Thursday, July 9, 2009

Answering the Bedside Alarm, and Getting Back to Work

The deaths of Ed McMahan, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson, a coup in Honduras, a dubious election in Iran, a transfer of military authority in Iraq, gubernatorial sideshows in South Carolina and Alaska – a lot can happen in the course of a vacation. All those, plus a graduation party in Minneapolis, Father’s Day, medical concerns with parents on both sides, airports, highways, and a 4th of July wedding in East Texas complete with long-time friends and fireworks. 2500 miles, give or take, not including the drive up to the north side of Fort Worth for lunch at Joe T. Garcia’s, a necessary pilgrimage. Along the way we read a lot about food and farming and the modern disconnection between the two, and connected with another local organic gardener who is teaching us more about nutrition and healthful eating and...ummm...bodily functions than we had bargained for. All in all, it wasn’t necessarily the way we planned to spend the days, but it was interesting, fruitful, stimulating and warming. That latter in more ways than one; it was still 101-degrees during the 7:30 pm wedding.

Now home and ready for my third day back at work, I still walk into my office under a cloud of befuddled lostness – the clutter of disorganized mail, programmatic initiatives demanding attention and consideration, a search process reaching fruition, hospitals that need visiting, a funeral and a sermon and a couple of worship services to prepare. Meanwhile, I’m still trying to remember how to shut off the alarm – an interruption I had gotten used to doing without.

But home is a good place to be, and work – good and meaningful work the likes of which I am privileged to share – is worth getting out of bed for.

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