Category Archives: Day to Day

has been long and tiring.  I am so incredibly sleepy tonight.  I’d like to be up in my bed but being the single parent for a few days means I should be paying attention to when and where the kids are coming and going.  So I guess I’ll mess around in the kitchen, cleaning it up and then see what is brewing in the laundry department.  Exciting stuff, but it should keep me up till curfew time. 

Tomorrow – trip to Saskatoon.  Shopping for dresses for my friends wedding.  I see her at work almost every day but I think this will be more fun.  We don’t do much of this kind of fun stuff together.

I guess tough times are to be expected, but it is no fun.  And when my kids are the source of the stuff that brings the hard times it is about the hardest sort of hard times.  I think it is because I love them.  I have those moments when I probably feel more like killing them (or seriously maiming them at least) but not too deep down I love them so much.  So much that I can be hurt by them pretty easily.  So I am not going to sit by and watch them slip and slide into stuff they shouldn’t be doing.  Right now, I have one who seems to have realized that some stuff is not good and is trying to break free and another who I don’t think realizes just how much and how serious the trouble they are headed towards is. 

So I seek words to talk to them with.  I want to say things that will get my concern for them across without my getting angry.  I want them to know and understand that I don’t want my trust of them to be taken lightly.  I don’t want them to think I am a fool that can be easily trumped by deceitful words from them. 

I don’t know if I am even doing the right thing.  That seems to be the hardest thing about life – not knowing the end result of our words or actions and not being able to go back and do things over if we mess up.  Wisdom – what I seek but not always what I demonstrate. 

So this has been a rather tough sort of day.  And tomorrow I head into a short stretch of single parenting.  So if any of you think of praying for me over the next few days, I sure could use it.

Well, I must say that it is good to be home again.  Even though the conference was probably one of the most enjoyable I’ve ever been at. 

Even hobnobbed with the big guys.  Had breakfast with the President of our denomination – Glen Palmberg – and heard some about his recent trip to the Congo.  And he encouraged me as I get ready to go.  He was overwhelmed by the tremendous needs and the need for us to go back and give them all the support we can.  And he talked about the heat and humidity and how it was so draining.  I know this is one part of the experience that I won’t escape either.  And the endless lines of people coming to present their needs to him for consideration.  I probably will have some of that too.  What really almost knocked me flat though was when he said to me “…whenI was talking to Condelleeza Rice…” and I thought gee – here is little insignificant me sharing breakfast with someone who really does talk to the “big guys”.  But he has such a big heart open to the needs of the Congo.  It seems to be God’s timing for us to talk and for me to go back. 

Pray for Africa and it’s huge needs.  The really powerful nations may bail on their promises of aid to Africa but God won’t.  And I hope God’s people won’t.

And hearing Lon Allison bring us messages from God.  “Hook is Back.  Gotta fly. Gotta crow. Gotta fight.”  I think that one will stick with me for a while.  Lots of chances to talk to him too. 

And I got to share a bit of my story.  Where I’ve been, where I’m headed, what I hope to do with this trip to the Congo.  I guess even the brief sharing of my personal struggles connected to where other women are at.  And although the few minutes I had are not enough to more than scratch the surface it prompted numerous conversations.  And I know that a bunch of people will be praying for me as I go. 

in Winnipeg. Weather is just about like in Prince Albert before we left. A few minutes of sun, a few minutes of rain, then a few minutes of snow.

I hate to advertise but the Super 8 hotel on Pembina is a nice place to stay. It also just so happens that I was given a suite – complete with microwave. And computer. This is great.

I presented a little bit of what I would be doing going back to the Congo at the service on Friday evening. I was given two minutes – I suspect I took a couple more than that. I am no public speaker. I am not terribly afraid I don’t think. It is just that spoken words are not my thing. I shared briefly what we had done before when we were in the Congo,my struggles coping when we came back, and how God seems to be wanting me back there this summer. And how I think I am finally ready to go.

Today was just a fun day. I spent hours talking to people I haven’t seen for a long time. Then I watched our little TV documentary. I am not sure it actually aired in Saskatchewan. It was actually good. It ended up in the church while we were singing “Lord You Have My Heart” and even the singing sounded good.

Then I went shopping. And to a banquet and program tonight. More good visiting. Tomorrow Lon Allison speaks again and lunch after with a cousin. To the Forks in the afternoon. It should be another fun day.

