Synchronizing Ruth

It's time for introductions! Meet my kid sister, Ruth, and her barely two-week-old blog, Synchronizing. I'm so proud of her I could pop all my buttons!

Here's the scoop. She's the youngest of us 8 kids, and, along with Nelson, the oldest, became the bread that sandwiched the middle 3 girls followed by 3 boys. Mom had all 8 of us in 14 years! I was 11 when Ruth was born and have memories of feeding her her bottle and rocking her to sleep at night.

That means when I went to the University of Michigan at age 18, leaving home from that point on, Ruth was only 7! That's another way of saying I never knew Ruth as a sister growing up, per se, but as a friend in later years, once she too became an adult. I was in the middle of my other 2 sisters, one who was 2 years older and one who was a year younger. THEY were sisters. Ruth was not.

Look at her now! In many ways, she's everything I'm not when it comes to glamour, style and chic. The above hat, btw, was a gift she bought for her musician son, Peter, while we were in Paris last spring. She wore it the rest of the day as though it were hers (with my insistence!). The ring she bought for her artist daughter was so Lesley!


Speaking of Paris! It just happens to be her favorite city in the world and because of that, Donica and I asked her to be our tour guide when we went there our first time in 2004. She worked her itinerary butt off for us and made it a memory we'll never forget.

So last April, Donica threw the birthday party of the decade in Paris for Ruth's husband, Don, who was turning 50, and for me, turning 60. I was the only one who was totally surprised (didn't even know where we would eventually end up when Donica put me on the plane from Hannover to Paris). Ruth and Donica were along for the ride, and, talk about a birthday celebration!








Here's the 2 birthday kids, sandwiching the Synchronizing Ruth. This time she's the middle and not one of the ends.

You're starting to get the picture, I'm sure. Of all the 8 kids, Ruth and I have a connection! It's probably as simple and as complicated as our personalities and what we like. Even our differences, like gourmet food. I used to be one of those people who'd rather spend money on a good book than good food. Thanks to both Ruth and Donica, that's changing. Ruth not only likes good food, she draws poetry and philosophy out of its ingredients. Like it were a part of heaven. (That's why she loves Babette's Feast, for instance!)








So, yes, Ruth. Thanks to you I am discovering what there is of Heaven in the everyday simplest of things. Ice cream--well, I can't give you credit for that. That just came to me quite naturally, I'm sure!











But as you will see, when you see her blog, it's the way she thinks! She is the Academic Specialist/Adviser of the English Department at Michigan State University (I forgive her, of course, for also graduating from there :). I love that she's a philosopher, a thinker, a believer, a questioner. She is constantly inspiring me to go above and beyond what I'm thinking/believing/doing at any given moment.

In fact, her blog in less than 2 weeks has done more than what my blog has done in a year...iron sharpening iron. She is my hero, my inspiration, my sister-friend. I didn't know how much I needed her until she came.

Thank you, Ruth. I echo your own words:

This moment is eternal. This moment is the only “place” life exists. My desire is to be aware, be conscious of the layers and dimensions of meaning, to understand myself and truth without being confined to a context of tribe, religion, politics, and other structures in our culture. I want to live life. I want to be. My posts may not always address this desire, but they will always be in the context of this desire. This moment is where all the details happen, in synchrony.

Talk about Soulful! Do yourself a favor and visit her "on me!" In August she'll celebrate her BIG 5-0 "round birthday" (ein runder Geburstag). I can hardly wait.

[Remember when Merlin Princess introduced us to her sister, Clo, not too long ago? Anyone else out there with blogger sisters/brothers we need to be introduced to?]