weekend bits

On Friday Clay and I spent our evening at J&N’s. We ate mini meatloaf cupcakes, green beans, mac n cheese and salad. Clay played with Mahlah and I longed for our friendship with J&N to deepen. In time.

Playing “Hide”. Mahlah’s favorite game.

On Saturday I had breakfast with my parents at Denny’s. We talked of job prospects and my sister-in-law. I then met Clay and we climbed for more than 2 hours. It was awesome. We then rode our bikes to Wienerschnitzel and he ate a 99 cent chili dog and I ate a 99 cent corn dog. Awesome again.

After the jump:

In the evening we met friends at Library Bar to celebrate Nancy’s birthday. We had a late dinner afterwards at Public School with Patty. Clay had fish n’ chips and I had grilled cheese with tomato soup. Both were very tasty. The most wonderful part about that place was their foosball table in the back. I played Clay and got whooped but showed off my cool passing skills and ultra intense style of play. That too was awesome.

I tried to brighten up this picture so that Jenny’s face would show to little avail.

INTENSE. FOOSBALL IS INTENSE.

On Sunday I made breakfast in bed for Mom because she was sick. I’ve decided to stop punishing her for knitting her worth with mine. I’m declaring my liberation from bitter resentment towards her. This is not to say I’m done struggling with bitterness and notions of running far, far away. But I’m done trying to cleave her worth from mine. I’m just going to love her. I’m done. I’m ready to move the battle from “against” (to prove I’m right) to “with” (simply to love).

Then I went to service at PCC with Clay. Colin was ushering and sat us in the very front. I began welling up towards the end of Rankin’s sermon. Then there was Communion and Mrs. Arnold’s loveliness. I don’t know her real name but she was serving communion on the side closest to us. She looked at each person in the eye with a big closed-mouth smile and said, “this is Christ’s body, broken for you.” I swear she was twinkling her eyes at each person. There is a way to do things, and a way not to do things, and that was the way to do things.

I lost it when Mrs. Arnold’s husband held up the line to take communion from her. She smiled at him as if to say, “you old man, what are you doing here, holding everyone up!” and then he really paused to look at her, and he brought up his left hand to her cheek and used his thumb to brush back and forth ever so slightly and she tilted her head towards his hand almost imperceptibly…she said something to him and he said something to her…AND I JUST DIED. I AM DYING NOW THINKING ABOUT IT. Not only because it was so sweet but because I saw 40 years into the future with Clay. And he knew it too.

The final song was “In Christ Alone” and I couldn’t sing a single word because I was a wreck over what Christ has done and what Christ is doing through the Holy Spirit, in me. Then I went to LFC and served in the nursery. Those chitlins be so damn cute! After service I hung out with the two Grace’s and Kristal. We ate breakfast burritos for dinner and played rounds of Monopoly Deal. I then went to hang out with Clay and we talked and watched “Downtown Abbey” on PBS. Or he watched it while I immediately fell asleep.

A piece of her late grandmother’s plant she brought back from Colorado. I hope with all my might it thrives, the same way I hope she does.