Switching to Wordpress

I'm moving my blog from blogspot to wordpress this weekend. 

I think you will be very happy. 

For a sneak peak and the reasons for the move, go to: http://theuncommongood.wordpress.com/

I have no idea what that will mean if you follow www.theuncommongood.com in your reader.

You might have to look for a facebook post or tweet on Monday for the new url.

Thanks for reading! 

Love,
April

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An Ode to Brothers

In the past week, both of my brothers turned another year older.

They turned old, actually.   Kyle hit the big 3-0 and Jonathan is wrapping up college at 22. 

I love them more this year than I did last year.  While I've always been a bit envious of those with sisters, I would not trade having brothers, or my brothers in particular, for anything.  I never take it for granted that I got to live this life with my brothers for one more year.  They are so important to me.  I have been blessed. 

You might think that parents shape a child, but I'd like to make an argument for siblings.

Kyle was my constant companion, my best childhood friend.  I couldn't dream of a better sibling for a child.  He can create a story better than anyone I know, and I got to live that with him.  We spent endless hours in imaginative play- turning our closet into a motor home, our backyard into the wild west, our downstairs into an art museum.  Of course, you had to pay to visit the art museum.  But you're not surprised, right? We both love competition, so it worked well for us to have a live-in competitor for our parents attention, the best grades and status.  We have had many doors open to us because we pushed each other to excellence.  Today, this has led us to a deep admiration and respect.  We're following our talents (his are billion dollar mergers, mine are with kids) and our dreams (even though he is a hugely successful lawyer, he is also an incredible fiction writer).  Kyle is brilliant, complex, sensitive and a party-animal. I love that I got to know that from the beginning, and appreciate the man he's become on a very deep level.

And then Jonathan came along.  You might want to stop now and read the beautiful story of his adoption.  Jonathan's more than we ever imagined God could give our family.  The best way to put it is that for all the effort Kyle and I put into our lives, Jonathan has been showing us up since toddler hood. It's because he has WOO.  Woo is actually a strength on the Strength Finders test and it fits him perfectly--"Woo stands for winning others over. In your world there are no strangers, only friends you haven’t met yet—lots of them."   You can't help but be super happy to be alive when you are with Jonathan.  His laugh is contagious and the way he inspires others has truly, deeply changed me as a leader.  I've loved having him on my leadership team and then getting to de-brief our days.  He adds valuable wisdom and insight into ministry, life and what the team needs.  I'm his biggest fan and Kyle is his biggest donor, so he's set for life.  I can't wait to see what the next few years hold for our talented, lovable, wooing baby brother.
 
And there you have it.  12 lines on each brother.  Yes, I counted.  Because they will totally argue over who got more time on the blog.  Which is fine because I'm good at sarcasm, I'm not too sensitive, I can hold my own in any game and sometimes, I might even punch back.  I only had brothers, you know.

Oh, and since they'll never write an Ode to The Sister- at least let me give myself props for teaching them how to dress well-

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Yes, I Lied on the Mexico Surveys

This was not my first trip to Mexico.  Nor will it be my last.  I have family in Texas, so I've even driven over the boarder a few times.  During which, boarder patrol stopped us and asked many questions about ME.  Because when I go to Mexico, I don't come back looking like the rest of my family.  I turn much, much darker.  Maybe I wasn't meant to be a gringa.

Seriously.  Did you know that Grand Rapids, MI only gets 84 days of sunshine a year?  That's worse than Seattle.  And FAR from Mexico. I love Mexico.

Mostly, I think I love Mexico for the people.  And because I sit around developing working theories about everything in life, here is my theory about why the people of Mexico are so nice (including many Mexican immigrants here in Grand Rapids that have become some of my favorite people):

1) The weather is awesome



2) The food is amazing (I could eat Mexican every.single.day of my gluten free life)



3) The music is exceptional



We've been studying customer service and surveys at work.  So, I was thinking very profoundly when I was given a few surveys in Mexico.  But, let me admit here.  I crumbled.  And lied.  I couldn't tell them that their Mexican food wasn't as good as the last place.  Or their music.  You see, we became instant best friends with our wait staff..and sometimes bus drivers...and people on the street.  The people of Mexico inspired something in me--an inability to say anything negative.

