April's End

A week ago, the Create in Me retreat would be ending. Let me create a blog post of a few things that have been happening since then.

--On Thursday, I went to see the hand and wrist surgeon, and I spent time getting organized for surgery on Monday.

--I am still not feeling pain in my wrist, but I have been getting pain in my right bicep and my shoulder. It feels like I had a hard workout, back in the days when I was doing weight lifting and whole body workouts. And then there are the times when I move in a certain direction and my arm makes it clear I should not.

--It's not the upper body workout that I had in mind, back in the days when I would look at my arms and despair at their flabbiness.

--I am intrigued with how little I am eating these days. It takes a lot of energy to feed myself the first serving of anything with my left hand. I usually say no to seconds. I've quit snacking because it takes so much effort to cut slices of cheese for cheese and crackers. It's not the diet plan I had in mind.

--It's been an interesting time being in the condo, with lots of concerts in the arts park. The one I might have most wanted to see, Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn, was on Thursday night when I had my last seminary class for the semester. But we did walk over earlier in the afternoon to watch them rehearse, which was really cool.

--I have been working hard to get my seminary papers written before surgery on Monday. I am in the homestretch. It will be a relief to be done with seminary work even though I am enjoying it.

--I am working on a final project for a seminary class that requires me to chart important historical developments, leaders, ideas, and books, a history of the Jews from the return from Babylonian Exile in 538 BCE to the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. No, it's not a 50 page paper; we're supposed to do all of this in just 7 pages. I am trying to sum up the importance of Alexander the Great. Philosopher spouse says “He was a student of Aristotle.” Somehow I don't think my Hebrew Bible teacher would see this as the most significant reason why we remember Alexander the Great.

--I am glad I am not taking seminary classes this summer. I will focus on the online classes I am teaching, the physical therapy that lies ahead of me, and getting ready for the fall.