Things I think

* I am feeling much better after Bell Choir. Part of it, is doing something that is not *work* and as one of the younger members, I don't have all the responsibility of stuff. And it's fun. We're doing a version of Jingle Bells (looking towards Christmas) that cracks me up every time because for about 3/4 of the measures I am ringing an eighth note either every beat you could, or every other beat, and it's just somehow comical. (The director did say I was good at keeping a rock-solid tempo, which may be why she put me on that particular note. I suppose there IS some transference of knowledge from the piano....)

* And we are looking towards Christmas and the possibility of actually going to a nursing home or somewhere to play carols for them, which is just nice and it makes me happy to think of being able to do that. (I never got the opportunity to do that sort of thing as a kid - my Scout troop wasn't really into that, the Youth Groups I was in tended to be too small to do anything very effective...)

The director noted in her prayer that we could be "lights" and you know, that's true. I can't do much in this world but I can be kind and maybe try to bring a little happiness to others, and maybe that's enough.

* And I guess we all help each other out. I mentioned my oven door handle to the director, and she has loaned me the socket-wrench set she uses for repairing the bells: there are a couple of star-shaped bits in there and I think one of them will fit the goofy bolts in the door, so hopefully when the parts come in, I will be able to fix it easily enough myself.

And I have plans to loan her granddaughter (the ten year old girl I mentioned) some beginner piano books I have; she wants to learn and the church organist is going to give her some initial lessons, but she didn't have any books. I'm not using my beginner books any more so I might as well share them.

* But still, I am somewhat tired today. At least tomorrow I can come home for lunch (truly, it is the little things in life) and I don't really have any commitments after 12:15 (when my last class of the day lets out). Oh, I have things I can be doing, but I can do them on my own schedule. (I probably also need to mow again early tomorrow evening, provided it's not deadly hot.

* I am still reading in the inter-library loan book on the history of the environmental movement and I admit I am twitching a bit about some of the internecine squabbles that seemed to tear some of the groups apart in the 1980s. (A lot of it was what we'd call today "purity tests" - like, "if you've ever flown on a plane you aren't doing enough for the environment" sort of thing). And, I don't know. One of the things that kind of wears on me is that sort of squabbling, that sort of making it more about personalities than what you're trying to get done. And I see that everywhere - in churches I have been part of, in volunteer groups, sometimes at work. And, I don't know, I guess I was raised to believe that "it's not about you" and "sometimes you just have to put your own feelings to the side and keep going" but it does frustrate me to see people behaving in ways I judge as immature....

* Someone commented on Twitter (am paraphrasing, some coarse words) that one of the frustrating things about the internet is that sometimes you see postings by someone who is cool and funny and seems nice and you want to be their friend but there's really no way - if they're someone you haven't really interacted with and isn't in your circle, it's hard to approach them without it seeming creepy and weird.

And I think also - there are some people I know on social media that I'd frankly like to tell I "loved" them (I mean, in the way you love a friend, or the "agape" type of love they talk about at church) but English is terribly impoverished when it comes to words for love. (New Testament Greek - at least the very little I know of it - has at least four). And I opined that maybe in Germanic languages, because there's only one word that has to serve all the various meanings of what "love" is, that's maybe why we're kind of messed up. I mean, lots of people in our culture default to mostly thinking of carnal love when they hear "love." Or, the love of a parent for a child, maybe. Children, who are more innocent of some of the more "adult" meanings of love, do seem to be more open about telling people that they love them than adults do.

I don't know. But I do wish we had other words in English so you could tell a friend you loved them without them maybe interpreting it in a weird way.