Shh...don't tell...I ditched Church yesterday.
Well, I guess I am telling it here, so we don't have to be all quiet about it. But it interests me that I feel this guilt about it.
I had the aforementioned too-busy week, and 2 weeks of VPOD behind me. Somehow I developed a head cold Saturday, and Sunday woke up late, and feeling entirely flattened. I knew I could make it to church and that I would feel better for going. But I also would have to do things like bathe, and put on clothes, that seemed insurmountable at that time.
So I took the dogs to Bird-Listening Park and we roamed around awhile; we watched the disc golf players and the other dogs. We tried to stay out of the poison ivy. Then we returned to the car in the shade, with sunroof and windows open, and drank some water, and rested.
I read them the Daily Office. Boudreaux sat on my shoulders, stretched out and relaxed like a heavy furry collar. Josie sat on my lap. Often she got up to look at the players or listen to a sound. Then we just sat. Soon I became aware that a mockingbird (the Texas state bird) had appeared in the thicket in front of the car and was eating red berries.
We watched her for a long time. I'd have liked to have taken a photo of my own, but my camera was in the trunk. We read Psalms, and then we just listened. After a while I decided it was time to go, and as I started to ready the car for leaving, I heard a hawk call. I've never heard that before (except on Northern Exposure...). It was a red-tailed hawk:
just above me; I could watch it through the sunroof. It called twice more and flew elsewhere. I felt sure then that Bird Church was over. Amen.
