James and T and Us
T and family, at least
We spent the weekend entertaining guests from the other side of the country: James, Theresa, JR, and Tristan of James & T & Family fame. Theresa and I were good friends in college but haven't seen each other since—and Leah had never met her, nor had we met her boys. Thanks to the wonders of blogging, though, we didn't feel like we needed to do any catching up; it was straight into fun times together!
they got along fine
It's not that we take everyone who comes here to see the historical sights; we ask them what they want to do! But it is hard to resist the allure of Revolutionary history around here. We visited the Battle Road and the Hartwell Tavern and took in a mock trial.
they're doing a play!
JR commandeered the camera for most of the expedition, which isn't so terrible because it looked like he was getting some good thoughtful pictures. I hope to see some of them in a week or so, after the epic trip is concluded.
he took more pictures than I did
Next up was the Old North Bridge, and Tristan wanted to wade right in to look for shiny rocks. He's a big fan of crystals these days, but I think he would have accepted a gold nugget too.
they're from California, so looking for gold comes naturally
Zion doesn't care about rocks except to eat them, so for him the appeal was the water itself. He refused all consolation until we undressed him and let him sit down in the river.
splish splash
Harvey was asleep at that point, or else he would have ended up pretty wet too.
Besides the excitements pictured we also enjoyed some lunch and shopping in Concord center and ice cream treats at Bedford Farms, as well as a couple of delicious egg-filled breakfasts thanks to our once-again-fully-productive chickens. I think we were good hosts; maybe we'll be treated to another visit in ten or fifteen years!
sad internet news
We have mentioned the Sparkling Adventures blog here before. They are the victims of some unfortunate events this week. There was a tragedy on Saturday, the baby died. Now is appears the father is at fault.
I have some thoughts which start off with a confession. When all I knew was that the baby had died, my first instinct was to suspect they had taken lightly one of the safety precautions that all of us hippies take lightly, and we would all face condemnation as a result. God forbid the baby had suffocated while sleeping in bed with his parents, or fallen ill with a disease that might have been prevented by vaccinations. It's not that those risks are incalculable, it's just... well yesterday I was thinking if I would have to make my kids wear shoes all the time if the whole world was gonna turn against hippies, so when I found out that it was murder I kind of felt relief.
Which is to say, I felt suddenly happy to have some distance. I am a hippy but not a murderer so bad things will probably not happen to me.
It's funny how closeness and distance works on the internet.
I don't know Lauren of Sparkling Adventures, but I feel like I do because I read her blog. I love reading blogs because I appreciate the inside glimpse into someone else's heart. I think our desire to connect with people we don't know is a beautiful thing. I also have a blog, and I appreciate that other people read it, not because we serve ads (we don't) but because the people who read my blog have an accurate picture of the inside of my mind, the disgusting sin menagerie that it is, and then when these people go and talk to me in person despite what they read on the blog it's like grace in action.
If I like reading blogs because they connect me to other people, I had reading news. The point of news is to sensationalize awful events, with the result that each person feels more isolated and fearful about the world around them. Whereas blogs reflect the complexity of experience, news creates a video-game summary of it. Identify the bad guy. Fire. We all feel safer but more disconnected.
This week the Sparkling Adventure family transitioned from the bloggers to news items, and as such there doesn't seem to be a healthy way to relate to them anymore. Except this one thing:
As Christians we are called to intercede for people, which means we personally stand up in the gap between an individual and God. Ezekiel 22:30 says "I sought for a man among them that should make up the hedge and stand in the gap before me for the land that I should not destroy it: but I found none." When someone does a bad thing, the gap is a very scary place to stand. And yet this is the place where we get to see God, where He connects people more powerfully than reading blogs ever can. So Lord God, I ask that you would show your face to David, Lauren, Aisha, Brioni, Calista and Delanie. I ask that Your presence would give them peace that passes all understanding, even mine. amen.