Weddings and Spring

My brother is married! Oh my goodness. The wedding was really fun, they had a beautiful ceremony and really nice reception. Jackie looked so beautiful (Joe looked pretty good too ;) ). I got to see a lot of people I haven't seen in a long time, which is always gratifying. Kathy took me out to a fancy dinner downtown Thursday in Chicago, and Friday morning we walked around downtown before driving to Galena for the wedding. Friday night was the rehearsal and appetizers at a restaurant in Galena. The restaurant was great, we had a couple different rooms so people could just sit and mingle.

Saturday we woke up and walked around downtown Galena. The town is really cute, sort of like Stillwater in that it's a river town that runs on tourism and antiques near as I can tell. Then the wedding was at a chapel about a half hour outside of town, up on a hill. I played my flute and read the poems without falling apart too badly, which is always good. Joe and Jackie left the wedding in a horse-drawn carriage, and the weather held out and didn't rain on them. Afterward everyone headed back to the hotel, where the reception was held. My mom's friend Joni did all the flowers, which were so beautiful. They played "Circle Game" for Joe and my mom to dance too, and it was quite fitting as she sang that all the time to Joe when he was little. All in all, a pretty great day.

It's Spring...who knew?

Studying consumed my life, so it's been so long since I updated who knows if anyone will even read this. Oh well, here goes. It is April in Chicago. It is finally warm enough some days to remind you that it will eventually be nice. I am finally done studying, and it feels great. So great to have some time again. Friday I finally caught up on many of the things I had been putting off: cleaned my room and my car, and did laundry. It was great.

Saturday I headed up to Milwaukee to visit Kathy and Bilhenry. It's always great to see them, and it was really fun to get to go to the church where Kathy has been the interim pastor. They took me to the art institute, which is always exciting. On Sunday the Easter bunny even came! All in all, it was just great to see them and really great to be up in Milwaukee.

Now on to this weekend. My aunt Kathy is flying in from California to Chicago on Thursday night. We will hang out Thursday night/Friday morning, then head to Galena, IL for Joe's wedding. Should be pretty exciting, sounds like there will be a good Shields family and friends turnout.

That's about all I've got for now. I will try to get back in the swing of things and write here once in a while!

February in Chicago!

It’s hard to believe it’s already February in Chicago! February marks the midpoint of my year with Lutheran Volunteer Corps. Pretty incredible. So in honor of 6 months, I thought I’d come up with a few things I’ve learned…
-Living with four women in a 3-bedroom apartment is not as scary as it may seem. Especially when they become your friends.
-Chicago drivers/parking are ridiculous. This has not changed. What I have learned is that parallel parking isn’t horrifying.
-5 women with 5 desks working in 1 small room can be both a blessing and a curse.
-What people want is not so complicated: to be treated with respect and as though what they say and feel matters.
-A few food items are essential long-term in my life: good coffee, good orange juice, and gorgonzola/blue cheese. The first of which I have a plentiful supply of thanks to several different gifts ;).
-Not as many things are essential as I thought.
-Small children will never stop being adorable to me.
-Small children change a lot in 6 months, and to get to witness that on whatever level is an honor.
-Big cities have something to offer even an open-space/outdoors loving girl like me.
-I really lucked out: with my placement, the women I live with, this city: all pretty great.


That's all I've got for now...Happy February!

I'm on a roll

After spending 10 days at home, I came back to Chicago with a few reservations. Getting back into the swing of my job I had heard could be a bit interesting, just getting back on track with families and actually having something to do/having visits the first week back. I shouldn't have worried, this week was the best I've ever had at work. See my previous post for a rockin' tuesday, then Thursday I helped put a crib together. Not what I expected to be doing at 22 years old, but it was really gratifying. I had a woman donate these beautiful cribs, and after I got it into my family's house I could see the mom eyeing the crib. I asked her if she wanted help putting the crib together, and she asked if I was sure I wouldn't mind. The woman is 8 months pregnant with twins, so it was nice to be able to make sure she didn't need to bend down and fiddle with things as much. It took two hours, but she was so excited to have it together. It was something simple, but it made me feel like I was able to do something small that actually mattered, something that made her just the smallest bit more comfortable and prepared to have these babies.

