"If the God you believe in as an idea doesn’t start showing up in what happens to you in your own life, you have as much cause for concern as if the God you don’t believe in as an idea does start showing up. It is absolutely crucial, therefore, to keep in constant touch with what is going on in your own life’s story and to pay close attention to what is going on in the stories of others’ lives. If God is present anywhere, it is in those stories that God is present. If God is not present in those stories, then they are scarcely worth telling." ~ Frederick Buechner

28 August 2011

Irene

Whenever I hear the name "Irene", I think of The Princess and the Goblin (George MacDonald). Has anyone else read that book? When I was in elementary school in Cameroon, we would have Library period, where all of us kids would troop to the library, sprawl out on these long, mustard yellow bean bag cushions, and listen to the librarian read aloud to us. We would also have a few minutes to check out our own books for the week. Library time was the best right after swimming/PE, because the library was cool and air conditioned, and it was nice to lie down and be still after running around or being in the pool. I don't remember what year she read The Princess and the Goblin, but it has been one of my favorite books since.

I love that my teachers and librarians read aloud to us. It definitely helped instill a love of reading and an appreciation for the well-written word in me. Some of my favorite children's books/authors (Roald Dahl and Corrie Ten Boom, for example) were first introduced to me through these read-aloud sessions.

Well, this Irene is of a different sort entirely. Our area is under a severe weather alert for flooding. Our apartments sent out a notice yesterday telling us to fill our bathtubs with water for flushing the toilets, to make sure we have plenty of batteries and potable water, to secure everything on our decks/patios, and to keep our windows closed. That last one made me laugh. We folded away our deck furniture last night, brought in the cushions and breakables, and stacked everything else against the wall. I'm hoping my little herbs survive in their planter (which is too cumbersome to bring inside). I did bring my little cherry bomb pepper plant inside; after all, it was my anniversary gift this year.

Thanks for the cool "100th Day" shirt, Aunt Jessica!
This morning, we woke up to lots of gusty wind and consistent rain. Brennan and I stood at his window, watching the trees waving back and forth against the gray sky.

We went to wake up Nich to show him, and the first words out of his mouth were, "Is it Christmas? Is it time to open my stocking? Brennan's a little elf." I suppose that's what happens when Mama dresses him like this.


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