a roller coaster ride... or a quick european tour?

You may have noticed it's been a while since I posted. Sorry about that - but perhaps you found other lovely summer activities to fill the time that you might have been spending reading my blog. I know I've been busy doing just that!

When people ask me how my summer is going, a common answer goes something like this this:

"It feels like a roller coaster ride - very fast, very exciting, but I hope it's over soon because if it goes on much longer like this I might get a little nauseous...

"Or perhaps one of those Europe-in-seven days bus or train tours. You know the kind when you board a bus and see the sites of a new country every day. It's Monday so this must be Venice... it's Paris so it must be Friday... When we get home we'll figure out what we saw.

I'm looking forward to getting home and looking at the pictures so I can process all that I'm seeing and experiencing."

I am looking forward to the slow down. (if it ever comes...)
Perhaps you know how I feel.

We graduated with M.Div. degrees in late May.
We candidated at Valleyview Mennonite Church in London.
We were called as pastors.
We accepted the call. (We start mid September)
Kendall started interning as a chaplain at Goshen Hospital.
Kendall's dad retired from over 40 years of pastoring. (Congratulations!)
We went to a big gala to celebrate this in Toronto.
We bought a house in London. (pictures will come later)
Good friends are moving away, and we're making time to see them before they go.
I have had another birthday.
My mother retired from 30 years of teaching.
I wrote two papers to complete requirements from the semester.
I took my final course of my seminary career (Medical Ethics)
We had a big family reunion in Ontario.
We camped with family in Algonquin.
We visited friends and my Little Sister in Toronto
I am writing one final paper for Medical Ethics this week.
I am also writing a sermon for Kern Road, preaching this Sunday.
Then we pack, and move to our new house.
Then we settle in for a few weeks.
Then we go to BC for two weeks to visit Kendall's 94-yr-old Grandma and several friends and family members - and hopefully climb a mountain and visit Pender Island in the midst of it all.
Then we start in our new role as pastors in London.

Whew! But in the midst of it all, the tomatoes are ripening, the zuchinni are coming in faster than we can snap our fingers, the green beans are heavy on the plants, the peppers are ready and the basil is ready for one big batch of pesto. The sun has been shining, memories of camping with family - spending time on the water, in the water, by the water and around the fire - these memories are fresh and wonderful. New songs learned around that campfire are running through my head, and life is rich and wonderful.

If only the paper would write itself and the boxes pack themselves, then that would be lovely, wouldn't it?