“Peace is a fragile thing. It takes courage to secure it. It takes wisdom to maintain it.” ~ Dame Jenny Shipley

When I was a grad student at UVa, I’d always wanted to make it over to Appomattox to see the court house where Lee surrendered to Grant and the warfighting portion of the Civil War reached its end. I didn’t know it until I actually did some research that the original surrender didn’t take place at the court house, but at the McLean house, a former tavern owned by Wilmer McLean. McLean witnessed both the beginning and the end of the war, as one of the first battles of the Civil War, the First Battle of Bull Run, took place in his backyard and then, years later, two generals signed the surrender terms at a table in his living room. I saw both.

But the thing that struck me the most was that while those signatures ended the battles, there was a war of ideologies being fought during that time period that really hasn’t ended. One side cries out against the old oppression. One side cries that the South will rise again. Prejudice coils around the hearts of both sides. Hate is everywhere. Peace is a fragile thing.

Currently…

In…good old Fort Lee, Virginia. I’m taking a momentary break from traveling so that I can catch up on work today. I did take a little trip yesterday, as I mentioned above, to Appomattox and McLean, and then drove back through my old haunts in Charlottesville. More on that for tomorrow’s “snapshots” post.

Feeling…small. It’s a big world out there, and every once in a while, I stand on places that make me feel not only the breadth of the world around me, but the depth of it through time, and the depth of the things that have happened in those places. Time astounds me. I’m amazed that this coming week is my last week at Fort Lee, and that this time next week, we’ll be in Denver, starting our journey westward.

Reading…Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. It’s about the rapid thinking and snap judgments we make in a blink of an eye, and how gaining a better understanding of those can help us use those perceptions to our advantage. This may as well be required reading for my colleagues and I, since I think just about everyone has read it. So far, I’m absolutely engrossed – and trying hard to read critically. It’s hard when so much of what he’s written reinforces some of my theories about the power of the first impression, but I’m trying.

Clicking…on social media news and updates, but for the most part, on resources and classes for my distance learning professional development course. One of these days, I’ll catch up on it all!

Writing…sadly, just work related papers and projects. I haven’t had a chance to work on the professional paper I’ve been meaning to get journal-ready, and I sure haven’t had a chance to do any creative writing other than what I’ve done for this blog. A friend of mine who’s a beginning author asked me recently how my writing was going, and it made me so sad to tell him I haven’t touched my book in two months. I’ve got to remedy that.

Listening…to Darius Rucker sing “Wagon Wheel.” I had a good friend in grad school who loved the Old Crow Medicine Show version and we listened to them a lot, but I like Darius’s version better. It’s a big jump to go from Hootie and the Blowfish to country, but I’m so glad he did. What a voice!

Thinking…about the next steps in our adventure. And trying not to, because I still have one more week of the course to get through and I don’t want to have already moved on mentally before I’m done. Being in transition is always hard for that reason – you still have requirements in the present, but you need to keep an eye on the future, too. This has been a very long transition period, and it’s not over yet. It’s really testing my flexibility and my ability to improvise.

Cooking…a lot more simply than I have been since all I have is a flat cooktop and a frying pan, but I’m kind of impressed that I’ve been able to make as many things as I have! And not just salads. I’ve got a couple of new recipes coming up for you over the next couple weeks, ones that are tasty, reasonably healthy, and don’t involve anything more complicated than a frying pan and/or a microwave. Stay tuned!

Smelling…coffee and pancake syrup. Yes, I make pancakes in my frying pan. They’re from a mix, because I don’t have any flour here, but they’re still pancakes, dammit! And they’re tasty!

Wishing…that it were Tuesday. Because that’s when my husband gets himself up here from Florida! We talk every night and Skype as often as we can, but it will still be wonderful to have him within hugging distance.

Wearing…at the moment, my favorite of the combinations I made today for my take on the 7×7 challenge. Gorgeous and talented blogger-friend Alison inspired me to start making the most of my wardrobe, especially the limited wardrobe I brought with me here. You have to be creative when you’re living with the contents of two big suitcases. Plus, I think this challenge will push me out of my comfort zone. I’m excited to post this and hear what you think – and did I mention nervous? I do fashion posts, but not me-in-fashion posts. We’ll see how this works.

Wanting…all the moving pieces this week to go smoothly. The cats are going into boarding when Scott leaves Florida, because my in-laws will be leaving right on his heels and won’t be back until after my father-in-law’s surgery. Then he’s got to get to his flight and I’ll rescue him from the airport. Then he’s taking the car to get shipped out of port while I finish my class, and picking up our rental car. We’ve got to pack somewhere in there, because the next day, the movers come to pack up all the stuff in the room that won’t be going with us on leave {really just my iMac and professional books}. Then, assuming all goes well, I graduate and we head out for the first of many jumps west. Busy week. Both Scott and I can handle craziness, but we’d prefer not to, so if things would go smoothly, that would be very nice.

Needing…contingency plans in case any of that goes all pear-shaped. I can’t help it, it’s just how my brain works. I need plans with branches and sequels.

Loving…the peace. It feels like a calm before a storm on many levels, but for right now, it’s peace.

What’s on your mind, currently?