understanding!
Brad joined us in mid-August which was a welcome relief. We continued our time with friends and family upon his arrival. It was so nice to be with the ones we love and miss throughout the year. Our trip concluded with Labor Day weekend at camp. We could not have asked for a better way to end our time home. We left with plenty of mosquito bites and a soul that had been replenished with a healthy dose of loved ones. The drive home was uneventful. Three days after we arrived in New York.....school began. We had returned home.
It is weird to type that......we had returned home. As we enter into our second year of seminary, we begin it with a sense of this is our home. Yes, I still say I am going home when I go to Atlanta. But New York City is my home too. It was wonderful to walk into the community and see the faces of the friends and loved ones here. Returning to New York made me realize just how much I missed GTS over the summer. Wherever the summer had taken our friends, I longed to know how everyone was doing. Facebook can only update you with so much.......a conversation while walking to the mailbox is much more enlightening.
As this year began, I realized the growth that had come from the past year. Our family has had to let go of so much in order to be a part of this journey. Yet, we have gained so much by letting go. Experiences, strength, friends, community, etc. have all come from the ability to let go and step into the world of uncertainty. I have greeted this year with with the willingness to explore life through a "new set of eyes". In this exploration, I hope that I can begin to understand the path before our family and before me as I heal from the "blisters" of the past adventures. The journey ahead is never known.... nor is it ever easy. But once I finally make it to the mountain top.....I will be met with an amazing view and a peace that surpasses all understanding!
Sunday, October 3, 2010
St. Francis Day
Today, we went to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine for the celebration of St. Francis. This is the 26th year the cathedral has invited anyone to bring their pets into (and I truly mean into)the service for a blessing. This service attracts an estimated 3,000 people. Members of St. Savior (the parish worshipping within the cathedral) are able to reserve places to sit while anyone else gets to wait in line in hopes of getting a seat.
From our perspective, it was a packed house. The building was fuller today than it was last Easter (which breaks my heart). They do this service up big too. The Bishop of New York is there. Several singers and singing groups perform. Dancers lead in the processional. The congregation does motions to a song. Parts of the service are made to sound like wolves and hump back whales are somewhere in the building trying to worship. At the end, the is a procession of animals......anywhere from camels to llamas to reindeer to bunnies to chickens to monkeys....you name it!
And this year, right there on the altar beside the Bishop of New York was my husband Brad. Sorry to be so boastful...but it was cool. AND the one thing he asked for was a picture of him on the altar. Guess what?!?! The camera died!!!! God's funny little sense of humor. So, I have made a little clip of some of the pictures we were able to get. Notice that my view through the service was of a parrot. There is a man holding a goat as well. And Brad is sitting by the Bishop (you can only see the back of their heads!). The videos do not begin to capture the power of the music or the beauty of the dance through out the service. The whole thing was incredible. Enjoy what few shots we were able to get!!
From our perspective, it was a packed house. The building was fuller today than it was last Easter (which breaks my heart). They do this service up big too. The Bishop of New York is there. Several singers and singing groups perform. Dancers lead in the processional. The congregation does motions to a song. Parts of the service are made to sound like wolves and hump back whales are somewhere in the building trying to worship. At the end, the is a procession of animals......anywhere from camels to llamas to reindeer to bunnies to chickens to monkeys....you name it!
And this year, right there on the altar beside the Bishop of New York was my husband Brad. Sorry to be so boastful...but it was cool. AND the one thing he asked for was a picture of him on the altar. Guess what?!?! The camera died!!!! God's funny little sense of humor. So, I have made a little clip of some of the pictures we were able to get. Notice that my view through the service was of a parrot. There is a man holding a goat as well. And Brad is sitting by the Bishop (you can only see the back of their heads!). The videos do not begin to capture the power of the music or the beauty of the dance through out the service. The whole thing was incredible. Enjoy what few shots we were able to get!!
Carlos's Bake Shop (Hoboken, NJ)
So for those of you who are into the show Cake Boss, you know what I am talking about. We ventured beyond the walls of the city to Hoboken to just possibly get a glimpse of Buddy (with no luck). But we did get to see his nephew (Mario's son). After waiting in line for about 20 minutes, we entered the bakery which was a packed house. We got our goods (3 chocolate chip and M&M cookies and one lobster tail) and left to eat them on a pier overlooking the city. Over all impression of the day:
PATH Trian to get there: Two thumbs down (little confusing for first timers)
Wait in Line:
One thumb up and one thumb down
(there were some good laughs while waiting)
Number of people in the bakery: Two thumbs down
Watching Buddy's nephew bump into Addison after she took a picture of herself in the bakery mirror: PRICELESS
(there were some good laughs while waiting)
Number of people in the bakery: Two thumbs down
Baked Goods: Two Thumbs up
The view of NYC from NJ: Two thumbs up
Watching Buddy's nephew bump into Addison after she took a picture of herself in the bakery mirror: PRICELESS
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