Aim And Power

Yesterday after Martha came home from church -- for those who don't keep up here, my wife stays and sings for the second service in the choir at Bethany Lutheran Church in Minot, North Dakota while the kids and I head home after first service and Sunday school, where I got to teach Jeffrey's second grade class with the Emmaus story from the end of Luke's Gospel. Three of the five alternated reading it to the class, and then we performed the puppet play in Parable Playhouse.

And I like to think they learned something! After church Martha met us at home and told me that Sarah was asking whether we could go to a Swedish meatball dinner being held that afternoon at Christ Lutheran, the church we hosted while they were rebuilding after the flood four years ago, and she agreed (for which I'm glad, as I had no idea what we were having for lunch!) and we ate pretty well -- could hardly must an appetite for supper!

Since the event was called a "dinner", Jeffrey got confused several times and wondered when we had had lunch! I explained sometimes and in some parts of the country that people have breakfast-lunch- dinner, or breakfast-dinner-supper, or (I was about to say) breakfast-lunch-dinner-fourthmeal (but THAT term is trademarked by Taco Bell, if I remember correctly ... but after "dinner" where it seemed half the town showed up at one time or another, the kids wanted to play outside for a while.

Turns out that their school with its outdoor playground was right across the street, and Martha offered to drive us over there while she ran an errand. I was ok with that (and nobody had to bundle up for it; snow is finally melting with the temperature as I write this in the low to mid 30s with the possibility of the 60s by this weekend!) and with his soccer ball that he keeps in the van, Jeffrey along with Sarah and I shot some hoops. And Jeffrey even taught Sarah a few tricks, so he calls them!

"The secret is to shoot with aim and power", Jeffrey in his coach mold told his sister several times. It was just funny to watch, him with hands behind his back as Sarah took the shot (and later both of them did this when asking me to ask them a multiplication fact before they shot like they do in gym) ... they miss no opportunity -- or not many, in my view, to show off their math facts! After we got picked up by Martha, we headed home for the afternoon.

They played on their tablets and I slept! Between Sunday morning's paper route which I'm up for AT four (and yes, I did remember to set the clocks forward an hour) and Saturday's long day at Marketplace, I had rest to catch up on and hopefully have it all caught up by now! Last night was also Chamber Chorale practice for Martha, and while she was gone Jeffrey and I played a game of chess where we stalemated while we ate what little dinner we were really hungry for.

Then one last bout on the Wii (I know, I know, I say no electronics after Martha leaves for Sunday evening practice) where Sarah played nine holes of golf, bowled a game in the 150s, and Jeffrey and I both took turns at cycling (he beat me by a second and a half!) and a table tennis relay where we had to keep returning balls to our server -- and I really want to knock their aunt Mary off her perch on that -- but I got 94 points (her record's 120) and Jeffrey got in the 50s.

It's more fun when everybody is civilized, with aim and power.

David