Snowed In
So, Tuesday morning I go to Daddy's office...
"Dad, I'm out of charity with mankind, and I need you to talk me back into it." That is one of my ways of saying that I need to hear the Gospel again.
"Hmmm... well, sit down, but first of all, do you want to come home tomorrow night and go see a play with the family for my birthday?"
"Dude, yes! Which play?"
"St. Joan of Arc."
"Oh wow..."
"I thought you'd like it."
I grinned at him. He knows, and I know, and the whole family knows, and most of my friends know, that I am absolutely dippy about Joan of Arc. This is why it only took me about fifteen seconds of reflection to say, "Well, I could skip Music Appreciation..."
Wednesday morning:
8 AM
I rose, not like Aurora with light in my arms for gods and men, but like a fuzzily blond three-year-old in pyjamas. Flip on computer. Check email. Read book by Ryken on the history of the Bible, since I'm presenting it in class this afternoon.
9 AM
Fulfill the dictates of society: ablutions, brushing of tooths, and covering of limbs.
"Clothes are so overrated, Helen."
"I'd like to see you do without them."
"Well, yes..."
10 AM
Chapel. "Good morning, Stars!"
"Good morning Trissie! Look, I got new dress pants!"
I peered at them. "Cool! They're... they're dress pants!"
10:45 AM
"Okay Stars, let's whip this paper into shape. Hmm...you're overusing 'perseverence'...and if you want to use a Supertones song to talk about Calvin's doctrine of the perseverence of the saints, then the two concepts probably want to be linked together a bit more..."
11:20 AM
"Good job, Stars! It's a good paper, and you're improving vastly. Not joking."
"Thanks, Trissie! So, what grade do you think it will get?"
"Who is it for?"
"Bouchoc."
"Non scio, kiddo. I've never done a paper for Bouchoc. But this should be a high B to mid A paper."
"Great!"
11:30-11:45 AM
Realization dawns. "Sarah, I have to review the reading for Linguistics in case there's a quiz, and I have to give this book report in Linguistics, for which I've written absolutely no notes, and I have to edit this paper for Linguistics, and I have to meet with Dr. Hake right before Linguistics, and Linguistics is at 12 noon! ACK!"
"Wow. Better get to work, Christy."
11:55 AM
"Well, Christy, this publication proposal looks good to me. Why don't you tweak it and we'll send it on to Dr. Bonicelli and probably get an answer this week."
I smiled and nodded, but what I was thinking was, "oh golly, how did I get into this? I may be editor in chief of a school-wide publication by Saturday! Yikes!"
12:00 PM
There was a quiz, and I had to give the book report with only the book (it went well, by the grace of God), and I just barely finished editing the paper.
1:00 PM
Lunch. Hilarious conversation...
"Well, Christy, I think you most resemble a raccoon."
"Helen looks like a wolf."
"Is Hannah really a puppy?"
"It was postpaperously verified."
"So the reason that Helen and Carolyn are going to go haunt the weight room in white sheets is because Hannah is wearing rosebuds in her hair?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
3:00 PM
Topics in Lit class.
4:00 PM
The cell phone rings. "Hey Baby! This is Dad, and we're here to get you."
"Um, hi Daddy! I thought you and Mom were coming at 4:30, so... I'm just out of class, and not remotely packed..."
Run to dorm room, fling clothing and toiletries about, jump into car, go home.
5:30 PM
My house is the Palace Beautiful. I got my glass of white Zinfandel (although later in the evening Daddy introduced me to some truly delightful Rhine wine...more bite than Zinfandel, and a little more like gingerale..) and went to sit in the sunroom with the Parental Ones and Marjorie, who wouldn't let me go.
"Sit still, Tisy."
"But Burgee, I have to get up! Jessica is here, and I have to say hi to her."
"No you don't! Sit still and cuddle!"
What could I do? I cuddled. Mike and his courtee (Jessica, also one of my best friends) had just arrived. Grandma, Grandpa, and various cousins all passed through my field of vision.
"Burgee, I really have to go."
"Mmmpfh!"
I disentangled myself and went to talk to Jessica while we set the table.
"Tis, can you make mashed potatoes?"
"Sure, Mom!"
