The Queen's death - While it wasn't shocking news, it was certainly monumental news. My first thoughts went to my friend, and former "Page of the Presence," Ray Wheaton. He gave his life in service to a queen who gave her life in service to a country I adore. For me, the queen's passing is sad. For him, it must bring much greater grief.
Of course, I'm just a hanger-on. Pathetic, I know. I revel because I rubbed shoulders with someone who rubbed shoulders with royalty. Through friendship with Ray, I received the unexpected blessing of encountering some of Buckingham Palace (well before they welcomed the public for viewing). It was such a delightful excursion.
I think my favorite image (found on Facebook) is this dual shot of the queen and her husband in the early years and in late.
Marriage is hard. I cannot imagine trying to do it well while under the scrutiny of an entire nation (no, more than a nation, a commonwealth). The queen was a public figure who carried well the responsibilities thrust upon her. What a different life she might have had if another had not cast the responsibility aside. She seemed to take it all in stride.
A visit from Bryce - I've just returned from driving Bryce to the airport. His company sent him to do recruiting at Purdue again this year. We squeezed in a day and a half with him. He arrived from Dallas late on Friday night and will now pick up a rental car at the airport for his Purdue schedule this week. I was so glad that we attended Sean's junior-varsity football game on Saturday morning. It was a nail-biter and we won. Thankfully, Bryce filled me in on some aspects I didn't understand (no, I'm not the quintessential football mom). Plus, I focused on enjoying the game and the company rather than my usual watching in dread and fearing an injury.
Bryce wanted a photo with Sean after the game (Sean is now as tall as Bryce, at only 15) but he was dripping with sweat, so he declined. I hoped for a photo of all three boys together, but they were never all three together the whole weekend. Bryce took Sean golfing on Saturday afternoon. That evening at dinner, Bryce marveled when Sean ordered two steak and cheese burrito meals and then polished off almost every bite. Finally, on Sunday morning, Bryce had a chance to see Trevor. He is also quite tall and has grown buff and lean (really careful with his diet now and exercising back up to the level he was at before his the cyst in his leg popped in May). It was pouring outside and Trevor was in a time crunch to get to work, so they both passed on a photo for me. I'm quite sad because I don't know when the next photo opportunity will come along. Perhaps not until Christmas.
I have a few photos of the boys at home (taken in August):
(Trevor and Sean)
Sean must dress up for school on game days, so I snapped this photo on the last Friday in August:
My book - In early August, my book rose to within the top 100 for the category of religious and inspirational poetry again. This was an unexpected blessing:
I started September with a handful of reviews. I'm grateful to several individuals who have written outstanding reviews for my book and brought the number up to 12 written reviews. Without readers, a book is impotent. Like a tree falling in a forest with no one to hear, does it make a sound?
To read some reviews, visit my book's Amazon page. Or visit this book review my blogging friend Maria posted on her blog. I feel blessed beyond measure.
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