It got me thinking.  How did this culture of smiling, hard-working, family oriented people arrive at something so different from American culture?  Did the beautiful environment breathe art that breathed life? Or something different?

This is why I travel.  To meet people.  To observe how to become more un-American.  Oh, right, and for more days of sun.  One more, then (the view from our $67 a night Westin room- thanks to hotwire.com)...

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A Gray and Yellow Spring

Spring has returned.  The Earth is like a child that knows poems.  ~Rainer Maria Rilke

For some reason, I can't get enough gray and yellow this season.  It could be because winter seemed to be hanging on FOREVER just a bit too long.   Or because gray and yellow balance all sides of my personality- the combination feels perfectly urban and serenely natural. 

 
Elle Decor


Banana Republic


Chicago Designer, Summer Thornton



Anthropologie



Apartment Therapy


Etsy

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Grieving Summertime

As I approach the summer season, I do my grieving now.  It's fair.  There are going to be things about summertime that I will miss.  And I've led enough summer teams to know that when I'm in the middle of it, I will love it and it will all be worth it.  But, I also remember what it was like to not be a summer camp director.  To go to the beach, ride my bike, run the lakeshore, go to festivals every weekend.... 

I'm an extrovert.  I live to be where the people are.  I only like restaurants that have 2 hour waits. Seriously.  So, you're not expecting me to say that I just want stay home with my flowers this summer, right?  I want to have time to garden.  I want to tend to my soil, sketch plans for full-summer blooming, grow organic fruits and vegetables...maybe even wear a floppy hat.
  
If you've never been thrilled to the very edges of your soul by a flower in spring bloom, maybe your soul has never been in bloom.  ~Terri Guillemets

I went out in my yard and took this picture today.  The first bloom of spring.



And then, I came full circle in my idea of grieving summertime.  What if this was all I needed to see-the first bloom?  And what if blooming isn't about the flower after all? What if it's really meant just to show us how to do it in our lives?  

My soul is in bloom.  I will tend to that.  That can travel anywhere.  I will honor my Creator with new inspiration.

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Anything Can Happen Child, Anything Can Be

Last summer, after the little girl I mentor came to Day Camp, she called me on Saturday and said, "Apurul, when I come to camp on Monday, will I need to bring my back-a-pack?"

It broke my heart to tell her that she only comes once.  Because she knows that I'm at camp every single week of the summer.   I can only give "my kids" one awesome week of summer, but I try to give them tons of quality time the rest of the year.  And since they're on Spring Break, I've been cramming.

Last week, we took a girls only trip to see Tangled.
Rapunzel: I've been looking out of a window for eighteen years, dreaming about what I might feel like when those lights rise in the sky. What if it's not everything I dreamed it would be?
Flynn Rider: It will be.
Rapunzel: And what if it is? What do I do then?
Flynn Rider: Well,that's the good part I guess. You get to go find a new dream.

How do I help these kids dream?  How do I share the keys to unlock a world beyond their neighborhood?  How do I instill not only one dream, but many?

Often, my dreams have been fed by great books.  A while ago, I decided that I would give "my kids" a love for bookstores.  Today, we tried a new one.  I wish you could have seen them squealing as they discovered Schuler Books in Grand Rapids.

The three of us picked a worn couch for silent reading.  I think it's a beautiful scene.

They loved watching ME read.  And I loved telling them about how fun it is to read a 700 page book that you never want to put down (The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand- read it?). They adore me, and it's so important that they get to see this side of me.

We also sat like grown-ups in the coffee shop and read the original version of Rapunzel.  You know, because we like to compare and contrast literature to film.

“Listen to the mustn'ts, child.
Listen to the don'ts. 
Listen to the shouldn'ts, 
the impossibles, 
the won'ts.
Listen to the never haves, 
then listen close to me... 
Anything can happen, child. 
Anything can be.” 
-Shel Silverstein

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Sharpening The Axe

Abraham Lincoln once said, "Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe." 

