by Heather Plett | Oct 5, 2007 | Uncategorized
I don’t normally post twice in one day, but I’m just SO excited that I can’t resist. You just HAVE to check this out. It’s the website for the new program I’ve been pouring a lot of passion, sweat, and a few tears into the last 10 months or so.
Go ahead – go there. Sign up on our “get connected” page. Watch the 2 videos I “executive produced” from my trip to Ethiopia with Steve Bell. Join our Facebook group. (If you want to make a donation, though, you may want to wait a few weeks – we’re still working on streamlining that part of it.)
And then come back here and tell me you LOVE it – because quite frankly, that’s ALL I want to hear. 🙂
Okay, I’m a little giddy. This is a pretty big moment for me.
by Heather Plett | Oct 5, 2007 | family
As I tried to relax in the bathtub last night, I heard this conversation:
“Who put the cauliflower on the shelf where the milk is supposed to be?”
“Not me!”
“I did! Because SOMEBODY had stuck the cauliflower where it got in the way of closing the door!”
“Well don’t blame ME!”
“Why would you put the cauliflower THERE?! That’s a stupid place for cauliflower!”
“Why are you always blaming ME for EVERYTHING?”
“Well where am I supposed to put the milk now?”
“That’s YOUR problem! I cleaned my share of the table!”
Sigh. Is it just me, or does your family also enjoy arguing so much that they can fight over cauliflower and milk? If you’re one of those really evolved families that calmly discusses everything and ALWAYS settles disputes without any raised voices, please walk away now or I may have to hurt you.
by Heather Plett | Oct 4, 2007 | Seasons
“I know how to say red in French”
chirped Maddie
fresh from kindergarten
“It’s rouge.”
This morning
biking past the railway bridge
I stopped and stared in awe
at the brilliant leaves
still tenuously clinging to the vine
“I know how to say red,”
I thought
“with no words at all
by Heather Plett | Oct 3, 2007 | biking
This morning, as I watched someone ride past on a bicycle, I wondered for a moment about the person(s) who invented the bicycle. What reaction must they have gotten the first time they rode through town on a self-propelled two-wheel contraption? Thank goodness they were bold enough to do it, even though they were almost certainly mocked a little for it. Imagine how many great inventions may have been missed throughout history because the inventor wasn’t bold enough to risk ridicule.
by Heather Plett | Oct 1, 2007 | random
It has been a full and rather intense week – the kind of week that feels like ideas and events and experiences and emotions are tumbling over you so fast you barely have time to process it all and give meaning to it. Here are a few of the highlights:
– It was really wonderful meeting Brian McLaren in person AND spending a delightful evening and plane ride home reading his new book “Everything Must Change”. If you’ve been struggling with how your faith connects with the really big issues that are going on in this world – climate change, poverty, war, unfair trade, etc. – you really should read this book.
– Marcel and I attended the 25th anniversary celebration for our friends Steve and Nanci. I traveled to Ethiopia with Steve and Nanci (and produced a couple of videos with Steve, which I’ll link to soon) and it’s been really cool developing a friendship with them. There was great music being played at the social that night, the highlight of which was the reunion of Steve’s old band “Elias, Shritt, and Bell”. Their harmonies are truly amazing – kinda like Simon and Garfunkel or Crosby, Stills, and Nash.
– This week marked the seventh anniversary of the birth and death of our son Matthew. In what is becoming a family tradition, we celebrated the place he holds in our family’s story by visiting his grave and making a trip to Dairy Queen for some birthday ice cream sundaes.
– I attended this concert and saw part of the related art exhibit. About all I can say is “Wow!” If you’re in Winnipeg and you can take in the exhibit, you really should do so. It’s incredibly moving.
– I got to chat with Bob Bennett and tell him how much his songs “We are the Kings” and “We were the Kings” have meant to me. It was a brief conversation and I didn’t get a chance to tell him the story of how those songs served as a touchstone for me in Ethiopia when I found out my best childhood friend Julie’s father had died and I couldn’t be around to mourn with her. Perhaps another time.
– I also had a brief opportunity to talk to Carolyn Arends and let her know how her music had been my constant companion in the hospital during the three weeks leading up to the birth and death of Matthew. When she sang “We’ve been Waiting for You”, I wept, because that was the song that was the most closely connected to our waiting and longing for Matthew. She got a chuckle out of the story of how I listened to her music on the Fisher Price tape recorder a friend had brought to my hospital room.
– After being gone for most of the week, I took Friday off and hung out with my kids. We did a little shopping and went out for lunch. They’re at such a great age right now – they’re truly fun to hang out with and don’t require a lot of “caring for them” energy. We’ve had some great laughs this weekend, like when Marcel showed his age by referring to MySpace and/or Facebook as “My Face”.
– I had some of the greatest conversations with people this week. Some of them happened in Toronto, as I mentioned in my last post, but some of them happened closer to home. It was really fun connecting with a new friend – the mother of one of Nikki’s best friends – on her front yard. A conversation that started with the kind of sandals we both love wandered from there to fair trade, life changes, and the impact of losing a son. (Joanne, if you’re reading this – WELCOME!)
– I spoke in church this morning – something I truly enjoy doing. You know what they say about public speaking being one of the most common fears among people? Yeah, well I’m an exception to that statistic. It gives me energy.
– With all of these incredibly inspiring things swirling around me, the muse has visited and I’ve gotten inspired with a few writing and work-related ideas. I can hardly wait to get started. Now if only I can find the time.
I think I need a quiet day in a retreat centre just to process all of this.
