Gossip

This word has been on my mind. I feel like there have been several signs pointing out how our words make an impact on those around us. It started with a message at church about "taming the tongue". Isn't that a great title for a sermon? It was the day of my baptism. After my mom and I saw that in the program we joked about it. She was starting a new quilting project and we laughed about "sewing language".

Just think of how damaging gossip is though. I have certainly witnessed it in my life and have, unfortunately, been on both sides of it. I am trying to become more aware of the effect that my words may have on others as well as myself and my perspective of the world.





A while after the sermon took place I ended up reading a book called The Stubborn Twig. It is about three generations of Japanese Americans and their experiences as they lay down roots in the United States. I couldn't help but think back to that good old word, gossip. After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor the people in Hood River started talking about the patriarch of the family, saying, among other things, that he was a spy. People were paranoid and spreading lies due to their fear, not only due to the bombing, but fear due to the fact that the Japanese were becoming successful in their town due to their perseverance, frugality and hard work. The book follows the family through their time in the internment camps. There was no evidence found that our government ever had reason to suspect any of these men, women and children of any wrongdoing. The family documented in the book had lived in Hood River for 30 years prior to the bombing. Everything was stripped away from them while they were in the internment camps. They lost so much of what they had worked for their entire lives. The injustice of it all made me angry, but back to the power of words. It was all gossip, not truth.







Now I am reading The Book Thief which is a very clever novel written from the perspective of death in Germany during World War II. Interesting concept, eh? Death actually has a good sense of humor in some parts of the novel, but of course there are the poignant moments as well. There is a Jewish man in the book that writes a fable to a little girl. It goes like this:





There was once a strange, small man. He decided three important details about his life:


1. He would part his hair from the opposite side to everyone else.


2. He would make himself a small, strange mustache.


3. He would one day rule the world.





The young man wandered around for quite some time, thinking, planning and figuring out exactly how to make the world his. Then one day, out of nowhere, it struck him--the perfect plan. He'd seen a mother walking with her child. At one point, she admonished the small boy, until finally, he began to cry. Within a few minutes, she spoke very softly to him, after which he was soothed and even smiled.





The young man rushed to the woman and embraced her. "Words!" He grinned.





"What?"





But there was no reply. He was already gone.





Yes, the Fuhrer decided that he would rule the world with words. "I will never fire a gun," he devised. "I will not have to." Still, he was not rash. Let's allow him at least that much. He was not a stupid man at all. His first plan of attack was to plant the words in as many areas of his homeland as possible. He planted them day and night, and cultivated them. He watched them grow, until eventually, great forests of words had risen throughout Germany...It was a nation of farmed thoughts.








While the words were growing, our young Fuhrer also planted seeds to create symbols, and these, too, were well on their way to full bloom. Now the time had come. The Fuhrer was ready.





He invited his people toward his own glorious heart, beckoning them with his finest, ugliest words, handpicked from his forests. And the people came.





I know that's a long excerpt. That's from The Book Thief by Marus Zusak. I figure I better give credit where it is due so I don't get in trouble for typing word for word from the book! Anyway, I don't know if all of this is making sense to those who haven't read these two books. I just wanted to blog about what was on my mind and this is it!





Maybe this is why I'm such a freak about the television. I am super conscious of what Will is watching on television, even the commercials, sometimes especially the commercials! It makes me crazy that even when Mike watches sports I have to worry about the commercials in between. Pay attention next time and you'll see what I mean. There are advertisements for Cialis, games portraying war, bombs and guns included, not to mention all the propoganda making us think we need to buy more stuff. I saw a commercial for a Disney movie where the girl was dressed like a harem. She had a lot of cleavage and then she jumped up on a pole. It looked like a strip tease! Arghhhh! All these little messages. I remember watching a video in college that really hit home. The first clips showed images of how African Americans were portrayed in the media, i.e. silly, exaggerated lips, lazy, animal like. The very next image after that series was the back of a black man who had been whipped. There were deep gashes. Words, symbols, images in our media that we think are harmless. For me that moment brought a very real connection. Those images made that man less than human to someone else. That made it acceptable to treat him as less than such. Those words and images are much more powerful than we think.

**I wrote this post a while ago. I think I'm going to stop adding to it and just put it out there. I'll be interested to hear any comments.

Portland Marathon

It was great to be the one racing this year!



Our AMAZING view from the hotel room



We had two walls of windows!!!




Ella looking quite serious and Will being a cheese puff

Ella and I missed each other after 4 1/2 hours of running! This is the only picture I have of myself after the race.

Early in the morning before heading out to join all of the other crazy folks!

I ran my first marathon!!! It was a success, and by that I mean I crossed the finish line in one piece! It was a pretty incredible experience. My official time was 4:34. I would have loved to have gone faster, but towards the end I was really just happy to finish. I guess that means I'll have to train for another one. What an amazing race. I couldn't believe how much support there was along the way. There were many bands and music playing to pump you up and keep you going. I had my name on my bib so people called out encouragement as if they knew me personally. That was really great and made me smile every time. Mike, the kids and my in-laws were there to cheer me on and it was exciting to spot them along the race course. It was hard not to get emotional during the beginning and end of the marathon. At the beginning, I couldn't believe that I was actually going to be doing it. I was going to run a marathon. I tried to soak all of the atmosphere in. All of the runners still happy and full of energy. Towards the end I was really pushing myself to the limit physically. I felt proud that I had trained for this race during the first year of Ella's life. I got up early in the morning to run by myself or with friends, even after sleepless nights. I also went to the gym many a late night after the kids had gone to bed and the dishes were washed (maybe) because it was the only time I could make for myself. Running helped to preserve my sanity during this past year. I always felt better after coming back from a run. It gave me time to be alone with my thoughts. I needed that time to reflect, be grateful, and to be free from the demands of other people in my life who are very dependent on me. Don't get me wrong--I am very happy in my role as mother and wife, but after I had Will I just wasn't taking the time I needed to recharge my batteries, so to speak. Caretaking is rewarding, but at the same time quite draining, I have discovered. Running gave me the time to sort out my thoughts and come home feeling renewed. It also just feels good to challenge yourself and to see how far you can push your body. I wanted to know what it felt like to run 26.2 miles. It also helped me appreciate my husband as a runner. I have a whole new respect and understanding of what it takes to run a marathon. Now I want to talk anyone I know into running one!