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Friendship, Project 365, Tim

Memory Bin

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On Saturday, we went out to the our house in the Duckabush to clear out our shed, which may be needed during Wilderness Northwest Camp week, coming up in late July. With so many families attending, a few of the older boys may need the shed as housing for the week.

We brought a whole van-load home, much to Kathy’s dismay (she’s been clearing out our garage for the past week). We threw away a lot of junk (after all, if we haven’t needed it in ten years, how important is it?) but some things just couldn’t be discarded.

One bin was marked “Tim’s Memories” which I found very intriguing. Today, Kathy went through it, and found (buried under some old Army field jackets) this treasure:

A valuable note from my best friend's wife.

A valuable note from my best friend’s wife.

Apparently, about 26 years ago this last March, I set off from Fort Bragg, North Carolina — headed for Northern Virginia to stand up with my friend Phil at his wedding. I wrecked my car about an hour into the trip, and took a train instead, but made it in time to help Phil and Deb get ready for their big day. At the time, eating salad was not my favorite, and so (when I had to eat salad at the reception) I extracted this note from the new bride. It makes me laugh to think that this was probably the first thing she wrote with her new name (except maybe signing the wedding certificate).

To whom it may concern:
Tim Edgren was a good boy today. He got Phil to the church on time and with all the necessary arrangements for us. He also ate his salad, so he is exempt from touching lettuce again for 6 months!
Thanks, Debbi Dickerson

Happily, in all the excitement of her wedding day, Deb forgot to date the note, so I can use and re-use it to get me out of eating salads, pretty much forever.

I miss you, Phil and Debbie! Thanks for being my friend!

Project 365, Day 180
Tim

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Events, Family, Joshua, Marriage

An Engaging Couple

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Some three years ago, my oldest son went off to college. It seemed harmless enough, at the time.

As these things sometimes transpire, he immediately noticed a certain red-headed girl on campus, and one thing led to another. Today, in a small gazebo on Tranquility Island (Kerrville, TX) in the middle of the Guadalupe river, Joshua proposed to Miss Kelsie Leaf, who graciously consented to become his wife.

We think this is the actual gazebo, courtesy of the interweb.

We think this is the actual gazebo, courtesy of the interweb.

Although they have not yet fixed a date, there is talk of a December wedding. We are so delighted to welcome Kelsie into our family (or invite ourselves into hers) and we hope and pray that God will bless them greatly as they take this monumental step.

The ring itself.

The ring itself.

It is strange to think of my son beginning to found his own household — it seems only just last year I was teaching him to crawl up and down the stairs in our Stamford, CT house. Admittedly, it was 1994, which is technically a little more than a year ago. (My grip on reality is sometimes a bit tenuous.) In any case, we are so excited to see the love that Joshua and Kelsie have for each other.

They do look ridiculously happy together, it is true.

They do look ridiculously happy together, it is true.

Joshua is not really into pictures, and so he neglected to have a professional wedding photographer present to record the entire story for the benefit of remote relatives who just might have an interest. For this reason, we are forced to use pictures from this Spring, of the two of them as a couple.

As the scripture says:

He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD. (Proverbs 18:22)

Of course, with marriage between a man and a woman serving as a template for our relationship with God, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention God’s intention for engagement:

And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. (Hosea 2:19)

We will be praying that God will continue to bless Joshua and Kelsie with some of that steadfast love for each other.

"He always was a good-looking kid," I told his mother.

“He always was a good-looking kid,” I told his mother. Whatever you may think about that, Kelsie looks beautiful, nestled into his shoulder.

Congratulations on your engagement, Kelsie and Joshua! We are so happy for you both!

Project 365, Day 178
Tim

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Kathy, Project 365

Yard Work

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Several years ago, I built four raised garden beds for my tomato empire (which never really took off). As with many of my hopes and intentions, the tomato plants produced a lot of leaves but less fruit (or vegetable, depending on where you fall in the great “Is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable” debate) than I had expected. The first step is determining where you would like to plant your tree, whether that be in the front, back, or side of your house. Different trees will thrive more in certain areas depending on the amount of sunlight they require, soil type, and amount of water. It is essential to look into the zoning and neighborhood association rules to ensure you’re following all guidelines as some place limitations on the types of tree as well as the location in which they can be planted. Determining your property lines is another factor that should be considered as the expected size of the tree in its adult life may sway your decision, If you want to know how to properly plant a tree? Then visit to KG landscape website.

My sweetie in yard-work mode.

My sweetie in yard-work mode.

