The Squire and I went down to Timberville Saturday morning to visit my nephew, who is studying to become a minister in the Church of the Brethren. We went down to hear his first sermon, and I took down a box of my dad’s books, plus the carton of sermons we’d received from the Senior Warden at Holy Cross. Karl was over the moon! I think if his wife hadn’t stopped him, he’d have spread the papers all over the table right then.
That afternoon we visited the radio station where he works, and visited a Mennonite country store so Karl could buy some marbles to use in the children’s sermon. I bought some corn and sweet potato taco chips, and a bag of wasabi peas. Later we took them to dinner at a Thai restaurant. His home is not large enough to accommodate two extra people, so he and his wife put us up at a motel not too far away.
I have restless leg syndrome and must take my anti-convulsant at least two hours before bedtime. I didn’t take any medicine before we left for dinner because I didn’t want to fall asleep in my dinner plate, so what with one thing and another it was midnight before I stopped twitching and fell asleep. The Squire, poor soul, said that even after I finally drifted off I moaned most of the night.
Do not EVER let anybody tell you RLS is a “minor” problem!
We woke up early on Sunday, had breakfast, reloaded the car – and still had an hour to kill before church, so we did the one thing I swore I’d never, ever do – we went to a Wal-Mart! I needed to keep moving or I would have simply fallen over from simple exhaustion, so sitting in the car reading wasn’t an option. We just wandered around, but The Squire bought an insulated bag to carry home our restaurant leftovers; it will also come in handy for trips to the grocery store.
So – we got to church a little before 10. Karl was already there, and we followed him in for the grand tour. Professional courtesy and all that! The service was very nice and Karl’s sermon was excellent! He didn’t try to tell the congregation everything he knew (a frequent problem with newly minted preachers) but hit on several themes, used some humour, and tied everything neatly together at the end. My sister would have been very proud of him, and my dad would have been bursting at the seams.
Lunch at a local Cracker Barrel, hugs all around, and we were off to visit our youngest daughter in northern Virginia. Birthday wishes and a nice gift from her and her children, and off again. We got home around 6:30. The Squire finished off his leftover Thai food, but I took my pills and went to bed.
thisendoftheswamp 