I grew up with a very interesting life. The child of educators, ministers, and a natural hostess... my life has always been full of people. Making new friends, greeting old friends, hosting families and strangers, being hosted by families and strangers... it's no wonder I don't do well with too much alone time! :o)
When I was four years old, my father became an appointee, which is our church's term for clergy, or full-time minister. during his 10 month training process, he became friends with his fellow classmates, and all of our families developed a bond that I draw on to this day for strength and support.
Recently, I was reminded of a family vactation where a number of these families rented a place and spent a few days together out in the woods. I was pretty young, and have relatively few memories of the time there, but I can vividly remember the emotions. The feeling that I was completely safe with all of these people, and that they all loved me.
Dave was one of the guys on the vacation. He and his family goofed off with us and hiked through the woods with us and told stories and laughed with us. Dave has a great laugh. Even as he has gotten older and become more serious (in part, a product of his latest position in our church), his laughter is something I treasure. I wrote Dave mostly just to say hi, and to share the memory of that trip with him. I hope it brings a smile to his face as he recalls some of the shennanigans that took place that weekend... including the "ceremonial offering" presented to my family in my dad & brother's burned out sneakers...
I may not keep in close touch with Dave, or any of the other people in those families... but we all went through a very intense family experience together, and that has created friendships that have outlasted many things in my life. These people also provide me with a strength I find I can access just by recalling those times we were all sharing space, and sharing love and laughter. I will always be an appointee kid, and that makes me a part of a very special family.
Showing posts with label appointee kid. Show all posts
Showing posts with label appointee kid. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Letter #85 - Travis
I LOVE the name Travis. In fact, if I have a son someday, it's pretty high up on my list of potential names. I have a cousin named Travis, and a good friend of the family named Travis. Today's letter went to the latter.
What's funny is I hit the period before the "r" and so a second ago that last sentence read "latte." it's funny because Travis is a manager at Starbucks. Ok so it's funny to me.
Moving on.
My father spent the majority of my life working as full time clergy for our church. Full time clergy in our church go by the title of "Appointee". As a result, I am what is dubbed an Appointee Kid. This life is as enriching as it can be frustrating. The blessings I've had from being an Appointee Kid (AK) include having lived all over the world, having met hundreds of interesting and wonderful people, having traveled the world and learned all kinds of cool cultures, and having created bonds with other Appointee Kids. Travis is also an AK. He's older than me, so we didn't grow up attending the same camps or church functions together, but our parents worked together and were very good friends (his father performed my wedding last year). As a result, Trav and I share a bond that is unique and very meaningful to me. While we've had our own ups and downs with that life, we can understand each other on a different level, even though we may not be BFFs. We also share an interesting take on church life and spirituality because of our upbringings being so close to the church. Most people would assume this means we are either goody two shoes, or complete rebels, but mostly we fall somewhere in the middle... with deep senses of personal spirituality and a deep appreciation for the culture and community of our church while still finding ourselves somewhat skeptical and frustrated with the politics and challenges that come with running any organisation. Appointee Kids tend to see a different side of the church than most people. We see the good, but we also see the dirty underbelly. We have to learn to maintain a delicate balance so that we can operate within the community of the church, but still separate the business and frustration from our spiritual selves so we can try and avoid becoming complete cynics. Most of us are reasonably successful at walking this line, and I think almost all of us waver from time to time on one side or the other of the line.
That's why maintaining our AK bonds are important, because we help support each other during the frustrating and wavering times. Travis and I will always have a special bond, and my letter to him was to reach out and remind him of that. Also to thank him for making time for my husband and I when we were in his neck of the woods a few weeks back. It was great to see him for awhile and to get to spend some time catching up and just shooting the breeze (and eating Mexican food lol)
Travis, you rock buddy. I love ya!
What's funny is I hit the period before the "r" and so a second ago that last sentence read "latte." it's funny because Travis is a manager at Starbucks. Ok so it's funny to me.
Moving on.
My father spent the majority of my life working as full time clergy for our church. Full time clergy in our church go by the title of "Appointee". As a result, I am what is dubbed an Appointee Kid. This life is as enriching as it can be frustrating. The blessings I've had from being an Appointee Kid (AK) include having lived all over the world, having met hundreds of interesting and wonderful people, having traveled the world and learned all kinds of cool cultures, and having created bonds with other Appointee Kids. Travis is also an AK. He's older than me, so we didn't grow up attending the same camps or church functions together, but our parents worked together and were very good friends (his father performed my wedding last year). As a result, Trav and I share a bond that is unique and very meaningful to me. While we've had our own ups and downs with that life, we can understand each other on a different level, even though we may not be BFFs. We also share an interesting take on church life and spirituality because of our upbringings being so close to the church. Most people would assume this means we are either goody two shoes, or complete rebels, but mostly we fall somewhere in the middle... with deep senses of personal spirituality and a deep appreciation for the culture and community of our church while still finding ourselves somewhat skeptical and frustrated with the politics and challenges that come with running any organisation. Appointee Kids tend to see a different side of the church than most people. We see the good, but we also see the dirty underbelly. We have to learn to maintain a delicate balance so that we can operate within the community of the church, but still separate the business and frustration from our spiritual selves so we can try and avoid becoming complete cynics. Most of us are reasonably successful at walking this line, and I think almost all of us waver from time to time on one side or the other of the line.
That's why maintaining our AK bonds are important, because we help support each other during the frustrating and wavering times. Travis and I will always have a special bond, and my letter to him was to reach out and remind him of that. Also to thank him for making time for my husband and I when we were in his neck of the woods a few weeks back. It was great to see him for awhile and to get to spend some time catching up and just shooting the breeze (and eating Mexican food lol)
Travis, you rock buddy. I love ya!
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