Strip Tease at the Y

No, this entry is not going to be a silly or embarrassing story from inside the YMCA's women's locker room. Although...

Rather, this morning's excursion to my local YMCA, where I have a membership, resurrected in my mind a debate that took place at the end of this past winter. To understand this debate you must understand two dynamics.

1. This "Y", far above others that I know of, remembers well the "C" in its abbreviation. Bulletin boards support the local churches and post their latest news items. All Christian holidays are observed, while the same cannot be said about the other religious holidays. Headlines on the bulletin boards read "Praise the Lord" and "Hallelujah". Refreshing I must admit.

2. The "Y" offers free, one-hour classes in its upstairs gym beginning at 8 a.m. and carrying through, without a break, until 8 p.m. Gospel Aerobics, Therapeutic Aquatics, Tighten N' Tone Abs... The classroom is surrounded by large windows where passersby can stop and observe the workout. (Great P.R. move, I might add.)

This past winter a new class was introduced. "Introduction to Strip Tease" As you can imagine, quite the controversy arose despite the classes rapid (attendance) success. Some argued strip tease is a great thing in the context of marriage and that more classes should be held in this sexual regard, where women in the Church can feel comfortable exploring their sexuality. Others, begged to differ, stating that such an argument may have clout if there weren't windows around the perimeter of the classroom and if the class wasn't held during after-school hours. As it were, kids of any age, men and women of any age, could watch the class just as if it was "Gospel Aerobics". Covering the windows was, of course, a fire hazard.

For the first time in awhile, I did not form an immediate opinion. Or, rather, I would always play Devil's advocate with those who tried to impose their opinion on me.

I very much agree that there is a glut in the number of classes held for women - Christian women - where they can feel safe to explore their sexuality and even bump the bedroom excitement up a notch. And, I didn't feel the "C" in YMCA was jeopardized simply by the installment of such a class.

But, the fact that any man and any child could observe this class substantially changed the argument. And, I feel, does immediately jeopardizes the "safe" aspect of the course.

Needless to say, I just picked up the Fall schedule of courses at the "Y" and guess what class is not on the list?

If your local YMCA offered this course, what stance would you take?

To Be 10 Again

Friday night I entertained four little girls whose ages, if you averaged them, equalled ten. As predicted, Saturday morning came way too early and with way too much exhaustion. But, it was undoubtedly worth it.

Milkshakes, movie animation of some of American's great children's stories, girl chatter, and uncontrolled giggles, and sleeping on the floor brought me back to when I was 10. I remember the church ladies, unmarried at the time, who cooed over us, who made my friends and I milkshakes, sat up late, and got stern with us just when the fun was getting started. I now remember the pajamas that did not match, top and bottoms. The immense amount of time it took to go through the bedtime routine. How looking at these ladies brought up in my little adolescent mind all sorts of questions about growing older. What would I be like? Where would I work and live? I now remember life being a museum and everything open for touch. No questions were kosher and boys were the furthest thing from my mind.

And now...I live in Chicago. Same city as before. Life, unfortunately, has lost its marvelous museum affect. Boys are all too present in my mind (I'd trade anything to go back). I work for a non-profit telling my altruistic self each day that I am not on a solo effort to save the world, nor one soul, and instead doing "the Lord's work". I am the one cooing over kids now but still look up to those 20 years older than me with the same wonder and questions that I did when I was 10. My bedtime routine has shortened (thank God!) and so has my morning routine, in fact. I've dropped the acne but gained other horrid things. I've now been told there are certain kosher questions...

...yet I keep forgetting which ones they are.

Oh, it would be great to be 10 again... perhaps only for a day.

AhAhAhChooooo!

Weather.com says that my itchy eyes and frequent sneezes are due to my weed allergy. Uh, yeah! A friend of mine asked me this weekend, after I'd sneezed 5 times in row, what exactly in the air was I allergic to. Not knowing, I later went on a search. No, folks, it's not hayfever, trees, grass.. nope, its weeds! Great.

The Harder Way

"At first glance legalism seems hard, but actually freedom in Christ is the harder way. It is relatively easy not to murder, hard to reach out in love; easy to avoid a neighbor's bed, hard to keep a marriage alive; easy to pay taxes, hard to serve the poor. When living in freedom, I must remain open to the Spirit for guidance. I am more aware of what I have neglected than what I achieved. I cannot hide behind a mask of behavior, like the hypocrites, nor can I hide behind facile comparisons with the other Christians."

