Weekend Reflecting

We are home in Ohio now. Hard to imagine that 5 months ago I was pretty certain I would never be "home in Ohio."

Kevin has already fallen asleep. The weekend of travel and visiting left him exhausted. Me too but I need to unwind a little before sleep will come. I don't know why I'm so tired these days; I tell Kevin it's my way of being supportive--sharing his tiredness.

It's quiet tonight--it's usually quiet here, but tonight is a particularly nice quiet after such a busy weekend and I'm enjoying the memories.

Brother--er, Father--Patrick's ordination was beautiful for so many reasons. His story, his journey to this point, is a wonderful affirmation of faith and knowing what we know of it made the day even sweeter. Our other Patrick was the photographer of the day and, as I look through the digital files of his photos, it's a joy to see the smiles lighting up Father Patrick's face throughout the weekend.

I made a little montage of some of Patrick's great photos of the day.

Celebrating the ordination with dear friends from St. Tom's just added to the sweetness of the day. Joan, Johanna, Zelda, Charlotte and Patrick met us at the Cathedral so we could sit together. We all went to the lunch at St. Tom's afterwards then met again on Sunday morning for Father Patrick's first Mass.

Even more amazing was the surprise of seeing Elaina Balser at the ordination. She is friends with the newly ordained diocesan priest and was there to celebrate his day. We barely had a moment to visit before our schedule and hers called us in different directions but it was a wonderful gift to even get to say hello in person. John wasn't with her--he was at a conference in another state. I'm glad she was able to see Kevin and can report back to John! Kevin may not feel great, but he looks wonderful and it's always reassuring to friends to see him looking much better than they might imagine.

Saturday night was devoted to Andrea's birthday and spending some time with Kate. Another late night but rewarding in time spent with people we love. Miss Kate has written a song relative to her recent break-up with James and she brought her guitar to the pool to share it with us. It's a good piece. I'll try to get a recording of it and post it here sometime.

This morning we headed out after Mass and met Kelly and Paige in Indianapolis for lunch. There's a good chance we won't be able to be there later this month for Kelly's birthday so this was a nice time to celebrate in advance. It was fun to spend some time with the girls and Kevin had the satisfaction of knowing he had time with all three of his daughters. He misses the individual time he used to sneak in with each of them.

We had to squeeze in a quick stop at the house in Lafayette--sewer problems for the tenants. This is the kind of thing I dreaded when we became absentee landlords. We'll have to call Mark the sewer guy tomorrow to deal with it. And I am resolved to not over work it in my mind in advance.

So I'm going to return to the pleasant recollection of a weekend filled with faith and friends and family. Good night to you and may God bless you all!