Today would be Day 4 of the adventure (for those of you just tuning in, you can either keep track of how many days we've been on this trip by use of the Gregorian calendar, or by the title of the blog post, whichever you find more convenient).
Today would be the day where
Jack Arnold made his appearance.
Things Jack had to deal with today, a few of the many examples
(I will change the individual kids names to protect the innocent minors):
At one point point in the day Jarrett (wink, wink) asks his mother, "How many days have we been gone?" "What do you think?" she responds. He guesses a random number, at which point mom asks, "Would you rather guess or think it through?" (rookie mistake). "Mom, I'm not in school now. I don't want to do my maths."
Afternoon rest time, where we all take turns showering and having some down-time in the hotel room. Maliza (not her real name), locks herself in the shower, runs herself a bath, and proceeds to pretend she can't quite hear her mother screaming "Get OUT of the bath! People are W A I T I N G ! "
When she finally does make an exit, and is inches away from being skinned by her mother, Jarrett turns to Lois and asks, "Where's Eliza?". Apparently, he had lost her in this 315 square foot palace.
Upon completion of our walk through town, down to the falls, along the falls, strolling and racing and taking pictures, Lois turns to Norma and asks "Is that supposed to be a park?"
At the point where I almost cracked (well, maybe a few moments
after I had started to crack), I stopped to think of people I could ask to pray for us in this adventure. Wise, sagely parents who understood and could offer us support. And then, in a fit of rare insight, I realized I myself could pray for patience, wisdom, grace and love for a series of people who are driving me nutty. God just might listen to me.
I would like to think that the last few hours of the day were more tender and graceful, regardless of the maturity of the children in tow. God is better than I deserve.
