A Road Less Travelled

So are you going to college?

R: No.

G: No.

 

Really?

G: Yeah, really.

R: (polite smile and nod)

 

Why not?

R: It didn’t seem like a good use of time and money in order to get a degree I never planned to use. I’d rather find a way to learn without the extra price tag and inconvenience of getting documentation to prove to other people I learned it, and be able to learn about what I’m interested in and what applies to my life.

G: If I want to pursue a career as, say, a micro-biologist then I need to get training in how to be a micro-biologist. I want to be a wife, mommy and homemaker, so I figure I need to get training in how to be a wife, mommy and homemaker. It would be hard to do that if I went to college all day.

 

 

Well then, what do you do all day?

G: I am a personal assistant to a mother of five. In other words I spend my day washing dishes, changing diapers, helping run a home and teaching the nature of the universe and its Creator to five young children.

 

R: Pretty much what she said only with different details. Less diaper changing and more flour grinding. On a good day I also get in some writing time and exercise my brain a little. On a bad day I run around and get nothing done while my brain turns to mush–but trust me, you don’t want to know about the bad days.

 

 

What about the future? What do you want to do with the rest of your life?

 

 

R: I would like to get married and live in Peoria for the rest of my life. It’s a little hard to be specific past that, because it will depend on the specific calling my husband has and so what I have to do to help him. I expect this will have something to do with my church community, my neigborhood, writing skills, and possibly drama productions.

 

 

G: I would very much like to get married and wash my own dishes, run my home, teach the nature of the universe and its Creator to my own children and support my husband in whatever way he needs me to. I would also like to be serious about writing and hopefully self-publish a book or three.

 

 

Are you against education or something? Or just education for women?

G: Um, no. Honestly, I don’t understand this question. How can I teach children, whether mine or not, how Creation works if I don’t understand it myself?

 

 

R: I’m very much in favor of education. Being a wife and homemaker uses a lot of creativity and intelligence, and I think women should be well trained in what they need to do. I just don’t believe that her training for life has to come in a classroom.

 

 

 

Why did you start this blog?

 

R: Well, it all began when Seth started a blog. After that we just had to wait a reasonable amount of time so we didn’t look like we were just following the crowd. We certainly didn’t want people to think we’d never thought of it before then.

G: It seemed like a good thing to do at the time. Raquel and I had a funny experience together and I thought “Wouldn’t it be great if we had a blog so that anyone stumbling through the Internet could read about this funny experience?” Also, we wanted a place to talk about our lives as full-time aunts. Maybe someone out there will think this is a nifty idea and try it out.

 

 

Are you for or against dire weasels?

G: I am against dire weasels. I feel one cannot take too strong a stance against them.

 

R: Um, against, I think. (aside to Gabrielle) Right?

 

 

Who are some of your favorite authors?

R: Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Robert Heinlein, Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, um, Timothy Zahn, Jane Austen, Gail Carson Levine, Robin McKinley, Louis L’Amour (pauses for breath)…

G: My current favorite author is Charles De Lint who draws heavily on fairy tales and folk tales, but sets his stories in a very modern day setting. I like watching the traditional elements of Faery interact with modern day technology and philosophies. I also enjoy reading P. G. Wodehouse who is at the opposite end of the literary spectrum. He was a humorous writer who had a lot of fun with the English language. His plots are nothing new or exciting, but who cares? I just like reading his descriptions sometimes.

 

Who are some authors who have shaped your world-view?

G: In non-fiction I think the man I would point to would be Francis Schaeffer. My dad and mom really appreciated his declaration to the Christian world that it was okay to be artsy. In fiction the authors who would be on my Classic shelf if I had one are J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Lloyd Alexander and Douglas Adams. They all kinda fit together until that last one there.

 

R: Most of these authors actually shaped my worldview indirectly through my father. These are the authors that were frequently referenced at our house. Gary North and R. J. Rushdoony are probably at the top of the list. Another would be Jay Adams.

 

 

What are some of your favorite movies (the ones you would watch over and over again)?

R: Growing up I watched several musicals over and over again. My Fair Lady, Guys and Dolls, Singing in the Rain and others. Also just about any John Wayne western or Humphrey Bogart movie. More recently I have discovered Phantom of the Opera.

G: I would gladly watch Signs over and over again. Actually, I think I have. I very much enjoy the modern-day Romeo and Juliet, Sense and Sensibility, the 27 hour long (as my brother-in-law would say) Pride and Prejudice, though that gets a little tricky because I don’t usually sit in one place for that amount of time, and an independent film called Pieces of April.

 

Who’s your favorite Star Wars character?

G: Boba Fett. Or maybe Han Solo.

R: I like Chewbacca. He’s the big, hairy, loyal guy you always want on your side.

 

Favorite Tolkien character?

