Category Archives: Day to Day

This time the weather guys were right on. We are having a blizzard.

It will be a quiet day at the office. It has been quiet this morning – only 4 out of 9 people came for appointments.

They have just closed the highway south of PA. The pain would have to be intense to bring anyone out in this weather. I just wish I could go home.

How would the patients feel if the dentist just didn’t show up, I wonder?

We were discussing the fact that a woman we both know is interested and concerned for my daughter.

“Why would she be impressed by me and why would my story interest her? 

“Maybe because God loves you very much.  Have you ever thought about why you are here and not one of the millions of other kids struggling in Africa?”

“Yeah, I think about that a lot.”  Pause.  “I should pray more”

“Well, do you pray?”

“Not very often.”

“You pray when you are desperate don’t you?”

“Yeah.  And I guess my dance is a prayer sometimes.  Its what God made me good at.”

We celebrated. 

In fact tonight is the third day in a row when I have had guests.  True, most of them have been family – or at least on all of the occaisions, family was present besides other non-related guests. 

In a family where the kids are likely to drop by for a meal uninvited and unannounced it becomes difficult to think of them as guests.  They are usually treated as non-guests and get to help. 

Saturday – The meeting of the Congo Connection.  I think we ended up with about 35 to 40 guests in our home.  They came from PA, Saskatoon and Wakaw; parents and children; casually dressed and dressed in finery.  One little girl wore a light blue dress and had a white fur stole around her neck – Must be a princess,” I said as she walked in.  Later on she was running up and down the stairs with the rest, the stole forgotten somewhere.  It was fun but I, not being a night person, was very tired by 2:30 am when we got to bed. 

Sunday – New Years Eve.  I did not think we would invite anyone over but after a nap, we were ready to call some friends over and put out the leftovers from the night before, plus a few extras.  There really is nothing better than sitting around talking and watching comedy with good friends.  Some of our kids were there and Leo has been accused of trying to get Eric’s mother-in -law to consume more spirits than was good for her.

The kids were off in all directions – the younger ones that is.  I suppose you could say that Christian was working since being a drummer for a New Year’s Eve gig is what he was up to. 

This morning, we did not rise too early. 

Poor “of age” daughter learned a bit of a lesson about imbibing too much.  She had to work this morning and when she got up the room was still spinning, she said.  She also has to fork out a chunk of money to have a friends car cleaned.  She thinks she learned her lesson.  I hope.

Tonight another big meal – just roast beef.  The table was full again – but only one table of ten.  Auntie Florence came over to help us celebrate.  It was good for her to get out of the nursing home and nice to have her able to join us.  She enjoyed getting lots of hugs and kisses from Zaka.

“It is not God we’re missing.  It is the awareness of God in the commonness of life that we fail to cultivate.”  Called to Question by Joan Chittister p 40,41

Journaling the events of the day and paying attention to the places where I have been aware of God’s presence during the day not only help me to remember those times but keep me on the lookout for God in the ordinary circumstances of the day.  Whether I am cooking supper, babysitting, listening to a child’s problems or working at the office I will encounter God if I pay attention.   But God generally will not yell or resort to fireworks or visions.  Just a very still small whisper that I sometimes must strain my ears to hear.  I suppose for me journaling is like wearing a hearing aid, helping me to hear God.

On the other hand, when I am using time in a wasteful way (and I do not mean relaxing or leisure time because that is good time but rather time when I know I am  blocking out the responsibilities I should be taking care of) then I am blocking God out.  If I cannot carry on whatever I am doing as though God were at my side, I am closing the door on his presence, telling him that I am busy, come back later when I feel like it.  I can hardly expect God to come and go at my pleasure as if he were mine to command. 

Today, going for a walk was the best thing I did.  I had forgotten how good the clear fresh air tasted.  I had forgotten how good it was to walk in God’s presence with my eyes open to his world around me.  How green the evergreens are against the snow.  The sun’s rays slanted a warm gold across the open snow on the river to the trees on the island.  It was good to stretch my limbs and muscles.  How badly I need to do this regularly! 

Last night I watched Zaka as Grace had some business to take care of, helping out her brother.  He is beginning to walk and he knows that he can perform this feat to our great delight.  He toddles about 10 steps between couch and coffee table then stands up to clap for himself.  It is a much fun for him as for us watching.  It is a delight to watch him develop, to see him discover things he can do and see that once he has it figured out he adds that skill to his growing repertoire.  He learns new things almost daily.  I hope that the joy and love we are able to share with him now also is also stored away inside to be drawn on later to help heal the hurtful parts of life that will come someday. 

Both these events – the walk and watching my grandson – were places I met God.  Nature is an easy place for me to encounter God.  It holds endless things to wonder and marvel at.  And a child beginning to discover life – just watching him discover walking or pushing a ball down a tube – that is an experience in the reality of being “fearfully and wonderfully made.

I think I spent a small fortune today for the privilege of parking at St. Paul’s Hospital in Saskatoon.  Maybe Patrick was just nervous but we were at the hospital a good 5 hours early.  A bit of misunderstanding and definitely not wanting to be late.  So I stayed with him a couple of hours.  Since he had a bed, he decided that he would catch a bit more sleep so I left to do some shopping.  I think I wasted about a half an hour of credit on the parking pass that time. 

