A friend of mine had shoulder surgery yesterday, so today I biked over some food for her and her family. Loaded up the saddlebags with toss-able tupperware and hauled it over. First time I've been on my bike in a few months. There was ice involved when I got back home.
Skip and I are headed to the annual American Women's Club fundraiser tonight. It will benefit an organization here that helps children who have been abused and even those who live in homes where abuse is happening. It's the first time I've put on a dress since October when Brian got married. And for those who think all this jetting around Europe may have altered my fundamental self, rest assured. I just finished using one of Maddie's black magic markers to clean up the scuff marks on my black pumps from Target. I think I'll ask the wife of the Consulate General if she did the same thing before coming.
Maddie is going to have friends Madison and Matthew over the spend the night and their big sister Lea is going to babysit until we get home. Tomorrow I get to take the three little M's to a three-hour birthday party.
And yes, the birthday party is on a Sunday which means we'll miss church, but Maddie has missed the last three parties she's been invited to because of illness or travel. Between the excitement of coming home for the summer and moving to London and the sadness over leaving her friends and school in Germany, she is just one big ball of emotion right now. There was no way I was telling her she was going to miss another birthday party because we had to go to church. That might be the end of her church affinity for good!
One of the members of this church that we nominally attend tried to make me feel guilty yesterday for not being more involved. She didn't realize that I don't really do guilt. She was lamenting the time she was going to be spending in a volunteer capacity this weekend and commented she was surprised that I hadn't gotten more involved since I had been a pastor and understood the need for people to be involved. I told her that I encouraged people to get involved in areas they enjoy and feel nourished by--and also in things that made a difference to the "least of these"--whether they enjoy it or not! I told her I hadn't found anything there that nourished me and I just couldn't handle any more depleting factors in my life right now. She indicated that she was not feeling particularly nourished by her involvement, either. I hope I didn't lose the church a volunteer!
I am getting regular updates on what's happening with Presbytery Disaster Assistance in Arkansas. The work they are doing to help the areas and the churches that have been affected by all that awful weather is really impressive.
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