on cars and busses

This weekend i went to Philadelphia to stay with Xh. and her husband, and see V. and her family. These two women were the other two "muskateers" in college, and remain two of my absolute closest friends. Thank God the visit went very well, and was very fun! V's kids are almost painfully cute, and both ladies married splendidly Godly, kind, and geeky men. On Sunday afternoon/evening Xh. suggested the book Lafcadio during a reading session. Now one website states that the book has 112 pages. That night we read the-entire-book, with only a break for dinner. i put the effort in to try and read it somewhat well as well, with inflection, song, voices, etc. By the end i was actually getting kind of light headed, yet we persevered through. Why, you may ask? Because when you have a 5 and a half year old and an almost 3 year old cuddled on next to you on the couch, it's easy to keep reading. When that 5 and a half year old brings the book to the dinner table where you're still sitting, reminding you that you agreed to read more after dinner it is difficult to say no. After all, what's a short spurt of light headedness when compared to an hour or so of childish delight?

The last time i went to Philadelphia was to see a British friend, S., who had purposefully scheduled a layover in that city into her trip so we could reunite. Xh. met us there, very kindly. That time, i was planning to take the bus in, but at the last minute a friend offered to ride with me, as she wished to visit her daughter anyway. That trip turned into- well it's a long story but the short version is that it turned into one of those trips where you say, "if we survive this we will have a great story". There actually was concern about surviving it at one point. P's foot apparently slipped off of the accelerator and onto the brakes while crossing a road. This stopped us in-the-road-in-front-of-an-oncoming-dump-truck-in-an-old-car-without-side-airbags. i was on the side facing the truck. Only God's grace got us through. While we may discuss the trip here someday in more detail, the part pertinent to this post is that after that the decision to take the bus next time seemed somewhat logical.

However, this weekend i decided to bus it, and was delayed for hours due to confusion, etc.

Thank God by the way that i was able to drive through the tunnel during the earlier trip!! That's a big step for me.

mayhaps more to come.

Today was Thanksgiving, and it feels like a good time for a post. This morning in the shower (because, you know, the best thinking occurs in the shower) i was thinking about my life. Let me tell you, my life is not necessarily where i thought it would be. However, in so many ways it is so much better.

God has blessed me so much with a family to love. He's given me purpose. He's given me a job with meaning doing work that i really kind of enjoy. He's given me a corner office, where i can be eccentric and weird and no one really cares as long as my work gets done. (That's kind of been a daydream of mine.) He's given me a dog and two cats, a house, membership on a board, great friends. He's given me elderly relatives to love. He's given me the golden years of their lives, the knowledge that some day if i'm looking back on my life i can say that i was there. He's given me a church family. He's given me a measure of contentment in my singleness. If He never gives me a helpmate, He's given me the assurance that He is there for me. He's given me an idea of the things being single could free me to do, and yet the lingering possibility that it may go the other way and that could be good too. He's given me a decided settling of the tumult that has been my emotions and mindset in the past.

He's given me love. He's given me hope. He's given me faith. He's given me salvation. He's given me life. He's given me contentment. He's given me protection. He's given me health. He's given me forgiveness. He's given me mercy. He's given me guidance. He's given me Help. He's given me a Rock to lean upon. He's given me everything.

Happy Thanksgiving God. Thank You for well absolutely everything, really!!