Class, cool morning, guests, grilling and fishing

Class yesterday was an in-person class. When I got to the office yesterday morning, I found the materials for the two classes, mine and Red’s. He was assigned three students in a larger room while I was assigned four students in a smaller room. I switched the lists. Gave him the four assigned to me and took the three assigned to him. It turned out to be a great swap. All the guys in my class were unabashed believers in the Lord. We established that very early in the morning and let that theme arise and express itself wherever it manifest throughout the day. It was one of the best classes I have had in a long time. I enjoyed it. They enjoyed it. I was able to share some things with the three of them that they will be able to use in their work and in their daily lives. Meanwhile, Red had a very engaging class as well. The smaller classes lend themselves to broader interaction more than the much large classes. It is even better when those interactions can be founded on a common faith.

This morning Mama opened up the windows. The outside temperature was 62°. Quite cool for this time of year. I had to wear a light jacket starting off. It did not take long for me to warm up to the point that I had to shed the jacket, but it made for a very pleasant few minutes outside as I helped Mama with the morning feeding. All the animals seemed to be celebrating the cool temperature.  It is not often that we can hear the sounds of the farm, but this morning we can – and it is delightful. The lowing calf, the crowing roosters, the birds singing to the morning. It will quickly warm up and we will have to close off the outdoors, but for now, we are bringing a little of it inside. Something I could not do a the office.

This evening the Miller family is coming over. They are on deputation going back to serve as missionaries in Mexico. They have eight children ranging in age from 18 (just graduated from High School) to 4. Two girls and six boys. the girls are number two and three in the lineup. A fun family to be around. All the boys are outgoing and will start a conversation with just about anyone. A couple of them are real talkers. It is fun to chat with them and after this evening they will have plenty to talk about. I will take them fishing after we eat this evening. The boys in the middle of the pack are very excited about fishing. It will not be the first time they have been fishing, but close to it. They went on the men’s fishing trip a couple weekends back but none of the boys caught anything. I think I can offer them a better opportunity to actually reel in a catch at the quarry lake than where they fished with the men of the church. I have enough poles and lures to make outfit that many fishermen and we have the time to give them to get that experience. Whether or not we catch anything, it will be fun. I, of course, will not be fishing. I will be managing tackle, changing and replacing lures, getting fish off the hooks, untangling lines, etc.

Mama has bought the extra meat items we will need to grill in order to feed our guests. I will once more borrow the pellet grill from Bro Zack to do the cooking. Mama and I are looking for one of our own, but we have not found the one we want to buy just yet. She wants the largest one we can afford. I want to scale it down a bit for everyday use. we will, like always, meet in the middle-ish but more towards her side of the choice. We plan on getting the cooking started about the time I get off work, finish eating by 6 pm and then head to the lake. All of the fishing will be done from the bank. I do not feel comfortable taking anyone out in the boat – although it would be fun to do some boating on the lake with the boys. I am not there yet as far as having the boat equipped with a battery for the trolling motor or having the live jackets needed to take little ones out onto the lake. Maybe by the end of the summer. For now, bank fishing will be enough. We have been wildly successful so far at that. I am praying that everyone gets to reel in at least one fish of their own.

So, today Mama will spend most of the day agonizing over the house – cleaning and straightening up. I asked again why we wait until we have someone over to straighten up the house and clean the bathrooms? We could make it a normal practice. Like most of us, we do not. At least, it gets done at some point. Don’t get me wrong. The house is not filthy. It is just cluttered and disorganized. It is generally clean. we just tend to lay things down and then not move them or put them away until we need the space for something else. Mama wants the house to be “guest ready” clean. Something we do only as required.

I find it both exasperating and rewarding.