I came back to the hospital so I would be there when he left for the operating room.  They wheeled him off at about 12:30 so I left again and again lost some of the time I had paid for. 

The next time I came back to see him when he got out of recovery thinking that this time I would not pay for so much extra parking.  They estimated that he would be an hour back in the day surgery area before he could leave.  It took him a good hour after I got there to even realize I was talking to him!  This time I had to run out a couple of times to buy more parking time but at least this time I used every minute of what I paid for.

Next time I will get the day pass.  It just seemed like 7 dollars was a bit steep.  I think I spent more than the all told. 

I’m glad it wasn’t 40 below.  Running back and forth between the car and the hospital would have been more unpleasant.  As it was, the temperature was pretty warm – slushy dirty wet snow. 

And I think the boy is feeling pretty good.  When he finally woke up they filled him up with good drugs and I filled him up with good food and drove back to PA.  First thing he did when we got home – raided the fridge.  Then dug into the pizza the other guys ordered.  His appetite has revived nicely!

Finally I had time to go and see this film.  It pretty much follows the story.  As I commented to my friend that went with me – it is sort of the Readers Digest Condensed Version.  The time lines are condensed to make those Christmas card like scenes with the shepherds there and the wise men there with the light from the star glowing down onto them.  Now this may have been exactly as it was but of course there was no journey into the temple for the presentation and none of those prophecies spoken. 

The one thing I thought was out of place was the music.  I love Christmas carols but I doubt they were playing in the background as Mary gave birth.  A bit more Jewish music would have been appropriate  – just my own taste I suppose. 

I thought that the portrayal of Mary and Joseph was fairly realistically human and I appreciated that.  The angel was maybe not quite as splendid as to cause the shepherds or Mary to actually “fear”.  The chaos and brutality of Herod was there and certainly the injustice of this brutal regime was displayed well.  I doubt that it was any less brutal than what was portrayed.  Makes one a bit more able to portray the culture that Jesus was born into.

All in all not a bad film.  Could probably done just as well as an HBO movie but I’m glad I saw it on a big screen. 

Now to read The Real Mary by Scot McKnight to get a more scholarly picture. 

Sometimes it seems as if the routines are all that get me throught the day.  I can do them without thinking – much.  So off to work I go.

If I stop and think of all the things I have to do in this next week, my mind goes into overload and it seems as if the world is about to implode.  So I just do and keep doing till as much is done as can be.

This is not how I like to be.  I just have too many things I am committed to doing. 

I guess what gets done will get done and the rest we will live without, whether I like it or not. 

It is easier to go to work than to stay at home and see all the things I can’t do or don’t have time to do right.  Still I don’t like being like this. 

Even my computer seems to be doing crazy things – the time is off by almost half an hour.  Maybe I lost some time somwhere.  It seems like it.

This weekend is busy as it seems most of my time is.  The kids come and go doing their thing.  I catch up on groceries and we do laundry.  Really exciting stuff!

This weekend Patrick was us to help cut up the deer that he and Eric shot a while ago.  I guess the idea is to hang it so it “ripens” or something.  It was pretty frozen with our – 25 degree weather of the past weeks so all available heaters were conscripted to thaw it out.  Yesterday and today were cutting and wrapping days. 

While Patrick was here we got the bad news that Canadian immigration has denied his father a visa to come and visit the boys at Christmas.  Very hard news for Patrick.  He misses his father a lot.  Hopefully Patrick will get Canadian citizenship soon so that he can then travel more easily to visit with his dad when he travels to the states or Europe.  The Canadian immigration decision is just so wrong – so unjust – so biased.  So maddening!  So when I told Patrick the news we were on our way to the bus depot and he decided to stick around for the day.  I’m glad he did ’cause we got to have a good talk before he took the bus back to Saskatoon this evening.

Now the house is quiet.  The other guys are out playing soccer and Sara just left for her game which starts at the ungodly hour of 11 pm.  Hope she gets enough sleep tonight.

We seem to be in a perpetual state of car juggling.  That is my car is being shared by too many people that need to go in too many directions at once.  I think it  is Sara that uses it the most.  At least she has the courtesy to drop me off at work and pick me up.  And I get to use it some days and a few evenings – as long as I am home in time so the young lady can get to her soccer games on time. 

Oh well.  At least the car hardly gets time to cool down between uses.  Haven’t plugged it in yet.

We are ridiculously dependant on cars.  I need to get back out walking.  But the cold – and the slipperyness is a huge deterant.  So is my lazyness I guess.

Tonight we are going to listen to the drummer in the family.  We have a table reserved at one of the most notorious bars in town – noisy for sure. Christian is drumming with the Jason Moon Band and since we have not had the pleasure, we are going to go and see what he can do. 

Then tomorrow he goes back to Saskatoon where he has a real job waiting. 

I guess he makes OK money at this drumming stuff that he loves buyt if one were to count all the practice times and travel times, not to count set up and take down, I suspect it would be more like minimum wage.  He’s happy I guess.  Or young and foolish.  Or both.