Into Great Silence…

Yesterday found me searching for something to do.  Not that there was any shortage of things that I COULD have been doing…with six people living here, there is ALWAYS something to be cleaned, something to be washed, picked up, folded, put away, identified…..but yesterday, I wasn’t having any of that.  I had been through a long, stressful night with Jonah on Wednesday night, and Jonah was home from school yesterday…and I plain wasn’t up to washing, picking up, folding, putting away and identifying.  So, Jonah and I spent some time playing, he helped me fix his lunch, and then I proceeded to channel surf.  500 stations and nothing to watch…

I finally settled on the documentary called Into Great Silence.  I have no idea what I was expecting, but this wasn’t it, let me tell you.  This is a story about the Roman Catholic order of Carthusian monks.  Not exactly exciting, but hey, I was desperate.  And at the end of the 3 hour documentary, was so glad that I took a chance on this show.  It was absolutely fascinating.  This particular order lives near Grenoble, France, in the rugged most portion of the Alps.  The scenery is absolutely amazing.  The “castle” that the monks inhabit dates back to the 9th century.  Very little of the original building is still standing, but what is still standing is still functional.  Can you imagine?  The current building was constructed in the 15th century, following the dark, dreary Frankensteinish style of that time period.  And today, while it does host modern amenities such as electricity and indoor plumbing, the bulk of the buildings are much as they appeared then. 

This particular order has taken vows of poverty, silence (though not complete) and solitude.  I simply can NOT imagine living like this.  These men live in individual “cells”, leaving them only 3 times per day.  Their meals are delivered to their “cells” via a post-office like door.  They then eat, wash their dishes and shove them back into the post office box type thingy to be picked up.  They sleep only 6 hours per day, in 3 hour shifts.  The remainder of their time is spent reading (their library is extensive, and contains some original copies of the early church writings), in contemplation, and prayer.  The unusual thing about this order is that they devote their prayer time to Mary, and for the dead saints.  I’m assuming they must also, sometimes at least, pray for the world as we know it today.  I mean, that only makes sense, right?  Oh wait, nothing about this entire documentary made sense to me.  I’m not exactly certain WHAT they focus their prayers on, to tell you the truth.

Anyway, the devotion that these men display to their lifestyle is absolutely astounding.  I can’t deny that these men feel “called” to this life.  And the really funny thing was that when during their once per week community meal (where they are allowed to speak quietly) and their three hour recreation period that followed this meal…these men were just….men.  They spoke of other orders of monks, and how they “do things” and why they feel that their particular way of “doing things” is right.  And they spoke of things they had been reading and studying that week.  And weren’t the leaves beautiful today…blah, blah, blah.  And then they returned to their “cells” and their solitude.  Alone for another week….

The documentary followed the life of these monks closely.  It included no voiceovers or musical score.  What was heard was the rustles, scrapings, bumpings of everyday life in this monastery.  When the men come together several times per day for different types of prayers, they sing.  Much like a priest does during Mass that we are familiar with.  But EVERYTHING these monks recite is done in song.  Very quietly, very solemnly, very….beautiful, actually.  By candlelight…their bald heads shining (they have something against hair, too…not certain what that is all about either), in the sing-song cadence of their French dialect…

I am very glad that I spent the hours watching.  I never expect to understand the “whys” behind this, or any other, order of monks.  I can never imagine myself living such a life.  But I am grateful for the glimpse of their lifestyle that I saw yesterday.  Not that it changes anything for me.  I mean, I’m not even Roman Catholic!  And my great-great grandfather who was a born and bred Southern Baptist, fire and brimstone, travelling evangelist would roll over in his grave if he knew I was even WATCHING such a show.  But it was a glimpse into these very dedicated men’s lives that has never before been seen.  It took them SIXTEEN years to agree to the filming of this documentary.  They are a cloistered order, and allow no contact without the outside world.  But for some reason, they wanted to share a glimpse of their lives with us…and I’m glad they did.  And even more glad that I took the time to look… 

So tell me, are there any other “out there” documentaries that I’m missing?  What have you watched, and enjoyed, that most people would consider odd?  Winter is coming, and I’ll need something to fill those cold winter nights…so share your favorite “strange” show.

The Edge Family Field Trip

Last week was fall break for the kids.  Which meant that by Wednesday of last week, I was being surrounded by cries of “I’m bored!”  and “There’s NOTHING to do in our house!”  Which meant that the house got a thorough cleaning, because I HAD to find SOMETHING for the kids to do, right?  They are all back in school today.  And I am sitting, laptop in hand, feet propped up, in the recliner.  And I may not leave this spot all day…. ; ) 

On Friday of last week we decided to take the kids on a short day trip.  Larry took off from work, we packed the cooler and hit the open road.  Thirty minutes from home, as we were buying ice for the cooler, it began.  Jonah needed to use the restroom.  Sarah needed a drink.  Levi was pouting because he has broken his headphones for the van, and he couldn’t “hear” the movie Jonah was watching.  I just wanted to go home and crawl back in bed and pull the covers over my head until Monday morning…and school began again.  But, we persevered and ending up having a wonderful day.

We visited Hodgenville, and Abraham Lincoln’s birthplace.  Here are the kids, posing by the building that houses the reproduction of the cabin in which Abe was born.  Very heavy on the symbolism, with 16 rosettes on the window, 16 columns, 16 windows…but it did keep Levi busy…counting!  As you can see, Jonah is relaxed, enjoying the day.  Jacob is just….present under duress.  Sarah is happy, and Levi is just itching to run up and down the 56 stairs leading to the building.  He did it in under a minute, too!  Course Jacob had to show off and beat his time by about 20 seconds.  I felt like I was watching the old “Rocky” movie…and had to hum a few bars as Levi made his final push to the top.  It was totally lost on him, though…..