"Just don't put any blue food coloring in them this time," Mike quipped, alluding to an error of my youth.
"Hey, it was you who stirred them and turned the whole pot of potatoes sky blue!"
I put mustard in. Mike didn't have to know, and it really helps the overall taste. Jessica looked a little tired.
"How's the hospital, Jess?"
"It's great, but hard. I've learned to sleep only 5.5 hours."
"That's not good, kiddo. You're gonna get sick."
We sat down to a fabulous dinner. Steak, two kinds of greens, potatoes, chocolate-covered cherries, coffee, wine, icecream cake (created by Marjorie, who is a confectionary genius)... oh wow...
"Kids, the show starts in half an hour. Let's load up!"
St. Joan was great. Discussing it afterwards was even more fun. And who should I see first when we get to the theater, but my adorable little brother...
"Krasiva!"
"Danya!"
With Davy, I try to speak a little Russian, because that is what he loves.
Bed.
Thursday Morning:
"It's snowing hard, Chris. We won't be going to PHC this morning."
"Huzzah! I'll email my professors."
Classes cancelled. Joy upon joy known before! Charity appeared in my range of vision.
"Tisy, come huff and puff with us!"
I gave her a flummoxed look. "Huff and puff?"
"Excercise! You can sit on the bed and entertain us while Mom and Marjie and I do our workout."
"I was going to go have my quiet time, actually..."
"Oh, come on!"
What could I do? I sat on the bed and they began flapping their arms in unison. I just about died laughing...
"Tisy, you're supposed to be entertaining us!"
"Well, how shall I entertain you?"
"Tell us about your love life."
I grinned at Charity. "Sorry, babe, I don't have one."
Mom's deep bathtub was available...
"Tisy, will you braid my hair?"
"Certainly Churdee, but look who I have in my sweatshirt."
"Awww! Hi, Emma!"
Our ferret's head poked sleepily out over my sweatshirt zipper. Charity fondled it. "Do you need a hairbrush?"
"And a hairtie. I'll meet you downstairs."
I threw on one of Daddy's old blue button-down shirts, jeans, and put my hair back in a French braid. Haven't done that in ages, but Marjie had hers the same way, and it appealed to me. Charity's hair took a long time to braid, but how often do I get to handle sunshine? Not often enough.
Marjorie tied on her apron. I sat on the counter to talk to her.
"Okay Burgee, here's how it works. You haven't had the 3rd Conjugation yet, but there are these four verbs, and in the imperative the 'e' drops off the end of all of them. So: dic (speak), duc (lead), fac (make), and fer (bring). Those are used so much that they got elided. So if I say to you "dic ad me verba in lingua Latinae..."
"Speak... toward me?... words... in tongue of Latin?"
"'Speak to me words in the Latin language,' basically. Lingua takes the ablative because of in, and Latinae has to be genitive because it's the 'language of Latin'".
"Well, I'm going ad parentes..."
"You mean Mom and Dad?"
"I mean the grandparents."
"Ah. That might be meliores parentes...I'm not sure."
We wandered into the piano and began to play with split chords.
"G/D means that you play all the notes of the G chord with your right hand, and the D in octave with your left hand."
"Why?"
"That's just the way they set it up."
Nate wandered through on his way to the warehouse.
"Okay people! We're filming now, so no screaming, no running, no throwing of punches."
"Who's filming?"
"Mom is filming training tapes for Tapestry."
"Oh."
And so on. You never know what's coming next around here, but I hope that you can see, through my eyes, that it is the dearest places on earth...or at least, mihi (to me).
Lord God, who am I that you have blessed me as much as this? I am a thought and a vapor, a moment upon the earth, and a rebellious moment, a moment of sin against the holy eternal God... but you have saved me out of my darkness and brought me into your marvelous, polychrome light... as stained-glass windows and the sunrise is your presence, and as a heart overfilled with laughter is your service. To be the slave of Christ is to be free from all fear of death. Domine, Domine mei, orabo te nunc et semper, si dabis me ocules videre te ut tu es.... Lord, my Lord, I will worship you now and always, if you will give me eyes to see you as you are...
For without your Spirit, Lord, I do not see you, and without your love I am lost in a darkened cave.
