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 It's
(He's) a Boy!
That's the news I heard on Monday
morning, January 29th. Nathanael called me at work.
He had already shared the joyful news with the two pending
grandmothers. The day before, we had celebrated the
baptism of Charis Lorien Disher and the birthdays of Nathanael
and myself. Even though I was warned that the news could
come, it caught me completely by surprise.
Nathanael's school had a teacher
work-day, so the paraeducators had the day off. It just
happened to coincide with their trip to their O.B. and Cynthia's
scheduled ultrasound. If their June baby was discovered to
be a boy, that would be conclusive. If the images were
inconclusive, it might still be a boy.
 I'll
admit that hearing the news lifted my spirits! The sudden
joy I felt was downright embarrassing, since the same
announcement about Charis had raised a feeling of contentment and
a more settled happiness.
Our
Granddaughter is Our Sister: Charis is Baptized
Great-grandma Ginger joined both sets
of grandparents and Aunt Cynthia and Uncle Nate at the
baptism. Two baby girls were ushered into the Body of
Christ at the UPC 8:30 AM service on January 28, 2018.
And, while she fidgeted just a bit during the actual baptism,
she did not disturb the congregation as she spent the hour in
the front row. Here was her baptism verse.
3 Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 I
give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God
that has been given you in Christ Jesus, 5 for in
every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge
of every kind.
1 Corinthians 1:3-5
New Revised Standard Version
   
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  Charis
at One (month)
Have we reached that place in life
where grandchildren will now dominate the stories in my
journal? It would not surprise me. No doubt my
photogenic model
Charis will become more cooperative in the years to come.
And it would not surprise me if I broke down and acquired a
newer Nikon, capable of capturing better images in natural
light. The photo shoot below showed that the better shots
were those in natural light instead of flash. The Nikon D300,
their flagship DX camera at the time, came out over ten years
ago, in August 2007. [ For my birthday, I did just order
myself a 35mm f/1.8 G AF-S DX Nikkor lens. I got it used
from Adorama for $119 plus shipping. It's $179 new.
At 400 ISO it will take crisp lower light photos of my littlest
model Charis — and her younger cousin! ] I am reminded what the late Dr. J.
Vernon McGee said about New Years resolutions and crying babies
in church, "They both need to be carried out!" But so far,
Charis has been (mostly) a silent witness in our second-to-last
pew in the UPC balcony.
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  Jean
has an Experience
Jean's month away in the cold of
Shakespeare &
Company in Lenox, MA, with a homeward stop
in Chicago, came to an end on the 31st.
She came home bubbling like a tweenager
coming home from a
 week at summer camp. Except her trip began in late December and her Shakespeare
Intensive was four weeks long.
She had voice and movement classes every day, plus clown, stage combat,
sound and movement (different from either voice class or
movement class), lectures, and more. It was one of
those life-impacting experiences that will one day bear
unforeseen fruit.
As for her auditions in Chicago, they went well enough,
but also opened her eyes to the fact that perhaps
graduate school is not the route for her. She's
already on a rung of the actors career ladder.
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A Passport Photo Good for Five Years!
I was happy to lend my photo
skills to prepare a passport photo for Charis.
COSTCO will print a 4"x6", not the needed 2"x2" passport
size image. So you get 6 shots for the price of
one. Annie sent me three shots to process, and
ordered the passport in Kirkland.
This summer, Thomas, Annie, and
Charis will be off to visit New Zealand to visit
friends. Off to the land of Hobbits!
 I'm
not good at calling, especially to a distant time zone.
But I'm happy to write or email. Jean did not take
her laptop on her trip, but postcards featuring her
super heroine Wonder Woman were appreciated.
I sent three.
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Bits and Pieces
 
♦
Assistant Professor of Mathematics Russ Killingsworth passed away on the
17th.
Russ had suffered with chronic liver
disease for many years, which took a turn for the worse over the
Christmas break.
Navy
veteran, Scoutmaster, husband and father, he joined the SPU faculty in
1996. He was awarded the Silver Beaver by the
local Boy Scout Council for years of outstanding service as a
Scoutmaster. The news shocked us all. I interacted with Russ
as he taught every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 11:00 AM in "my"
computer classroom (McKenna 113). Half of his teaching load was
BUS/MAT 2700 Statistics for Business and Economics, the same
course I have taught off and on since 2000.
 ♦
Last month,
another of my mentors, Bob Swenson, passed away. Back in
August 2013,
I wrote about his receiving the Bronze Star for his heroic service in
World War II. Until he slowed down in the past hew years, he was
perhaps the most faithful member of the Saturday Morning Men's Bible
Study that I facilitated. He brought the continental breakfast
every Saturday. Many of us attended his memorial service
in the choir room at Bellevue Presbyterian. He was the model of a
selfless servant and faithful Christian. More than anyone, he was
responsible for me serving on Bellevue Presbyterian committees in the
1990s, and my chairing their annual Men's retreat in 1997.
♦
In Autumn quarter 2008, I launched a periodic online newsletter called
the SBE Undergraduate eNews. It
was web-based and was published about every four weeks. In Autumn
2015, that newsletter became a weekly and took up over 10% of my work
week to publish. On February 7th, I'll turn over this publication
to Jake Carlson, our new Associate Director of Undergraduate Programs.
I'm only reluctant to make this change because Jake is so new and
unproven in his writing and online skills, and his limited knowledge of
SBGE and SPU.
♦
On the 29th, I had my monthly meeting with my dean. It stretched
to 90 minutes, although a week earlier I'd wondered what we'd have to
talk about. Not surprisingly, the topic of
retirement
came up. The university is facing needed cutbacks, and some
savings may come through that route. While I do teach, my staff
contract only guarantees me annual employment. This talk has moved
this issue forward in my thinking. But I have also been
considering it more over the
 past year.
On the 31st, I shared the idea that retirements could be phased, with
employees working fewer hours as they approach eventual retirement.
Part of me hopes to work until age 69. Yet another part might
prefer a graceful exit from the academy at 65. I have now worked
professionally over 40 years at my two schools, and June 2019 would mark
my 30th year at SPU.
♦
On the evening of the day I learned I would have a grandson, I watched
the movie Arrival starring Amy Adams and
Jeremy Renner. I was moved. Jean and Nancy watched it on the
31st.
♦
On the 30th, I finally had a tooth extracted that could have been
removed last summer. I waited until my winter quarter lectures had
ended. I'd also wanted to do it after the holidays. It will,
no doubt, be months before my second implant will be complete. The
first implant is directly opposite the pictured void.
My Quote from
January
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Sometimes I
wish we
never built
this palace
But real
love is
never a
waste of
time
— from
Palace
by Sam Smith
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