Birthday

I just got caught up on my schoolwork after being behind for an entire year. Yes, it's 4am, hopefully my last pseudo all-nighter for the year. It feels good to be done, although I really dragged my feet when it came down to the last few assignments. I realized that I was afraid to move on because I know that it means I'll have more time on my hands. When I'm less busy, thoughts and feelings surface that I've been keeping at bay. Now is the time for me to approach those things with love and courage, to give myself the space to deal with them. I got transplants for my vegetable garden this weekend and spent some time in the sunshine preparing the beds and irrigation. It was great to get my hands dirty and feel the satisfaction of a sore back after some (minimal) manual labor. I also cleared out my studio at school (two pickup truck loads of art gear!) and am looking forward to a shift in pace for the summer.

If you are interested in seeing what I'm doing in school these days, feel free to visit my artist website at www.ericabarajas.com. I drank some green tea to get myself through the last two papers I was writing and now I'm a little too wired to go to sleep even though it's been a long day.

I'm so grateful for the friends I've met here in Kalamazoo since we moved here in 2009. We had a lovely gathering today to celebrate my 35-and-still-alive birthday. Everyone brought something to share and it was warm enough to be out in the backyard. There were children and dogs and all sorts of diverse conversations going on. Mark made an amazing Devil's Food Cake from scratch and we grilled burgers, veggie kabobs, and polenta. There is so much beauty in the world if I look for it, and I'm lucky to be surrounded by so much of it. There is also a lot of suffering in the world, and I can face that with courage and love as well.