up, and down
i had a wrenching, bipolar weekend. it included things like a) discussing the fact that erik's unfruitful job search is pretty much keeping me chained to a job i hate that doesn't make a difference in the world, b) resenting my friends, c) fighting with my husband about PACKING PEANUTS, and d) taking a car load of middle school girls up to the museum of tolerance in los angeles to learn about the holocaust and listen to a "survivor" lecture.

they girls in our car kept bothering the very reserved erik to say something. they asked things like his birth weight and the most trouble he's been in. the most talkative of them, katie, used the phrase, "your silence is peculiar to me." and how. katie was the bane of our existence three years ago in our sunday school class with her constant "i have a question, well, it's more of a comment, really" interjections. she's now my new best friend.

also, we had our current sunday school class "wash away their sins" by writing things down that they're ashamed of on pieces of paper towels with washable markers and swishing them around in a bowl of water. i'm not sure if they really took away what i'd hoped from the activity. one kid showed me he wrote "Spelling" on this piece of paper. another kid wrote "Writing in cursive." one girl announced to everyone else that her paper was "the best," after it turned the water a lovely pale purple color.

the whole thing was just funny. the concept of sin and forgiveness are easy to talk to 8 year olds about, but they're not really ready to internalize it just yet. i suppose we're just laying groundwork with the imagery. but at least they're ready to admit that their spelling sucks.