Tuesday mornings are a time to take stock, a time to consider and to wax philosophical. With a long weekend under my belt, Tuesdays are in some sense the quiet after the storm, the beginning of a new week. My musings tend gloomily, though, because I am almost always very tired, invariably having failed to get to bed at a timely hour.
I certainly have nothing to be gloomy about, though, except lack of sleep. Last Monday Kathy and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary, truly a cause for joy and pride. Of all the accomplishments of my life so far, I take most satisfaction in the family that Kathy and I founded back in 1992. By the grace of God, we have built our house and through His precepts our children are established … call me biased, but I am extremely pleased with what we have built.
On our anniversary day, the kids got up early and made us breakfast … painstakingly (nearly) following a recipe for a blueberry cobbler that was approved under Kathy’s eating plan, with (ahem, somewhat less ‘approved’) cinnamon rolls for me. They made some decorations and cut a few roses to lay on the table … cute kids. I tremble to think of what would have happened to my children if Kathy and I had not married … would they exist in the mind of God until being assigned to some other body in some other family, or would they never be at all? That’s one of the questions I plan to ask, when I go to be with the Lord.
Sarah and David ride like eastern potentates whenever we go out with our bikes.
Daniel and I headed over to Grandpa’s house early to work for an hour to make reparations for an incident of disrespect on Daniel’s part. Typically, Daniel enjoyed it, making sure to tell me so. Fortunately, I had already exacted a less-pleasant punishment for the offense, and the work was merely icing on the cake, as it were.
Rachel had a tooth problem over the weekend, her jaw swelling up and complaining of considerable pain … we made a dentist appointment for her first thing on Monday. Kathy took her to the dentist where Rachel dissolved in tears, fearing the pain somewhat more than the occasion warranted. The dentist was fortunately well-skilled in the calming of little girls, and Rachel returned home triumphant, her tooth in a little baggy and having avoided a nasty abscess. She even got a helium balloon out of the affair, which pleased David and Sarah.
Taking advantage of the girls’ absence, I sneakily wrapped a bunch of presents I had purchased and placed bouquets of irises, tulips and roses strategically around the house. My parents agreed to come over to watch the kids and Kathy and I went out to lunch and watched a movie at the local multiplex. The matinee showing was empty except for us … “How sweet of you to rent out the theater for our anniversary!” Kathy gushed jokingly.
While we were off at the movies, my folks took the kids to the lake to see the baby ducks, and assembled a covered porch-swing they had purchased as an anniversary gift for us. The children immediately adopted it as their own, although Kathy managed to get some time on it later in the evening. It is a fun and thoughtful gift and will be well-appreciated, I expect.
One of these days I’ll manage to sit on the swing myself.
We’ve been using our grill quite a bit lately … I had wanted to grill for our anniversary … we enjoyed steak and shrimp while the kids had hamburgers. So far Joshua is the only one of the kids who likes steak, leaving (Oh, darn!) more for me. I finished mowing the lawn … always a major accomplishment with the MOGL (Mower Of Great Laziness). We settled in for a quiet evening, Kathy catching up with her e-mail and I playing a new computer game.
It was a good day — very typical of our happy thirteen years of marriage.
