Questions from Shannon
1. What are your favorite quotes at the moment?
One of my favorites these days is this, which is from a prayer book I like:
Why are you waiting to begin your life?
Do you think the world must care and come soliciting?
Listen to the knocking at the door of your own heart
It is only faint because you have not answered
You have fooled yourself with preparations
Time left laughing while you considered possibilities
Wake up
you have slept long enough
Wake up
tomorrow may be too late
When you finally dare open the door
your life will begin arriving
Cautiously at first
unbelieving that the gate
So long locked against the tide has finally been opened
Then with swells of neglected dreams
Then with waves of joyful revelation
the sea will follow
You will be swept by the full and magnificent tides of your own longing
That no one else can give you
That no one else can claim
--Judith Gass
2. If you were given a start-up grant to create any type of social service agency you wanted, what sort of work would you focus on?
I'm still drawn so closely to domestic issues. Honestly, I'd love to keep at what Father Ed's does, because I think we do incredible work, especially with the intentioned focus that we now give to our alumni. Because homelessness is really only one part of poverty, and I'd love to have the concrete work we do at Father Ed's, with the additional advocacy toward the changes that would help bring people out of, as Wendy says, grinding poverty. (I'd like to eliminate the need for my job, you see.) But of course I'd change things too. I'd love to keep the faith component because I love tying Catholic social teaching values with justice and service for my volunteers. But ultimately, as much as advocating and educating my volunteers is important, in part for systemic change, we exist to serve people. So I'd ditch the Catholic birth control viewpoint so that we could honestly talk with clients about their options around pregnancy and sexual relationships. And I'd also add more to Father Ed's in terms of having long-term housing options for clients beyond our little program. We partner with great agencies, but if we could do it ourselves, it would really be great- have our own subsidized housing, and lots of it, so that people had more options. And then I'd spend part of my job talking with people about what poverty really looks like, what donations really mean for clients, what domestic violence looks like on a practical level. That might be a bummer part of my job, but it might be really important. Really, I just want people I work with to have safety, stability, and support. Safe from abusive relationships, stable in their economic and housed life, and supported through healthy relationships.
3. What's your favorite social work acronym?
My favorite one to feel superior about is when some people (I've had both supervisory people and interns do this) try to spell the acronym for Temporary Aid to Needy Families. Because even though we pronounce TANF like "tan-iff," you should never write to a colleague in the social services world about "tanif."
4. What's the best book you've read so far this year?
I'd adoring "Hello Groin" right now, probably because parts of it hit uncomfortably close to home. But "Compromised" was really good too. I've read young adult books almost exclusively so far this year, and those two are really good.
5. Are you still thinking you'll move back to Minnesota eventually, or are you in Denver for the long run now?
I don't know anymore, honestly. There are times when I'm home and it's so hard to leave, and I can't believe I don't live there, or that it's not in any concrete plans. But I love my life out here so much that I also can't see leaving. I'm safe, stable, and supported. I know I would be if I was in Minnesota too, though. I love my work and my friends and my extended community out here. And now that there's a Joe in my life, I feel even more draw to staying here. I don't think he'd be opposed to going back to the midwest at some point, but we're also both happy here, and I'm making long-range plans to include him. I've wondered in the past if he'd want to go back to Iowa if his parents' health got worse (his mom's probably never going to be in super shape, and for now his step-dad's cancer has gone away, but it was scary for a while). I'd probably be less opposed to that than he would be, but I've also been gone from my home for a lot longer than he has. If I had to bet money, it looks like it's probably Denver for a long time now, and that's tough sometimes, but mostly, it's really good.
6. Where do you want to live when you retire?
Wouldn't it be fun to live in Community as an old lady? I think it would be great. I don't know if I'd retire to Colorado or Minnesota, but I have to imagine it will be a state with winters, because who in their right mind wants to be sweaty for their retirement years?
7. After so many years of being a vegetarian, do you think it would be harder to transition back to eating meat or to become a vegan?
I think it would be tougher for me to go vegan, mostly because it's a diet I haven't done before. I've been a meat-eater, and I liked it, so it would be an all right thing to go back to. I'd probably do it in the same way that I stopped eating meat- ease into it, with an occasional chicken wing leading up to pot roast and salmon again.
These questions came with this part too:
Comment to this post, and I will list seven things I want you to talk about. They might make sense or they might be totally random.
Then post that list, with your commentary, to your journal. Other people can get lists from you, and the meme merrily perpetuates itself.
