1/3 of the way done already?!

At work this week, someone reminded me that I'm a THIRD of the way through this internship.  Where the HECK did those 4 weeks go?!

Anyway, first off, I want to tell you about something that happened this past week.  I haven't been feeling well (I think it's allergies), and yard work didn't look appealing.  Instead, I decided to water the plants really quick and call it a day.  After stepping outside (barefoot and cellphone-less, might I add), I realized that the mudroom door had closed behind me... And it automatically locks... And I didn't have my keys... AND Tamar was out of town on business for another week.  2 1/2 hours later, and 5 bazillion phone calls later (and after waking up the next-door tenant to have her help me get in touch with Tamar), a plumber that lives 30 minutes away came to save my butt.  The butt saving became mutual, because he had left a paint trail from the door to where he left the paint stick the other day... I told him I'd clean that up for him.  Lesson learned: NEVER leave the house without your keys! You usually learn that lesson once and never learn it again.

Secondly, I want to proclaim that I LOVE OLD PEOPLE!!!  They are the greatest people to talk to about their lives.  They have SO many fun stories and a keen sense of looking at life simply.  I went to a church dinner and started up a conversation with Bob who must have been at least 85+ years old.  He's a very old, small, sweet gentleman who was keeping to himself the entire night.  After chatting with Dorothy (another one of my geriatric friends, as Tamar likes to call them), I sat next to Bob and heard his life story.  It was awesome!  He was drafted into the military before he was even out of high school and was a part of WWII.  Long story short, he transferred from the Army to the Air Force and became a teacher for a class he took and did well in.

He retired from the service after 9 1/2 years and tried to find work.  We talked about how hard it is for military veterans to find work, and many resort to alcoholism to deal with the trauma they experienced.  It's true.  I've seen it recently, and talking to Bob helped me understand that 1) Being in the service is a HUGE sacrifice, and all come back home scarred and hurt. And 2) The gospel can be a great blessing in this situation.  Turning to Christ rather than alcohol is a much better alternative.