Yup, Circle Game!

Not quite 26 years ago, I flew from Puerto Rico to Virginia and introduced an almost crawling baby to the guy you see here. That's my brother Dave. He was a senior in high school at the time. We watched that baby revel in her new-found ability to rock on hands and knees. We called it "revving up!"

At the time, I remembered watching my brother "revving up" his toy cars when he was a little kid. It was a poignant moment, realizing that the boy had grown to a young man who was enjoying the sight of my first-born on the brink of self-locomotion.

The other day, my brother flew to Virginia from Arizona. I watched while my first-born introduced her first-born to her Uncle Dave. Together, the mom, grandma and great-uncle watched daughter, granddaughter and great-niece "revving up."

"Remember?" I asked. "Yup," he replied. Oh, we laughed! Hear the circle, that carousel of time?

I Love My Church

Today was our first day back on the fall schedule. That meant the 9:00 service was in full swing. Sunday school for 5th graders and younger happens during the first part of the service and the families reunite for the eucharist.

Today was about as much fun as a church full of people who appreciate children can have. In one service we had:

• a baptism - really cute little guy
• about a million kids parade in from Sunday school
• the kid who cried loudly because his brother hit him - NOT because it hurt
• the kid who picked his nose the whole time he was up front talking to the priest
• the kid who pounded on the window of the "cry room" when all the other kids were loose in the sanctuary - you could almost hear the shout of LET ME OUT!
  
• the little girl who danced ballet all the way down the aisle to communion
• the kids who "read" the service out of the hymnal until they decided all the black dots meant it was the singing book, not the reading book

This morning's service was testament to the fact that we love our kids. They bring an energy and innocence to our worship. Thank God.

Remembering

This morning I put on my flag pin and headed out the door to work. I sat at a traffic light and pondered the license plate in front of me: 940AM.

Suppose they really like that radio station?

No, it was on the Fight Terrorism plate.
I remembered all day.

School's In!

It was the Friday before school starts - open house day. Families come to find classrooms and meet teachers. Once in a while they stop by the office.

This family lives next door to me. Aren't they cute?

My church leases space to a day care center. The center has a tight budget and could not replace the aging van they use to transport kids to the local schools.

Our outreach committee voted to give the center a substantial grant toward a new bus.
Here it comes now!

On Friday, the director of the center drove kids to school in the new bus. She said she was tempted to drive it past all the other day care centers in town and HONK just to show it off.

As the bus pulls away, here's the message.
What a pleasure to be part of this gift!

What I Like About September

Peaches, apples, tomatoes and corn available on the same day at the farmers market

College football

Boxes and boxes of new crayons

Little kids wearing backpacks that are longer than their backs

School shoes

College football

Lunch boxes with cool features like nifty containers and blue ice pockets

Cool nights, warm days

Thinking about wearing sweaters again but not needing them yet

Did I mention college football?

Dahlias, zinnias and sunflowers

High school marching bands

Kids dressed in new back-to-school outfits that will feel better when the temperature is 20 degrees cooler - "But, Mom! It's my new school outfit, I don't care if it's made of wool and the high will be 80 today!"

How about you?

What's In A Name?

My name is Martha. I've always taken the story of Martha-in-the-kitchen-while-Mary-enjoys-Jesus-time personally. I do like having a biblical name, and I do like the reminder to look for the Mary moments of my life and fully participate in them.

My "Mary moments" this week were times with my children. The reminders to cherish such moments were strong. Megan was in town to attend a viewing for a high school classmate who died of a brain aneurysm. Auntie Erin postponed her return to college to that she could see her sister and niece. Auntie Clare and I also got some good Hannah time.

Thursday evening, in the course of some volunteer work, I saw Esperanza for the first time in several weeks. She left town quickly to be with her son who was suffering from kidney failure. Her son died within hours of her arrival. I told Esperanza that I was sorry for her loss. We cried together. We'll probably cry together the next time I see her, too.

As I was driving home, knowing that Megan and Hannah were at my house, I remembered that the word "esperanza" means "hope." I think that Esperanza will have a hard time living into her name for a while. I felt a little guilty leaving the grieving mother to be with a joyful little 7-month-old. Esperanza will be in my prayers; I will pray for hope.

Photo is Auntie Clare with Hannah. 8.23.2007

Yellow? Not Pink?

I got a call today about church flowers. I've been doing a lot of wedding flowers lately and had thought to make a fun arrangement for church on Sunday including some summer farmers market bounty. But that won't happen.

The caller said that Angelique has died. Now, I don't know Angelique personally. I do know several members of her extended family. She was an elderly lady, frail enough in body that she hadn't been to a church service for quite some time. Her spirit was strong, though, and she had communion brought to her home. I know that she was the recipient of a beautiful pink prayer shawl.

That would be why I questioned my caller when she said Angelique's daughter had requested YELLOW roses.

"Really, not pink?" I asked. "No," said my caller, "Her daughter said Angelique loved pink clothes but yellow was her favorite flower color." So, we'll have yellow roses and white gladiolus. And on Monday, we'll lay to rest a matriarch.

Friends, when you wonder about flowers for my funeral (some day far in the future!), tell the church ladies to make the arrangements big and bright. When it's all over, though, just leave a couple blooms wherever you leave my remains... take the rest of the flowers home and enjoy them! And when you wander through the farmers market in the summer, remember how blessed we are that God's creation includes zinnias, lisianthus, sunflowers and lilies. Take home a fistful of flowers and think of me.