Time Flies When You Get Older

My parents used to tell me when I was a child that time would go much faster when I was an adult. I didn't believe them. I should have. That, among many other things, was one of the grown-up truths that I simply couldn't understand. Sigh -- they were right.

We have entered 2010 with a swiftness that belies my sense of belief. I have noticed (as others of you undoubtedly have) that it has been a long time since I have added to my blog. Well, it is a new year now, so here you have a new post.

It was summer when last I posted. There is now snow on the ground and it is all of 27 degrees outside. The days are very short. I have never before in my life prayed for the winter solstice to come like I did in 2009!

A brief summary of the past few months...

My boys -- Asher and Joseph, the miniature dachshunds, and Timothy the cat -- arrived safely on September 10. We were all overjoyed to be together again. On September 27, Joseph died unexpectedly, a victim to some kind of unidentified virus or bacteria to which he had no immunity. I was devastated. That is really the only way I can describe it. He was my clown, an affectionate little guy who never met a person he didn't like.

My work at St. Anne's Parish Church in Edinburgh has gone exceedingly well. The members have made a warm place for me in their lives. I have performed two funerals and assisted in one baptism, as well as led an informal communion service. I led a three-session Advent study on particular Christmas carols, participated in a whole host of Christmas activities, and have taken the past week after Christmas as holiday time.

On Monday, December 28, I drove to Yorkshire (yes, I have a car and I know how to use it) to pick up a little girl long-haired miniature dachshund who is now named Anna. She is a cream color and is simply beautiful. We have spent the week getting acquainted -- and finding each other. She has escaped from me twice and gone barrelling off down the road (and it is a busy road). Some new friends, Helen and Justin, have been more than kind in helping me find her both times. It is a rather heart-stopping way to begin a relationship with a new family member! While she is sleeping peacefully on the sofa beside me right now, she will be on a lead securely fastened around my wrist in a few minutes when we go outside...

I begin 2010 still somewhat surprised that I have begun it in a new country. I have been 5 months in a church and will leave it with sadness at the end of January to begin the next steps of my familiarization. I have no doubt that the people I will meet there will be as lovely as the people I have come to know and love already.


There will be more frequent posts forthcoming -- promise.  There are some quandaries, some observations, some language lessons -- oh, just all sorts of things.  In the meantime, I have a trip to Asda (translate -- Wal-Mart) to make...