Scenic Routes: Letting the dust settle.

So, I bid adieu to our Marathon Team this morning at 645, and am now in the process of catching up on the laundry (and obsessively checking my FaceBook to see if any of my Scramble Games are in "my turn" mode.)

I kind of feel like I need to clarify things on the whole shaving-in-the-nude thing.

Firstly, Kevin didn't have any idea that I was in the hallway. It was nearly a half hour after the house had been stilled for the night. Jordie had gotten me up, and we'd been downstairs. It was he who had knocked on Kevin's door, and in all likelihood, Kevin probably imagined it was just a 'whisper through the door' sort of comment. Also, the guys had been in and out of the one bathroom, and I'm sure that Kevin was just keeping the bathroom clear, seeing as he had an electric razor, and could just as easily shave over Kelly's trash can, as over the bathroom sink. Oh, and one last thing - it was STINKIN' hot on Saturday night. And the bedrooms are upstairs, and they just hold in the sweltering heat, and when the marathon team comes up to stay with us, they travel VERY light (one backpack each), and their night-clothes are these heavy fleece track-suits, because it's usually FRIGID where we live at night, even in July, because of the fog that rolls in around 8pm. So really, Kevin's choices for sleepwear were the oven-suit, or the birthday-suit.

Oh, and as a by-the-way. After the guys left this morning, I started laundry, and was getting to the mess in the kitchen, when there was a knock at the door. It was Jordie. Whoops. They'd forgotten to give me back my camera.

The great thing about having guests like this, though, is the sense of affirmation that they give me as a hostess.

I make the most basic food for them, and it's like they'd NEVER had such exquisite stuff before.

I give them a couch-cushion in a pillowcase, and a blanket, and it's like I'd just opened the door of the penthouse suite at the RItz to them.

We sit down to eat around a crowded table that I've forgotten to put even the basic condiments on, and their swirl of conversation always comes back to what a wonderful family we have, and what a blessing we are, and I just want to pump my fist in the air and say "We rock!" instead of "thanks for being here".

But now, today, I have a 'letting the dust settle' day stretched out ahead of me. There's laundry running, and Skip and Nate have just staggered downstairs, and are playing a bit on the Xbox. Kelly's still sawing logs.

Once I've eaten, and gotten a few more loads run through the washer, I'll be heading off to the thrift store to drop of nearly a full van of 'stuff we don't need any more', as part of my "Turning Our Room Into A Zen Sanctuary" goal for the week. It was my goal last week, too, but I kind of stalled. Er, and I think it was my goal the week before last, too. Whoopsie. Let's draw this goal to a close, shall we?

Strange stories that are true:

Last summer, we'd just come back from our Quebec/Maritimes vacation to discover that my friend and neighbour, Renee (and her family), had vanished from our street, leaving the only home they'd ever really known after some wierdness with her father/landlord. As it happened, the city that they moved to was the same city that the Marathon Team was using as a home base last summer, so when the team was staying with us, I asked Kevin if he'd consider taking "housewarming" flowers to her at her new address. He was happy to do it for me, as he and the team had just spent a wonderful weekend with us, at our table, and under our roof, and he was more than happy to do something a little out of his way as a 'thankyou'. So the next week he had stopped by her new house, brought her flowers from me (I gave him cash, and suggested a bouquet from the local Safeway florist department), and gave her suggestions for churches in the area, as he was quite familiar with the place.

Fast forward to this last week.

I'm driving home from Kung Fu with Kelly when I notice that my neighbour's garage door is open, and she's just getting out of her car.

"Kelly! Quick! Get the flowers, we're going to meet the new neighbour!" (I hadn't told Kelly that Renee and her family were back in town).

And so, with tears and hugs, we're welcoming them BACK home in the middle of the street.

Her first words: "Oh, Kem, you have NO idea what a blessing it was last summer when you sent that man over with flowers. He couldn't have come at a better time. The flowers were such a joy, and his church recommendation was Bang On. We ended up going there all year, and it was a perfect fit for us. I want to get your friend's address, so I can write to him, and tell him how he really touched our lives this last year."

My response: "Oh, well why don't you tell him in person, seeing as he's going to be staying at our place THIS WEEKEND"

Yup. The Marathon Team showed up the very next day.

Renee could NOT believe it.

And so it was that on Saturday evening, just after supper, she showed up at our place, and practically squished the air out of Kevin in a big Thank You Hug.

And once again, I was so impressed with his grace and his wisdom, as we discovered what had transpired since she and her family had been away. It was not a pretty tale. But she told it to Kevin (a man she had only met once) and I, and we laughed and cried, and hugged, and Kevin said some of the most touching things that really impressed me, and really helped Renee. The man gives such wise counsel.

It is not my story to tell. Suffice it to say that I am so glad that she is back, and she is so glad that we live on the same street. And there is much work to do, and much healing that I am ready to be used in.

Hey. Are these things illegal here?