As we got home after worship yesterday, my husband told me to sit down and relax, that he’d put the finishing touches on the Sunday dinner he had put in the slow cooker hours before. I didn’t have to be told twice, so I picked up the November/December 2011 issue of a magazine that had somehow escaped my review when it arrived last October (so it often goes in my busy life) and sat down. What ensued wasn’t exactly the most relaxing read I had briefly envisioned.
Before I could even get to the table of contents our grandson needed some bathroom assistance. That accomplished, I went back to the magazine. In fairly rapid succession, my reading was interrupted with a variety of preschooler inquiries, including the perennial “Nonna, kiss it and make it all better.” Then our less than petite Maine Coon jumped up on my lap, blocking all access to the magazine. The preschooler, not to be outdone, decided he needed to be on Nonna’s lap too. It was just about then that my husband apologetically asked for some help in the kitchen.
I checked myself, even as the words formed in my mind (“All I want is a moment to myself to get to the first story in this magazine … at this rate it’ll be next October until I get this magazine read …). I was in a warm house on a cold winter’s day. We had food enough to create a wonderful meal, and it was being made by my loving husband. An adorable preschooler wanted to play games with me, even believed that my kiss had healing powers. The unconditional love of a kitty cat, accompanied by his strong purr, warmed my heart. Indeed, the magazine could wait.
Linda Post Bushkofsky is the executive director of Women of the ELCA.
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