One of the things I hate about being a Dad is that I am often away at work when interesting things happen. During the Winter, Kathy and the children try to be discreet, but in the Summer, caution is thrown to the winds and they revel in their fun, in defiant disregard of my feelings.
This weekend Kathy is away, attending a homeschool conference (or so she says) with a friend, and I have been asked to write a blog in her absence. Looking back over the photos from the last month, I have unearthed a handful of pictures worth mention, especially since I seem to lack a topic on which to pontificate.
We had occasion to visit The Refuge several times this month, and it is exciting to see the progress being made, as stone and logs continue creep around the outside of the building. Even someone as visionarily-deficient as I can begin to imagine what the Main Lodge will look like when it is finished.
Of course, inside the building, there is still a lot of work to be done.
One of my dreams is to raise my family in the shadow of that retreat center, once it is up and running. Time is running out for my oldest son … and all the time, our family’s roots grow deeper and deeper here in Suburbia. It is hard to watch a dream die, sometimes.
Toward the end of Wilderness Northwest’s Day Camp, I had an opportunity to visit briefly with my brother and his family. I brought a few extra portable fans out with me, since many of my children enjoy the ‘white noise’ the fans generate to help them sleep more soundly. We enjoyed a few silly moments making fun of the ‘stackable’ marketing text on the box and speculating as to why anyone would want to stack fans on top of each other.
Who knew their stacked power would be so turbulent?
Speaking of my brother, while we visited, I gently chided him for the lack of new content on his blog, and suggested that he and I could co-author a new “Men’s Blog”, since Kathy has run away with this one. We practiced our ‘bemused and thoughtful’ facial expressions.
I have a tendency to doze off when I get too philosophical.
One day this month I was working diligently in my office, when I received this phone call:
Me: Hello?
Daniel: Hi, Dad. Can we climb on top of the van?
Me: Er, um, why?
Daniel: We think it would be cool.
Me: Er, um, what does your Mom say?
Daniel: She said to call you.
Me: Er, um, OK. Be careful, and spread your weight out so that you don’t dent the roof.
Daniel: Great! Thanks, Dad!
The mind reels, as I think of how many of these kind of questions Kathy fields during the day.
Why scale these forbidding heights? As mountain climbers everywhere have answered, “Because it was there.”
As Kathy has mentioned in earlier posts, she’s been working through Proverbs with the kids quite a bit. Recently they must have studied chapter 12, and Rachel felt the need to highlight one of her favorites.
When it comes to animals, Rachel is passionate and relentless. One wonders how this will play out, as she grows up.
Part of our entertainment while visiting in Michigan was found in watching the two littlest girls interact. Separated by only a few weeks in age, Sarah and Aydia are very much alike. This photo (taken today, and thus qualifying for Project 365) was taken while Sarah spoke with her cousin on the phone, unconsciously imitating one of Aydia’s most common facial expressions.
It was a pretty good month, even if much of it came to me second-hand.
Tim — Project 365, Day 214
