Suburban Bliss

Just a lovely end-of-calendar-year gathering with our small group of young couples we do Bible study with this past weekend. Our hosts live in the inner burbs, so the kids reveled in the many adventures associated with having a yard, ending up spending an inordinate amount of time using shovels and wagons to move pieces of ice from the corner of the yard to the middle of the lawn. This, plus copious amounts of basement romper room time and a steady stream of desserts, kept the little ones happy and occupied, affording pleasant adult conversation for hours on end. I can’t begin to tell you how warm and relaxing that was, as was the delicious food I ate far too much of but with no regret at all.

To further give you a sense of what nice company I keep, the dramatic end of the Eagles game was watched with giddy excitement by all but me, my thoughtful wife shooing me into the next room so as not to spoil the suspense for me, since I would not be watching the game until the next morning. I always appreciate when people don’t blow the surprise for me, but always feel I am cheating them of being able to fully express themselves in the moment, which is of course the real satisfaction of being able to watch an exciting event. But, again, everyone couldn’t have been more thoughtful to me, and stifled their enthusiasm with nary a peep of negativity.

All in all, just a great time together, for which Amy and I are so thankful. We had thought about catching the tail end of our church’s caroling through the neighborhood on our way home, but decided to just make a beeline home for baths, pajamas, stories, and bed. The kids were in bed before 7, I before 8, and Amy not far behind me: that’s how happily tired we all were. Plus, I knew I had an exciting football game to watch the next morning!