loss

tonight, after discovering the one thing i thought i had planned today wasn't happening, i decided to bike up to steak n shake for some dinner and to try out my newly purchased bike rack and lights. while i was eating and reading from the practice of spiritual direction, i got a call from my friend andy. unfortunately, it was to relay sad news. my friend susan's husband died unexpectedly this week, leaving her with two young children to look after. i guess you never really get used to this, the surprising nature of death. my heart weeps for susan and her children. visitation is sunday afternoon and some of us are meeting at the high school to head over.

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Psalm 34:18

i believe this, but then i'm not the one dealing directly with the loss. i hurt because susan does, but i cannot know the pain she is going through. but i trust God to surround her with those who can help. i pray for that.

i leave for denver in less than five days now. lots of stuff to get done between now and then. i have two doctor's appointments on monday and a hair appointment on tuesday. and i have to mow my lawn sometime before i leave. i've been putting it off so i can cut it right before i leave and let it grow while i'm gone. my only fear is rain will spoil my plans. guess i should check the weather for monday/tuesday. the goal is to head up to dayton on tuesday, see friends, spend time with the 'rents, and then get up way too early for my 8:30 flight. we'll see how well my plans work out.

it occurs to me that perhaps i should not be announcing to the world that i will be gone to colorado. but since i'll have people keeping an eye on my house, i'm not too concerned. not like anyone reads this anyway and those that do probably wouldn't break into my house. probably.

been spending my days watching the west wing. i figured since i was already tired of all the politics in the real world, i'd prefer to spend time with the politics i like. i miss the cadence of sorkin's writing. i miss the quirkiness of the characters. but i'm enjoying revisiting the bartlet years and it helps to remove the bitter taste of real life politics from my mouth. i'm into season four now and he's just slammed richie in the debate and won re-election. i'm not remembering as much from this season and soon i'll get to the later seasons when i stopped watching. why was that? oh that's right, i started teaching. silly me.

been playing with my camera - quite happy with my purchase. still learning how to use all the features and i'm not ready to post anything just yet, but might have a shot or two before i leave for colorado and if not, i know i'll have some upon my return. my favorite part is being able to delete shots - it allows me to play without wasting film. fun to see what different settings will do to the picture. not a big fan of the flash so far - i much prefer natural light when i can, though i know i won't be able to rely on that alone all the time. nice being a part of the digital age.

ok, time for sleep, if it comes. no alarm tomorrow, so we'll see what happens. seems to me six hours is about all i get anymore, not matter how early i go to bed. was in bed by 11 last night and woke up around 5 am. bleah. why can't i be normal? (insert your own joke here). night. Æ

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