Happy Birthday To Me!

So, I'm officially 24... WOW!! AARP and discount McDonald's coffee here I come!

I'm so lucky to have really close friends who share this wonder birthday with me. Also born September 17, 1981? The Crazy Candace Lawson and The Fabulous Sara Corbett!

Be sure to join Sara and I for our joint birthday adventure at Penang's in Dupont Circle and then a night of fun and dancing!

Love, Life and Purpose to Virgos everywhere!

Introducing Nuri...

Meet Nuri Songer Johnson -- the beautiful little boy I've been gushing about since his birth not quite a month ago! He's the adorable son of my dear friends Bernard and Kate and I'm so excited to be able to share in this amazing time with them! I got to meet Nuri for the first time yesterday and let me tell you, it was love at first site!


I want one for Christmas!

Isn't he the most pefect thing ever!

One Happy Soul!

With all the sadness going on in the world right now and the commemorative ceremonies, especially in Washington DC, of the Sept 11 terrorist attacks, I've been in need of real pick-me-up and boy did this weekend do that trick!

I spent the day (and night) taking care of a three-year old and a 10-month old. We had so much fun at the playground, indulging in creative play, singing, etc. What was not so much fun was awaking every half hour throughout the night to a baby screaming "BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINKY" each time his pacifier fell out of his mouth. At 4:00 a.m. I remember thinking, If he can't say binky, why can't he just put it his mouth?... Although the night hours were somewhat challenging, there a moment of comic relief. In light of his brother wailing, Giovanni woke out of dead sleep to say, "You wock, Kwisto!" and went right back to sleep.

I had my final binky run at 6:00ish so I was a little nervous about being alert and awake for teacher orientation for the One World Baha'i School at 10:00 a.m. But orientation was positively fabulous!! Understanding the importance of providing children spiritual education, I was feeling a bit unqualified and unsure of myself. I shared my concern with a friend and her response was, "Crystal... They're four, chill out." But, I tried to impress upon her these children will presumably have been raised with Baha'i principles for four years; I haven't reached four months yet. This apprehension was only exacerbated by the fact that I have the largest classroom with 20 pre-registered children... and there are still two more weeks to register!

I was so inspired by the thought, loving-kindness and passion these people put into the spiritual education of children and I can't wait to learn from the teachers and children as well as contributed whatever talents I have. After orientation I thought, I don't know if any school I've attended was run with equal love, organization and resources. There are administrators, counselors, musicians, art specialist... so many people volunteering their time and talent for no other reason than their commitment to the importance of developing child-centered communities. I was able to meet a couple of my children today and if they are any indication of the rest of my students, this is going to be even more amazing and challenging (in a positive way) than I thought.

Even better, tonight I met Nuri, the two-week old son of my friends Kate and Bernard. Can I tell you that I held God's love in my arms tonight? Nuri is absolute and utter pefection -- just looking at his peace and contentment made my heart flutter and for a second, I got a glimpse of what building this world could be. Perfect.

I met Kate and Bernard in my Core Curriculum Training class and my friendship with them was instant and almost kismet! Since meeting Kate, she and I have become close and I'm so excited to share in this time of excitement and transition. Nuri is so blessed to be born into such a loving and gentle family. I can't wait to watch him learn and grow and to spoil him rotten!

Chef Crystal... Not So Much!

For the past couple of days I've been under the weather -- sore throat, wicked cough and an ear infection to be precise. I've been taking extra meds and resting up because tonight I was hosting Feast (Feast of 'Izzat) for the first time. My first Feast as a Baha'i was so incredibly memorable that I wanted to use my first time hosting Feast as a way to say thanks. This morning, I attempted to go to work but was sent home before 11:00 because of my seal-esque bark. I was hoping to use all the extra time to prepare an actual feast. I dusted off my cookbook (literally), pulled out all of my kitchen equipment still in its original box and picked the most fabulous thing I could find that would feed 20! I had decided on stuffed salmon, garlic lime chicken, roasted rosemary red potatoes and steamed green beans and carrots. Not bad for someone who hasn't cooked since inviting my Ruhi group over for lunch and movie... in June. Honestly.

After I got home at 11:15, I decided a couple of swigs of NyQuil would do the trick. Right? Wrong. What it did do was put me in a coma-like sleep... until 5:45 and Feast was starting at 7:00. Seriously, I thought I'd go into coronary failure. I kept staring at the alarm clock, that I didn't set, hoping I was still dreaming. After shedding a tear or two, I did the only thing I could do - prepare a salad, make a semi-cheesecake, pop in a Mrs. Smith Apple Pie and let Pizza Hut do the rest of the work. I can't even articulate how horrible I felt about not being able to prepare a homemade meal for my dear friends.

