Hours of Fun

Over the course of the weekend, I spent 10 hours of driving, 36 hours in Virginia, 5.5 hours at parties, 2 hours playing the piano, 9 hours at church, 3 hours napping on Sunday and not enough time sleeping during the rest of the weekend. I drank 3 caffeinated beverages, gained 4 new phone numbers, met countless new people, heard “oh, you’re (my name) from Pennsylvania!” and “I’ve heard about you!” over 5 times (this is me looking alarmed! :-o)…. Hours of fun, my friends, hours of fun.

Vacation Day Friday
We had grand plans for this day. Meandering down to Virginia, picnicking at Great Falls, shopping at antiques stores. And then, the rain came…. Ugh. Last minute change of plans--- girlie day!! Afternoon tea at the British Pantry and getting manicures (which I managed to brutalize my own in less than 24 hours because of piano playing. No more manicures!!).… the rain was constant, chilly, and pretty miserable. But sipping hot tea was gloriously relaxing.

Graduation! The whole reason for our visit. I love Christian high school graduations. Like... I actually stay awake for them. That’s how much I love them. :) WOOHOO for the graduate!!! :)

Party Crashing. I can claim ignorance for this. Somewhat. I didn’t know the graduation party was such a hardcore by-invitation-only party until we got there and the bouncers had flashlights & guest lists. But we were allowed entrance. I’m chalkin’ that one up to the mercy of God. :) Great conversations… once I went to find a bathroom and stopped for a thirty-minute conversation. Longest. Bathroom. Trip. Ever!

Park Place. There are two kinds of parks in this world. One green, tree-lined, picnicking, random deer spotting, this-is-the-city-and-I-crave-nature kind of park. And the other kind is the swings-and-playgrounds park where little kids feel like they’ve died and gone to heaven. On Saturday morning, we drove to the first kind of park, raised our eyebrows and drove away. I have nature parks in PA… all we wanted was a nice happy kid park for The Little Man… There were swings. And a mud puddle (which I convinced The Little Man to throw rocks, play with twigs and otherwise splash in---you can tell I currently fill the auntie role and not the mommy role!! Hehe).

Testimonies. Of salvation and God’s provision and His faithfulness and His power. I am wide-eyed and joyful and encouraged that God is moving in mighty ways in people’s lives. Just strengthens my faith to believe the Lord for the impossible—like the salvation of prodigals. :) … Oh yes, and I heard stories about some rather blunt spiritual rebukes that struck me as funny. “You are a gossip trash can” and “You have a pathetic prayer life.” Harsh words but fitly spoken. :) It made me laugh.

Til Death Do Us Part. One murder mystery birthday party. I laughed so hard during this party that my face hurt. My visit was unknowingly timed to fall on this birthday party, so I had the privilege of capturing these happy and hilarious moments with a camera… In between my giggles, I watched the intriguing costumes, acting and deviousness of a real-life whodunit! It was set during an Italian wedding reception, complete with the guest no one knows how HE got invited ("Ken's my cousin," "Yeah, friends with Stanley. We go waaay back!"), the over saturated drunk relative ("I'll drink to that!!!" lol.. all in good fun, people!), the jealous sister, the overachieving mother-of-the-groom doing business deals... all trying to answer the question, “who had motive and opportunity for murder?” *Insert creepy music here* Just like a life-size game of Clue!!.... Oh yes, and the tiramisu was delicious!

Young Adults Meeting. Included a silly teamwork game that was waaaay too complicated for us. My team lost miserably. Twice. We were the “B” squad of the “B” team. Let’s be blunt---we were the looosers. :) But it’s funny how intense people get over paper clips and rubber bands. :) Moving on to spiritual things… good preaching!

Musical Times. Musical conversation. Listening to good music. And playing on a grand piano. * sigh* SOOO fun. Even if I did play for a looong time while listening to spiritual conversations. And my fingers got cold. And then went to church the next morning and played the entire way through an extended testimony time. My fingers hurt…Methinks I need more practice.

Enough rambling... This weekend was full of hours of fun while near and far. With old friends and new friends. At another church and my own church. With church family and blood family. While I drove, ate, played, chatted, smiled, laughed, listened, spoke, cheered, said "Amen," hugged, bounced in happiness because I'm gonna be an auntie again!, planned, wrote, and rambled. Hours of fun, my friends...