Forget Your Sores, Itches, & Cares, and Take a Walk Down Memory Lane
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
[7:06am] The previous day had been Benjamin Franklin’s 300th anniversary. And Collette rather wondered if he had been born into a snowy day – drifts of white and skies a shade of gray the likes of which a stormy sea would be envious. Collette had yet to see such a snow that year, or in the last days of December. A minute’s worth of lacy fairies danced across the lawn the previous afternoon during lunch, but nothing worth speaking of, really. Collette wished for a storm just shy of a blizzard (and that it might come at an opportune time – but that was hoping a little too far). Besides, if one were to come, everyone would complain about it anyway. Never satisfied…
[13:02pm] At home that fine cold afternoon, Collette’s throat still hurt and she began to wonder if people were still regularly obliged to have their tonsils removed. Carrie had a rash which bothered her on her foot and her arm (from where, she could not quite gather, unless it was related to stress), on which she used olive oil, Goldbond, Vaseline, and hydrocortisone, and drank magnesium tea. She would have tried an oatmeal bath as well, but they were clean out of oatmeal. Linnea played with Polly Pockets in the bathroom sink. Frances continued math throughout a good portion of the day, still being rather good at it. Joe was also good – in geometry. And Rose spent a quarter of her morning and into the afternoon, covering the teeth of every model in her TeenVogue magazine in black pen. There was soup and crusty bread for lunch, as Collette continued reading through I Samuel and instructed the usual mathematics and Joe’s and Rose’s two accelerated college classes.
Later that afternoon, Carrie and Collette reminisced over old choir, TFC and Liberty, and quizzing days… Ah, the good old times when George ‘the’ Red would sing songs to himself (with lyrics such as: “…look at the way she walks like a queen…”) while he played goalie during soccer and Carrie and Eve would form “the wall” during all the games. Carrie, Bing, Eve, Jesse James, Edred, and Ex Rocking were part of “The Group” – head honchos: Carrie-Bri and Ex Rocking. Ah, the good old days… H.W.H. Knot (the nicest tenor with the ‘boys choir’ voice from New York), George ‘the’ Red, Snuffy Friendly, Cyrano-Loup Rutabaga, and all the other “cool-dude” basses… Yes, the good old days.
Wednesday ended with youth, with the welcome addition of Ecclesiastes and Aubree Spinnings from West Palm Beach Florida, Ecclesiastes being a seminary student at Covenant, and expecting their second daughter. Carnelian was their first and enjoyed running around the barn floor in her little pink jacket. Ecclesiastes led the singing for the kids on guitar, and selected several good songs – he led it well. And the last five minutes consisted of a quick “mixer” according to Jimmy where Pablo, Nacchianti, Julia Poach, Daisy George, and Noel Chaumiere contested on who could eat a cheeseburger with their hands behind their backs and plastic bibs around their necks, the fastest. Pablo won.
“We will have new bodies—different from these so that they live forever and are capable of vastly greater joys (1 Corinthians 15:44), and yet like these so that we will know each other (as the disciples recognized Jesus in his resurrection body).”
– John Piper Sermon – “How God’s Word Produces Our Work” – Sunday, January 8th, 2006