Change is the only constant...

It's a bit of a roller coaster here, but I think the news is good.

Um, so today I get to meet the P of M: that is, the Parents of Max.

Yeah, I'm a bit surprised too, though I was expecting it might happen sometime this week.

Off to take a shower. I may or may not report on the meeting. (Probly not.)

So I called my parents. My mom's best advice: at some point, excuse yourself. They are coming to see him, not meet you. My dad's advice: be low key.

Last night, in the continuing saga of Max and Sarah Louise movie watching: Wayne's World. Which I thought I'd seen but I think I saw Wayne's World II. It was a lot of fun. One of the best moments was when Stacy gave Wayne the gun rack:

Wayne Campbell: A gun rack... a gun rack. I don't even own a gun, let alone many guns that would necessitate an entire rack.

This is one of my brother's favorite quotes, so it was great to see it in context. And, well, it's pretty funny.

The other one was, "If she was a president, she'd be Babebraham Lincoln."

Off to figure out what to wear...

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Update: They are very nice people. I liked them a lot. And I got the good word from Max: they liked me too.

Afterwards, I came upstairs and slept for two hours and when I woke up, I was late for church. (Fortunately I'd gone to Bellefield this morning.) Especially since the sermon at the OD was hard hitting on sin (which I realize is important, but just not something I can listen to when I'm semi-depressed, which I am, because I am living this roller coaster.) So I drove to my favorite place by the Allegheny River and read some Psalms.

Dave (the pastor at Bellefield) preaches his last sermon at Bellefield next Sunday. Bellefield is growing and he's ready to slow down and think about retirement, so he thinks it's time to hand the reins over. I will be in DC, but I'll be back in town for the send-off party next Sunday evening.

He preached on Abba,* the name of God as Father, Daddy. It was a wonderful sermon that I'll be digesting all week. And it was the comforting sort of sermon I needed today.

One of the scriptures was Psalm 103: As far as the east from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we were formed, he remembers we are dust. (vss. 12-14)

Dave did not have a great dad. So he was very qualified to talk about how Abba Father, our heavenly father, is possibly nothing like our earthly one. For those of us that do have a wonderful earthly father, though, I could see the similarities even as I sat in my pew. I sat in front of Jacob and his three year old son. I could see the love that Jacob had as his son tore apart the brochures in the pew racks and just put them in and took them out of the diaper bag. I could see the love as Jacob held his son and kissed him. A few rows ahead, I could see NH Sally's husband, who is another great father.

Friday, Craig came into the library. Craig is someone from Bellefield: he is a man who keeled over during the Pittsburgh Great Race about ten years ago and was in a coma for months. It was during the time when I was living in Virginia with my folks, but I still got email updates from Bellefield. He has a scar on his throat which I imagine is from some tube from the time he was in the coma. So every time I see him, I am awed that he is alive and healthy. He comes by from time to time, as he and his wife and children live near the library. I don't remember how we got to be friends, I just know that we are. He'll ask for me if I'm not at the Children's desk, and I usually get a big hug. We chatted for a while. I had told him last week that I was dating someone and he was pleased to hear that. He asked me how I was and so I felt that this was someone with whom I could share what was going on. So today at Bellefield, he asked me how things were and I was able to share with him the more that I knew.

It was so wonderful to have someone ask me that, especially since when I spoke to Craig on Friday I said I thought everything was fine. He didn't have to ask what the status was, but he did.

We all need friends like that.

We'll know more tomorrow.
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*Dave spoke a little bit about the Swedish theologians of the same name, which made me laugh, which made everyone who knew me turn around, because, well, my laugh is loud and distinctive. He flashed a picture of them in their white leisure suits up on the screen and had the sound guy play a riff from "Dancing Queen." Little bit of trivia: the name of the band has nothing to do with the name of God, but is the first letter of each of the band member's names.

"I just want to be alone" (Greta Garbo) (with one more quote)

So I have one week until vackay with the family. I hope to do a lot of things BY MYSELF, as in ALONE.

Nothing personal, I just had a week of jampacked-ness. It was a lovely week. I spent it with my friends, and they are all lovely people. But I did more in the past seven days than I did some months this past spring...

Sunday I had coffee at Tazza with a friend. Then I rested for a bit, went into work, and then came home and slept. Monday, I went for a walk at 7:30 with a friend. Then I went to therapy. Then I came home, showered, and went to Sandcastle, with a friend.

Tuesday, I worked. Max called me at work to say he'd gotten home (he went away for the weekend) and when I got home from work (it's so strange that "home" is the same address for us, BUT SEPARATE APARTMENTS) we went for a walk, and then hung out for a bit.

Wednesday, I had lunch with Marian the Librarian, ran some errands after work, and went to Bible Study at Kelly's. Thursday, I ran some errands, had lunch with Babelbabe and Katy (Babs and I had never met Katy before: she is very nice.) Then I went to work. Marian and I had dinner together. Then I came home, Max and I had Italian Ices, and hung out for a bit, because today he went dahn Sauth to visit family and then take a road trip through Canada and back to da Burgh. So he'll be gone for two weeks, so we'll be getting back to da Burgh about the same time.

I think I'll get a manicure after work tomorrow. I haven't had one for a long time.

For some reason, the line from the movie Home Alone just came to me "When I grow up and get married, I'm going to live alone!"

And of course, the line from Jerry Maguire, where Renee Zellweger says, "And I can see this is a time when you need to be alone, to think about stuff. Alone, alone, alone." And Tom Cruise says, "Would you like to go out to dinner?" And RZ says "I know of a great place!"

Tonight it was just lovely to drive to Taco Bell (I have got to start cooking again), listening to A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby (which I am still loving), and then coming home to finish watching Metropolitan. How I love that movie, let me count the ways...cha cha cha.

So I read some of your blogs tonight, but commenting just seems too sociable. So if you're looking for me, I'll be in a cave, reading or something.

I guess I need to figure out which books I'm taking on vackay...

Oh, and Friday is the Second Annual Stuffed Animal Sleepover!! It feels great to not be stressed about it.

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one more quote, for good measure:

"Jeff's life in the tenth grade year became suddenly crowded, with people he liked, with things he wanted to do. Sometimes he caught himself protesting to himself: life is too rich...Life is so rich, Jeff said to himself, gratefully." (from A Solitary Blue, by Cynthia Voigt)