The Highest Form of Hope

Another busy day in the city...

The last month has been a blur of activity so I thought I would update you all on what the Morgun's have been up to lately.

Sasha has started hockey... for some crazy reason (keep in mind he's FOUR YEARS OLD) he's scheduled to practice twice a week, plus games, plus tournaments (am I the only one who is surprised by the fact that four years olds can take part in hockey tournaments??!!). Needless to say, we began with some trepidation... especially considering that during his first practice he spent 90% of the hour on his bottom and the other 10% in tears. So I asked him at the end of the practice if he wanted to continue. He gave a very definite "yes". Sure enough, he kept at it and by the third practice he started skating unassisted - he was so proud of himself! And I can think of one other person who was very proud (and somewhat relieved) as well!

Sasha also made his acting debut as an angel in the kids choir and as Joseph in the nativity. Not to be upstaged by last year's performance (where he picked his nose and loudly announced it in front of the whole church) he got into a fist fight with another angel in the choir. Other than that he was wonderfully cute!

Noah is huge of course. He is wearing clothes that I bought for Sasha in spring (the pants are short but everything else fits fine!). He is also beginning to talk. He says "mama" quite regularly now. "Book" is a favorite (he's a bit of a bookworm). I'm fairly certain he says "Sasha". He said "raisin" today and he said "baby" as clear as day last week. He will not perform of course, so you'll have to take my word on it.

Considering that Noah has such a love of books, I thought he would love a trip to the library.

How wrong I was.

I sit the kids down in the board book section and go to a nearby computer to look for something to read on our trip to BC. Noah sits for all but 5 seconds. He is soon grabbing at my pants, crying and wanting to be lifted up to bang on the keyboard of the computer. To distract him I give him my cell phone. He walks around for a minute or two pretending to talk so some unseen caller but soon he was back yanking on my pants so hard they almost fall down. I pick him up, avoiding the embarrassment of exposing the whole library to my underpants, and plopped him next to his angelic brother, who is quietly reading about sharks. Then I realize the cell phone is missing. I'm soon on my hands and knees trying to find a missing cell phone while Noah waddles over to some unsuspecting student working on a computer and promptly TURNS IT OFF! I felt so awful!

And then I smelled something. Of course it would have to happen now! When, in between losing my cellphone and erasing a high school student's history essay on Absolutism did he find the time to poop his diaper?!

To make a long story short, after much screaming and crying, freaking out two young Mormons (I'm sooo glad they didn't try to evangelize me - I think Noah may have scared them off!) and Noah turning MY computer off just as I was writing down the call number of the book I wanted, we all ended up finding what we needed. The cell phone had been turned in at the front desk (probably by the Mormons), I found the book I wanted even though the computer said it was on loan, and Sasha got books on his new favorite subjects: sharks and China.

As for Paul, well, his blog really speaks for him, but he's been really busy the past few weeks with planning youth banquets and all the general busyness that comes with the Christmas rush. The theme for this years banquet was "Rock Star". Paul was John Lenin and I was Yoko Ono and none of the kids knew who I was. Sadly we don't have a picture of that - things are so busy during a youth night.

This year has been a little harder than most, I think Paul's quite ready for a break. And we haven't been out to a movie in forever (by forever I mean 3 weeks), so we have a long list of must-sees we can begin when we get back from holidays!

And me? Well, I've been working on some projects here and there (translation: I've been totally stressed out trying to finish these things before we go on holidays!). I did a painting for one of the weeks of advent (I'll try to get some pictures soon). And I've been gathering some photographs for my next big painting. I also remodeled the bathroom with some very generous help from my friends (thanks especially to Trevor and Mel for all their help!). I'm pretty proud of myself - I learned how to mud, sand, tile and gout. I'm starting to feel kind of handy - I actually know what gyprock is now (I had to look up how to spell it though)! Tonight we used our new bathtub for the first time (and it was TIME - Sasha's hair smelled like wet dog).

I'm sorry I don't have any pictures yet. Paul's been using the camera for the youth banquets. But don't worry, I'll get them up soon! (Especially Sasha's hockey pictures!)

