Up early as usual, get everyone else rousted up, watch Weekend Today and see that Campbell Brown is in New Orleans to watch Mardi Gras kick off (even though Mobile’s is older, it gets short shrift, for some reason.)

Breakfast, van, church. The kids run to their classes, and I start making sure all the teachers are there, and find that the husband-and-wife nursery teacher team is absent. For about the third week in a row. And the backup teacher is visiting with friends somewhere else. And I begin to have bad thoughts about a couple of folks who came to me and VOLUNTEERED to teach that class, and whom I put in there, DESPITE my better judgment. You know, it says in Ephesians that it is possible to be angry and yet not sin, although I don’t quite think I managed it yesterday. At least I was able to find a backup-backup, who took it all in stride.

Rest of the morning was uneventful, then we went to visit Oldest’s other set of grandparents for lunch (as always, less said the better) then back to the building for the older two girls to do their Bible Bowl practice. While they did that, I took Jonathan and Catherine with me to someplace we had not been in SUCH a long time. Wal-Mart. It had been over twenty-four hours, you know, and that’s just unheard of! Had to pick up a bag of chips and a drink for Ashley to take with her to the youth devotional, and while I was out I picked up an AutoTrader to start the Franklin replacement therapy. It’s going to be an interesting process--Reba seems to have quite a different take on what constitutes small and economical. I hope to convince her that a Ford Focus is more or less just like a BMW 3 series. They do, after all, have four wheels. We’ll see, I suppose.

After evening worship, we decided to go eat at the new steak place there in Leeds while Oldest went to do her thing with the young folks. Nice place, Western motif, fast service, sorta pricey but kids under 10 eat free. Had just gotten sat down and ordered when our preacher and his wife popped over the back of the booth--they asked if this was our new replacement for the Ruby Tuesday, and we allowed that it was. Them too. He said they got the same horrible service we did, and decided not to ever go back. And then we saw someone ELSE there from church that used to eat there. And then our waitress came up later and said we looked awfully familiar and asked if we used to eat there. (Small world, you know?) She said she had worked there for a while, but couldn’t stand it. Go figure. Anyway, after the big family reunion it was time to head for home by way of the folks’ house where the youth devotional was being held. Got there at nearly 8:15, Oldest came out and said that she was ready to go because they still hadn’t eaten anything and it didn’t look like they were going to anytime soon. We stopped and got her an Arby’s, which she devoured like a hyena on a gazelle carcass.

Home, bed, sleep.

And here I am. And yes, the combined effects of constant road trips in dreary weather in a vehicle filled with restless, smart-mouthed children who see every conversation as a competitive event very nearly drove me stark raving mad.

Ah well, amor vincit omnia. (Or mentis fugit.)
posted by Terry at 2:43:00 PM