Chicago, my kind of town!

Welp, it's Wednesday again.  I finished my one-on-one discipleship class at church last night; 10 weeks actually went very fast.  I truly enjoyed the class - it was exactly what I hoped it would be- a renewing of my spirit (wo)man.  I feel different (in a good way) even though so much is still in disarray around these parts and I have so much yet to do.  I have a move coming up next week and it's shaping up quite differently than it was initially supposed to.  Not sure how I feel about that.  All that change I talked about?  Coming at me fast...

 

Anyhoo, today I figured I would write the post I was supposed to do on Friday.  About Chicago, my hometown.  I love Chicago (even though technically I've been a suburbanite for more than a decade now).  I first fell in love with Chicago and its rich history back in the 6th grade in my Options for Knowledge class at Kellogg Elementary School.  Each quarter our teacher, Mrs. Scannell, would pick a new topic for us to research and study and then we'd pick our individual topics from there, put on a teach-in for the whole school (in costume) and go around to the different classrooms to "teach" our subject.  It was the best experience of my life and I'm so glad I got the chance to experience it.  Anyway, our last topic that year was Chicago.  I studied George Pullman and the Pullman Porters, go figure.  Sidenote, in college I did a research paper on the history of blacks in Morgan Park/Beverly, so my love of Chicago lived on... Anyway, our teach-ins for the school took the form of a play with teaching built in.  It was actually ingenious, I must say, in looking back.  For the Chicago teach-in, we learned a number of songs that I still remember to this day. 

 

"If someone ever asked me what Chicago is, it might take me an hour, two or three.  'Cuz I'd take time to tell them what Chicago is, and all the things Chicago means to me.  My kind of town, Chicago is, my kind of town, Chicago is, One town that won't let you down, it's my kind of town... Each time I roam, Chicago is, calling me home, Chicago is, One town that won't let you down, it's my kind of town... Each time I leave, Chicago is, tugging my sleeve, Chicago is... the Wrigley Building, Chicago is, the Union Stockyards, Chicago is, Comiskey Ballpark (at least it was in 1982), Chicago is, one town that won't let you down, it's My Kind of Town!!!!"  (Ad libbed from what I remember of one of our teach-in songs)

 

Then there's Chicago that toddlin' town and just plain Chicago.  There's also the group Chicago (who I LOVE, by the way)... But I digress so very much...

 

Last Thursday I had the opportunity to check out the "Open Air" exhibit at the Field Museum (the last day was Monday).  I loved it!  It was a great day, although it was very hot out.  The exhibit was a free, outdoor exhibit featuring the photography of Walter Iooss, Jr., the "poet laureate of sports," and his subject?  His Airness, himself - Michael Jordan!  What a great, great collection and it was so peaceful to explore!  It made me smile all day.  I thank the Field Museum, Mr. Ioos and the Jordan Brand for bringing it to Chicago!  Did I take pictures?  But of course... Without further ado, Open Air!!! *Be forewarned, there are 31 photos...*

 

Ok, for real, wasn't that something to see????  I truly loved this exhibit (I'm an exhibit-kinda girl, but I really did love this one).  The last photo features a life size photo of his hand - I put my hand in it and it was just swallowed up!  I hope you enjoyed this slice of Chicago; there's more, I took more photos that day that I love, but for today, sharing "Open Air" with you is enough to make my day brighter.  I forgot to tie it all back to the post- this is just one reason that Chicago is my kind of town - free exhibits for the public to enjoy!

So what's special about your hometown (or your current town if you have relocated)?  Share it with me, would love to know!  Holla @ Darvi.  Have a wonderful Wednesday and Be Blessed!



The Struggle is Real...

Happy Hump Day!!!  I hope your week is going well.  I have fully recovered from the holiday weekend and am looking forward to this coming weekend which should be much slower!  

I'm going to be a bit transparent here and let you know that I am going through some things. There, I said it.  We often spend so much time and energy keeping up appearances for folks that really could care less what's going on in our worlds and you know what?  I'm tired.  

