Fleeing a hurricane

Left home 9:45 am.

Hour 5: was 20 minutes from our house.

DVD player not working.

3 kids, plus one 4 month old baby.

1 German Shepard

1 cat

101 degrees outside. We were alternately turning off the a/c or just keeping it low, to conserve gas. Already, we are passing cars that have either overheated or run out of gas. People are just sitting by the side of the road. All the businesses we pass are closed up. You can’t even go in anywhere to use the bathroom. We have plenty of food and water in the car, but I’m rationing it out, because I don’t want to have to stop for potty breaks. Which would be, “peeing in the weeds” breaks. About every 20 minutes, The Husband and I question ourselves – is it more risky to stay at home, perhaps facing a Category 5 Hurricane, or take this trip, and perhaps be stranded by the side of the road when the hurricane hits?

They interrupt the weather/traffic broadcast because Bush is giving a speech:

“We now got another hurricane coming, Hurricane Rita … As we meet our responsibilities in dealing with these two significant storms, Katrina and Rita, our focus on defending our country remains undiminished.”

He then proceeds to give a speech defending the Iraq war.

Can you imagine how comforted I felt?

Toilet Paper and Bra Straps

Okay, I forgot to add a great moment from yesterday.

After "Bridge Over Troubled Water" was sung, I had to do a reading. Well, the tears were streaming, no way I could hide it. So, I took a second, then explained to the congregation that I had requested the song weeks earlier and that when, on Friday, I realized what song would be played, I told my friends, who began taking bets as to whether I would burst into tears or hysterical laughter. "So you see, I opted for the tears." Good, sympathetic laugh.

Made my way through the reading -- not easy, because I had no tissue, so was having to sniff every line or so. After that, a hymn, during which a little old lady brought me some toilet paper and whispered that my bra strap was showing.

Tee-hee-hee! She was so like my mother, as women "of a certain generation" take very seriously the faux-pas of visible undergarments whilst my generation could not care less. For some reason, this cheered me immensely and helped me to continue on with the service with new energy.

Thanks to "the little old lady whispering" ... well, not "hush."

Lizard Eater returns

I'm back.

Well, after months of selling one house, buying another, having a baby ... I have returned. Months that included serious questioning of myself about going back to seminary, do I really think I can be the kind of parent I want to be AND be a student/minister ... well, the call goes on.

Had already been scheduled to give a talk out of town this weekend ... then Katrina hits. Radically changed my sermon, of course. How could you not address it?

Irony/irony/irony ... about 4 weeks ago, I had asked this church if they could get someone to do a particular song. They had an incredible singer today. The song? Bridge Over Troubled Water.

By "weary," I was completely melted down. Oh well. I had always worried about what would happen if I cried in the pulpit. Now I know. If you're crying in the pulpit, it probably means that at least half the congregation is crying already anyway.

Had something said to me after the service ... that touched me profoundly, and made me feel like, "oh, yeah, I really have been called ..."

So, good Lord willin' and the creek don't rise ... eww. Scratch that saying for a while.

Um ... good Lord willin' ... I'll start back in January. Hopefully The Wren will take a bottle by then.

Glad to be back.