72 hour break

fits have been thrown. hot dogs have been eaten and simultaneously trampled into commercial grade blue carpet. craft projects made from aluminum pie pans and beans have either been taken home or thrown out. the slip-n-slide bounce house has been inflated, played upon (prolly peed upon,too, if the facts were truly known), and deflated. i have been squirted with the water guns of several very small people. in a scene that could rival parts of "lord of the flies", i was trapped in a mob of very small people with unopened popsicles and no scissors in sight-- i had to use my teeth. it got scary, fast. and i think may have the early stages of pink eye. in short, vacation bible school is over. praise the baby jesus.

although i have to say this: for every bizarre thing the "precious children" did, they also did amazing things. one of the little girls at camp this week has cerebral palsy. she is mostly in a wheel chair, but she's walking better every day. she speaks and laughs, if you are willing to listen and encourage her. this little sweet pea walked with her peers this week. she even did the hokey-pokey during song time. and when it came time to sing my two favorite songs-- "this little light of mine" and "he's got the whole world in his hands", you can bet that little cherub was singing at the top of her lungs and doing all the hand motions. it was beautiful. and as much as my body is screaming for mercy, for that 10 minute period, watching that little girl be a little girl and singing along with her friends, and being accepted and loved, both in spite of and because of her differences, i wouldn't have traded a week of pampering in the bahamas. it was one of the single-most incredible and humbling experiences of my life.

i'm at momma's house. she told me to come home so she could feed me and do my laundry before i have to take a deep breath before the final plunge. i adore this woman. even though she's doing adkin's, she let my grammy make my favorite pasta salad, and didn't complain while i ate it like a big pig, even though she had to have a plain green salad with lots of meat on it. yay, mommy.

i still owe you people the story of the 30 foot whale (its still a doozie and most definitely deserves to be told--it might even reach classic anecdote status at some point)d, but i think that may have to wait until i have processed the rest of vacation bible school and done a little more leg work for my mission trip that leaves on wednesday. i know, i know, i lead a life ruled by madness...but also by love...and that is a good thing, even on tired days.

all is well.

mil besos--rmg