This and That

Here at the end of a long and full week, I finally have some time to catch up.  The week after school closes is always at least as busy as the last week itself, but we seldom remember that until we are knee-deep into it.  Long days, lengthy meetings, and way too many opportunities to overeat were the fodder of our days.

These two splendid additions to the herd came this week from Suzan and Jane No Blog respectively.  I don't know that I've ever seen a cow as happy as Suzan's.  Unless it would be Jane's.  Thank you, my friends.

We've had a house guest since Sunday in the form of my seminary classmate Sharon who serves a congregation in Massachusetts and had come to town to take an intensive class at the seminary.  She's just about the easiest guest to have -- pleasant company, gets along famously with Joe, helps in the kitchen but not too much, not a picky eater, fan of Blackberry (and he of her), spectacular grace-sayer -- and we were sorry to see her pull out this morning but are happy to know we'll see her later on in the summer on her turf.

I've been reading this book in the little bit of free time I have.  No recollection of how I heard of it.  And it is, in fact, best read in small pieces.  Because it is extraordinarily well-written and I need time to digest between segments.

The author is the father of a boy with a complex syndrome so rare that there are perhaps fewer than 200 individuals worldwide, rendering it an "orphan syndrome," one that medical research doesn't grant much time or energy.  Mr. Brown writes with excruciating candor about family life and complicated feelings.

It is scarcely the sort of book I can say I "enjoyed."  But I am glad that I am reading it and learning quite a bit from it.