Summer of 2007

So I made a deal with Amanda. She cleans out the refrigerator and I'll buy her a tie-dye kit. Summer is not easy for a ten-year-old with parents who play home health hopscotch. I bought the kit. The fridge still needs a scrubbing.

But friends, we have tie-dye! Colorbursts galore! Shirts. Pillow cases. Beach attire. Bright blue, purple, green. It's been decided that Aidan will have a tie-dye birthday party. A hand strung tie-dye clothes line has been stretched across the trees outside the window of our apartment. The toilet is not tie-dyed. Everything else is. The bathtub, bathmat, and bathtiles are tie-dyed. As are the shower curtain, sink, and countertop. Some call it a really big mess. We call it, er, creativity.

And if you could please remind me that an inadvertently tie-dyed towel somehow ended up in a basket of dirty clothes and that it needs to be removed lest we have a whole load of colorbursted laundry. Or worse yet, a tie-dyed Joanne. Yes, friends, the Minister of Dirty Cothes is back at it.

Actually, people continue to be really nice to us. We so much enjoy getting the cards and letters with prayers and well wishes. Thank you. And we even got another weeks worth of delicious meals-on-wheels, thanks to the women's group at church.

Today Bob got the cutest recycled card from the quilting group at Minnehaha Communion Lutheran Church, where he interned in South Minneapolis. They call themselves the Busy Bees. They call Bob, Bobsie-Baby. As in "Dear Bobsie-Baby, We are praying for you." Here posted is a picture of the stoles the other quilting group hand sewed for Bob as a farewell gift at the end of his internship; this group from Our Redeemer. Bob loved being with both of those quilting groups. Junk food. Off color jokes. Friendship. One day if the Bush Administration ever does find those weapons of mass destruction and the mushroom clouds and such -- the quilters will remain standing. Ideologies rise and fall. Institutions come and go. Churches merge and purge. The quilters are always there with a clear and pure vision.

And all I did was take the garbage out and ran into Val and Steve, who are also in waiting mode. Waiting. For someone, anyone, anybishop, anychurch to call them. As in phone them. Communicate with them. Snail mail would be great. Message in a bottle. Two cups and a string. They have an interview at the end of the month and I'm really rooting for them because it would be a great place to visit. Meanwhile, since the garbage had already been taken care of I kinda teared up about our waiting. "I don't want to go to places," I say to them. "I just want to be near my family." They understand because they are members of Bob's Liver Cooperative. All I was doing was taking out the trash and ended up with a free counseling session. That's how it is around here, Val said. She's going to make one awesome pastor.

Bob already is one awesome back seat mopper, giving instructions on correct swooshing methodology from the recliner. Someone's gotta do it because a visitor is coming tomorrow. The Rev. Lonnie Branch, a real gentleman from the Northside of Minneapolis who coached basketball with Bob. I'll try to get a picture.

Uh oh, gotta go, the kids are fighting over how not to walk across the wet kitchen floor.

And this is how we are doing the Summer of 2007.

Take care everyone. Love, T