Blue Skies and Sunshine

This past week was our term break from school. It was absolutely amazing! We went to London and saw things that before those few days only existed in movies to me. We were TOTAL tourists...it was fantastic! We rode in the London eye, went to evensong at Westminster Abbey, saw Big Ben,  Parliament, the London Bridge, Tower bridge, the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace and the Globe, visited museums, went to London's M&M world, saw the Olympic countdown, watched the Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theater, took pictures in the well known red phone booths, stood on both sides of the prime meridian, walked miles and miles, and somehow managed to only get rained on once.

Upon our return very late Wednesday night we spent a few wonderful hours in our beds before being whisked away the next morning with Karen (the teacher I am working with) to see York. There we went shopping in the shambles, explored the York Minster, walked around the remains of the wall that once protected the keep, visited the Jorvik museum, and FINALLY had some good old American pizza at Pizza hut (you laugh but you really have no idea how much you miss ridiculous things like that).

Many of these old places just made my hands itch for art supplies. Interestingly enough what fascinates me most about these huge, pillared buildings isn't the massive and ornate stained glass windows, it isn't the intricately carved moldings or fixtures, it isn't even really the history (I think I just heard my family gasp all the way from home)...what fascinates me the most in all these old buildings is the shadows. I thought about it while we were in the Minster and actually had a chance to sit down and draw (not that I got a lot done...I had trouble deciding where to start). There are varying degrees of shadow...so dark your eyes can search forever and never see an outline to the kind of shadow almost overpowered by the light but still managing to exist. What you find with the power of shadows is that light emerges. You only see the brilliance of the light when shadows are present. The Minster's shadowed pillars, nooks and crannies just made the beautiful well lit open worship space and stained glass windows that much more beautiful. One without the other is impossible...there is no balance or appreciation.

It's the kind of lesson that can be applied to the rain. Something I never noticed before. I probably only realized this because it rains so much here...otherwise my brain would have never made the connection with the Minster's shadows. You see I love rain. I love storms and thunder and lightening. To me, they are the equivalent to shadows. While sitting there drawing in the Minster I realized that the light and openness was like a blue sky with sunshine. Blue skies and sunshine are not necessarily something I appreciated all that much...not until being here (with lots of grey skies and rain) and I realized just how beautiful that is. When we have the rare day without rain where the sky is actually clear enough to see the blue sky you just have to stare and smile. It is so lovely! I have lots of days like that at home...lots of those beautiful days with blue skies and sunshine.

It makes you think...the beauty that you miss everyday because you are so used to seeing it. I have probably said a million times since being here, "Do these people realize how lucky they are?"...but a better question was "Do I know how lucky I am to be from where I'm from?"...because you see for every old wall, castle, or cathedral there is an old one room school house, barn or country church at home...for every museum, statue, or landmark we have someone that can tell you the history of our area, show you something left behind by the Indians or point you towards obscure but unique anythings in your own town...for every ambling hill, scenic walk, or rainy day we have beautiful flat land that allows you to see for miles, people to walk with who have known your family for generations....and sunshine....Blue skies and sunshine.