7 Days: Day 2 - Spring Blessings, Sunlight and some Pizza

Today kind of disappeared on me. I turned around and it was 5pm already. But it was a great, full, and thought filled kind of day.  We went to Unity Church of Overland Park this morning for our friends, Caroline and Kegan's son's christening. Maddox is seven months old and smiley and all chubby cheeks and big eyes. Not only did we get to celebrate Maddox and the joy he brings to their family and to everyone who meets him, but we got to test out Unity Church as well. ( #28 on my list, pick a church or something)

Caroline and Kegan are great parents and good friends and their two boys are adorable. They look like a blond J Crew or Land's End ad, but real and funny and sincere and kind.  Joe and I were honored to be included in such a spiritual moment with their family. We enjoyed the service too. The minister gave a sermon about revising the way you should view Psalms 23, typically thought of as a funeral prayer, and morphing it into a prayer of strength that can be called up during significant struggles or times of transition in your life. I liked that. The idea of changing what I've thought of as a mournful, depressing group of verses into something that I could derive power or sustenance from made sense to me.

But generally I don't think Unity is the church for us.  Joe and I are are both very open minded and easy going in our regular lives, but for some reason the laid back, non-traditional, new age feeling at Unity just doesn't feel right for me, or Joe I think.  I love the message of acceptance and openness that Unity professes. I feel comfortable with the brief meditation time and the friendly congregation, but I miss the traditions of my childhood. I miss hymnals, big TV screens don't work for me. I want the music and lyrics and the book itself in my hand. I miss church choirs, and the live band and singer are great, but it just isn't what I want at church. All of it seems cheesy and forced to me. And I know it isn't. I know people love this new worship. But I feel cynical and closed in that setting. And you probably shouldn't feel that way at your own church.  Next week we'll be attending our nephew Jackson's christening at a Catholic church in Madison. I will be curious to compare the two ceremonies and see how similar and how vastly different they handle the same rite of passage. But I'm pretty sure the Catholic church isn't going to be our next church home either. Sorry, Pope Benedict!

After church we headed out to meet my mother for lunch at one of our favorite pizza places, Spin.  So we took my mom, who'd never been there before. I love my mother, a lot. Yet we have one of those complicated relationships like so many mothers and daughters do. I'm overly critical and judgmental, and take on the parent role too easily. She can be in her own little world sometimes and I feel like I have to remind her that her attention and opinions are so valuable to me. But in an effort to improve our relationship, (#16) I just want to have more fun with her.  Try to be less worried about her and less focused on her current state of health and happiness. I want to be in the moment, as cheesy as that sounds. It is hard for me. So doing the 7 days photo shoot in the middle of Spin was perfect. We got to goof off and play and relax instead of waiting for one of us to say the wrong thing.  And I think I got some strong photos, too.

This was my 7 days shot, and since style was the theme for the day, I would say I got my sense of style from my mom.

Trying to get Mom to flick off Joe holding the camera, first she had to check and see if any kids were watching.

All clear, now she's in!

This ticked her off a bit, but she was a good sport. I love you, Mom. Let's goof off again soon.

All photos by Joe Sands, except for the 7 Days shot, I got that one.