The seminary has invited all the doctoral students to dinner at the Ellen Stowe Room in Garlock Dining Hall. I find myself free to go as once again my amazing colleagues have relieved me of evening reference desk duty so I can participate fully. I am glad because after an exhausting day of thinking so hard and listening so intently, I am pretty sure I can not manage to hang on until 9 pm! Who knew that listening was so demanding?
We wander over to the dining hall and enter a room of beautifully appointed tables - linens, flowers, candles - the whole treatment! We are served on white china with a bit of gold edging. What a nice experience to break bread with friends and faculty in an elegant setting. I am never sure I will be able to eat what is offered in these situations. My diet is so restricted. I pass on the tossed salad, as delicious as it looks, but can eat the roll since it is not whole grain. The chicken and mashed potatoes are delicious and I nibble at the broccoli. Not too much. I don't want to risk a gastric episode now. The piece de resistance is the dessert - a slice of pound cake buried in strawberries and blueberries mounded over with whipped cream. Yum! Just the right size of serving that I can manage without getting into trouble.
I enjoy hearing the conversations about others' future plans, current situations, family issues. How delightful to be part of something so normal and ordinary - takes my mind off the upcoming funeral for which I find myself constantly in prayer - traveling mercies, opportunities to minister, meeting friends of our parents - all the abnormal situations that will surface during this time. I appreciate a shared meal with another part of my 'family' - the normalcy of which helps me stay connected to the now.
Still, I am uncharacteristically quiet and manage to slip away before most to retreat to the quiet of my own living room. I savor the dinner time and appreciate this unusual opportunity to be reminded that I am not alone, that I am part of the family of God and will continue to have family times long after I am "alone."
We wander over to the dining hall and enter a room of beautifully appointed tables - linens, flowers, candles - the whole treatment! We are served on white china with a bit of gold edging. What a nice experience to break bread with friends and faculty in an elegant setting. I am never sure I will be able to eat what is offered in these situations. My diet is so restricted. I pass on the tossed salad, as delicious as it looks, but can eat the roll since it is not whole grain. The chicken and mashed potatoes are delicious and I nibble at the broccoli. Not too much. I don't want to risk a gastric episode now. The piece de resistance is the dessert - a slice of pound cake buried in strawberries and blueberries mounded over with whipped cream. Yum! Just the right size of serving that I can manage without getting into trouble.
I enjoy hearing the conversations about others' future plans, current situations, family issues. How delightful to be part of something so normal and ordinary - takes my mind off the upcoming funeral for which I find myself constantly in prayer - traveling mercies, opportunities to minister, meeting friends of our parents - all the abnormal situations that will surface during this time. I appreciate a shared meal with another part of my 'family' - the normalcy of which helps me stay connected to the now.
Still, I am uncharacteristically quiet and manage to slip away before most to retreat to the quiet of my own living room. I savor the dinner time and appreciate this unusual opportunity to be reminded that I am not alone, that I am part of the family of God and will continue to have family times long after I am "alone."
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