Telling the Truth

connecting the dots of my life

Tag: Daily Prompt

August 23, 2017

a pretty sure life

The rights and responsibilities
Of a pretty sure life
Hang weightless around her neck

She glides fairly easily
From one scene into the next
Wearing privilege on her skin

Without effort she blends in
Sometimes anxious but rarely for her life
Mature, sweet and polite she passes easily

A charming married woman with children
She meets the gold standard
Against which womanhood is weighed

No need to check her credentials
Her language or demeanor
No need to run a background check

She’s one of us
Sometimes unruly and annoying
Yet harmless
Because her heart beats white

I’ve been the beneficiary of many opportunities. Not strictly because of who I am, but because I’m a white woman. And because I’m not a rabble-rouser or revolutionary. I’m just a steady, dependable, meticulous, relationally gifted white woman who gets along with just about everyone. What more is there?

I don’t regret the opportunity to be part of an academic faculty and administration. I do, however, regret how oblivious I was to my white privilege even though I was part of an unusually diverse community of students, staff and faculty. Only with the Rodney King event and its aftermath at our seminary did I begin to scratch the surface of my white privilege.

I’m reminded daily of how easily our country ignores, suppresses and tries to bury our history. Mr. Trump has made visible what’s been there all along. No secrets here. Just inconvenient truth, and an opportunity to seize the moment.

My heart beats white. I’m still unpacking what this means for me.

Thanks for listening!
Elouise ♥

© Elouise Renich Fraser, 23 August 2017
Response to WordPress Daily Prompt: Visceral

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August 21, 2017

restless energy

restless energy churns
from here to nowhere
searching for answers
without clear questions

Loneliness has been a companion ever since I was a child. Most days it doesn’t come sneaking out of nowhere to grab me. Today was an exception.

Memories from my past haunted me, especially memories about my spiritual formation. Not because of what I did or didn’t do, but because of things done to me, whether knowingly or unknowingly. I felt old, lonely and unprepared for what might be coming in the future. And whether D would be there for me.

We’ve just returned from afternoon tea and conversation with our next-door neighbors. So right now I’ve put aside my memories and my restless search for clarity and reassurance. Instead, I’m going for a walk outside. In the company of trees, grass, birdsong, cicadas, dog-walking neighbors, and the setting sun.

© Elouise Renich Fraser, 21 August 2017
Photo found on Pixabay.com
Response to WordPress Daily Prompt: Lurch

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August 18, 2017

sequestered spaces

We retreat into sequestered spaces
somewhere on the boundary
of lived reality and death

Inexpressible loneliness
greets and enfolds us in grief
pierced raw by sorrows

Death of a child, a spouse, a friend, a stranger
Declining trust and good will
Specter of lost leaders and followers

Inexpressible anguish
stalks this land of promised opportunity
with freedom and justice for all

***

© Elouise Renich Fraser, 18 Aug 2017
Image found at chicagotonight.wttw.com
Response to WordPress Daily Prompt: Solitary

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August 17, 2017

White Privilege Unfurled

On the day I was born, I received unearned privileges not available to everyone. Equally true, my life has been difficult because of unearned privileges available to men but not to me.

I was born White and Female. This complicates everything: gender and race; gender and politics; gender and academia; gender and the church; gender and role expectations; gender and power; gender and social events. Sometimes I’m welcomed with open arms even though I often experience something less than full welcome into the fold of privilege.

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about white male privilege. I’ve spent considerably less time thinking about my white privilege. It’s easy to say I was born white, so it isn’t my fault. Which, of course, it is not.

Yet I know I’ve been the recipient of privileges friends and strangers of color do not receive. Many privileges are invisible to me. They’re the climate in which I live. I don’t need to think about them when I get up in the morning, or when I appear in a check-out line. More to the point, I count on them daily.

Today the USA is roiling, internally and externally, from a wound that has festered from the beginning. The assumption and reality of white privilege.