"Dad, I'm out of charity with mankind, and I need you to talk me back into it." That is one of my ways of saying that I need to hear the Gospel again.
"Hmmm... well, sit down, but first of all, do you want to come home tomorrow night and go see a play with the family for my birthday?"
"Dude, yes! Which play?"
"St. Joan of Arc."
"Oh wow..."
"I thought you'd like it."
I grinned at him. He knows, and I know, and the whole family knows, and most of my friends know, that I am absolutely dippy about Joan of Arc. This is why it only took me about fifteen seconds of reflection to say, "Well, I could skip Music Appreciation..."
Wednesday morning:
8 AM
I rose, not like Aurora with light in my arms for gods and men, but like a fuzzily blond three-year-old in pyjamas. Flip on computer. Check email. Read book by Ryken on the history of the Bible, since I'm presenting it in class this afternoon.
9 AM
Fulfill the dictates of society: ablutions, brushing of tooths, and covering of limbs.
"Clothes are so overrated, Helen."
"I'd like to see you do without them."
"Well, yes..."
10 AM
Chapel. "Good morning, Stars!"
"Good morning Trissie! Look, I got new dress pants!"
I peered at them. "Cool! They're... they're dress pants!"
10:45 AM
"Okay Stars, let's whip this paper into shape. Hmm...you're overusing 'perseverence'...and if you want to use a Supertones song to talk about Calvin's doctrine of the perseverence of the saints, then the two concepts probably want to be linked together a bit more..."
11:20 AM
"Good job, Stars! It's a good paper, and you're improving vastly. Not joking."
"Thanks, Trissie! So, what grade do you think it will get?"
"Who is it for?"
"Bouchoc."
"Non scio, kiddo. I've never done a paper for Bouchoc. But this should be a high B to mid A paper."
"Great!"
11:30-11:45 AM
Realization dawns. "Sarah, I have to review the reading for Linguistics in case there's a quiz, and I have to give this book report in Linguistics, for which I've written absolutely no notes, and I have to edit this paper for Linguistics, and I have to meet with Dr. Hake right before Linguistics, and Linguistics is at 12 noon! ACK!"
"Wow. Better get to work, Christy."
11:55 AM
"Well, Christy, this publication proposal looks good to me. Why don't you tweak it and we'll send it on to Dr. Bonicelli and probably get an answer this week."
I smiled and nodded, but what I was thinking was, "oh golly, how did I get into this? I may be editor in chief of a school-wide publication by Saturday! Yikes!"
12:00 PM
There was a quiz, and I had to give the book report with only the book (it went well, by the grace of God), and I just barely finished editing the paper.
1:00 PM
Lunch. Hilarious conversation...
"Well, Christy, I think you most resemble a raccoon."
"Helen looks like a wolf."
"Is Hannah really a puppy?"
"It was postpaperously verified."
"So the reason that Helen and Carolyn are going to go haunt the weight room in white sheets is because Hannah is wearing rosebuds in her hair?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
3:00 PM
Topics in Lit class.
4:00 PM
The cell phone rings. "Hey Baby! This is Dad, and we're here to get you."
"Um, hi Daddy! I thought you and Mom were coming at 4:30, so... I'm just out of class, and not remotely packed..."
Run to dorm room, fling clothing and toiletries about, jump into car, go home.
5:30 PM
My house is the Palace Beautiful. I got my glass of white Zinfandel (although later in the evening Daddy introduced me to some truly delightful Rhine wine...more bite than Zinfandel, and a little more like gingerale..) and went to sit in the sunroom with the Parental Ones and Marjorie, who wouldn't let me go.
"Sit still, Tisy."
"But Burgee, I have to get up! Jessica is here, and I have to say hi to her."
"No you don't! Sit still and cuddle!"
What could I do? I cuddled. Mike and his courtee (Jessica, also one of my best friends) had just arrived. Grandma, Grandpa, and various cousins all passed through my field of vision.
"Burgee, I really have to go."
"Mmmpfh!"
I disentangled myself and went to talk to Jessica while we set the table.
"Tis, can you make mashed potatoes?"
"Sure, Mom!"
"Just don't put any blue food coloring in them this time," Mike quipped, alluding to an error of my youth.
