Surprise

Last week I was given an awesome early birthday present: a train ticket to go up to my old church for Ascension. Plans were made last Monday night for me to come up that Wednesday and stay until that Saturday. I had known about it when I wrote my last post but it was a surprise and didn't want to say anything. It was EXTREMELY hard keeping it a secret for two days until arriving at church for Vespers Wednesday night. I am good at keeping other people's secrets but have a hard time keeping my own :-) My train left early in the morning and my gram was gracious enough to drive me to the station and see me off. Her sister came to stay with her for a few days so I wasn't too worried. Aunt E's son was at one of the local hospital's for surgery. (But more on that later.)

The train ride was uneventful for the most part, except I now know that train bathrooms are not the most fun. It was a relief getting back on stable ground, though I still felt like I was being jostled around. I sat in the lobby and watched people while waiting for my second train. There was a group of Amish families in the lobby as well and I had the pleasure of watching an Amish man pick food out of his beard and eat it. There was another family who spoke Arabic, which was nice to listen to. The second train ride was fun because I was able to sit on the north side, allowing me to see Lake Michigan when we passed by. We stopped in New Buffalo, MI and went right by the lighthouse and marina. My friend D picked me up from the station with his baby boy, J, who I met for the first time (outside the womb). We got back to their house in time to make dinner, a vegan enchilada recipe that was quite tasty. My friend's wife, L, came home and we eventually left for church. We were a little late so I wasn't able to talk to my friends until after the service. None of them had seen me since before I left for Morocco over eight months ago. My godmother and her husband were able to make the trip up from Kentucky; I wasn't sure if they were going to be there so it was a nice surprise from them too.

Several priests from local parishes came to celebrate with us

 As mentioned in a previous post, Ascension was a special day for my church for two reasons: My church was named after the Ascension of Christ, making that day its namesday and the new alter was going to be consecrated as well. The service began early Thursday morning with the Consecration service followed by Divine Liturgy. We had a big lunch afterwards and I was able to talk more with my friends. Several of us went out for ice cream. My godparents went home that afternoon so it was nice to spend a little while longer with them. I used to live in their basement and it's hard not having them around. After getting back to my friends' home, D and I weeded part of the garden with the help of the kids from next door. They really worked hard. It was quite warm outside but I wasn't ready to get another sunburn so I borrowed a long sleeve shirt and baseball cap from D. L made AMAZING zucchini pancakes for dinner and thankfully, I had time to write down the recipe.

Both L & D had to work Friday and had me babysit little J. He is a fairly easy-going little muffin when full and wearing a clean diaper. I was trying to clean around the house when he wanted to snuggle so I carried him around in his sling; I felt like a Native American woman carrying a papoose. This was the first time I learned how to change a cloth diaper. After D came home, he showed me how to play Diablo 3 which is an AWESOME game to play, though D will tell you that I was quite skittish. L came home from work and they put together a shopping list for the weekend since they were in charge of coffee hour after church on Sunday. We went to Sam's Club and Meijer; which happen to be two of my favorite stores. Years ago, Gram and I went to SC for groceries and came out with groceries and a new printer. At Sam's Club I pushed J in the cart while L & D went looking for what they needed to buy. Lots of people made comments about how cute J was. After getting back to the house, D and I went back into the garden to plant beans, though without the help of the neighbor kids this time. I also had time to go to my old workplace and see some old friends for a few minutes.

He was comfortable for a long time :-)

Saturday came too quickly and it was time for me to pack up and leave. But before I could go, however, I helped make potato salad for coffee hour. I've never made p-salad to feed 50-60 people before. The original recipe called for 5 lbs. of potatoes and 8 boiled eggs, among other ingredients. We doubled the recipe and I lost track of the number of potatoes I cut up. Making it literally took all morning and I was still trying to get it finished when it was time to head to the train station. L worked all morning so she couldn't go to the station with us. My train was on time and we got to Union Station a few minutes early. The lobby was extremely crowded and I had an even longer wait this time. I was extremely exhausted but was afraid of falling asleep and missing my stop. At one point Gram texted me that we had to hurry Aunt E to the hospital after they picked me up. Her son had two surgeries on his brain during the week and he had been recovering from them when he suffered a stroke. Gram stopped at home on the way so Aunt E could grab some stuff and I was allowed to stay home. On Sunday, I took Aunt E back to the hospital but she wasn't able to stay very long. As of right now, he is able to move certain limbs and he gave the nurse a thumbs up yesterday. Aunt E went home yesterday but is coming again tomorrow. I think she's going to be staying with us off and for a while. It's nice that she has Gram around. My stepdad is in the area this week and he's taking us out to dinner tonight. He and my mom are hoping to come down together at the end of next month. It'll be nice to finally get my summer clothes and shoes.

Until next time,

~Staci~