O What A (Thursday) Night!

"Late December back in '63-- what a very special time for me!" (Ahem... apparently I was singing too loud!)

This little update is due to the perseverance of the Queen, who walked up to me a little while ago and informed me that I had fans (which I think unlikely) and that they were waiting for an update or they'd leave. While I find it unlikely that more than ten people read my incoherent ramblings on a daily basis, it does make sense that if I didn't write anything, they'd assume I was dead and fill their time with worthwhile things to do, like watching I Love Lucy reruns or eating pumpkin pie. So for the ten of you, I promise to have a post every day for the next two weeks, which means they'll actually be even more ADHD than normal. Without further ado, here's something that touched me recently:

It's been a crazy weekend here around the tiny castle here-- we've had friends grace us with their presence, grandparents come visiting, and a trip was made to the Essex Clam Chowda Festival, to name only a few. Thankfully, I was allowed to work during that last one considering I don't eat seafood and am known statewide to friends and family alike as a killjoy (my wife actually prefers going to weddings with our good friend Ina instead of me-- I think the sad part is I might like it better that way too).

Anyway, the moment that sticks in my head more than any other this past blur of a weekend is a snapshot that could have been taken anywhere in the 7 o'clock hour this past Thursday. It had been a crazy day for me (I had been working about 11 hours straight by the time I got home) and a last-minute change of plans that allowed my in-laws to come up and see us a day sooner had made it possible for us to host not only a good friend and her daughter but my in-laws as well, so our house would be crowded and noisy, just the way I normally like it.

I will throw in my confessional caveat at this point-- and not anything new to anyone who has known me for more than five minutes: I deal awfully with change. When an itinerary changes, I freak out. In this case, the itinerary was changing for the better: I got to see MORE people that I liked. Still, I freaked out. Secondly, I deal awfully when my social circles mix. I blame this on the time in high school that I got over this paranoia and invited two of my three best friends from when I was growing up to meet my new out-of-town sophisticated high school friends and one of my old best friend ended up making out in a Friendly's parking lot with one of my new friends for two hours-- and he was my ride home. Ever since then, whenever we mix social circles, I inwardly cringe. All sorts of things run through my head, and I turn into an inward puddle. (Oh... and we were then meeting Ina and our friend Mary, who we know from yet another place, for after-dinner marshmallows... at this point my head generally explodes and everyone has a better time now that the killjoy is dead.) And my in-laws brought a puppy to add to the general insanity, which leads to tonight's random question of the day: What exactly is the LJ doing here?

If you guessed baiting the puppy into scratching his back, you're right! (I'm not kidding-- he approached poor Gabby (my in-laws' puppy) as if to pet her, then when she jumped up to play, he swiveled in and let her scratch his back for a good fifteen seconds. This happened two or three times, and the second time I got it on camera.

Anyways, I had all sorts of anxiety going on, so I decided to pray about it on the way home, which did wonders. Also very helpful: getting home and starting a puzzle with the two children (LJ and Paloma) who promptly left in the middle, leaving Christa (friend and Paloma's mom), myself, and my father-in-law Wes to put it together. I think at that point I realized that everyone there but me was a grown-up and could handle themselves just fine.... I should just play with the kids because that's about my maturity level. It worked out great. The adults had a blast; the kids and I had a blast, and when Ina knocked on the window and we headed out for marshmallows, we were all having a splendid time. But moments are funny; most of the time they just sneak up on you, and this one was no exception. We were outside on the deck alternately chatting away and trying to keep Elijah from lighting the marshmallow sticks on fire or poking out Judah's eye. Being thwarted at every turn, Elijah finally ran to the corner of our deck and dug out (drum roll please) his wading pool.

This is truly one of Elijah's best multi-purpose toys: it has been used as everything from a spaceship to a terrifyingly effective hiding spot (I gave him five seconds to hide and ran onto the deck... he wasn't there so I tore into the street to find him only to hear the Queen laughing hysterically... he had flipped the pool over and hidden underneath it) to a boat, and even occasionally as its intended purpose as a pool. Today he climbed in and demanded that Grammy and Pa (Rachel's parents) get in with him. To their great credit, they did. It looked about as comfortable as pulling your own nose hair. Then Paloma climbed in with them, and for awhile we played pirates, with the kids whooping and hollering. Finally, the grandparents extricated themselves, and Elijah bellowed to 'spin like a fan.' So I did.

It was magic. I don't know how else to think of it. The world blurred (possibly due to the fact that I was running full speed in a tight circle, but I like to think of it as magic) and all I could see were two little cherubs (one that even belonged to me) in a little boat floating in a sea of mahogany, laughing and giggling with no cares to weigh on them. When I finally stopped for air, they begged for more. "One more time," I said... and then did it four more times. The two little blond angels were simply mesmerizing. I still think that when we get to heaven, what we will hear louder than anything else before the throne of God is the laughter of children-- that seems like one of the highest forms of praise I know. It made my night at least.