comin' home

christy and the boys took off for bay city monday morning-- a few days at home to spend time with grandparents and cousins. i had to stay here for holy week and easter stuff. i knew that if i went i would be nervous and unsettled the whole time. turns out i was right-- here it is good friday and we still do not have everything ready for easter!

the three and a half days at home by myself was a mixed blessing. it was good, this week above all, to have quiet and good sleep. i caught up on some movie viewing (see below) and a little pre-reading for my next d.c. trip. by wednesday morning i had a sort of strange sensation. i got a full eight hours of sleep each night, the house was free of running and yelling, but i was not myself. it felt like waking from a nap that was too long-- sort of hung over. i diagnosed my problem as a disruption of routine. the absence of activity, at home and church, caught up with me.

all of that changed last night, as the family came back to prosper. i woke up several times with baby last night, miles had trouble going to sleep, etc. life is back to normal! while i think the days alone helped me to prepare for holy week, it is good to have everyone back where they belong. now i can really get to work for easter!

many others are coming home this weekend from spring break vacations. while i am still concerned about easter attendance following spring break (this will not happen again for many years) i am starting to get excited. others will be coming home in a more figurative sense-- those Christians and even pre-Christians who arrive at church on easter sunday for the first time in a while (or ever).

all of us participate with mary and the others in their journey to the tomb-- expecting to find it full and closed, and yet shocked to find it open and empty! and may the good news of easter fill each of us with enough grace to clear away the cobwebs of loneliness, mourning, bitterness, over-scheduling, addictions, or whatever we face. may we all experience easter joy in the name of the risen one!

movie viewing during three days of tedious quiet

• zodiac directed by david fincher and starring jake gyllenhaal and robert downey, jr. it is the story of the zodiac killer, who haunted parts of california in the late '60's and '70's. it reminded me of silence of the lambs, in that it is not so much about the killer as the folk assigned to find him. very absorbing.
• the cooler starring the great william h. macy. this is a film about an old school las vegas casino and the characters that work there. while the rest of vegas goes glitzy to attract "the stroller crowd"-- i winced-- this place wants to stay like the old days, even employing a "cooler," a guy who causes gamblers to have bad luck. a loser in life, he falls in love and his luck changes. very good movie.
• john adams starring maybe the greatest living actor-- except when he goes commerical-- paul giamatti. only two episodes have aired, but it is remarkable.
• the mini-series that started battlestar galactica. i have been very late on this show, and beginning to watch before seeing these initial hours led to frustration and confusion. i can't say i am a fan-- it's too weepy and dramatic at times-- but i do watch reruns every week.
• 2001 one of the best films ever made, i last saw it about 15 years ago. it was wonderful to watch in hd. ironically, arthur c. clarke died the next day. i have not heard of any other deaths resulting from my movie watching.
• movies i started but did not finish for various reasons: shane (too wholesome at the beginning-- i probably should have given it more of a shot-- pun intended), pi (too black and white/artsy/edgy etc.), the plight of guatemalan women (too depressing) lenny (can't explain why)