April 19 – “The Package”

We actually made it out of the house for a little while yesterday.  Not because we were both so engrossed in tasks around the house that we needed to escape, although that is, of course, quite true.  It had been raining pretty much all day, so we took advantage of a brief respite from the clouds and ran some errands.  Bank first to make a deposit, then over to Pet’s Mart.  They are the only place on the Island that sells the replacement flaps to our dog door.  Yep.  Once again one or more of our canine pals have chewed an entire corner off of the existing flap.  It happens virtually every time we out a new one on, but it is beginning to be fly and mosquito season here on Gilligan’s Island Paradise, so we need all the help we can get to keep them out.    I haven’t installed the replacement yet.  I’ll get to it.  Soon. 

From there we ran by our mechanic’s shop to drop off a payment.  There I met a guy who recently retired from the postal service.  He had lots to say when I told him my son just started there.  He even told me some names of people to get to know.  And some others to avoid like the plague.  I also got a detailed explanation of the government’s retirement program.  I shared his thoughts with Kel last night.  He has already met the folks the guy told me about.  Good and bad.  Our final stop was … drum roll of wondering excitement here … WalMart.  Chris needed something for her Wednesday Club ladies meeting that is today.  She is presenting a project on some of the Civil War battle sites we saw on our vacation a few years ago.  She’ll do great, of course.  She won “Best Project Presentation” last year. 

Now all of our adventures aside, I have to say that we almost never left the house.  When I opened the front door to leave, there sat a mysterious package.  We never heard the delivery truck, so it surprised us both.  Like a couple of kids at Christmas, we hustled it inside and clumsily tore away at the packing tape.  Nice sealing job, by the way.  And inside we found a note from some very good friends of ours who we knew during our stint in Denver.  They now live somewhere in the hills of Arkansas or Missouri.  Janet is one of the few of you folks out there who actually reads my bloggings fairly faithfully.  She even makes a comment just about every day to encourage me to keep on writing.  It seems that Randy and Janet remembered a blog post a while ago where I mentioned something about not having one of those new-fangled iPad devices to use for reading notes when I teach.  They happened to have an extra one that they got from an aunt who no longer can use it.  Dear sweet Aunt Estelle told them that she was fine with them sending it along to me so it can be used.  They had it wiped clean and made factory fresh, and sent it on to me.  They included these parting words of wisdom: “If you have any difficulty with your new/used iPad, talk to any kid under 8 years old for expert advice.”

Gotta say, I was floored.  What an incredible gift.  I think I can find a few ways to get this thing some use.  Think I’ll name it, too.  How about … Estelle?

Philemon 7 says, “Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.”

Father, thank you for long-distance friends and surprise expressions of love.  Amen.