Runaway Princesses

Yesterday was Heidi and John's wedding. Her father referred to this newest son-in-law as the Third John, since two of his other three sons-in-law are also named John (or Jon).

One of the fun things about this wedding was that all of the girls in high school when Heidi was a senior wore the same kind of red dresses to the wedding. They sang "An Irish Blessing" together at the reception. Frieda, who is Heidi's sister, served as the spokesperson for the group, and said that there's a story behind the name they came to call themselves (Runaway Princesses or RP's), but she suggested that everyone just use their imaginations to figure out what that story might be. I wish I knew.

I was at school during the whole time they were there, and those girls felt like my girls, but I never heard the RP story. Sheila G., Sheila R., Ida, Frieda, Karen, and Rosalyn made up the group. They were a close-knit group, partly because Heidi, as the oldest among them, and the only senior, reached out to them and helped mold them into a loyal and supportive bunch.

When Heidi started dating John, he was duly inspected and approved by this group of girls. I suddenly understood better what was happening several weeks ago when that bunch of girls, minus only a few of them, showed up at Farmer's Market to meet David, Rosalyn's new boyfriend. It must have been the same kind of inspection John was subjected to. Afterward they came back by my booth and reported that he passed. Any prospective spouse of one of these fine young ladies should take note and begin to study now for this test.

The Anonymous Somebodies--the quartet made up of Heidi, Crystal, John M., and Shane--sang Heidi a funny farewell song at the reception, with Dorcas singing instead of Heidi. They parodied "Honey in the Rock," to say "There's a honey in Calico Rock for you"--a reference to Heidi and John having met at Calvary Bible School in Calico Rock, AR. The song also poked gentle fun at Heidi's habit of showing up late to quartet practices, always with a sweet apology: "Sorry guys"--as she gave her stray hank of hair a nervous little twist. Good clean fun for everyone.

Heidi will be moving to Ohio. There's talk too of her two unmarried sisters and her parents moving again to Kenya, where all of them have left part of their hearts during past years of service there. I'd love to have them all stay here, but I can't think of their leaving as a tragedy, because I believe God's hand is in it.

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Shane and Dorcas' first anniversary is today, and today is Shane's birthday. They have been in Kansas since Wednesday, when they arrived here from Virginia where Shane sang with Laudate. Shane worked at his old job on Thursday and Friday and Shane and Dorcas both helped sing at Heidi's wedding. This morning they sang again with several others at Northminster Presbyterian Church in Hutchinson--a last minute deal planned since they're here. After a carry-in dinner at church, they headed out for Colorado, in time to get back into their Choice Books saddle early tomorrow morning. While they were here, they stayed at their Abbyville house where Joel and Hilda live.

We had one meal with them here. The best part of that day was spending the afternoon with Hilda and Dorcas here cooking the evening meal. I can't believe it took us all afternoon, but when the goal is doing something together it really doesn't matter how long it takes. It was all a pleasure. We baked European-style bread and a birthday/anniversary cake, cleaned and Frenched green beans, made meatloaf and gazpacho salad and a fancy pasta salad. But Joel and Hilda had a birthday celebration to attend later that evening and Shane and Dorcas had a singing practice, so we couldn't linger long around the supper table.

We consoled ourselves with the knowledge that we'll see them again this Wednesday, if all goes according to plan. Hiromi and I plan to visit them in Colorado, slipping away for Friday evening and Saturday to attend a Mannatech meeting in Denver, and then returning to their house for Sunday. Hiromi hopes to make a Choice Books run with Shane on Thursday, while Dorcas gets a day off and I get to spend it with her.

We plan to go to the Flying W on Thursday evening--something Hiromi and I did on our honeymoon. That should put us all in touch with our inner cowboy in a dose large enough to last for another 28 years. Going to the Flying W is Exhibit A in my "submissive wife" museum--or maybe I should just hang a "Not My Idea" label on it. I don't hate such things, but I fit the solid farm wife mold much better than the "Ride 'em cowgirl" one. I'm sure that's obvious to everyone who sees me in such surprising places as the Flying W.

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Does anyone need zucchini, or yellow crookneck summer squash, or Patty Pan (Scallop) squash? We have an abundance, and haven't resorted so far to stuffing them into unlocked cars, but we're considering it.

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The water pump quit working this morning during church. Several of the men labored throughout the service to find and replace the broken wire responsible for the failure, and got everything put together just about the time of the benediction. Meanwhile, a large insulated water jug was placed in the foyer, and someone from Nislys drove home one mile and towed back the porta-pots they rent out as part of their waste disposal service.

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We've had triple digit temperatures this weekend again. Thank God for air conditioning, especially when dressing up two days in a row is called for.

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Max has escaped his confines in the garage each of the past two days. Tonight we feared the worst when we couldn't find the guineas or ducks and saw feathers scattered in the greenhouse where we've set up the living quarters for the young poultry.

But they were safe and sound, and Max escaped our worst fury. Like Clifford, he is the diggingest dog.

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Yesterday's paper had a nice article about Angelo, and his work in Sudan.

Today's paper pictured my nephew Bryant, with his grand champion 4H meat goat.

There was also the death announcement of Jay, who was our neighbor at one time, and helped Shane with feeding his 4H steer, Rambo.

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Tomorrow morning most of our youth group members plan to leave for a work project in Mexico, at the Shining Light children's home. Marvin's family and Lowell's family will accompany them. None of the donations and fundraising has gone to purchase airline tickets, but toward buying materials for the projects they're working on, etc.

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Willis N. got kicked by a horse yesterday. He has trained horses for years, and trusted the two horses he was working with, but there was tension between them and one lashed out with both hind hoofs and caught Willis in the midsection. He had excruciating pain, and underwent exploratory surgery today.

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Norma planned a gathering this afternoon for her and me and the girls who will be together at the high school this year. We ate ice cream and talked about our summer and the upcoming school year, and had a nice time.

I plan to work at school tomorrow. I guess this marks the official end of my sabbatical.

It almost feels like I was never away from school, but I know that I would feel much less ready to go back if I had not had a whole year off.