V - A - C - A - TION

I'm never sure if the week before a vacation is the worst, or if the week after arriving home is.

My mom and dad married on 2/18/78. In honor of their 30th anniversary, all the kids and grandkids are getting together for a little family reunion. Everybody in the family lives in Western Washington and Oregon . . . except, of course, me. When asked about participating in a party/reunion, I said that I really wasn't looking forward to driving 10-12 hours over four or five mountain passes in February. So everyone graciously agreed to meet in the middle.

We are renting a vacation house just south of Sandpoint, ID. Various kids are taking care of various meals. Mom is handling dessert because, really, she's really REALLY good with desserts.

So I spent this week getting ready. Making sure I had services covered, remembering to consecrate enough bread and wine for my deacon to use, doing up the reserved Eucharist and morning prayer bulletins, etc.

The only thing left to do is finish the last load of laundry and complete the pack job. Then we're out of here tomorrow morning.

And, of course, praying that the place is still standing when I return.