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By Willow (willowashmaple.xyz)

Summer recap

Aug. 26, 2023

Since I have been pretty quiet here, I thought I should write something about the summer.

Typically, I tend to be a "latecomer" to summers. I don't really go out and enjoy the season until the latter half of July and then get depressed because, by the time I get around to doing something special, it is close to Labor Day.

This year, I took a very different approach: I began by making a calendar of local events and destinations back in May and starting in June I packed my schedule with at least two or three summertime activities each week.

While doing so, this summer has also been a very productive one. I have completed 15 credits during the Second Term (May-August) of 2023, which brings me to 40 credit hours so far at a GPA of 3.79. This term has been the first time I have taken a full-time course load. At this rate, I will be able to earn a Certificate of Chaplaincy (41 credits) next month and graduate with a Diploma of Ministry (69 credits) in May 2024 and a Diploma of Divinity (94 credits) sometime in late 2024. I am grateful for the educational experience. Although when I started out I really was not sure what I was doing, and I certainly did not theologically or culturally align with this Evangelical and Reformed institution that is loosely connected to the Christian Reformed Church*, lately I find myself and my own thinking shifting as a result of study. (Then again, I also personally know several progressive Christians who have attended and graduated from Portland Seminary, which is a conservative Evangelical school affiliated with the Northwest Yearly Meeting of the Friends.)

Another cat of ours passed away on July 24. That happened suddenly. She was almost 17 years old and was originally a feral so she did have a good long life.

This summer's weather was great for the garden as well: I have so far harvested about 20 pounds of beans and 24 stalks of corn (although, about half of them did not mature well), in addition to courgettes, aubergines, cucumbers, radishes, and tomatoes.

I am also getting back to making art. Every time I venture out to nature I bring my sketchbook and also take several photos. I am turning these into watercolor pieces this fall.

A sidenote: CRC is similar to Presbyterians but comes from the Dutch Reformed lineage (whereas the Presbyterians come from Scotland). I was never raised religious as a child but by the time I was 13, I developed a keen interest in Christianity. The first church I attended regularly was a CRC congregation, so I have come full circle.

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