Everyone started to arrive around 7:15 and I apologized to the first few guests for being a horrible hostess. Then I realized, no one cared! In fact, everyone seemed to enjoy the pizza and salad. After my reality check, I started to breathe a little easier and as always, enjoyed the company of my wonderful Arlington Baha'i community. Between being sick and being sick to my stomach about what's going on in New Orleans, I've just kind of glum for the past few days. I was totally amazed at how just being amidst my Friends breathed new life into me. You can't tell me that positive energy and big hugs aren't instruments of healing! For those two and a half hours, my cough wasn't so wicked; my throat didn't burn so much and I could hear out of my left ear.

I was extremely sad to announce to my community that I would be leaving in a few months because they really are just an amazing, amazing group. Because of their openness, willingness to teach and patience to answer the 1,000,001 questions that I had as a seeker, my life will never be the same. I will leave this community a better person , with a renewed sense of purpose and I have them to thank for that. Yep, definitely going to miss each and every one of them.

I plan to work from home and take it easy tomorrow because I have a marathon weekend ahead of me. Saturday morning, the early childhood educators for the 2005-2006 school year of the One World Baha'i School will be meeting to coordinate and fellowship. After that I will have my favoritiest two little boys in the whole world for the whole day! I haven't kept children overnight since my nannying days in undergrad but from what I hear, it's like riding a bike (which isn't the best reference for me as I have not mastered the art of riding a two-wheeler). Sunday we're having orientation for all the OWBS teachers and I'm really looking forward to that. School starts Sunday, September 18 and I'm co-teaching with Sara, my twin. Seriously, Sara and I have so much in common, it's scary! We have the same birthday, same year even (September 17, 1981... yes, we're planning a party!);. We have the same occupation, work for the same company, drive identical cars and have similar family structures... it's nuts! She wasn't going to teach this year but came out of retirement to help me with my first year and I'm so grateful to her for that. I had horrible visions of my pre-k kids staging a coup because they knew more about the Baha'i Faith than their green teacher. With Sara the Vet by my side, I'm feeling much more optimistic about this.

Well, I have a meeting with a cup of NyQuil and my comfy bed, which now has 1,000 thread count Sateen sheets thanks to overstock.com.

Good night kiddies!

Unanswered Questions

I, like most of America, have been glued to the television and internet watching, with utter disbelief and anguish what is going on in New Orleans. Everytime I think of devastation and hopeless of the situation, I cry - like I am now.

I cry for the elderly whose eyes have seen so much, who has struggled through the civil rights movement, who worked so hard with so little to show -- for their lives to end on a lawn chair in the squalor of the New Orleans Super Dome just doesn't make sense to me.

I cry for the mothers - not just for those who don't know where their children are but for the ones holding a child in their arms that they can neither feed, cloth, nor house.

I cry because for as long as a live and regardless of the academic degrees and accolades I attain, I will never understand the concept of the have and the have nots. I can't seem to wrap my mind around the notion that that's "just the way it is." Life for some, myself included, is void of any real struggle. Sure I've had my share of disappointments and heartaches but I've never had to wonder where I was going to call home. I've never had to wonder how I was going to feed or clothe myself. I've never had to become intimate with the concept of nothing. And yet for some, life has been one agonizing lesson of deficiency and lack. Of all the hurricanes to hit Florida, why couldn't this happen to the millionaires who would've only lost summer abodes and beach houses? Why can the camera take the pictures of those waiting to be rescued but can't get to them? Once the questions start, there's seemingly no end.


A modern metropolis sinking in water and into anarchy -- it is a really cruel spectacle for a champion of security like Bush. Right? I'm not sure why there is so much criticism of Dubya and his response. What did people expect for a man that stole the whitehouse by disenfranchising minority voters in some states? What did we expect from a man who won't acknowledge that we're fighting a war that has no enemy and no barometer for success? Bush is completely unworthy of my blogging time so I'm done with that.

What has sustained my spirit has been the response of the common folk; our understanding that even the smallest deeds make a difference. On Friday, my small team of some 100 people shipped over 40 huge boxes of relief items to our team member in Louisiana for distribution. Some of the items donated were brand new clothing still with tags. People had actually gone shopping for toiletries and underclothing. Totally unexpecting this outpouring of generosity, we were more than worried that we wouldn't be able to afford to ship it all. These boxes were 50+ pound computer boxes; they could have easily been thousands of dollars to ship. We shared our concern with someone working in the mailroom and he shipped each and every box, overnight and free of charge.... these are the act of kindness that have encouraged my soul and made me want to do more.

Although everyone is not in a position to give materially or take in an evacuee, we can all pray. Pray for understanding. Pray for unity. Pray for a resolution. Pray that those who can do, will do. Pray that for as long as we live and as long as I children live, we will never know the suffering those in the Gulf States are feeling today.