Here they are, resting after running up and down those steps…I’m just thankful that Jacob saw that old couple tottering their way up the steps, and didn’t mow them over.  Levi would have plowed right into them and rolled them back down the steps, I’m afraid…

Here is Sinking Spring, where the Lincoln family apparently drew water for their needs.  Levi thinks it would be “cool” to haul water from the spring to the house.  I’m thinking he doesn’t fully appreciate the luxury of running water that we enjoy today…And I’m also hoping that, back in the day, this spring was more substantial.  The small trickle of water we saw on this day wouldn’t support a family of ANY size….

We took a short jaunt through the woods surrounding the Lincoln birthplace.  We were VERY impressed with Jonah.  He actually walked, about a tenth of a mile, on a slight incline, pushing his stroller.  Doesn’t sound like much, but it is.  His stamina and strength are increasing every day.  Course, when he was tired, that was it.  He plopped into his stroller and Larry was forced to push him the rest of the way.  But he IS getting stronger…this time last year he would have NEVER been able to do that.  Thank you God for that small blessing…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is it…all the fall color we saw on this day.  Not much…and it was pretty disappointing too.  I’m still playing with my camera, trying to capture the sunlight streaming through the forest canopy, lighting up the understory…but, I’m not having much luck.  And who knows…maybe I’m the only one who sees the beauty in that, anyway?

In the interest of “educating” the children (read, Larry really, really, wanted to do this) we also stopped at one of the area distilleries and wandered through the “History of Bourbon Making in KY” museum.  It WAS interesting.  But I have to wonder…who in the world came up with the idea of boiling corn, and then adding yeast to it?  Was it a kitchen accident?  A recipe gone bad?  Imagine the horror of that poor cook as the ones who ingested that recipe started falling over drunk?  She must have thought she’d killed them….but I digress.  I’m pretty certain that I’m the only one who wonders about things like that, anyway.  Since there was NO information on HOW alcohol was discovered… But the displays were interesting.  And the machine that blew the “aroma” of aging bourbon was funny.  Levi stepped right up and took a big old sniff….and started coughing and wheezing and making awful faces.  He’d never smelled anything like it!  OK, I should have warned him….; )

We also drove out and viewed the Abbey of Gesthamane, a Roman Catholic order of monks who are dedicated to the vows of poverty, labor and silence.  This led to a very interesting, VERY spirited discussion.  The kids just can’t imagine…. Anyway, it was absolutely beautiful.  The masonry work in the stones is mind-boggling.  We didn’t stay long, since the kids were tired and cranky, and I’m the only one who wanted to see it in the first place.  But, as Larry whipped through the parking lot at 40 miles per hour, I did catch glimpses.  And know that someday I would love to return and stroll through their botanical garden.  Spend an hour sitting on one of the benches, watching the splash of water in the fountain.  And enjoying the silence….

So, tell me.  Did you do anything fun and/or exciting on fall break?  Do share….

Anji

Our big weekend….

What a weekend at our house!  Sarah was in the high school play “Wizard of Oz” and had a very busy performance schedule.  We all went to see her on Friday night.  This is the first time that Jonah had been to a performance like this, live, on stage… he LOVED it!  We had seats very close to the stage, so he could see and hear all the action.  And he truly thought the characters were speaking directly to HIM…and felt obligated to respond in kind on several occasions.  The wicked witch had an extended monologue, whereby Jonah proceeded to “answer” her questions…and as she turned to leave the stage, I suppose he wasn’t finished conversating…since he responded with a really loud “HEY”…it was priceless.  I enjoyed watching Jonah as much as I enjoyed watching the play!  And when SARAH finally came on stage…well, let’s just say he was a bit excited for her stage debut.  It was a good night.

Saturday brought the annual Buddy Walk, in support of all of our area residents with Down syndrome.  The turnout was awesome, and we all enjoyed ourselves.  The weather was perfect, the food was free…what more could we ask for?!

Boys on the tractor

Here are the boys, trying out one of the many farm implements on hand during the day.  Jonah thought he was really something, let me tell you…and refused to let anyone else “drive.”

Jonah and Leland

Here is Jonah and Leland.  They are school buddies.  Once again, Jonah refused to let anyone else drive, but Leland was all good with that.  Now, if I could have just got Deanna to move so I didn’t get her head in the picture…anyway, the boys enjoyed talking to each other and playing on the tractors.

Levi driving...finally....

Levi finally got his chance to “drive” the firetruck.  These boys played on the trucks, and Levi chatted up the firemen for a solid 45 minutes.  They were LOVING it!!

Levi the fireman...

And this…this was the highlight of Levi’s day.  Dressing up like a fireman, and discovering that water really WILL come out of that hose…if he turns the knob.  THAT was priceless, and the fireman were laughing too hard to help him turn it off!!

Enjoying the day....

Here is part of Jonah’s Buddies…enjoying the day, sitting in the shade.  Note Jonah holding court from his chair…legs crossed, enjoying being the center of attention…like that is unusual for him…

And here was the highlight of the day for Jonah.  Each individual with Down syndrome was recognized, and they got to walk across the stage, shaking hands with our board members, the emcee for the day, and anyone else who happened to be on stage.  Jonah took full advantage of the opportunity to be in the limelight, and proceeded to give a speech while on stage.  Too bad we couldn’t understand a word he was saying….

Jonah...center stage and loving it...

And that was our weekend.  Filled with sunshine, laughter, and fellowship.  And today, our week is beginning on a much bleaker note…I currently have Levi lying on the couch, crying and screaming and writhing in pain…and fever…and just generally being miserable.  We are off to the doctor to find out what in the world is wrong with him….maybe just too much fun?!?!