If you receive the French channels, TVA in particular, we are making our grand début on television this Saturday, May 1.  The program we are going to be on is VIA TVA .  Here in Saskatchewan it is on at 10:30 am on Channel 81, in Winnipeg, where I will be, it will show on Channel 70 at 11:30 am.  I am very curious to see what they deemed worthy of showing out of all the filming we did the two days the film crew was with us. 

Today it felt so good to go back to work.  The weekend was just so crazy busy.  There was the dance festival that occupied a good part of my Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon.  Grace was at that all three days so we had to get her back and forth too. 

Sara also is getting back into her soccer schedule.  She was going to drop the premier league involvement but the team seems to have talked her into it – even if she will be gone for a month.  So yesterday she had two games.  She is out of shape again so was very stiff and sore this morning. 

And birthdays.  This weekend we celebrated Sara’s as a family.  Ordered Chinese food from her favourite restaurant. Eric baked her a couple of apple pies.  Nice to have brothers that can cook.  Next week Leo will have to be the single parent, host/supervisor for her party with friends.  She only wants 23 friends over.  I will be far away – in Winnipeg.

And last night a little party for a friend at our women’s study group.  That was fun too. But again, required a little extra running around – worth it though.  I think we even surprised her.  The waitress almost let the cat out of the bag there at one point.

I began today feeling that I should be taking a day off to get myself back together.  I was feeling pretty much at the end of a long swinging rope over a cliff – sort of desperate with a big headache!

But, God, I didn’t mean literally a day without work! 

Today none of my patients from 11:30 till 3:00 showed up.  Doesn’t get the bills paid but I sat in the staff room reading and listened to a CD I happened to bring from home.

And since nothing good results from my stressing out about the patients that failed to show up, I decided to just accept this little rest as a gift and enjoy it. 

So I did.  Then came home and found that I have a kid I am going to need to ground and seriously come down hard on.  Such a lovely day!

I have to join Leo for a buisness dinner at Amy’s (our local most posh restaurant).   I guess I will just have to use that time to unstress too.  Maybe some nice wine…  but I am also the designated driver.

We have a furnace that produces heat and hot water.  We will not have to sit so faaaaaar from our friends tomorrow.  We are catching up on washing dishes, clothes and ourselves.

Lacking a convienience like hot water sure does make one appreciate the things that make life easier for us. 

We had a great evening visiting our friends with the Congo/Belgian connections.  An evening in almost 100% French (a few anglicisms thrown in of course for ggod measure).  Well at least we call it French – more Belgian actually since we alll like “nonante” and “septante” better than “quatre-vingt dix” and soixante dix”. 

C’s parents from the Congo are visiting them for three months.  He was a company doctor for one of the mines down in Lubumbashi.  A quiet dignified man.  His wife is a lot more like C – full of life and talk.  To folks from Lubumbashi, we were from the bad area of the country- Equateur- Mobutu’s old territory.  Relates back to the massacre of students that took place in about 1988/89.  (you can see I am a historian – not!)  But we got over that quickly.

I discovered that C and I have a lot more in common than I thought.  Sometimes well educated Congoleses women can be very pretentious.  Not C.  She has the same approach to housekeeping as I do and we all sat around the kitchen table to visit – like most Saskatchewan farm families would.

Fernand introduced Leo to some local poison.  I think it was a bit toooo strong for Leo.  He took a sip and almost gasped.  Diluted his coffee with it and then it seemed to go down OK.  Guess who drove home! 

I made Jordon Coopers blogroll.  Don’t let it go to my head!

…at our house.  No warm baths yet.  The part ordered was the wrong one – back to square one.  Very glad it is not -40 C out these days. 

This whole weekend is going to be a blur.  Kids are busy.  We are busy.  We have a birthday today -Sara – but no celebration today as she is going to Saskatoon with the Youth group for some all night sort of event. 

Tonight we are going to Wakaw to visit friends.  Her parents are here for a visit – from the Congo.  I met her mother when they were in the office the other day.  We have been trying to go and visit for ages.  We just have to go tonight.

Tomorrow and Sunday I volunteer at the dance competition which is going on.  And meetings tomorrow, and I have to get groceries sometime. 

Last night we were at the dance competition.  Grace was dancing.  She did well but was so disappointed in the results for the duet.  With good reason.  A harsh judgement call that seemed totally unreasonable and which she can’t understand even after reading the judges remarks and watching the tape of the dance.  Oh well – there will always be some obviously bad judgements – look at the Olympics.  Dancing is also an art judged subjectively.