suburban hobos

I think Maggie and I both had fairly normal work days last week. She did have a particularly high number of requests for financial assistance, but that is not atypical for the end of the month. That seems to be the time when folks who are just barely making it really feel the squeeze. Pay the light bill or the phone bill?Much of my week was spent preparing for Sunday’s service. Steve (PCC’s worship leader) and I had been working on putting together a communion service that would feel a bit different from our normal services. We decided to focus on Psalm 95. He did an excellent job of pulling together some music and readings that centered on the themes from the Psalm. My job was to speak (briefly) about the Pslalm and coordinate communion. Typically we serve people as they are seated, but this time we had folks come forward. They took a piece of bread from one server (“Remember the body of Christ, broken for you.”) and then dipped it in a cup held by another volunteer (“Remember the blood of Christ, shed for you.”). The feedback has thus far been positive.

We had some friends over for dinner on Thursday to celebrate their son’s fifth birthday. This little guy had gotten his first bee sting in our front yard a couple of weeks ago so he wanted to take us on a tour of where it all went down. Dad and son were back in our backyard on Sunday night for their first camping trip. They had been on a long treasure hunt (complete with evading pirates) that eventually led them to the Grey Havens (the name of our house on the pirate map) where they dug up the treasure, A Dangerous Book for Boys. If anyone is looking for a very cool present for a 5-10 year old boy, this may be your best bet. It looks terrific and I can easily imagine myself as a kid spending some hours getting lost in its pages and illustrations.

Saturday morning was an hour bike ride that ended at the French Market. We loaded up on produce, bread, cheese, and steaks from the meat market…much of which was consumed with the Davidsons later in the day. Must be a good sign that Bob and Anna had us over the weekend after we’d been refugees in their home for a few nights!

On Labor Day we took what is likely our last trip of the season to the Warren Dunes. Fabulous weather. The water was warm enough for Maggie to float in the tube a couple of times, though I only made it to my waist. Lots of reading and talking.

Can I just say how wonderful my wife is? This is her posing with some of the carrots from her garden. We’ve been married for 8+ years and I was so glad to get to spend a bunch of time with her this weekend. Seriously, how great is that? By the way- and you didn’t hear it from me- Maggie turns 30 on Saturday! That means that I’ve known her for 1/3 of her life. Another 10 years and I can say I’ve known her for 1/2 of her life. Awesome!