Last night was our Leader’s Kickoff gathering. It was fantastic. But wow, were there obstacles.
Andrew arrived punctually at 5:00, but he was stressed because he’d left his board game group by themselves at Westgate. He’s the only connection to the church and holds the keys, so leaving for two hours near the end of a board game session was tough.
Kandra arrived a half-hour late with Eden and Qingsley, which ultimately was a blessing since it meant that the Bascom’s weren’t the only ones.
Skyler, Amanda, Elovie, Sonny, Ingrid and Opal arrived an hour late, for good reason. They’d just gotten up from a nap which went longer than planned, and Skyler was in such pain from a recent foot injury that he’d hardly slept and didn’t want to come. I called Skyler at 5:45 to hear how he was doing and offer to take him to Urgent Care. They decided to come late (for which I’m so thankful), in no small part because the kids were so disappointed about staying home.
Still, the most important things weren’t an obstacle. The group was unusually open and supportive and landed on a day that everyone could meet in less than five minutes. The kids, all eight of them, had a great time and did well playing downstairs while the adults talked. And we had time to pray for Skyler’s foot at the end.
There’s a big update about our Italy trip coming! It’s taking longer to go through all the pictures and add them for the post. You know, in between working, playing and resting.
I’ve had a downward swing in writing lately, but in the overarching spread of this website, one month of abscence in nearly four years ain’t bad. I return at the eve of our 10th wedding anniversary celebration trip to Italy, so my next post will likely be dedicated to that much-anticipated vacation.
One of my purposes for compiling my writing here is the effect that years of writing in the same place has on my sense of accomplishment. Even if I’m sporadic, even if I take long breaks or produce work that I’m less than proud of, the accretion of work over time measures up. It’s easy to find again, to reference, and to share. Being a website, it also sometimes scratches my itch for tinkering with code and design. I do sometimes feel that the whole thing has become a big pile of mud and pressure myself to try and organize the behemoth (1290 files and counting), but when I let go of this unnecessary pressure I remember the enjoyment I’ve had writing on topics without needing to be perfectly professional and the pride I feel at seeing the years of writing I’ve invested. So, even if it looks like my website has gone dormant, it’s only temporary.
Back in August our neighbors pulled out a gas-powered scooter their adult son had enjoyed as a kid. The brakes didn’t work anymore, but that didn’t deter Graham. I was very proud of him for getting up the courage to ask if he could have a ride. He ended up going three times! Even Royal took a spin.