Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Preventing Grace

Home
Evangelical
Weekend in Review

Weekend in Review

Last updated on: June 16, 2014 at 9:48 am by Anne Kennedy

Weekend in Review 2014-06-16T09:48:22-04:00 Anne Kennedy

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I’m in The Usual Monday Morning Fog. My mind is clouded with a stupid haze of tired and misremembering, in perfect contrast to the bright and clear sky. I feel, perhaps, that it would be an interesting idea to gather up my life and move forward into the the clear bright future. But maybe not. Maybe I’ll just stay here for the rest of the morning, moaning about my back. Maybe my mind will clear. Maybe it won’t. What day is it? Who am I? What is the order and purpose of my days? How come Matt doesn’t experience the Monday Haze of body and mind? How come he wakes up and pops open his greek book while I cast my mind over the wreckage of the past and the mountainous work of the future? Is there any more milk for the tea? What terrible bunny is eating my cabbages?

If ever I deserved to be in a fog, I’m sure it is now. I’m not together enough to articulate this deserving, so you’ll just have to take my word for it. But here are a few pictures.

There was another wedding. I was not in charge of anything, least of all the food, but I hung around and watched other people work hard. And I volunteered Matt to cook the pork.

He got us all through the wedding itself, and then went home and gathered the gravy, and a minute or so later I discovered him in the church kitchen, carving.

I helped him a little bit until I cut my finger and then I wandered off to test out all the infused cool gorgeous waters–lemon and blueberry and mint–and steal little bites of marinated mozzarella and sundried tomato. I know the person who did the food, and if you pay me some money, I’ll give you her name and number, at great personal risk to myself, having heard her vow that she would never do this again. Problem is, she did Such A Beautiful Job, the Food Was SO Beautiful AND Delicious…one moment more before I collapse into all caps and you click away from all the virtual shouting…I can’t imagine that she will never be persuaded to such a task again.

And I also know who decorated the Hall. For a similar amount of money, I’d be happy to divulge that secret.

I kept looking out from the kitchen at this cool, welcoming, twinkly expanse of white and blue and fairy purple and marveling. SO PRETTY. I repent of all the muttering under my breath about painting. It was The Right Thing to do. Maybe I’ll pitch in and help paint the foul stairways….well, no, I think I’ll leave that to others.

All around the wedding, on either side, was baseball, of course. Cold Cold Cold Baseball. And coping with little girls who are screaming about having their hair combed but also wanting it exactly a certain way, and when you do it wrong, or you pick the wrong color band, they look at you reproachfully and burst into tears, because how could they have been cursed with such a disappointment of a mother, who can’t do anything but hurt them with a comb.

By the time everyone was dressed I felt like a wrung out dishrag that offends the sensabilities of everyone.

Then on Sunday we had the Piano Recital. Elphine and Alouicious played beautifully. Romulus played Eye of the Tiger really well and then followed it up with Our God is an Awesome God which, it turns out, is a song that goes in a loop and has no end and goes on forever until the teacher gets up and helps you out of it. Matt and I gazed at each other across the room, him holding one squirming child and I another, in agonized laughter. Romulous, as so many of you know, just finished a season of baseball on a team called Home Central. For reasons that I cannot divine, the coaches of this team bestowed each and Every player with a trophy at the last game. Romulous has been groping towards reality, though not very well, in the realm of baseball. He has an excessively lofty opinion of himself, telling us game after game that his team won and he won it for them, never hearing the quiet whisperings of many that they don’t keep score. When presented with a trophy (!!! This is the end of America!!!) he announced to us all that his team had won ‘the Championships’. Texts from Matt quoting Romulus as they were getting into the car, to me, included ‘Every day I’m probably going to look at it’ and ‘Remember Rocky how he had all those trophies…this is my first for my collection’ and ‘My team is the team of the year but now I can get back to normal life.’

As I read all these texts I constructed an entire interior blog post about how, you know, this culture thinks you should tell the truth to kids about Santa and the Tooth Fairy and stuff (don’t worry, I’m not thinking of any particular anything, this is just my judgy sense of what America is like) but doesn’t have Any Problem lying to them about how awesome they are. If it were up to me, and I guess it is for my own kids, I would indulge the Santa Lie which isn’t about them, which is about grace and magic and beauty, and squash the You’re Awesome Lie, which, while sort of cute

turns out to be ugly in the end when it’s all grown up and nobody can stand to have a conversation with it. A good measure of reality, pressed down, shaken together, over flowing, is such a grace to the world. We are not awesome. God is awesome. Of course, Romulous has that part covered too, a la piano recital. So maybe he really is awesome.

Let’s see, what else went on this weekend? I watched ten minutes of a World Cup game. And I had a screaming fight with Matt about the fact that he wouldn’t let go of a handful of forks so that I could put them in the dishwasher. Gosh, he made me so mad. And he preached an excellent sermon and then took this mean picture of me.

And, what else. Maybe that was enough. Maybe I’ll toddle down to the bright outside and pull some weeds. And when I’ve gotten all the reality that I can bear gathered together, I will begin the true work of the week which is to begin to search for a Music Director for Good Shepherd. Our beloved Organist and Choir Whisperer is heading off to a much deserved retirement and, having whined and moaned and complained about it lo these many weeks, I know that God cares for us and will provide. But if any of you know anyone who is in Binghamton or who desperately longs to move here who also loves Jesus and wants to help make his church sing beautifully (or even adequately, let me not get ahead of myself) and who knows that God is indeed awesome PLEASE LET ME KNOW. And quickly, because I’m afraid Romulus will apply for the job.

Children in Conversation

culture watch

In conversation with children

Life Going On

Pictures

Previous Post

June 12, 2014

Marriage: It's a tricky Business

Next Post

June 17, 2014 Why do Bad Things Happen

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category books Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Children in Conversation culture watch Daily Devotions Demotivations with Anne faith alone for the grandparents GAFCON In conversation with children In the News Kitchen Notes Lambeth Learning Notes Life Going On Men are Human Notes from Home Pictures Reading the Bible Saturday Links Sermons Signs of the Apocalypse The Bad Word Association The Prayer of Jonah Travel Notes Uncategorized Witless Wednesdays Work and the Christian

Select a Month June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 July 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What king wrote many proverbs and built a great temple?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Solomon Saul David Hezekiah

Books by This Author Books by Anne Kennedy

See All Titles »