Melancholy Friday

It's been a big week.

1. My mother-in-law had a successful quadruple-bypass surgery on Tuesday. She moved yesterday out of the ICU and is on the road to recovery. God continues to supervise her healing but I think we as a family stand a little shaken. I had not anticipated the emotional toll of her surgery: it feels like a hole has been ripped out of my life. In the 13 years of my marriage to her son, MaryLee has always made me feel loved and like I belong in the Webber family and I now know how much I have relied upon her to just be there. We would go yard sale-ing and book shopping and running about and it was a joy to be with her. I expect we will do so again, but it will be a while until she is able to run around like she is accustomed to. It's not that it is impossible for me to remain standing; I just had not realized until this week just how dependent I was on the pylon with her name on it.

2. I have a dear uncle who is ailing and it is hard to watch his illness from so far away. He had a miraculous rally this week and my mother was able to go and spend some time with him, but no one lives forever. I pray Christ's spirit is ever present for however many days are left.

3.My mother's book Bathsheba's Lament is now in print and available for order here. It seems so strange to have this fierce joy mixed with pain of the events of the last several weeks but that is the normal progression of life.

4. Another very clear joy in my life is my continuing work with the High School students at church. Hope Youth Ministry kicked off its regular season last Sunday night and I was excited to see new faces and old friends and remind them all how much I care about them. One of my spiritual gifts, modeled to me by my mother, is one of encouraging others. Loving these students, writing to them, caring about them, praying for them is truly a joy. I love to start and end my weeks with them on Sunday nights.

5. Movie Update:

March 12
Green Zone (never managed to see it-we were too sick to go out when my folks were visiting for Easter; waiting for video)
April 2
Clash of the Titans (poor reviews; may see it on video)
April 23
The Losers (saw it by myself and really liked it)
May 7
Iron Man 2 (loved it!)
May 14
Robin Hood (it has received poor reviews so we do not plan to see it)
May 28
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (went to see it by myself and enjoyed it more than I expected to)
June 11
The A-Team (we saw it together and while I liked it, I think I liked The Losers better)
June 18
Toy Story 3 (we liked it but since we were older when the series started, we've rather identified with Andy's mother rather than him, so it did not effect us so much)
June 23
Knight & Day (never managed to sneak out and see it)
July 14
The Sorcerer's Apprentice (I enjoyed it)
July 16
Inception (We both enjoyed it)
July 23
Salt (still would like to see it)
August 13
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (I missed it; the closest theatre it's playing in is an hour's drive away)

Upcoming movies
October 15
Red (the trailers look really good)
November 19
Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows (Part 1)
December 10
The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader
December 17
Tron: Legacy

I have not had a favorite movie this year like Star Trek was last year. Of course, the year's not over yet, but all I have to do is play the opening title soundtrack from Trek and I smile. Nothing from 2010 has moved me like that yet.

6. The US network television season started this week and I have yet to watch most of the premiere episodes, although, I will say, somewhat ashamedly, I loved the pilot for Hawaii Five-O and expect to watch it happily throughout the year. I did finish the fifth series of New Tricks, but, like all maturing series, it got more serious as it went along and isn't quite as happy-go-lucky as it was in the beginning. I still like it, but I'm not tearing through it like I was before. Still, as story-telling goes, it's really top rate.

7. I picked up Marilynne Robinson's Absence of Mind from the library this week and really need to sit down and read it. I read some great reviews about a month ago, which is when I requested it from the library's inter-library loan system, which is still kind of functioning. Perhaps more than my brain is these days.

And here's Jen.