Now we are dismantling the garden beds, one by one, leaving only one to house a few, paltry plants. Kathy got tired of waiting for someone else to do it, so she’s out there this evening hacking at the weeds that cover the structure.

The messy covering of hay offends Kathy, and it must be removed.

The messy covering of hay offends Kathy, and it must be removed.

Once she’s removed the hay from the garden bed, we can remove the sides and use the dirt as topsoil for our front yard (where we hope to plant some shrubs or ground cover).

Kathy's cool extendable hoe is really earning its keep.

Kathy’s cool extendable hoe is really earning its keep.

We seeded the ground with grass seed, where the other two garden beds used to stand, but one seems to have produced only weeds. There is a particularly prolific and fast-growing weed that seems to spring up wherever we leave a little unattended dirt. I only wish our grass would grow like that.

Mystery weeds

Mystery weeds

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Project 365, Rachel

Home for the Summer

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One of the nice things about sending your kids off to college is that they sometimes come home.

And when they do, they often value their families a lot more than before they left. When you’re ready to get out on your own, ready to make something of yourself, you tend to take your family for granted. But when you’ve been away from them, you start to miss it (or at least you miss the good things).

Snuggled down, watching Merlin with David and Sarah (and several cats).

Snuggled down, watching Merlin with David and Sarah (and several cats).

It has been delightful to have Rachel home this summer. She brings a fun intentionality to our family gatherings — she seeks the kids out and pursues time with them. It was the same when Joshua was here, except he was here so briefly, we had to make do with a lot less of him.

Thank you, Rachel, for making us feel that we are important to you. Thank you for helping us to appreciate each other. We miss you when you are away at school!

Project 365, Day 163
Tim

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Daily Life

Gabriel’s Oboe

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Listening to Gabriel’s Oboe by Enrico Morricone tonight, I think of the wistfulness of the music and how it inspires me to remember my life and to reflect on some of the opportunities I missed. The Mission soundtrack was one of the first CDs I owned, and I was deeply influenced by this composer at a time when my life had little of beauty in it.

After two years of fecklessness in college, I lost my ROTC scholarship and decided to join the Army to pay back the scholarship funds and earn new money to finish school. In early 1987, I found myself stationed at Fort Bragg, NC, after having completed Basic Training, Advanced Individual Training, and Jump School. January is cold and rainy in that part of North Carolina, and I was often lonely and prone to despair.

My life had abruptly and disastrously departed from the tidy track of service in the Army as an Officer that I had planned, and now I didn’t know what would become of me, or how I would survive three interminable years as an enlisted man.

Almost 30 years later, this CD still remains one of my favorites.

After all these years, this CD still remains one of my favorites.

After several months, I bought a CD player and a handful of CDs (they were still somewhat bleeding-edge in those days – lots of people still had music on cassette tape, or even on records). Most evenings after work, I would sit in my barracks room and listen to my small collection of CDs, over and over. Around the same time, I met another Christian soldier in my unit; the two of us became fast friends and roomed together for the next two years. I’m sure poor Jimmy-T got really tired of listening to this CD, but it still packs a powerful memory-punch to my ear and my soul.

Now, almost three decades later, this tune in particular drives me to reflect on the years that have passed, and on the many blessings that have been granted to me, in spite of my foolishness and disregard for God’s goodness. I have many regrets, and this music draws them out of my soul like a tea bag in hot water — not a terribly painful process, but strangely haunting and full of bittersweet longing.

  • I wish that I had been more kind and courteous.
  • I wish I had always been honorable and true to what I knew to be right.
  • I wish that I had been steadfastly honest in everything.
  • I wish I had been faithful to always redeem my promises.
  • I wish that I had paid more attention to my children.
  • I wish I had cherished my wife more.
  • I wish I hadn’t been so lazy in so many ways, for so long.
  • I wish I had been a better friend to the people God has placed in my path.

The song is only 2 minutes and 40 seconds on the soundtrack CD, and a good 15 seconds of that is introductory. Before you know it, the song is over – much too soon for my pensive and thoughtful mood. Perhaps this also is a metaphor – in much the same way, my life will probably be over too soon, before I have completed all the things I want to do, or positively impacted all the people I want to love.

Tonight, listening to the achingly-magnificent strains of the oboe, I feel as though I am part of the song, stretching and reaching for the exquisite high notes with my yearning for the best and most glorious godly things, but always falling short, returning to the earthy lower ranges of the melody in failure — and a strange, bittersweet and paradoxical contentment.

Project 365, Day 161
Tim

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