Fridays are my Saturday and Sabbath. I try to protect the day for family and fun, inasmuch as that is possible. It isn't always. Even today I fielded a couple of last minute messages in preparation for Sunday worship, and made a few pastoral care calls. So I note throughout this day how often we ran into parishioners and people we know, first because I've been experiencing these kind of coincidental, serendipitous meet ups regularly of late, and also to illustrate the extent to which pastoral ministry is a set of relationships with tasks embedded, as compared to many other jobs that are more likely to be a set of tasks with relationships embedded.
Overall, it was one of those amazing dad days, and I record the events here:
After breakfast, oldest son and I built one of those balsam wood rubber band planes and flew it in the front yard. We perfected an out and back boomerang loop over the street and back into the yard.
The kids had wanted to see some of the mini-movies on the starwars.lego.com web site, so we watched a few, while getting ready for swim lessons.
Today was the last day of summer swim lessons, the kids were tested for their skill levels. Afterwards, grabbed lunch at Chipotle. Love their food. Discovered that you can actually stream the music they play at Chipotle. Go here: http://www.chipotle.com/en-us/restaurants/the_chipotle_experience/the_chipotle_experience.aspx# Then, scroll down and find the section on music and click to play. An amazing funk mix. Also ran into Daulton, a high schooler from our congregation headed to New Orleans next week with us for the national youth gathering. He's an amazing kid.
Took board games over to a family we have gotten to know over the past year at Washington Plaza. Chatted with them for a while and made plans to help the kids get to worship, etc.
Dropped off and picked up materials at the library.
Drove up to Rogers to the Natural Building Solutions for some paint for a paint project. En route the kids napped, and this was, as always, one of the best opportunities parents of small children have to talk together as husband and wife uninterrupted--family of five in a mini-van.
On the way back stopped for beverages at Sonic (at 4 p.m. it was 102 degrees according to our van temp gauge), then in to pick up bike lights at the bike shop, plus order some climbing pulleys, carabiners, and rope for a pulley system the kids want to build in their room to transport books between their beds.
Then home, watched a bit of a movie, then went out for a run with the boys in the jogging stroller. The girls followed later for a walk and we met at the school playground for swinging, climbing, and ball. The school has a new track, which we ran a few times. Met a family there whose daughter is a year ahead of our oldest son in school.
Walked home, then recruited our neighbor Stephen to help us transport a swing set kit home from Walmart that we received as a holiday gift for the kids. The kids went along, and ran into a) the family we had just met at the playground (how strange), plus b) a family we have gotten to know quite well this year whose son was in kindergarten with our son. Made plans to attend the Firefly event at the Botanical Gardens together tomorrow night.
Then home, unloaded the play set, then the typical bedtime rituals, including cleaning the play room, and our evening devotions (the typical routine, bed, bath, and beyond--read books, sing Jesus Loves Me, the Nunc Dimittis, pray the Lord's Prayer and the Jesus Prayer). Now I'm watching The Artist while blogging.
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