It's been a great time away from seminary. It's reading week, and while it's a time to catch up on reading and writing and seminary work. We're also encouraged to reconnect with the people who love us. I kept remembering that encouragement yesterday, as I tried to make the most of days off. I did open the papers that I'm in the process of writing, but I didn't work on them. I felt them tugging at me, but I ignored them. I'm also trusting that my brain is solving some of the issues that I'll need to sort out soon, like the 5-7 minute sermon I will deliver on Tuesday night in my Foundations of Preaching class.
Yesterday we had a great day, my spouse and I. We did mundane things, like going to Lowe's and pricing ladders. We grilled steaks. We did out of the ordinary things. We went to a miniature golf place, Lakeview Putt and Play. We've driven by the place numerous times since moving here, but I had no idea what was tucked away out of view of the main road. The course was decorated for Halloween, which was fun, and there were gorgeous views of the changing trees, and Lake Julian glinting beyond them. The weather was perfect, with lots of sunshine and highs in the 70's.
When we lived in South Carolina in the 90's, we would often play miniature golf, so it felt like a return of sorts, a return to our past selves. In South Florida, there aren't many mini golf courses, and the weather isn't great for mini golf much of the year.
Late in the afternoon, we wandered through a different landscape, but one also ringed by trees with lovely leaves. We stopped by the Sierra Nevada brewery, but happily, we didn't need food, so we didn't face the 90 minute wait. We went to the back patio/garden area, got our beers, and wandered. It was crowded, but the space is so huge that it didn't feel oppressively full of people. I thought back to August, when we got there just before the lunch rush, when the temperature was similar, but the leaves hadn't started changing yet.
We got back to our own stunning vista. We sat on the back deck and watched the sun set, the way we did when we first arrived back in July, although the sun sets much earlier these days. We had both deep conversation, about what makes our house a safer investment than our Florida house was (hurricanes, etc.) and less deep conversations, like about incense and pop music of the 80's and how a very freaky girl in those songs was someone who had incense, wine, and candles.
Finally, the night chill made us come indoors. We played Yahtzee and listened to Motown. It was a lovely way to end a lovely day.
Today I'll go back to my favorite farmer's market, the Mills River farmer's market--one of the last chances of the year. I'll do some work on seminary stuff--I need to create the genogram to accompany my paper. I've created one version, but I need a neater one, a more readable one, one that I can turn into a PDF. I need to think a bit more intentionally about my sermon, which means I need to start writing a rough draft.
I will try not to sink into pre-emptive sadness at this time away being over. I will continue to savor this time, while also getting ready for the next few weeks at seminary.
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