Sunday Wrap Up And Why I Can't Talk

I have a million words floating around in my head. Time for a bullet list.

• I am refraining from speaking. This morning, during our second church service, I was singing along with the music while playing (we had three other singers and anything I did was superfluous and pretty much just my own personal church singing time). During the final song of the opening set, I felt something "pop" in my throat. It hurt. I kept trying to swallow and felt like I couldn't. And then I realized that I really couldn't sing anymore. Nothing would come out. Not good. It's gotten a bit better as the day has gone by, but it's certainly cause for concern.
• Add the Popping Throat Issue to the run-down of every other crazy thing that could happen this week. There's a long list, which has included the necessity of a quite flight to Cleveland and back, along with some changes in our normal living conditions. 
• Speaking of living conditions, our new kitchen is close to completion, with a usable oven and microwave and some cabinets and drawers with Things In Them (as in silverware and plates). I'm giddy with excitement.
• Because the kitchen is sort of habitable, we had a big family gathering for lunch today. My mom and dad came, and all the kids were home, and it was glorious. I was bursting with joy the entire time, as we sat around the table and talked. It's been my dream for several years, to have a kitchen big enough to live in, and by live I mean have lots of people in it talking and eating. I hope today is the first of many.

So purdy!

• My mom was helping to clear the table and wash dishes in the old sink, in the tiny, cramped, no-counter-space old kitchen. She said, "I don't know how in the world you manage to do dishes in here. This would drive me crazy." I said, "Why do you think I've been so depressed?" My mom gets it, and I feel validated. Especially when she said she thought she'd just go sit on the couch and put a blanket over her head and give up. Or something like that. Because that's what I've felt like for months. I feel affirmed.

That's my mom. Uh, and my dad. That's a whole lot of awesome right there.

• Back to church this morning: Because I wasn't leading on vocals, I focused on playing the keyboard parts and engaging in worship. It was powerful. The church was singing loudly and I felt so completely surrounded in worship, like I haven't in a while. Something transcendental happened today; that thing about our faith, our God, the Holy Spirit, the Mystery that is inexplicable and supernatural. It was a powerful, real moment. Very meaningful for me. Worship changes us. I felt that, today.
• We have a new member of the household, here to spend a few months helping at the music store and hanging out and we'll see what else. I never thought I'd be living under the same roof as this guy. It's a great blessing and a very good thing.

This kid. Yup.

• All five kids, plus the new kid, have been here since early Saturday morning. I have reached that stage of parenting life where They Are Gone and then They Come Home, and I realize again the value of perspective. The house is full, and it is wonderful and beautiful and joyful. It will be a bit emptier and quieter tomorrow, and that will also be wonderful and beautiful and joyful. I love my family.