Trip Pictures

We arrived home last night after sixteen days on the road. Here are a few pictures:

This is Delicate Arch in Utah. That's Seth in the white shirt and me in the red.

These arches were huge. The people in the background were still several hundred feet from the first arch when the picture was taken.

Instead of assigning the dishes to a few people, we all decided to pitch in. So we loaded up all our dishes, soap, towels, and even a drain rack, and marched off to the shower house. Doing the dishes has rarely been so fun.

We spent one day riding the train.

One windy morning it took all of us to get the tent rolled up.

We got to see our cousin Bree get married. Congratulations, Bree!!

Our grandmother gave us her piano, so we rented a U-haul and towed it back to Houston. Here it is coming through the front door.

Our Trip So Far

Right now we are in Grand Junction, Colorado, on the first leg of a swing through southern Utah and southwestern Colorado. Here are just a few glimpses of our past week:

We saw roadrunner eating a mouse.

We saw a truck on fire. We could see the smoke from a mile away.

We had a rear tire blowout at 72 mph. BANG, thump, thump, thump, thump, everybody screams, etc. Fortunately, the rain had stopped three minutes before it happpened.

We met some cousins we hadn't seen in eight years.

Three of us spent the night sleeping under the stars on our grandparents mountain property. Well, we didn't exactly see a lot of stars; it was cloudy all night, and at about 3:00 it started drizzling. We had been told that there was not a chance of our staying out all night, so we were of course obligated to stay out all night, waterlogged though we were. It at least made for lively breakfast conversation.

Taking Leave

This will probably be my last post for a while, but I'm only taking vacation, not retirement. Our family is going to Colorado and Utah for a couple of weeks. I may or may not have time to blog and access to the internet concurrently at any point while we're gone; if not, I will at least check back in by the end of the month.

Here is a link to a beautiful song, "Hold My Hand". It's written and sung by a girl we met several months ago. The song is the one at the top.

Heroism

I am currently reading a novel which is set in post-Dunkirk France. The hero is Mr. Howard, a 70-year-old Englishman who had been visiting in France when the Nazis invaded Holland, Belgium, and France. He has no extraordinary abilities, nor is he an important person who can demand attention or respect. In the course of the plot, Mr. Howard is made responsible for several children as he makes his way with them back to England though war-torn France. I feel like there is something compelling about the way a physically feeble man is obliged to rise up and protect the even more helpless children. This book has made me aware of how accustomed I am to heros being young, strong, or quite capable in some important way. I am reminded that heroism may or may not look impressive to other people. The essence of heroism is doing what you know you must do, and sacrificing what is yours for others.

Papa's Birthday

Yesterday evening we celebrated Papa's birthday. Papa and I actually share a birthday in August, but several years ago we started celebrating Papa's birthday in June. Yes, it's true, we have Papa's Birthday and Papa's Birthday, Observed. To observe this holiday, we ate cake and ice cream, decorated our good-natured father with a funny hat and balloon, and had a good time generally. In a few weeks, we will continue our observance by going to the circus together.




This is obviously a man secure in his manhood.

Papa has been the greatest father for me. He taught me good morals and careful reasoning. His sacrificial leadership and his willingness to swim against the cultural current are examples that will influence me for the rest of my life. On the occasion of his birthday, I am acutely aware of how blessed I am by him.

Singing

I just finished a singing class. If you had asked me a year ago if I would ever take a voice lesson, my answer would have been something like "I can already sing, can't I?" I have come to realize that being able to hit the desired note and making people want to listen to you are two entirely different matters. Now that I've received some great pointers on how to use my voice properly, I'm going to be motivated to practice singing just as I practice any instrument. I think I am also going to have a lot more enjoyment and confidence with my singing now. I feel like a flatpicker who has only been picking down when someone tells him to pick down and up.