This is what is before me.  Another summer as a camp director with SpringHill.  A large tree to be chopped down.  

Spring is spent sharpening the axe.  I do this professionally (oh, the long hours- we won't go there) and personally.

Today, I'll focus on nesting.  I truly believe it's a thing.  And that it's actually not limited to women about to give birth.  This season for me very much parallels welcoming a new child. It's all-consuming, sleep-depriving and can be isolating.  My thoughts can't be selfish, my needs have to be last, my strength has to be steadfast as others are depending on me to take care of them.

But oh, the reward.  And instead of just one child, it's many.  8,000 predicted at Day Camps. I know some of you think I'm crazy.  This season I keep doing.  This life I keep living.  But 8,000 children.

So, let me invite you into the nesting.  Here's what I've been up to.

When you nest, you have to change things. Even in your favorite room. How lucky am I that I found an amazing color of spray paint and some stray things just waiting to be rescued in my basement? I took two empty frames, an old basket, and two sconces and updated them in the new color for spring.  I also found fun fabric from hobby lobby and recovered the two old chairs under the sconces.  I didn't yet get to re-finishing one of them.  Let's be honest, it probably won't happen before summer. 




Nesting means getting your stuff together.  Being prepared for disaster. Did you know that last Friday was national "back it up" day?  Yeah, that threw me into a panic, too.  I ditched my plans, pressed play on "24," got to work organizing all my e-files and put them into dropbox.  Freedom!  I feel so much better.  And inspired. Saturday I spent the rainy day cleaning the actual piles of paper in my home office as well. 

Nesting must involve getting rid of what you don't need. Look at my ever-growing to-sell/give-away stash that lives in a corner of my dining room. I think this week I might actually start taking things to the mission and learn more about selling books on amazon. Any tips?

And nesting should always involve baking.  Even with my weird restrictions. This gluten free/sugar free/dairy free thing has been challenging.  And I miss my pancakes.  Enter my new favorite mix.  Superior pancakes, even if you don't have to eat gluten free. 


"I will prepare and some day my chance will come."
-Abraham Lincoln

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Should You Go to Grad School?

Sometimes, you get to be a part of something that feels so important, so meaningful, so much greater than you are that it will always be remembered as your once in a lifetime.

That's how I feel about my time spent at The Erikson Institute.  Erikson was not only where I went to graduate school.  It's where I came to understand my place in something greater.

I have a colleague who thinks that graduate school is a waste of money.  He believes that  you can learn everything you need to know online or in print.  Let me say this: I do believe you can become a lot smarter by being an avid reader.  However, in my opinion, you pay to go to the best grad school so that you can sit in the room with the smartest people in your field.  You set yourself up to have personal relationships with professors that are top researchers, will provide you with reflective supervision and will take an interest in your career.  And at the core of "sitting in the room with the smartest people" are the other students.  I wanted to be a shared learner, friend and future collaborator with the most intelligent, diverse group of students possible.  

Those were my intentions.  To get smarter.  And to find a high paying job in a field I loved (oops- should have picked a different field).  But it became so much more.  I couldn't help but be caught up in the wonder of the multi-disciplinary approach.  The faculty at Erikson are not only teaching; they are producing leading research that is impacting policies and programs, spearheading community initiatives and new schools and providing direct services to families in need. 

Yes, I left Erikson with a great education, relationships with smart people, and an attractive job offer at Loyola.  But more importantly, I left with increased vision, purpose and resolve to do what's right in the lives of kids and their families.

Sometimes I'll take the hard road, make risky career choices, push people to have dialogues and make changes that they weren't ready for.  But I've been set on a course that is right, is needed, is in my heart and has been nurtured.  And I'm forever grateful.





Photos were taken on a recent visit to The Erikson Institute.  A special thanks to Stephanie Bynum who took me on a tour of the new building and spent time collaborating with me on a special project.

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