Then Friday was just wonderful. Had a great visit with one of my Spanish-speaking moms, and Kate, one of my closest friends from Grinnell and my housemate last year, was coming through on her way to DC. She talked Sarah, another of the closest friends/housemates, into driving with her from Iowa City and then taking the Greyhound back. So I got to have a Friday night with Grinnellians. Maggie, also from Grinnell, hosted in the southwest suburbs, and Emily R. Grinnell fellow LVCer came too. It was so great to be with old, new and future friends all at once. All together. Just happy and giggling. My sense of home, apart from being wrapped up still at home in Minnesota with my parents, is wrapped up in those women (and Mary Pat and Phoebe, the obvious missing pieces). It was happy, and I am so excited to spend some more time with Maggie who will be around Chicago!

I didn't get much sleep by the time we got to Maggie's house and woke up pretty early, so I lounged on Saturday. Then went to Dhiren's for a delicious dinner with some more Grinnellians. This morning, went to church and my housemate Kate helped me dig the car out so I can actually get out tomorrow. There was an empty spot, so we dug that one out and dug my car out just enough to move it. Then grocery shopping, dinner out in the neighborhood with most of my housemates (delicious gordita), and now I'm going to try for a bit of productivity.
Basically, I am on a roll. This week was just fantastic. I finally feel like I can do my job for the most part. I saw a lot of wonderful people. I did some really fun things, and had some down time. Now about that studying...

A good day

Today was a good day. And since I can’t seem to make myself journal on any sort of regular basis, I thought I should record it here. Nothing monumental happened, but I felt like I could actually do my job.
I made myself get up early, and had an uneventful drive to the YMCA, worked out, and managed to be at work by 7:30.
At work first I went to do outreach at the WIC office and talked to two moms, one in English and one in Spanish. They both seemed really interested in our program. It’s a good day at WIC if I even have one good conversation, so two is a real gift.
Next, I had a visit with one of my moms who has historically been quiet. We’ve been moving forward and she lets me in little by little, but it has definitely been a process. At this visit, a case manager from a different agency showed up to meet with my family. By the time the case manager left, the baby was fussing, so I resolved to finish our topic next week. I told the mom the baby must have had enough strangers for one day. Mom immediately looked at me and said “But you’re not a stranger, [the baby] knows you really well!” It was a proud moment. The baby knows me, and her mom has let me in to her life. That is all I dream of for my job.
Afterward, we had a site visit from the Baby Talk women. Baby Talk is the home visiting curriculum we use. The women are like the quintessential Moms. They are so excited you can’t help but be excited with them. It's just nice to hear some days that your job matters, that other people work in the same field and reinforce it's importance/legitimacy.
I got home from work, and studied for a solid hour and a half. All of this before 6 pm! That's what I call a good day....

I've been told I stink at updating this....

...but oh well... it is amazing how fast the holidays have come up on me. I will finally get to go home for more than just a couple days! This means I will hopefully not only catch up with my family more, but get to see the whole Cutler, Holland, and Reid Walker families a little more. Not to mention all the Christmas festivities!

In Chicagoland, things are finally sort of predictable. I have been managing to get myself up early most weekdays to go to the Y on my way to work, I am working with several new families and a few of them I am really excited about because I think we may be able to make some really great steps forward. The other news at my job is that I think I'm going to try to start a lending library through our center. A lot of our families don't have easy transport to the library, so many of our families end up with little access to books. So I think I'm going to try to find donations for young children's books....any ideas let me know ;).

So my life is mostly work, study, sleep, and hanging out with my housemates. Tomorrow they have 'caroling at the bean' which some of the housemates and I are going to, and Saturday is the Polar Bear Plunge into Lake Michigan. It's a fundraiser for LVC, but since I haven't raised any money (not my favorite thing to do) I refuse to jump in the water...but I'll go cheer!

I'm sure there's much more that I am forgetting to say, but it will have to wait.

Happy Holidays!

1 week

My roomie Abby and I at the OBAMA VICTORY RALLY!

So it is one week until I go home for Thanksgiving. I am SO excited to see my family and the dogs!!! And Vickie and Josh's little one! But in the meantime some random thoughts...

This week I am attending a training on the Baby Talk curriculum, which is the curriculum we use for home visiting. It's pretty interesting, and the women who run it are super knowledgeable. And as a huge bonus, I don't have to pack a lunch and today we ate Panera! Woo hoo!

I also had three visits in one day on Monday. I felt productive. A really good day.

My housemate Kate informed us that instead of getting married next October, she's getting married next July. This means my other housemates and I will get to roadtrip to the wedding which is really exciting - far better than buying a plane ticket.

My father will be at Thanksgiving this year, as he doesn't have to work on a holiday (gasp!). SO exciting!

I am being my usual unproductive self tonight. I made it through one chapter of reading though!

That's about all here, it's finally getting cold. And we are realizing just how leaky our apartment is.