As I Rise

   Me in Bukhara, Uzbekistan

I chose this title for my new blog because it is part of a line of a prayer I daily say. I hope the word 'prayer' doesn't turn anyone away from reading this blog. Yes, I pray. I don't preach at people. Anymore. I used to. I've learned better. I just share what's going on in this amazing life of mine (married to a Foreign Service Officer, traveling the world) - what works, what doesn't work. That's it. The prayer is a little sing-songy as it's based on the popular "Now I lay me down to sleep" prayer. Bear with the Hallmarkness of it and read:

          As I rise to face this day, I pray my heart to know the way.
          I pray my thoughts be strong and still that I may live, love, learn and do Thy will.

It's simple, but strong when you consider what it takes to face some days. It's important how difficult it can be for us to move confidently through life. It's practical as we face so many distractions throughout our days. And all encompassing wrapped up with the imperative to live, love and learn. When I wrote my first blog, "If I Can . . ." it was to challenge others to better themselves. (If I can, anyone can.) Now I extend the challenge.

As I rise, I face life back in the D.C. area studying German full time. As a spouse, I could have signed up for the easier Fast Course in German, but in remembering all I gaied in studying Russian, I decided to take the full course again. It was daunting because I fairly well knew what I was getting myself into work wise, but I also remembered the benefits of my Russian studies (better overall memory, for example).

I remember almost constantly working when I studied Russian. So far, German does not feel that demanding, though we have had a slow start due to the hurricane and my teacher being out sick for three days in a row only two days into class. I remember feeling overwhelmed that I would never learn all I needed to know. I am keeping another part of my prayer that falls under the "live, love, learn" line. I pray that I will push myself into uncomfortable situations that will only serve to better me. And there lies my challenge. Let's push ourselves this year. Let's see what we're made of.

Sometimes discomfort is a red flag. We need our wisdom to know when to step away from that sort of discomfort. Sometimes discomfort is our contented self squirming at the prospect of change, of challenge or of plain old fashioned work. I remember when I broke my finger and finally got the splint of and began rehabilitation. My finger would not bend. I went into the Physical Therapist's office and the first thing she did was hold my hand and force bend my finger. I gasped and cried.  She held it there for a few minutes while she talked to me. "It will hurt, but your finger will remember how to bend and work. You must do this twice a day for 10 minutes." Now I had to go home and make myself do this. I remember walking round the house with my finger held in that bent position by a thick rubberband. It hurt so much I was nauseous. Tears rolled down my cheeks. I remember thinking that I had never known such pain. Then I imagined what therapy was like for people who had broken their back, for instance and I felt like such a wimp crying over my finger. But pain was pain and if I hadn't pushed myself I may have never been able to play and teach piano again. I made it through the discomfort and was rewarded.


It's been fun being back in Falls Church, Virginia. We are staying at the same Oakwood Apartment complex we stayed at over two years ago. On the first couple of days, we ran into a few people we knew. Staying here are some of our best friends from Tashkent as well as some of our best friends from our last stay at Oakwood. It's, in part, like coming home and part reunion.

We had our first Area Studies lecture last Thursday. A young woman who grew up in East Germany spoke about her life there. She told us that she was rather outspoken at an early age and got into trouble. Her mother, who was Second Mayor of the town where she grew up, received many phone calls regarding her behavior. The walls surrounding East Germany, the students were told, were put up to protect them. "Then why are they (the concertina wire) faced this way?" She asked. When she finally decided to leave, she first married her best friend in order to move out and live away from her mother. She did not want to cause problems for her. She and her husband applied for visas and, upon receiving them, left that evening. They flew to Budapest and walked to Austria to ensure their escape. She didn't tell her mother and didn't call her for some time.

On a lighter note, she told us that it was unusual for teens to get driver's licenses. Most people got them well into thir 20's. Those who wanted them were required to learn to drive a tank first!

We learn all sorts of things in Area Studies.

 

Me in the mountains of Uzbekistan about an hour and a half outside Tashkent.

 

 

I want to post weekly, but I won't promise that. First of all, I don't know how intense German studies will get. Secondly, I don't want to just post any old bunk. When I write to you, I want to have something to say.