reading is cool.

My sister makes me a calendar every year for Christmas.  Except this year she didn't & I told her that my co-workers (read: me) were very disappointed & that she should make me one for my birthday.  Needless to say, she obliged.  Thanks, Sis.  :)

The calendar that she makes me is one of my most favorite Christmas presents & I always look SO forward to enjoying it at my desk throughout the year (read: please don't forget to make one next year, Sis...).  For each month, she inserts pictures of me & the kids & something we did during that month of the year before.

June has pictures of me & the kids at the girls' dance recital rehearsal last June & the flowers I sent to the Lollies on the big day (I missed the actual big day due to work obligations).

July has pictures of the kids on our family camping trip last year to Lake Cowan.

In August the pictures are of us at the Hamilton County Fair the year before- a family tradition long before I was even a twinkle in my mama's eye.

Anyway, you get the picture.  HA!  Picture.  :)

ANYWAY, a couple of weeks ago I was looking at my calendar & I saw this listed on April 9:

Reading Group

"Huh, that's interesting..." I thought, "I guess there's a National Reading Group Day on April 9.  I never knew that.  & what a small world- that's when our Reading Group is getting together".  I was rather amazed at this coincidence but didn't think too much more about it.  A little later in the day, I went to grab a pen out of my writing utensil jar & noticed this for the first time:

National Take Your Big Sister to Dinner Day

For a second I was amazed at this too, thinking "I knew there was a sisters day but a National Take Your Big Sister to Dinner Day?  These made up holidays are getting a little out of hand...".  Then I realized that I'm a moron & that my sister individualized certain dates on the calendar too.  That was nice of her.  However, I'm still shocked at how slow I am.  I wonder if I really have to take her out on the 30th or if we can postpone it a few weeks...
We did have our bi-monthly Reading Group get together on April 9 & it was wonderful as usual.  This time we got together to discuss the book "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert.  I had picked up the book a couple years earlier at the airport on my way to Puerto Rico because, really, what better things are there to buy in airports than books you could check out for free at your local library, pashmina knock offs & Starbucks?

There were SO many mixed feelings from the group about this book, which I loved.  Some members of our group were energized by Elizabeth's persuit of herself &, as a result, started meditating again to seek silence.  Some were outraged that she would break her vows of marriage & go on a selfish, self-serving trip around the world for a year.  Me?  Well, the second time around I definitely read the book differently.  Two years can make a big difference in your 20s (or perhaps at any age, I don't know) & while last time I read this book I had a really hard time coming to grips w/ her ways of worship, this time I read the book w/ sympathy, compassion & a smile for Elizabeth.

My opinion of Elizabeth Gilbert is that she's a seeker- actually, that's pretty obvious considering she traveled for a year to "find" herself.  Throughout the book, she chased after so many things- peace & fulfillment & love & passion & security & purpose & enlightenment  I hope she got them.  I hope that everyone that reads this book realizes that it's not the world's path we need to follow, it's our own.  Sometimes it's hard to figure out what that path is but as long as we stay true to trying to find out a little more about who we are, what makes us tick, & what fills us up, we'll get there.