- Philip Yancey, "What is So Amazing About Grace?"

Spiders, Coffee Houses, & Lots of Ya Ya

What is with this Chicago rain! Heck, I don't remember a summer where we had 3 weeks of straight rain in August. Forecast predicts another 5 days of this. Where is my August!!! :pounds first on table: I hate winter and it lasts sooooooooo long. So!!! I demand that every day in the summer months must have sunlight. I stockpile sunlight like Joseph stockpiled grain for the Israelites 20-some centuries ago. Except I hit famine about December and he seemed to have thought farther ahead. Like 7 years ahead. And...

...to make matters worse, the moisture has brought an insurgency of spiders. That's right. Before I leave out my back door each morning for work I have to dig myself out with a broom. Fanning the air like some crazy lady. Wrapping the webs around the bristles (and up the handle). The more unfortunate scene, though, is when I come home. The spiders have worked just as hard as I during the day, yet this time I don't have a broom around.

Yesterday morning, I woke up to a spider bite on my wrist and a black, fury, quarter-size buster on my toilet seat. (When he walked he became even bigger!) Goooooood Morning!

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I had one of those random weekends. Ended up driving the up the lake shore on Saturday night with Josh and his friends because we couldn't think of anything cheap and casual to do.

(And to field any suspicion from those friends in other States who will view this & read this & suddenly call me for an "update" on my life....I know you want the "juice". There is none. But, still do call.)

We made it from my apt on the south side to the Baha'i Temple in Evanston.

And Sunday I ended up at the coffee shop, where I hoped to get some reading in with anonymous people chatter keeping me company.

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Today I drove out to our printing company in Lisle and while I was waiting for my order to complete, I browsed through the recent invitation orders the company had been filling. Most of the invitations were wedding invites to take place on farms in Wisconsin (huh?!), but there was one in particular that caught my attention. It was for a "Celebration of Friendship". What? I asked Kelley, my printing lady (she's 25, but she can still be called "my printing lady" cuz...that's what she is) what a celebration of friendship exactly is. She didn't know. She just prints these things, you know, no questions asked. Maybe you know what a "Celebration of Friendship" is. Sounds a little ya ya sister-ish, sit on the floor, cross our legs, prick our fingers, and pledge to never leave each other-ish.

Uh, Yeah, We're Kind of a Big Deal

Dad and I take a spin around Steamboat with the new wheels.

Back from the Wild Blue Yonder...

...where I did fly high.

Back from (almost) a week's vacation in Colorado. Nothing like family, blue skies, mountains, and old friends to bring perspective into life. I was admittedly a bit sluggish today at work. The 1:15 a.m. flight arrival may have had something to do with it. Not wanting to be back to the riggers of work may also have had something to do with it. In any regards, it's like my Mom said today, "I've decided, Lauren, that if we can't simply enjoy the priviledge of going away and come back happy, then we shouldn't have been allowed to go in the first place." I suppose she's right (like she often is).

(Don't mistake the look of rest in my eyes as fatigue. It's the look of tranquility found after many hours in the sun.)

Maybe it's because I'm not that long out of school (okay, it's going on two years) but my new year is still every August. The plane rides, long afternoons by the pool or lake, and the strolls through nature gave me ample opportunity to look back on my year. And without getting into the details of it (God knows my friends would kill me for rehashing again the year's emotional rollercoaster) I have to simply concur with my friend, Anna, who remarked as she sent me off with a hug, "Let's hope that when we meet again it will have been a happier year". Amen! This can be said for the both of us.

This year has had had its mountain-top (ha!) highs and its lowest of lowest vallies. I need the Lord to give me (and her too) a break. No drama for 12 months, please! Although I've determined that wish will only come true if I work retail, stayed away from all boys (I'm positive they'd say the same about me), lived back at home, and crocheted behind the TV during off-hours, whereby the action of TV stars would become my drama. But...where's the fun in that?!? I suppose, then, this year will have it's fair share of drama. Nonetheless, there are degrees to these things.

In other news...I don't like my hair in these pictures. I think Anna's right. I might need to grow my hair out again. UUUuuuhhhhhh, the process! It's takes soooo many months. :sigh: The price of beauty.