I went back and forth on how I was going to write this post, but transparency won.  Hopefully my transparentness (is that a word?  if not, consider it a new "Darvism.") won't turn anyoneoff or make them look at me differently, which has been a big deal to me for awhile (go figure), but transparent I must be.

Anyway, this month is a little hard for me, one I have dreaded all year without  a total change of circumstance.  You see, it was two years ago this month that I learned that I would no longer have a job at the end of the month.  To say that the past 2 years has been challenging is the understatement of the year!  My whole life has changed, in some ways good, in most ways horrible!  I spent the second half of 2013 and the first half of 2014 in a real funk.  And I won't pretend that I don't still have some pretty crap days in 2015.  Because I do.  Days where I just totally withdraw from everything because I just literally could not do it.

You have to understand that I have ALWAYS worked, since I was 15 years old. That's almost 30 years of consist employment (and I spent 16 years on that particular job), so it's been a huge adjustment, plus the challenges.  (I did say I had challenges, right?)  My career has always been a huge part of who/what I am, and it's been a huge adjustment to not be that person anymore.  I had hoped that by now things would be different and I would be looking back on that time, not still in it.  But that isn't yet the case.  The other thing is, for the first time in my life, I don't really have a "plan."

Everyone who knows me knows that I almost ALWAYS have a Plan A, B, C and possibly a D.  But not this time.  Every one of my "plans" has not worked out and that's been another huge adjustment for me.  Because I'm a perfectionist and I don't like failure.  But most of all, I have felt like everything I've ever believed has been challenged, including my faith.  I had even gotten to the point that I wasn't even sure what I believed anymore (and coming from a kid who grew up in church, COGIC no less, that is saying a LOT).

So when that horrific thing happened to me two years ago, I struck out on what I thought was my ultimate dream (HA!) and ended up in somewhat of a nightmare.  However, I also found myself on a totally different journey than I could have ever imagined at the time.  I daresay that I would have never found this path if my course hadn't been altered.  Please know that the challenges haven't ended, but my perspective (my lens) is different.  It doesn't mean that things are suddenly great, but I just don't feel stressed and anxious about it - today at least.

I have mentioned before that I'm a Believer.  Yes, that means a Christian.  What I am not is a Bible-thumping, over-judgmental, holier than thou person who tries to shame folks into believing.  Nah, I don't roll like that.  What it does mean is that I have a relationship with God. It's not always where it should be, so like me, it's a work in progress.  

This year (2015), I decided to take more of an active role in building up my personal foundation because it has taken a huge hit .  I have reevaluated some relationships, activities and am really working on myself during this season.  I started a faith journal this year, which has become part of a new journey (later on this), and a rewarding one.  I realize I'm getting to the age when you really have to make some decisions on how you are going to approach the third quarter of life and also that those decisions are yours alone.

I am not a person who likes change or thrives on change, so all of this change has been really unsettling.  To make matters worse, I had to make the really tough decision to leave my church because it was just too far for me to travel at this time.  But, I did find a church closer to home that I enjoy (although I miss my old church so much sometimes that my heart aches).  Anyway, my new church, Victory Apostolic Church in Matteson (which you should totally visit one day if you live in the South Suburbs), offers many different ministries and classes, as well as activities to keep you busy and grounded! One of the classes offered this summer is One-on-One Discipleship, which will be a 10-week, one-hour course (it started last night).  Me and my sorority sister Pam decided to take it together (can you tell that me and Pam have a lot of adventures together????).  

We signed up not knowing what to expect, and we walked in not knowing what to expect, lol! 
After leaving our first session, we are both a bit excited to see where the class is going to take each of us personally on our faith walks.  I"m hoping that I will have more peace and my faith renewed; only time will tell the ultimate outcome. 

Here is the book for the class:

I'm not sure what the outcome will be, but I'm sure that it will be an adventure, albeit a personal one, and that some change will be inevitable.  But hear me, on this here thang? The struggle is real!      

So, what about you- any personal journeys for you in 2015?  Anyone agree that the struggle is truly real????  Let's talk about it!  Holla @ Darvi!  Be Blessed!!!