March 23rd, 2025
Church in a cold rain behind a stained glass turned richer by the blue light... squeaky pew... service led by the vaguely Dutch-sounding vicar and vaguely Irish-sounding seminarian... the kind of Irish accent you'd expect an American might pick up after living in Dublin for a few years...
While I walk the kids over to Sunday School afterwards under a cold violet-blue sky, Oxbear leaves to grab cash... he's got a sausage order from the Men's Club waiting in the church kitchen and forgot to bring payment... first ATM he hits has been torn apart by thieves so he skips over to another option in Clayton... joins me late for Bible study...
Rain hasn't left the city yet as we return home... clean the kitchen while Yali hooks a giant rubber-band over the banister then snaps it into poor Bob Ross the Halloween skeleton on repeat... Yali laughs wildly as skeleton parts clatter around the room...
Oxbear's and Yali's Scout hike is postponed due to weather so Oxbear is busy watching video of homemade PVC pipe musical horns for inspiration...
And the dog meanwhile has somehow fully survived scarfing almost an entire tray of chocolate hazelnut candies she swiped off the kitchen counter when no one was home yesterday morning...
Patience and I leave before one o'clock for the Big House... however, after driving on the highway for awhile, the dashboard of the Toyota begins to light up... the engine is spontaneously overheating and the woman driving beside me flags me down... “YOU'RE SMOKING!!!” she yells across the lane to me... and we are... big billows of white smoke out the back suddenly... coast over to an abandoned gas station lot in St. Peters... after giving Oxbear a call (who is stranded at home while Puck is still out in my car) about the recent vehicle evaluation and ordered parts waiting for installation... call Francis out to inspect... after awhile of analyzation and consultation he discovers the broken coolant line tucked in the back which explains most of the trouble... and the vehicle manages to sputter over to the Big House as more white smoke puffs behind us and burning coolant annoys the senses upon arrival... “Yeah, I wouldn't drive this anywhere...” Francis advises...
Inside most of the family is gathered for meatball stew and there's conversation about drone wars and emerging perspectives in theology before more texts/phone calls with Oxbear and Puck about logistics and towing options... while Patience sorts through a large trash bag of Sally's old clothes (she seems to clear out her closet about every quarter and start over again)... and cousins jump on the small trampoline in the living room...
Puck and J pull up shortly later – J driving my car for more practice – as Patience and I stuff ourselves in the back because that one seatbelt is busted out... “Yeah,” I say as we scoot back down the highway... “When I told Francis you guys were coming to pick us up, he said I should tell you impressive stuff like, 'Hey guys, you know... when I was your age I had these cool things to listen to in the car called cassette tapes. Do you know what those are?'” which makes them laugh...
Back home... Puck and J pause to prepare protein shakes while Puck looks over the donations from the Big House that are ready to be delivered to church... he grabs the large Chinese floor vase that once belonged to his aunt in high school and a tin watering can... “Thank you...” he grins... “You can donate these to myself”... then he and J leave for the IKEA buffet in the city...
...while Oxbear pauses work on a 3D-printed posable Jack Skellington hand for Yali, to watch “Wicked” with Patience for the first time...
...and Yali works with careful detail on minifig alterations, including creating his own One Punch Man...
And I finally sit down with my laptop to catch up on paperwork and communications from the week while listening to Celtic viol... until Puck returns from dropping off J to request hot buttered “Toast!”