a day in the life

an excerpt from a day last month -

this day was one of those days that demonstrated that life is mixed, that joy and suffering can abide.  good times and difficulty and pain can frame the same experiences of a day.

we started our day with getting up at 5 am to get some early-morning, pre-isaac work done.  he woke about 7 and we kicked in to the morning routine of the family to eat and get ready for school.  together geoff and i walked him to sayre and we raced on to the YMCA for a 20 minute workout.  it was clear and piercingly cold for an october day.

our weekly leadership meeting ran from 9 - 11 am and we had alot to catch up on.  there are so many good things unfolding and working out in the community.  we reflected on school for conversion and the success of that weekend.  then we had a heart-rending discussion of personal pain and struggle within a relationship in the community.  very little could be resolved but we felt our deep and real connection to one another in this interdependent life we've created.

geoff collected isaac from school and his hands were full of scholastic books we'd ordered a month ago.  as we walked, isaac didn't speak the whole way home (a true rarity) as he read through the newly acquired books.  geoff gulped down his lunch and headed out the door to work with kentucky refugee ministries for the afternoon to set up an apartment for refugees arriving from burundi. 

as i prepared tea and coffeecake for a meeting with our neighbor and friend, rona, isaac watched a dvd from the library about the life and teachings of jesus.  during the part when jesus taught his disciples that they must love their neighbor, isaac turned to me and said "mommy, we need to love calvin" (he is our mentally-ill neighbor who we are trying to get to know - he's a bit difficult and angry at times and a little more dangerous than i'm comfortable with).  from the mouth a wee one...

rona arrived and i talked about a possible community garden project on third street.  we shared a lovely two hours together as we spoke of our hope for the neighborhood, discussed what does it mean to be "local" and actively involved in the life of others and of her almost 20 years of experience in this place.  she gave us the great news that the church property upon which we'd like to do a large garden has given an initial green light.  it was very exciting.

jodie arrived as rona was leaving and she, asher, isaac and i left for the park.   as we walked, ryan came up on us on his bike and we talked together about the days events.  we only spent moments at the park because it was time for the kochs to go to kids cafe - a great inner-city program for neighborhood children where they can eat dinner together and do homework.  ryan and jodie  and their son, asher, attend weekly to make friends, love on the children and offer their assistance with school assignments.  i left isaac with them as they all played happily and raced home to meet will samson for a sociological interview he's conducting with several folks in the community. 

will is at the beginning stages of his phd dissertation at u. of kentucky.  we caught up a bit on the news of the community and the garden initiative and finished the interview.  during this time a few neighborhood girls stopped in and ms dee (our neighbor and friend who's been severely maimed by a freak assault fifteen years ago which left her with permament damage on her face and neck) came in with her supper in hand.  she sat with geoff and isaac in the living room and played.  as we said goodbye to will, we gathered our things to get to the kovacevics for dinner. 

isaac ran to the car in his spiderman suit.  ms dee waved goodbye.  we were already late.  we spent the evening with our bosnian friends and their visiting parents who don't speak a word of english.  isaac and tarik ran all over the house.  we ate a plateful of the most delicious pita, a bosnian speciality.  as aida went to pick up dino from his truck, we stayed on and did charades to try to communicate with his parents.  the boys laughed alot together.  it was a beautiful day.