Monday, September 5, 2011

Labor Day

The Spirit of God is so often likened to the wind and on this, the coolest day that I've felt in almost 18 months, with a lively breeze that invited me out to the back porch for an hour or so, I do indeed feel as though I've been kissed by the Spirit. It is Labor Day in the US and a day of rest at Spirit of Hope. So it has been a morning of slow, paced cleaning, reading, music, and coffee drinking. Like I said, the wind called me outside and spent the last hour reading under a blanket out back. I'm closing in on 100 pages left in Kathleen Norris' The Cloister Walk and I very much recommend it. It is simple and beautiful, full of poetry and the wisdom of people who lived ages ago but still rings so true I can almost feel the reverb in my feet.


It's Labor Day, and in an hour or so, President Obama will be speaking in here in Detroit about jobs, I would imagine. And workers. I have such difficulty knowing how to feel about his time as president. I can pretty easily convince myself from one way to the other in a matter of moments, which gets exhausting sometimes! Maybe I ought to let myself live in the frustration - or better described, the discomfort - of not being sure. Leave the door open. Leaving the door open does not preclude living with expectations, however.


It's Labor Day, meaning that this weekend is the Detroit International Jazz Festival. And international though it may be, I still get to see some hometown talent, since the Steeles are in town performing this afternoon as part of the festival. I'm excited to go downtown to see them - and equally excited that the outing will require a scarf!


Things continue well on the work front. My supervisor is great. We have a new turkey - a ladyfriend for Uncle Bob, whom we are calling Auntie Roberta. (Yes, those are my dad's name and my mom's middle name. No further comment, except to say I had nothing to do with the names. :) Casa Yusef Shakur continues to cook good food, listen to excellent music, see interesting speakers and fun movies, and get to know the D. Tomorrow my supervisor is giving me a walking tour of the neighborhood surrounding the church, after which I can start going out and having conversations with folks about what they need in the way of HIV services and how Spirit of Hope and play a part in meeting those needs. I'm really looking forward to that.

1 comment:

Amanda said...

I saw Obama's speech this morning! I didn't even realize he was going to be in Detroit until I watched it but I guess that makes sense! I hear you on going back and forth what to think about his term as president. Its hard to know in times like this.
Anyway! How was the jazz festival downtown? That sounds AMAZING! Do you have any pictures?