On Mother's Day, Vacations, and Work

Here I sit on Mother's Day morning, one of the rare Sundays that I'm not getting ready to drive across the mountain to Bristol to preach and preside at Faith Lutheran. Let me record some thoughts:--I feel lucky to have a mom I love who loves me. I know that many don't have that kind of luck.--I feel lucky that my experiences of not having children is what I wanted, and it worked out how I envisioned. I know that many don't have that kind of luck.--I'm not preaching today because I'm in Hilton Head, SC with my mom and dad, who are in their last half of their 80's. I know we don't have many more holidays like this ahead of us, so I'm glad to be able to be here.--The last time I was in Hilton Head was in 2022, with my lower arm in a cast. In fact, I had just had surgery to repair the broken wrist, so I was on heavy antibiotics, which messed up my GI system. Happily, I'm not facing those kinds of challenges on this trip.--The time before that, in 2021, we had stopped to pick up my sister…