I spent yesterday trying to write through the incredible loudness of many children playing in, nay trashing, my house. I was deeply frustrated by nightfall. One neighborhood child, in particular, thought it was really funny to keep ringing the door bell, running partly away, but then turning back and coming in and batting his long eye lashes and sweetly saying sorry and that he wouldn’t do it again, only to do it again like 30 seconds later. Then the little girls had some other little girl, first in their room, where they built a fort with a lot of loud crashing and shouting and banging, and then made a tea party, in the school room, with a lot of water, so that it seemed like a small flood had over taken us. By 6 o’clock I was fairly frantic and starting to feel hysterical. I kept plugging in my headphones and turning them up so loud, which probably isn’t great for my hearing, that if I child came and spoke for any reason, I couldn’t hear at all. But then the child, and it was all of them in turn, would tap frantically on my shoulder and begin to shout, thinking that some mistake had been made by me not being able to hear. Would then unplug my headphone and bellow, “Leave me Alone” causing the child to reel back in hurt shock. All this time Matt was trying to write a sermon in the office with the door locked, except that he could hear all the noise. And several different children dug out the screw driver which allows you to just easily unlock the door and wander in, both our children, and other children, who, by using the word “other” I am probably “othering” where my other meets their other in the rainbow cloud in the sky…sorry, all the noise has tripped some switch in my poor shattered mind. Anyway, in a stroke of God Must Hate Me, the weather continues cold and rainy today. Beginning around ten o’clock, the little kids that, for reasons unknown to me, don’t go to school will begin filtering in, and then at two, the kids that do will arrive. Maybe I should supply a big stack of coats and force them out into the rain anyway. Or maybe I should just try to deal and pray for hot weather again.
But instead of any of you worrying about any of that, I meant to note that Kyra has put together a charming little Etsy shop where she has all kinds of sparkly and lovely jewelry that she’s making. It’s not just me, she, I’m pretty sure, occasionally encourages her children to go away and leave her alone so she can get on with her work. Go check it out, if you have a moment.
And then of course, you should all be reading this blog all the time because you will feel strengthened to go on, but also not feel yelled at when you’re not all flooded with deep floods of love but just have to get on with the work whether you feel like it or not.
And finally, Matt has been podcasting about the question of baptism as well as some other things. Here’s something not funny. Every time he starts talking into the little camera, a child comes in and interrupts him. Fun times. Fun times.
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