Day 39: Tilting at windmills

The temperature rose to near freezing yesterday and today and started the process of melting the snow on the roof if not obviously on the ground. It has plummeted again, with inevitable results.

We are finally beginning the process of knowing and being known at our church. Today was the third visit there (and the second in a row) and we no longer felt like visitors which is really nice. The topic of the sermon touched on matters close to my heart - caring for the planet, being perceived as peacemakers rather than bigots, self-obsessives or worse. The quoting of South Park as 'one of his family's favourite shows' along with the Bible passages also gives an impression of his broad sampling of the American condition. You can read more here.

We followed church with a traditional British Sunday lunch with T&S - it is a great joy when circumstances throw you together with people you genuinely get along with. It reminded me of friends in the UK who we were thrown together with when we had our first children within a couple of days of each other. They became firm friends, much missed since our move. I suppose that all friendships can probably be traced back to some happenstance, but some seem more extreme than others. Anyway, good friendships are a valuable commodity and I hope that we will manage to nurture new and old alike as we continue this grand adventure.

When Exile #3 was younger she used to amaze us with the intensity of her imagination. I remember once when she was carrying an imaginary object, she stopped at a closed door, unable to work out how to open it because her hands were 'full'. Today Exile #4 proved that she is capable of the same level of suspension of disbelief. In the car, the two of them were playing giving each other (and Exile #2) imaginary sweets ("Who would like a strawberry sweet?" etc.). After some time we heard Exile #4, in a state of considerable distress and agitation, saying to Exile #3, "No, don't eat them all!" When I suggested that (since they were imaginary) she might find that there were plenty left for her, she put me straight, "She's got all of them!" Fortunately Exile #3, perhaps remembering her own ability to be totally absorbed in a game, offered to share her 'sweets' and all was peaceful again.