Here’s what I’m doing to clarify for myself what my white privilege looks like. Not yours. For me, this includes awareness of male privilege. Sometimes white male privilege only; sometimes all males.

For starters, I’ve located a website offering free material as well as formal leadership training (not free). I found two downloadable papers that will help me personally. Not simply with self-understanding, but with ideas about how I might change my daily habits as well as personal assumptions and goals.

Dr. Peggy McIntosh is the author of the papers and founder of The National SEED Project. In each paper she describes unpacking her own privilege. The papers include end notes in which she clarifies issues that arise when people begin to talk about privilege.

If you’re interested in knowing more, here are links to the website and two free downloadable papers.

Happy reading!
Elouise ♥

© Elouise Renich Fraser, 17 August 2017
Response to WordPress Daily Prompt: Unfurl

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August 15, 2017

Late summer walk

Walking this morning before clouds burst
shoes squish on wet pavement
The voice of a young child
protests briefly behind me
My breath flows
even and relaxed
Vacant parking spaces
wait by neighbor’s houses

The school yard is silent
covered with soft green grass
Along its perimeter
mushrooms rise from wet soil
Large glistening white platters
appeared overnight
Burnt orange cups with rusty upturned sides
hold remnants of last night’s rain
Tiny flat-tops of brilliant red-orange
decorate the ground next to
lime-green mossy tree roots

Crickets and cicadas fill the air
with nonstop late summer music
Small acorns plop to the asphalt drive
forerunners of thousands yet to come

Beside the cemetery linden trees
heavy with yellowed pods
release small round seeds
hanging from thin stems
Here and there weathered headstones
display small American flags
Remnants of wars past
and the birth of yet more sorrow

The sweet song of a Carolina wren
floats through the air
A train whistle echoes in the distance
Blue jays protest
Robins sing
Catbirds defend territory
Squirrels chatter

The end of summer approaches
Am I ready?

© Elouise Renich Fraser, 15 August 2017
Image found at davesgarden.com
Response to WordPress Prompt: Willy-nilly

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August 9, 2017

Happy Happy Happy!

This afternoon I’m happy and relieved. D and I took off right after breakfast to drive to Longwood Gardens. The weather was picture perfect.

Why so happy? Because this was my first attempt at (slow!) hiking in the meadow since before I broke my jaw and lost all my energy. I was hesitant about doing it, but decided I’d never know until I tried. Here’s a lightning quick look.

Butterflies, bees and dragonflies were out in droves
on this side of the meadow.
We walked to the top, sat in the shade a bit,
then returned and exited via the forest path.


Next we walked over to the café for a little lunch. I had a mildly spicy vegetarian chili and a cup of fresh fruit. D settled for a turkey sandwich. Then we walked through part of the conservatory, did a short visit to the flower walk, and headed home.

Good health news: Yesterday I saw my Lucy (pacemaker) cardiologist and his wonderful assistant who makes sure Lucy is working properly. She’s doing an outstanding job, I’m happy to say!

I’m eager to try a few more external activities, in addition to daily walks here in our neighborhood. No big social events, just lovely strolls outside that let nature do its work renewing me for whatever comes next.

Cheers!
Elouise ♥

© Elouise Renich Fraser, 9 August 2017
Photo credit: DAFraser, 9 August 2017, Longwood Gardens Meadow
Response (sort of) to WordPress Daily Prompt: Spicy

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August 7, 2017

Mid-Summer at Chanticleer | Photos

A week ago D and I drove over to Chanticleer Gardens for a late afternoon stroll. Not a quick walk, but a stroll. An amble. A creep-along marathon of nonstop mid-summer beauty.

Here are some favorite up-close photos.


Unlike Longwood Gardens, Chanticleer has small, laid back elegance. Lawn chairs, picnic tables, rocking chairs and quiet spaces invite visitors to take their time exploring delightful nooks and crannies and whimsical garden architecture. Or read a book and take a nap on the grass.