"Hey, it was you who stirred them and turned the whole pot of potatoes sky blue!"
I put mustard in. Mike didn't have to know, and it really helps the overall taste. Jessica looked a little tired.
"How's the hospital, Jess?"
"It's great, but hard. I've learned to sleep only 5.5 hours."
"That's not good, kiddo. You're gonna get sick."
We sat down to a fabulous dinner. Steak, two kinds of greens, potatoes, chocolate-covered cherries, coffee, wine, icecream cake (created by Marjorie, who is a confectionary genius)... oh wow...
"Kids, the show starts in half an hour. Let's load up!"
St. Joan was great. Discussing it afterwards was even more fun. And who should I see first when we get to the theater, but my adorable little brother...
"Krasiva!"
"Danya!"
With Davy, I try to speak a little Russian, because that is what he loves.
Bed.
Thursday Morning:
"It's snowing hard, Chris. We won't be going to PHC this morning."
"Huzzah! I'll email my professors."
Classes cancelled. Joy upon joy known before! Charity appeared in my range of vision.
"Tisy, come huff and puff with us!"
I gave her a flummoxed look. "Huff and puff?"
"Excercise! You can sit on the bed and entertain us while Mom and Marjie and I do our workout."
"I was going to go have my quiet time, actually..."
"Oh, come on!"
What could I do? I sat on the bed and they began flapping their arms in unison. I just about died laughing...
"Tisy, you're supposed to be entertaining us!"
"Well, how shall I entertain you?"
"Tell us about your love life."
I grinned at Charity. "Sorry, babe, I don't have one."
Mom's deep bathtub was available...
"Tisy, will you braid my hair?"
"Certainly Churdee, but look who I have in my sweatshirt."
"Awww! Hi, Emma!"
Our ferret's head poked sleepily out over my sweatshirt zipper. Charity fondled it. "Do you need a hairbrush?"
"And a hairtie. I'll meet you downstairs."
I threw on one of Daddy's old blue button-down shirts, jeans, and put my hair back in a French braid. Haven't done that in ages, but Marjie had hers the same way, and it appealed to me. Charity's hair took a long time to braid, but how often do I get to handle sunshine? Not often enough.
Marjorie tied on her apron. I sat on the counter to talk to her.
"Okay Burgee, here's how it works. You haven't had the 3rd Conjugation yet, but there are these four verbs, and in the imperative the 'e' drops off the end of all of them. So: dic (speak), duc (lead), fac (make), and fer (bring). Those are used so much that they got elided. So if I say to you "dic ad me verba in lingua Latinae..."
"Speak... toward me?... words... in tongue of Latin?"
"'Speak to me words in the Latin language,' basically. Lingua takes the ablative because of in, and Latinae has to be genitive because it's the 'language of Latin'".
"Well, I'm going ad parentes..."
"You mean Mom and Dad?"
"I mean the grandparents."
"Ah. That might be meliores parentes...I'm not sure."
We wandered into the piano and began to play with split chords.
"G/D means that you play all the notes of the G chord with your right hand, and the D in octave with your left hand."
"Why?"
"That's just the way they set it up."
Nate wandered through on his way to the warehouse.
"Okay people! We're filming now, so no screaming, no running, no throwing of punches."
"Who's filming?"
"Mom is filming training tapes for Tapestry."
"Oh."
And so on. You never know what's coming next around here, but I hope that you can see, through my eyes, that it is the dearest places on earth...or at least, mihi (to me).
Lord God, who am I that you have blessed me as much as this? I am a thought and a vapor, a moment upon the earth, and a rebellious moment, a moment of sin against the holy eternal God... but you have saved me out of my darkness and brought me into your marvelous, polychrome light... as stained-glass windows and the sunrise is your presence, and as a heart overfilled with laughter is your service. To be the slave of Christ is to be free from all fear of death. Domine, Domine mei, orabo te nunc et semper, si dabis me ocules videre te ut tu es.... Lord, my Lord, I will worship you now and always, if you will give me eyes to see you as you are...
For without your Spirit, Lord, I do not see you, and without your love I am lost in a darkened cave.
posted by Praelucor at 11:09 AM
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