Litterateur & Dilettante

The perfect window seat for contemplation!
The Mill Inn ~ Coulter
Near Edinburgh ~ Scotland

Thanks to my friend Carmen, who shared
this definition with me a few years ago,
along with the kind comment that
"Kitti frequently reminds others of this fact":
"Vocation" comes from the Latin vocare, "to call," means the work a person is called to by God.

"There are all different kinds of voices calling you to all different kinds of work, and the problem is to find out which is the voice of God rather than of society, say, or the superego, or self-interest.

"By and large a good rule for finding out is this: The kind of work God usually calls you to is the kind of work (a) that you need to do and (b) that the world needs to have done. If you really get a kick out of your work, you've presumably met requirement (a), but if your work is writing cigarette ads, the chances are you've missed requirement (b). On the other hand, if your work is being a doctor in a leper colony, you have probably met requirement (b), but if most of the time you're bored and depressed by it, the chances are you have not only bypassed (a), but probably aren't helping your patients much either.

"Neither the hair shirt nor the soft berth will do. The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet." ~ Frederick Buechner

originally published in Wishful Thinking
and later in Beyond Words
[emphasis added]

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Awhile back, in a random conversation with
our brother Bruce, my sisters and I assured him that
"We have no special powers, legally or metaphorically speaking."

He responded:
"I thought you were metaphorically invincible!
You've ruined my day with this confession of mere mortality."

And I concluded:
"Awww Boo -- that is so sweet! I wish I were!
I've ruined your day,
but you've made mine with such a nice compliment!"

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That being said, I have upon occasion claimed
Reading & Writing as my superpowers!



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A name for my vocation?

Observer. Documentor. Noticer. Archivist.

Reader. Writer. Blogger. Connector.

Literateur. ~ Dilettante.
Literateur: One who is almost obnoxiously acquainted with literature & frequently reminds others of this fact.

Dilettante: One who cultivates an area of interest, such as the arts, without real commitment or knowledge.

Very Educated Housewife: dare I say it!

Organizer . . . of The McCartney Foundation. In fact, it's almost like I run this place: paperwork, record keeping, cooking, cleaning, shopping, laundry, communicating with loved ones, writing to relatives, petcare, garden assistance, community input; and, in days of yore, raising the children artisanally!

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Boundless thanks to friends and blog followers
like Holly & Tony, who make it all worthwhile:

"One of the unexpected blessings of having a Boilermaker son was meeting and following the delightful, creative, lady of letters Kitti Carriker - a friend of hers sent this to her and she shared it on Facebook. I can always count on Kitti’s FB posts and her blog to feed me with keen observations, poetry and gentle reminders to stop and look."

And joy to Michele
for reminding me that joy begets joy:
"Kitti, Gosh, your blogs are great. The thing that impresses me the most though is how absolutely joyful you are in all pictures. How wonderful!"