Sunday, June 19

Today is Father's Day. Happy Father's Day to all the dads in the family!

Had trouble going to sleep last night, so I wasn't ready to get up at 6:30 this morning. But I did, so we could prepare to go to a town 45 minutes away for the program Hubbie's daughter was to present.

The first thing I did was give Hubbie a Father's Day card I'd chosen from my greeting card stash. He read it appreciatively, and commented that he guessed the sentiment would work for any special occasion. I agreed. "Because," he said, "this one says Happy Anniversary." Rats! I apologized profusely, castigating myself for my stupidity, and then we had a good laugh about it.

We were ready to get on the road to the other town around 8:30. The program was to begin about 9:45. Daughter was not up when we left, but Mother had come over. Later I learned she let Daughter sleep until around 10 a.m., since Shih Tzu didn't need anything.

We arrived at the church around 9:30. Hubbie's daughter, who was dressed in a black skirt, topped with a cotton African-print jacket, and accessorized with one of the handmade necklaces she purchased in Uganda, was busy setting up her power point presentation.

She remarked on my animal print blouse, complemented with a multiple-strand necklace featuring ivory-looking elephants, and an African continent pendant necklace. I reminded her that she had given me the elephant necklace as a birthday present years ago (probably 20 years ago). She vaguely remembered it, and joked that she'd like for me to bequeath the necklace to her in my will, since she's now so intensely interested in the African mission experience. I said I would, but I wasn't planning to leave anytime soon.

Hubbie's daughter did a wonderful job of presenting the slide show. We noticed that the program for the service revolved around the presentation...hymns like "Tell me the Story of Jesus," "Now in This Moment," "This is My Father's World," "This is My Song," and "Go Now Forth into the World," as well as the Call to Worship, the Response and the Prayer for Peace all related to the mission trip.

I thought the church had done a great job of planning the music and service to complement her program. Later, when I mentioned this to her, she said she was the one who actually planned it, to take the burden off the churches at which she spoke.

The service ended around 11:30, and while Daughter, her husband, and Hubbie's grandson stayed behind to pack up her things, Hubbie and I headed back to our town, so we could go to the WDCS to pick up a couple of rotisserie chickens and a loaf of sourdough bread for lunch.

At home, Mother and Daughter had baked potatoes, cooked corn-on-the-cob, and cut up salad veggies. Hubbie's family arrived a few minutes after we got back with the chicken and bread, and we sat down to lunch right away.

After lunch, Hubbie's daughter brought her laptop in and presented the slide show program to Mother and my daughter. She also brought in a plastic tote of the handmade jewelry from Uganda. As soon as she noticed which necklace and bracelet that my daughter was taken with, she gave them to her.

Shortly afterward, she and her family headed back to the town about 45 minutes away to deliver Grandson to church camp, scheduled to be held all this week.

My daughter stayed around for another hour so we could chat. Before she left, Hubbie found an old ice chest in the garage, which I packed with containers of potato salad, baked beans, and chicken. I also gave her slices of the sourdough bread, chocolate cupcakes and a small bottle of her favorite wine (not to be enjoyed with the bread and cupcakes, I presume).

After Daughter left, Mother went to her house, and Hubbie and I settled in to watch a 2009 movie..."The Open Road," starring Justin Timberlake, Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen, and Jeff Bridges. The estranged adult son of a baseball legend prevails upon his father to return with him to the hospital, where his Mother is to undergo heart surgery. They, along with a female friend of the young man, embark on a road trip, on which the father and son explore their relationship.

Then we watched the movie, "2010: Moby Dick," starring Barry Bostwick, from the Syfy channel. As the title implies, it's a modern adaptation of the classic novel, about the captain of a high-tech submarine who becomes obsessed with destroying an enormous prehistoric whale that maimed him.