And my final five!

One more extra feature–a map you can use when you come to visit!


For more information about Chanticleer, click here.

© Elouise Renich Fraser, 7 August 2017
Photos taken by DAFraser, July 2017
Chanticleer Gardens
Response to WordPress Daily Prompt: Amble

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August 5, 2017

Curried Red Lentil Soup | Recipe

Time to share another frugal favorite. Once again, it’s a tasty, jaw-friendly, non-dairy, high protein recipe. I made it this past week. Enough for 3 or 4 single servings, and, in my unbiased opinion, fit for a Queen! Also in its favor, you don’t need to be a master chef to make this come out right.

Seriously, this is as casual and easy it as gets. Years ago I copied the recipe from the back page of a Nutrition Action Healthletter. Enjoy it as is, or dress it up with simple additions. You can also double the recipe (though not the curry unless you love the heat). I consider it a main protein dish, not a light soup.

1 diced onion (small or medium)

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon curry powder (more or less)

1 cup red lentils, rinsed

2 ½ cups water – more as needed

1. Sauté diced onion in oil until browned.
2. Stir in curry powder and lentils.
3. Add water.
4. Simmer uncovered 10-12 minutes (or longer—up to half an hour) – until most liquid is absorbed and lentils have formed a thick sauce.
5. Salt if desired.

Here are several add-in ideas, though it tastes fabulous without them. Whatever you add, less is better.

  • cooked quinoa — leftover, not too much; soft, blends right in, easy to digest, high protein
  • cooked brown rice — not too much; can be chewy and overpowering
  • chopped frozen spinach
  • green peas – fresh or frozen
  • garbanzos (chick peas)
  • bite-size pieces of leftover asparagus
  • fresh cilantro, parsley or a squeeze of lemon juice
  • Greek yogurt on top if you do dairy.

Happy relaxed, Queenly casual cooking!

Elouise ♥

© Elouise Renich Fraser, 4 August 2017
Image found at realfood.tesco.com
Response to WordPress Daily Prompt: Casual

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August 4, 2017

Could I have this dance…?

I can’t get this song out of my mind. It reminds me of my first sabbatical leave when I was teaching at the seminary. It was the late 1980s.

My father absolutely forbade dancing in our family. The devil’s tool! Intended to lead young men and young women astray. Another way for saying dancing was all about sex.

As was the ‘worldly’ music and carousing that, of course, accompanied all such worldly pleasure. No matter that God created these bodies of ours with their sometimes strange yet enticing urges.

Of course I didn’t understand all that back then. I just knew dancing was forbidden. My father made a small exception when I had square-dancing lessons in junior high. But that’s another story. More embarrassing than not being allowed to dance at all.

So, back to my first sabbatical. Of course I did the obligatory research and writing, etc. But that wasn’t enough for my rest and fun-starved spirit and body. If I couldn’t go overseas somewhere, I could go to another strange and foreign land. The land called Arthur Murray Dance Studios!

It was sheer heaven on earth. I continued with lessons for well over a year, captivated by how much my body and my spirit loved to move to music. And still does.

So here’s my pick for today, one of my favorite songs that invites me into that magical space. In honor of my partner of over 50 years who has stumbled and floated along with me and helped pick me up from the floor more times than I can count.

© Elouise Renich Fraser, 4 August 2017
Image found at pix11.com
Response to WordPress Daily Prompt: Partner

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August 3, 2017

slow motion

outside my window air hangs heavy

yesterday’s rain now stale
drops in slow motion from the gutter
exposed trees stand breathless
caught in damp morning heat

I hear the rhythmic beat
of tires coming and going
on the road beside our house

August is the saddest month
weary of relentless summer
it languishes—
counting the days

© Elouise Renich Fraser, 3 August 2017
Response to WordPress Daily Prompt: Symphony

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