King Abdullah's snow ice cream

How we spend our days is truly how we spend our lives. We eat my life every night – at least 1 hour of my day. We eat it. We tramp our snow dripping boots all over my life today. We will again tomorrow. My life is wiped away on a kleenex, with snot, with a tear, with saliva from my niece's tooth that she has been “loosing” since 2010. My life is typed and printed, one Bible study sheet at a time, one basic English assignment at a time – two pages of sentences using the word “enough”.
It's never enough.
There is never enough life to be lived – time to be shared – experiences to be had – when you share your life with so many... who speak SO slowly. And the days that you truly know you have “sucked the marrow out of life” - you feel more deeply that life has sucked the marrow out of you. There is little time for contemplation in this life – this “new normal.” I am learning to contemplate during morning Yoga with Seonjin, between phrases with Saad, and rocking Lucy for 2 minutes before her nap (if she doesn't fall asleep in the car) but rarely does it translate itself onto a page or into my memory. And I find I have spiritual amnesia and EQ of a two year old.
Lessons relearned for the first time tomorrow, I guarantee it.
But I sit here tonight in peace – with my life eaten today, printed today, vanished to everyone but this page. These days make for a good life.
We threw a party for the return of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. An 89 year old man in failing health, returns to his country after months of recuperation abroad. And Salah says, “The whole country is in celebration. It is good he returns.”
“Yes,” I say, “It is good he returns for now Bahrian and Yemen look unsettled too... maybe your country will have some trouble.”
“No,” he is firm, “no trouble in my country – all the people happy – all the people love the king.”
Saad stands in salute – more passionate than I have seen him, “I love YOU king Abdullah!”
I responded that we should celebrate too – for this king I know nothing of – who I am sure I would not love as a covered and hidden woman in his country – but I am moved my their sincere adoration of this man. That somewhere in the world people are actually happy to have their king return – and someday in this world – I know a righteous king will return. They move me.
Now I have been thanked a hundred times over for the falafel, the hummus, the homemade pita, the red velvet cake with the photo of King Abdullah. And the homemade snow ice cream in Abdullah's honor, and the Chinese vs. Jarod ping-pong game that followed. Yes, this is how we spend our days – they are special. I venture to guess we are the only people on planet earth who made snow ice cream and played ping pong in hour of the return of an old Middle Eastern King tonight. This smashed between Junie B. Jones and a beautiful Bible Study. What a day. What a life.

Tomorrow we venture to teach Zumba to 11 Asians and 4 Baptist. I just don't know when to stop.