chestnutcurls | En la casa!

I'm back! I had an interesting trip. On the whole, it was very good. Evan took this picture of me at large group one morning. It's not too clear at this size, but it's proof that indeed, I was at summer conference. :)

The trip did not get off to the best start. My plane to Tallahassee was late, and it was one of those commuter planes that seat about 20 people. My seat was right next to the wing, and there was a hole in the engine cover which was patched by- I kid you not- a piece of tinfoil. I watched that tinfoil for the entire flight, wondering what I should do if I saw it come off. But as we landed, I started smiling and smiling. It always happens to me when I go to Florida. Something in my body knows that I am going Home, and I am full of joy, and my heart is singing the Orange Blossom Song. (Phillip, you might understand. :))

I was amused by the Tallahassee airport. I had been concerned about finding Harris, but the place was the size of my office building, so I sat down in the hallway to wait. (Yes. THE hallway.) After a few minutes, I saw Evan coming through the door. I had just seen him the night before, but I was happy to see him, and so pleased that he came to get me. Silly, but it was one of the better moments of the trip. :)

We went back to Harris's parents' house, where we all spent the weekend. On Saturday, we went skiing. It was fun. On Sunday (Mother's Day), Ryan took me to Publix to get a cake, due to my obsession with Publix and its bakery. (Yes, Steve, Publix is only in Florida and Georgia, and no one is sadder about it than me. :)) I was upset at the time, due to events which I will not document in this journal, and Ryan could see I was in need of cheering up. He suggested we have something fun written on the cake. After much consideration, we ran back to the bakery.
Brenda: Do you write things on the cakes for free?
Bakery Girl: Yes, what would you like?
Brenda: (laughing) "Happy Mother's Day, Harris."
Bakery Girl: (puzzled) Harris?
Brenda and Ryan: (hysterical, unable to get words out) Yes!
Bakery Girl: May I ask what's so funny?
(Ryan, later: "You're putting a man's name on a Mother's Day cake! Do you not see what's funny about that?")
So we got our cake. Everyone laughed. Harris was, um, surprised. :) That night, a few of us sat up late singing RUF songs, and it was a really special time.

On Monday we drove over to Panama City for the conference. And so began five days of good teaching and hanging out on the beach (and inter-group conflicts, but I won't talk about those here). I took some wonderful seminars, which I will talk about later. The main speaker was Jeffrey Lancaster, a pastor from New Orleans. He was incredible. I wish I could go to his church. :)

On Wednesday night, there was a talent show. It was undoubtedly won by a band from the Oklahoma RUF called Where Are My Pants? I can't express in words how hilarious they are. Think early Barenaked Ladies. They have a song about a man who is a clown, but insists that he's not. I was hurting from laughing so hard. They have a CD, which I have ordered, and as soon as I find their website, I will be linking to them. :)

Thursday night was our group night out. We went to Buffalo Bob's for seafood. I got shrimp and crab cakes, which were very good. Then we went to an arcade that we go to every year. Evan and I were the only ones who vaguely remembered where it was, so of course, we got lost. It was a beautiful night, and there were a whole bunch of us in the van with the windows down, all dressed up, lost, and singing along to "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" by Chicago at the top of our lungs. It was fun. :)

So I had fun, but it was definitely a "growing" trip. I did a lot of thinking, realized a lot of things, and dealt with a lot of problems. It was not like the carefree summer conferences of old. But I don't think that's bad. I am very glad that I had the experience. Maybe I will share some of my reflections later.

Congratulations to anyone who made it this far. Hey, I have to make up for my absence, right? :)