whats going on

summer schedule is less strenuous.

tho' its harder to deal with the tasks that do vie for our attention with this season in full swing.

we're lucky to spend much more time with the kids these days. both of whom are very winning and delightful.

Addison is much more charismatic the older he gets -- and simultaneously -- more prone to temper.

Jaelyn is increasingly nurturing and kind. its funny that sometimes when your kids are in a phase where they aren't really *struggling* behaviourally -- you start to notice and think about some of the kinds of emotional battles they might face internally across their life. but i'm not blogging about those.

its one kind of irresponsibility to blog about one's own inner terrain. to discuss one's child's inner life seems an altogether more heinous kind of sin.

We show our house to disinterested buyers 3 - 5 times a week. we're beginning to rethink our move.

we've been able to see more friends and family over the last few weeks -- a quick trip to michigan, several dinner parties, lunches, coffees and beers with old students.

One of Lynn's students was killed in a car accident this week. This kind of thing is deeply horrifying. It makes the whole universe feel SO fragile and random.

Lynn's moved her birthday to July 25th in case you hadn't heard -- so -- if appropriate, you should start thinking about what card you'll be sending. We'll be at the cabin, so send it early.

i'm preaching (!) at my church in a few weeks. a funny byproduct of telling old "preacherboy contest" stories at a party after too many glasses of wine....

our day to day grind:

Lynn teaches secondary teachers at the downtown school every morning.

i teach an upper division "persuasion" course to five students on tuesday nights for four hours.

we're both mired in "assessment" tasks -- an ongoing reminder that the *business* of school is a bueracracratic maze of self-perpetuating, navel-gazing, oft irrelevant set of hoops that oftener than not rewards hoop jumpers.

which, i suppose, is a good lesson for everyone: hoopjumpers and asskissers get rewards when living and working in highly rationalized instutions.

and a reminder of the thing that i said to my student/friend russ the other day who was apologetically telling me that he was thinking of looking for a corporate pr job.

NO! i insisted to him. I WANT you to go work for Hoover or GM or GE or MONSANTO or MTV or NIKE. If nobody GOOD goes to work there -- than the evil and the greed can never be undone.

EVERYONE who wants to change the world on a systemic level -- must decide to work within institutions where they BOTH comply and RESIST!

I didn't say it then, but in retrospect, i should have said: isn't it HARDER to have good values and work in an institution that disagrees -- finding places where you can comply / resist with meaning and purpose -- than it is to only work in environments that are self-confirming?

and...

speaking of working for the man --

i agreed to be the department chair next year.

i'm right on track for the career i THOUGHT i wanted when I was graduating from college 12 years ago --

to be the PRESIDENT of a small college.

A job / life / career that i *do not* want now.

NOW?

i want to tell stories.

help more people to tell stories and live by stories.

and find more ways for justice and peace to eek out into the world.

...

we've taught our children the following axiom to which nathan and josiah have objected:

"violence always escalates."

doesn't too much compliance to institutions yield violence ultimately -- which will, in turn escalate?

and doesn't resistance to insitutions ultimately yield peace and justice. but do peace and violence ultimately escalate? de-escalate? it seems like some buddhist htinking might be helpful on this question. or some mennonite thinking.

anyone?

peace~