Well, I'm happy to report that I have nothing to report today. Mark hasn't been in hospital the last several days. Which isn't to say that he's been feeling all that terrific! But he's been home, so ... we'll be grateful for what we get, eh?
We had the most refreshing visit from a man in our church this evening. David Hammond lives in Dayton and goes to the church that the kids and I have been attending since July (McMinnville Cooperative Ministries http://www.mac-coop.org/whoweare.php). His wife is one of Alex's youth leaders and is really one of the most wonderful people I've ever met. Delia's always ready with a hug, always willing to listen to me blabber on (and those of you who know me well, know how much I can blabber!). But anyway, another thing that connects me to her is that she understands what it's like to have a spouse going through serious medical issues. See, David just went through a bout of cancer. He's doing well now. Has his hair back and everything. :) But they've been through the fire, so to speak, and so ... they understand, in a way that most people just can't.
Anyway, Delia took Alex out to do some shopping for Logos (youth group) tomorrow. (They are inviting some kids from the local shelter to come to dinner and youth group with them, and since it's "pajama night," they thought they'd buy these kids slippers. So Alex went with Delia "to help pick them out," and came back with a pair of his own, which clearly tickled him to pieces. While they were out, David stayed here and chatted with Mark and me. He and Mark have talked on the phone, but they hadn't officially met until this evening. Mark has just been too sick and tired. But tonight he was actually up to a visit. It was SO NEAT to see Mark connecting with another guy. It's been so hard for Mark, I think (although he doesn't complain) because his best friend (and brother-in-law) moved to California and most of the other guys in his life have sort of ... disappeared. I understand how that can be. I mean, what do you talk about with someone who struggles to make it past the mailbox (and some days, lately, can't even make it that far)? But I could tell, watching Mark this evening, how much he enjoyed having a guy (who didn't happen to be a doctor or a nurse or a pastor), sitting and talking in his living room, treating him like a normal human being.
On a much different note, I am very much enjoying this new term. I'm only two days into it, so far, and so maybe I'll change my tune down the road, but right now, I'm finding this batch of kids to be delightful. Maybe it's the group dynamics? Maybe it's me, and the fact that I'm not quaking in my boots the way I was at the beginning of last term? Maybe it's ... the phase of the moon??? I don't know. But I do know that I got to the end of Monday and thought, "Wow! But a great bunch of kids." It helps, too, when I hear a kid say, "I love Spanish. This is the BEST class!" And then I walk around, checking on what kids are writing on the individual white boards I ordered with my classroom funds, and I see another girl has written, "Spanish rocks." Kind of made my day. :)
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