One of my favorites these days is this, which is from a prayer book I like:
Why are you waiting to begin your life?
Do you think the world must care and come soliciting?
Listen to the knocking at the door of your own heart
It is only faint because you have not answered
You have fooled yourself with preparations
Time left laughing while you considered possibilities
Wake up
you have slept long enough
Wake up
tomorrow may be too late
When you finally dare open the door
your life will begin arriving
Cautiously at first
unbelieving that the gate
So long locked against the tide has finally been opened
Then with swells of neglected dreams
Then with waves of joyful revelation
the sea will follow
You will be swept by the full and magnificent tides of your own longing
That no one else can give you
That no one else can claim
--Judith Gass
2. If you were given a start-up grant to create any type of social service agency you wanted, what sort of work would you focus on?
I'm still drawn so closely to domestic issues. Honestly, I'd love to keep at what Father Ed's does, because I think we do incredible work, especially with the intentioned focus that we now give to our alumni. Because homelessness is really only one part of poverty, and I'd love to have the concrete work we do at Father Ed's, with the additional advocacy toward the changes that would help bring people out of, as Wendy says, grinding poverty. (I'd like to eliminate the need for my job, you see.) But of course I'd change things too. I'd love to keep the faith component because I love tying Catholic social teaching values with justice and service for my volunteers. But ultimately, as much as advocating and educating my volunteers is important, in part for systemic change, we exist to serve people. So I'd ditch the Catholic birth control viewpoint so that we could honestly talk with clients about their options around pregnancy and sexual relationships. And I'd also add more to Father Ed's in terms of having long-term housing options for clients beyond our little program. We partner with great agencies, but if we could do it ourselves, it would really be great- have our own subsidized housing, and lots of it, so that people had more options. And then I'd spend part of my job talking with people about what poverty really looks like, what donations really mean for clients, what domestic violence looks like on a practical level. That might be a bummer part of my job, but it might be really important. Really, I just want people I work with to have safety, stability, and support. Safe from abusive relationships, stable in their economic and housed life, and supported through healthy relationships.
3. What's your favorite social work acronym?
My favorite one to feel superior about is when some people (I've had both supervisory people and interns do this) try to spell the acronym for Temporary Aid to Needy Families. Because even though we pronounce TANF like "tan-iff," you should never write to a colleague in the social services world about "tanif."
4. What's the best book you've read so far this year?
I'd adoring "Hello Groin" right now, probably because parts of it hit uncomfortably close to home. But "Compromised" was really good too. I've read young adult books almost exclusively so far this year, and those two are really good.
5. Are you still thinking you'll move back to Minnesota eventually, or are you in Denver for the long run now?
I don't know anymore, honestly. There are times when I'm home and it's so hard to leave, and I can't believe I don't live there, or that it's not in any concrete plans. But I love my life out here so much that I also can't see leaving. I'm safe, stable, and supported. I know I would be if I was in Minnesota too, though. I love my work and my friends and my extended community out here. And now that there's a Joe in my life, I feel even more draw to staying here. I don't think he'd be opposed to going back to the midwest at some point, but we're also both happy here, and I'm making long-range plans to include him. I've wondered in the past if he'd want to go back to Iowa if his parents' health got worse (his mom's probably never going to be in super shape, and for now his step-dad's cancer has gone away, but it was scary for a while). I'd probably be less opposed to that than he would be, but I've also been gone from my home for a lot longer than he has. If I had to bet money, it looks like it's probably Denver for a long time now, and that's tough sometimes, but mostly, it's really good.
6. Where do you want to live when you retire?
Wouldn't it be fun to live in Community as an old lady? I think it would be great. I don't know if I'd retire to Colorado or Minnesota, but I have to imagine it will be a state with winters, because who in their right mind wants to be sweaty for their retirement years?
7. After so many years of being a vegetarian, do you think it would be harder to transition back to eating meat or to become a vegan?
I think it would be tougher for me to go vegan, mostly because it's a diet I haven't done before. I've been a meat-eater, and I liked it, so it would be an all right thing to go back to. I'd probably do it in the same way that I stopped eating meat- ease into it, with an occasional chicken wing leading up to pot roast and salmon again.
These questions came with this part too:
Comment to this post, and I will list seven things I want you to talk about. They might make sense or they might be totally random.
Then post that list, with your commentary, to your journal. Other people can get lists from you, and the meme merrily perpetuates itself.