Off to a good start

If you didn't read my last blog entry, then starting this new year off well may not seem like a big deal. But to me, it is. I even followed by gal pal Ali's advice and did not wash clothes on New Year's Eve, nor New Year's Day. No ma'am, I am not taking my chances.... Our first day of the new year had all three of us in different places: Kate hung out with friends in Wagener, Scott stayed home and studied, and I headed to Columbia for a yoga workshop and lunch out. At first I thought we should buckle down, and all be together. But being together doesn't mean a literal physical closeness. Of course I thought about Kate and Scott during my practice and if I can start off the year well, it benefits us all. We were fortunate to spend much time together at Christmas. My birthday follows the new year closely. It's not a great time of the year, and it seems something always happens (for two years, Mom was in the hospital on my birthday, so the nurses station benefitted from my cake). This year was no exception, and and despite a bump in the road with Mom's care ON my birthday, it was a nice day: breakfast at the office, took Mom to a successful eye doctor visit, and later dinner with Scott and Kate at Takosushi, where she ate up my edamame. Last night we had wonderfully unexpected visitors: Thomas Scott and Kristen Little were making their way to Atlanta from Columbia, turned off the interstate and joined us for a quick dinner. Such a joy to share our home with the loveliest of folks. And today we loved having the West Family and Keefer Family come to church at Swansea followed by lunch afterwards at our favorite Mexican place, Pedro's. It was their first time seeing Scott in the pulpit, and he received positive reviews :) And....they brought a birthday cake that we shared. At the end of Scott's sermon, which was reminding us of baptism -- what it means, that it is indeed about what God does in extending his hand to us, making us his children, we were invited to come by the baptismal font and dip our fingers into the water, and also come to the kneeling rail. My prayer was obvious to me: peace and happiness in the new year. But God's gentle reminder to me, unexpectedly, was that it's not just about me. It may be about me extending peace and happiness to others.