We won't be around the next few days as we're leaving for BC to go skiing with my family (I hope to get some good pictures of that). Have a merry Christmas, take care, travel safe, and enjoy time with your families!

Labels: family

British graffiti artist Banksy has recently hit Bethlehem, a town whose economy has been devastated by the security barrier and a sharp drop in tourism revenue. Along with an exhibition of his work, Banksy has of course transformed the concrete of the security barrier into a canvas. In an interview with the BBC the elusive artist remarked that he hoped these pieces would be impermanent, and that the barrier would one day be demolished. In the town of Christ's birth filled with violence and division, injustice and oppression, Banksy's work reminds me of the burden that an absence of peace places on those who have the light of hope. To transform a structure of violence and apartheid into a work of art is certainly an admirable undertaking.

Labels: art, christmas, politics

Apparently my brother has been keeping a secret from the rest of the family. We all thought he was living a carefree single life on the west coast, working with disadvantaged kids on the lower east side and following God's call the far corners of the earth...

How wrong we were.

During the last six or so years, Matt got married and had two kids and he's been keeping his family secret from us (along with his perv stash). From what I can gather from his family pictures, I think he made the right decision. I don't really want to meet these people.

Labels: family, humour, secrets

Does anyone feel a sense of sadness when looking out onto the booming city of Saskatoon? Does the sight of Pepto Bismol colored stucco turn your stomach? Does the thought of yet another box store opening in suburbia fill your soul with dread?
You may not be only suffering the anxieties of Saskatoon-is-turning-into-Calgary blues. You may have a case of acute Architectural Withdrawal Syndrome (better know as AWS)!

If you are like me, you probably find yourself annoyed at the overabundance of garage centered homes, pink condos, warehouse stores, and general ugliness plaguing Saskatoon at the moment.

Now I know that architecture is not the most important thing in the world. I know that it's more important to have functional housing than "pretty" housing. But the way we choose to build our homes, businesses, churches, theaters, schools etc reveals something about our priorities. It is generally more important to save a buck than to bring beauty to a community. It is more important to get something done fast than to create spaces in which people want reside and interact.

As an example, look at the two newest schools built in Saskatoon. St. Joseph's (the school I did my internship in) is a place I enjoyed going to. There was natural light in every classroom, high ceilings, some evidence of craftsmanship, beautiful grounds and a general sense of pride in the school building. It was also a building the community wanted to use - for plays, dance recitals, weddings, meetings, conferences... It is functional and it looks like someone put some thought into it. Compare this to Centennial high school built just a few blocks away. The place resembles a prison. It is basically a series of brick boxes dotted with small windows.

What is this saying to students? "You're school is a prison - no one put any thought into if it would be an enjoyable space to spend the greater part of your day. This is your holding cell until you graduate."

What does it say when your garage is the focal point of your home? "This is where my car is parked when I'm not working." What if your church resembles a warehouse store? "This is where I go to purchase low cost spirituality." Or a movie theater? "This is where I go to be entertained."

I'm not trying to be a snob here, but I think that it actually would not be overly painful to put some thought into how we build things. You would end up employing local craftspeople and artisans. You could create a place where people want to be - a place people want to use. Clearly, the PEOPLE who inhabit a place can make even the ugliest of buildings into a beacon of beauty or the most beautiful architecture unbearable. But isn't it at some point necessary to express outwardly how we feel (or want to feel) inwardly about our homes, our schools, our places of work?

There is a beautiful cathedral built in a rundown area of a large city. Some might say that the money could have been better spent on affordable housing, social programs, or new businesses to employ members of the community. What it really comes down to is that it is a completely unnecessary building. Parishioners would have surely worshiped and met, gotten married and mourned their dead in a building which did not cost so much. So what is the presence of a beautiful cathedral, open to the community saying to those who live under its shadow? "This is for you. Here is a beautiful place for you. It is not something that had to be here, it is a building we wanted to build here because we wanted you to enjoy it."

I don't think good architecture will save the world, but it certainly makes the world a little more bearable to live in.

Labels: aesthetics, architecture, church, saskatoon, schools