R: Overall favorite is Sam, but I really like Aragorn, and the friendship between Legolas and Gimli.

G: Sam is my favorite character, but close seconds are Boromir and Faramir. And then Merry and Pippin. And of course everyone likes Gandalf.

What’s your favorite color?

G: Blue or purple. It depends on if I’m going to wear the color or look at it.

 

R: I usually say blue, because it used to be my favorite color and it’s simpler than reeling off a whole list. So, um, blue. But I also like black and red.

 

 

What is your favorite craft project you’ve ever done?

 

 

R: I’m most proud of knitting Klein Bottle hats, but my favorite craft project to wear is probably my duct tape sandals.

 

G: I once crocheted a blanket that was probably about seven feet by eight feet. It started as a coaster gone wrong and just mutated from there. Towards the end I had to drape it around my shoulders if I wanted to carry it anywhere with me.

 

 

Have either of you considered a career in astro-physics?

G: No, not so much.

 

R: Why, do you think I should?

 

 

If you could have one superpower what would it be?

 

R: I’ll just pick the one that’s mine anyway: invisibility. I’m pretty good at disappearing in a room full of people if I don’t want to talk to them.

G: I would so totally fly. I don’t really want wings. I would accept them if they meant I could fly, but I would rather be able to just fly. Like Superman, but without the spandex and the red cape.

 

 

Do you ever plan out strategies in case you’re attacked by zombies, vampires or other mythical/undead creatures?

G: (shifty look) No, absolutely not! Of course we don’t.

 

R: Who told you? Whoever it was they were supposed to be sworn to secrecy!

 

 

What’s your favorite outfit/costume you’ve ever worn?

 

R: Either my goth Mary Poppins or my goth Hawaiian costume. Goth Hawaiian was fun to put together, because I took strips of really ugly black and white floral fabric and wore them like a grass skirt over my black skirt. Then I just added a black lei, and black flower in my hair, and some purple lipstick.

G: Last October I went to a costume birthday party as a Gypsy storyteller. I wore my bright orange skirt, a matching head scarf, my big hoop earrings, jangly bracelets, two shawls, lots of makeup, and some cool necklaces. It was a lot of fun.

 

 

Do you ever take dumb personality tests?

G: I will have you know that the personality tests I have taken were very intelligent and well thought out. Oh, and one of the tests told me I was a love magnet so that just proves my point.

 

R: My personality can be represented by C3PO, the color purple, River (from Firefly) or the Muppet Scooter. Does that answer your question?

 

 

 

What’s your favorite food?

 

R: I can’t pick one favorite. A random sampling would be crab Rangoon, broccoli cheddar soup, homemade pizza, and creamy chocolate desserts.

G: I dunno. It depends. Do I want sweet, do I want savory, do I want salt or do I want something else entirely? Chocolate chip cookies with a big glass of milk usually goes down well. So does spaghetti with lots of meat. Mmmm, now I’m hungry.

 

What’s your favorite place to hang out in Peoria?

G: I like hanging out at One World Cafe if I want to get something to eat and sit somewhere. My favorite place to walk is the River Front. My favorite place to sit in the van and talk with Raquel is the Lansberry driveway.

R: One World is still growing on me, but I’m not sure it counts as a favorite yet. I like wandering around the Shoppes at Grand Prairie with Gabrielle. In the playground area there’s a gadget that repeats back what you say, only really fast in a falsetto voice. Particularly after dark it tends to be really funny until it gets spooky.

 

 

Do you have a favorite quote?

G: Usually anything from The Princess Bride for every day life. If I’m in a silly mood I like quotes such as-
“Just stop panicking!”
“Who said anything about panicking! This is still just culture shock. You wait until I’ve settled into the situation, found my bearings. Then I’ll start panicking!” -Douglas Adams.
In my serious and contemplative moods I appreciate this quote from G. K. Chesterton.

”How can it be a large career to tell other people’s children about the rule of three, and a small career to tell one’s own children about the universe? How can it be broad to be the same thing to everyone and narrow to be everything to someone? No; a woman’s function is laborious, but because it is gigantic not because it is minute.”

R: I collect quotes, so it’s hard to choose just one favorite. One of my current favorites is this rather long quote from Ender’s Shadow:

 

“ ‘I would carry some of it if I could,’ Bean said silently… ‘You don’t have to do this alone. ‘

 

Only even as he thought this, Bean knew it wasn’t true… Ender was what Bean only wished to be–the kind of person on whom you could put all your hopes, who could carry all your fears, and he would not let you down, would not betray you.
‘I want to be the kind of boy you are,’ thought Bean. ‘But I don’t want to go through what you’ve been through to get there.’

And then…he almost laughed as he thought, ‘I don’t want to have to through what I’ve gone through to get here, either.’ ”

– Ender’s Shadow, Orson Scott Card