January 15 - “Cool in the Caribbean”

I checked on my friend Ed this morning. He’s the one who had open heart surgery last week. He’s at home now and doing well. Lauren told me he said some pretty funny stuff at the hospital. He probably won’t remember a lot of it, though, because of the pain meds. But then, Ed always says funny stuff. Glad you’re home, my friend. Be nice to your nurse - er - wife and that four-legged live-in nurse’s aide you have over there. 

I had a special treat in the afternoon. A haircut. I told Suzann I needed a summer cut so I could be cool in the Caribbean. Hey, when you get down there by the equator, it’s supposed to be hot, right?

As I was leaving, there was a lady in the waiting area in some sort of stage of the process, I suppose. She had a towel around her neck and her hair was tied up in an array of small batches with some kind of aluminum foil looking stuff. Reminded me of the old school way of protecting your mind from evil aliens invading. It was … downright frightening. 

As I passed by, she smiled a kind of crooked smile and spoke. “You look really nice.” Well, that was quite unexpected, and I admit I was taken aback for a brief second. But in that second, a reply leapt into my consciousness. A way to be honest, yet not cruel (in case there were other potential aliens lurking about). I gently touched her shoulder and quipped, “And you WILL look nice soon.”  I guess it worked. Her smile grew and became a chuckle. As I walked through the door hurriedly, she added, “Come back in a few hours, and I’ll look much better.” Thanks. I passed on that invitation. 

I came home to Chris cleaning the four chairs Christina found and picked up for us. Chris did an amazing cleaning job, of course. I think they even fit in pretty well with our oldies but goodies. Maybe now we can officially get rid of the marginally safe ones. 

We finally finished our Christmas letter. You know. That compilation of anecdotes that summarizes our life and the life of our families over the last year. And of course it is all scrunched onto just one sheet of paper (front and back), including a family photo. Now to get them mailed …

Proverbs‬ ‭22‬:‭4‬ says, The result of humility is fear of the Lord, along with wealth, honor, and life.

Father, thank for you for Ed’s progress. Keep him on your healing track, whatever that might look like. Amen.