Matters of Interpretation

Last week, we realized that almost everyone, including me, was going to be out of town this Sunday, so if anyone ended up discussing Genesis 19 they’ll have to fill me in next week.

From what I could tell from my advance copy of the order of service, the preacher of the day was going to skip over the part of 2 Thessalonians 3 that seems most directly related to Labor Day [“anyone unwilling to work should not eat,” a popular memory verse with my dad], and go straight to “peace at all times and in all ways.”

That would have been nice.

“Peace” might not have leapt first to mind to describe the activities of our short family trip to Beavercreek, Ohio. We got on the road about four hours later than planned, after waiting for 20% of the cats to saunter up the driveway. We concluded she’d been waiting for the vet to close, thinking our fake-nonchalant calls and rattling of treat cannisters were the usual lame efforts to get her to an appointment. If she’d known we were leaving for a couple of days she’d no doubt have stayed away longer.

On the other hand, we missed the rush hour traffic through Cincinnati.

On the other other hand, we missed going out to dinner with D’s parents and catch-up chatting, since we arrived just in time for everyone to lock up and turn the lights out.

The next morning dawned, if you could call it that, damp and a little chilly for the last day of August. Not exactly A-list weather for D’s sister’s reasonably gigantic housewarming open house + our niece’s 21st birthday party, so the morning featured periodic more or less anxious glances at the sky, appraisals of what direction the clearing was taking, what percentage of the sky looked potentially clear, and other weather-related commentary.

But then, it did not rain, or anyway not noticeably. People arrived. There was enough food and enough pop and enough coffee. All the dogs got along, including The Puppy, who entertained the new 4-year-old, who entertained the gathering as “The Official Dog Walker.” (The Puppy is not quite 5 pounds yet. This turned out to be a good thing for The Official Dog Walker’s balance.)

The ODW joined the family guest list along with several other assorted relatives after the wedding in June. The newlyweds, for their part, were looking happy and healthy. Everyone liked their presents and cards.

There were no accidents, health emergencies, casualties, or trips to the emergency room.

Today, we got back in plenty of time for the second shift at Cluckers, a binding constraint for our daughter. Alive, and not noticeably less well than when we left. 100% of the cats greeted us, not too grumpily.

Peace should have leapt to mind after all.