Getting Back to Concerts!

One of those opportunities to "get back to life" mentioned in my previous post was attending my first concert in nearly a decade!

Thanks to a trumpet-playing, music-major Dad, I enjoyed growing up with the music of the Canadian Brass. So when one of their former members came to our local concert association, it was not to be missed!

Dad actually attended the concert twice as it came to two area towns. Mom went with the first time, and I got to join him for the second. And due to stories told in concert and some talk Dad had with the performer after the first one, Dad brought his own trumpet along for Jens Lindemann to sign the case. [You had to be there to understand. 😊]

Dad's trumpet is a Yamaha bought through the Canadian Brass and tested by one of their members. The special story behind it was that Dad's college trumpet broke around 20 years ago, and he was ready to give up playing for Easter and Christmas anymore. But his mom wouldn't let him stop and bought this trumpet to keep him playing. 

Now Dad practices an hour most days and is getting better than I have heard him in my lifetime!

At the second concert, Dad also had the surprise of finding someone he had played with in college who had since had a professional trumpet career. Dad had him sign the case too... just for fun!

So my first concert was a treat and a successful chance to exposure-train with several of my long-time triggers.

Healing is Not Linear.

Fact #1: “Healing is not linear.”

Fact #2: “Your trajectory is more important than your current state.”

I have been glad to know these two facts once again the last couple weeks.

Pushing too hard through many exciting opportunities to “get back to life” led to my slowly refilling the “stress bucket” I have been working on emptying. At a certain point, it began to overflow in old symptoms.

But I am learning to be patient with myself as I slowly figure out how much I can push and exposure-train with returning strength... and how to rest better when I should not push.

It helps me to view this healing journey as a mountain climb. There are many ups and downs through peaceful valleys, steep inclines and rough ravines, but if my trajectory is always toward the peaks I can glimpse in the distance, I know I’m on the right track!

And I could never do this without my Good Shepherd!

~ Hannah

Book Review: Shipwrecked! by Rhoda Blumberg | The True Adventures of a Japanese Boy

Shipwrecked!

Adventure, Drama, History, Culture and more are packed into this easy read by Rhoda Blumberg.

The best part is, this is a true story! Manjiro was the first Japanese boy to live in United States, and the things he faced, learned, and accomplished both before and after that time were remarkable. He even helped open Japan to the rest of the world.

Don't miss this fascinating part of world history! I am glad my relative told us where to find this book in the children's section of our local library.

~ Hannah

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Long Enough to Take It In...

"There is a very real sense in which the ambition of art simply consists in the valiant effort to seize some small piece of the world and to hold it still long enough for us to take it in."

• Cameron McAllister

"Weeds are flowers too,

once you get to know them."

• A.A. Milne

Finally got another page filled in my nature journal! It was a workout on a less-than-optimal day, but also amazing to study these details of one of God's creations up close.

Greenhouse Season Shows Progress

It is greenhouse season! 

I can see how far God has brought me in my healing journey by tackling this complex season each year.

• Stamina is increasing!

• Mental clarity is returning!

• The ability to shrug things off and bounce back is re-growing!

• Smiles come more naturally! 

• Chemical scents are only occasionally noticed!

• Pain and weakness are slower to notice and don't keep me down as long!

• Enjoyment is rising! 

• I am thankful...

~ Hannah

Charlotte Mason Companion: Children are Hungry Creatures

Finished! This book was my companion through many hours of solo noon meals. As you can tell by my page markers, there are several bits I want to go back and review from Karen Andreola's "Charlotte Mason Companion."

Maybe more quotes will find their way into future posts. But for now here is one from Mrs. White living high in the French Alps in the 1950's:

"Charlotte Mason tells us that children are hungry creatures. Not only wholesome food for their bodies is required: their minds demand and digest an incredibly large amount and variety of knowledge. So what happens if good food for the mind is not available? Surely they absorb whatever there is, unwholesome as it may be: wretchedly-written books, comic strips, unsuitable television programmes, newspaper headlines, backdoor gossip, etc. Isn't this an explanation of the aimlessness and the wrongly-directed activities of some of our brave new young?

"How sad it is to find people who cannot read. Not that they are illiterate, but that they are incapable of sustaining interest in any literature above the level of the glossy magazines..."

A Favorite Biography | John Flynn

The last book I finished is one of my favorite biographies to date! If any of the below topics interest you, make sure to read "John Flynn" by Janet & Geoff Benge!

In fact, read it even if you aren't into them... because I loved learning about topics in which I had no particular interest before!

Among other things, John Flynn can be described as:

• Teacher and Mentor

• First Aid Lecturer in the Outback

• Travel Photographer and Presenter

• Struggling Student

• Minister

• Patrol Padre for the Outback 

• Clinic Builder 

• Mission Founder

• Map maker 

• Wireless Radio Visionary 

• Founder of the Royal Flying Doctor Service

• Australian Delegate to the First International 

  Congress on Aerial Medical Services 

• World Traveler

• Fictionalized Hero

• Honorary Doctorate x2

• Lobbyist

• Moderator General

• Awarded the Order of the British Empire

• Tireless Advocate for those cut off in the interior of Australia

Australia's Prime Minister described John this way: "Dr. Flynn possessed two qualities seldom found in one man. He had vision and the executive ability to get things done. He was a modern apostle Paul."