The Prodigal Blogger Returns.

So yes, it has been awhile. I apologize. Further, I must ask for your forgiveness concerning the brevity of this blog, since I know most of you are more accustomed to my lengthier bouts of introspection. As the clock is soon to click past midnight and I have the eager, upturned faces of twenty-two seventh graders awaiting me 8:00 in the morning, the details will be sparse.

First off, things are as well as they should. This means that I wish them to be better is some ways, yet considering my resources and circumstance, things are not lesser and than more. Physically, I am well- I still play soccer with the students on an almost daily basis. A recent highlight was embarking on a photography expedition Potter’s Island with some of my fellow  camera-slinging teacher friends; it was a great time!

Outside of that, I have been spending many hours in the early morning lesson planning, grading, and doing my best at what others have named “organizing” although it never really seems to be the end result.

Friends, I must say that the work load is beginning to wear me around the edges, and I am in need of time with the Lord. It is a shame that our highest priorities are sometimes the first thing to dissolve when pressing needs are close at hand. If you are willing, please pray for encouragement as I enter the week of student evaluations, unit projects, and late, late nights.

Strong Winds and Wedding Cakes.

“Phumpfh…”

The sickening thud echoed within the ears of the hundred-plus guests, all silently begging the sound to be the byproduct of something of far lesser significance. It was not. The unspoken fear of every young (and elderly) bride had become a nightmarish reality at my sister’s own wedding.  Strong winds had caught up the magnificently white wedding cake and pummeled it against the ground beneath, transforming the tantilizing sculpture into a sight that resembled a shapely mound of fluffly snow against the soft green summer grass.

Truly, this week has been abounding with unanticipated events. Later today I was to find that the reservation for my return flight to Thailand had been cancelled due to the airlines’ ever-so-efficient computer program. I also discovered that my surfing trip to southern Thailand had been tentatively canned at the risk of insufficient waves. Beyond this, life is fantastic.

The wedding was held outdoors amidst the vibrant arrays of rose bushes of the Hershey Gardens, with a massive grove of white oaks serving to shade the guests. The ceremony was refreshingly brief, the food tasteful and delicate, and ofcourse Maria and John both radiated with a glow that seemed as though it would remain long after the guests had filtered out.

The cases of pinot grigio now sit empty and dry, the petals of exquisite bouquets have withered and curled like old women’s hands, but the sweetness of the memories remain vivid long after the objects of temporary aesthetics fade. Interesting- how the abstract thoughts in our mind can attain such higher value over the things we can touch, taste, and feel with our hands.

To end this entry on a lighter note, Maria was fantastic about the whole wind/wedding cake fiasco (much to  the intense relief of Bridget, the wedding planner) and was thankful that Amanda Kraft, her fabulous wedding photographer, had bustled over to capture the splendor of the imposing pastry as soon as it was set in place in case “anything should happen to it.” Heh, heh. By the way Amanda, if you actually are reading my blog as you said you would, thanks for all the great tips, I had a great time with you and your Pops!

I am tired as I write this. Tomorrow morning will see me on my sojourn back towards the airport in the hours that roosters hit their REM sleep. But, I’m returning to Thailand, and that makes me smile.

Stay tuned.

Two Siblings, Two Weddings, Too Much Dairy.

Question- Is it a positive sign when all the flight attendants, as if on cue, cease from amidst their chores and abscond to the back of the plane to buckle in? In my case, definitely not so. I pondered this very question close to a week ago as I hurtled 40,000 feet above the Pacific Ocean, the black void of its icy swell beneath me. The plane lurched. Hard. Like the town-drunk-on-payday-night hard. I could taste the tension of the passengers huddled around me, nervously pecking at their television remotes. This time, the jerk came so violently that lights flickered. Screams echoed harshly against the confining walls. Maybe I wouldn’t be needing that return ticket after all.

I found myself for a brief return to the States after three harrowing weeks of teaching junior high English at my school, GES. I have one brother and one sister, both of whom are being wedded two consecutive weekends from each other on different parts of the continent: Wisconsin for Shane, Pennsylvania for Maria.

First up, Shane.

The whole experience was fairly surreal, considering none of the family had ever met Jana (excluding Shane, of course), his fiance, or her adjoining family, so it was all a little rushed. Also, my heavily induced jetlag state intertwined with Wisconsin-rich dairy products and intensely meaty dishes probably added to the tumultuousness of the occasion on my part. We weren’t really sure what to expect, but Jana ended up being a very sweet girl, quite a good match for our dear Shane. The wedding was a tastefully austere event- the wedding flowers were a gorgeously wild assortment of tiger lilies, daffodils, and anything else that grew in substantial quantities along Wisconsin highways.

Wedding day crept upon us with gentle ease. I was the best man, along with two of Shane’s friends from bible school, Jason and Matt. Both of them quirky in a rather hilarious sort of way. The wedding was held at Frame Park, a tranquil piece of earth composed of flowers gardens, walkways, and the wandering flow of the Fox river. Shane was handsome- the long dark locks of his hair hung loosely against his intricately-designed barong, a traditional Filipino dress shirt that every male in the wedding party wore. Of course, the bride was beaming and beautiful in an eager way.

Fabulous weather- an unbroken turquoise sky, a gentle breeze washed over our hot faces throughout the ceremony. Eclectic is a good word for the service; Filipino dress, interwoven with Jewish traditions, and Gaelic dancing like a pleasant cherry to top off the day’s formalities. Truly, it was a good wedding.

Shockingly, I did survive the plane ride (I know all of you have been reading in eager suspense), it amounted to little more than sever turbulence, and so far, I have had one wedding down and one more to go. Pennsylvania has not changed in the three weeks I have been gone, but I really do wonder how much will have altered when I return to Thailand on the latter part of the week.

It looks as though I will still be getting to use that return ticket back.