Time

not sure where all the time has gone. i can barely remember all that's happened since my last update. i might need to work backwards, from recent to 2 weeks ago.

i got a call from a good friend on labor day, letting me know that her dad had passed away. her dad, dave swier, was like a second father to me. dave always had a kind word to say, a good story to tell, and two ears attuned to listening. he lived a godly life, and was an example to his family on how to play, laugh, and love one another. i'm a better person for having known dave. on tuesday i found a plane ticket to fly to sodak for the thursday funeral. since my parents were in town visiting (hold on, i'll write more about that in a bit...), troy dropped us all off at the airport. my flight took off wednesday afternoon about 4 and my parent's flight about 6. God has amazing orchestration.

i'm a little bummed that troy wasn't able to make the trip with me, but his work duties took priority. it was the first time that troy was at the house without me. since he's out of town 2-3 nights a week, i'm used to him being gone. he keeps commenting about how odd it was to sleep in the bed without me. he's been really supportive throughout this entire time with me traveling out of town and him working. overall it was probably good for him to be without me for a few days. gotta love being appreciated!

so back to the story - my flight landed about 7.20pm on wednesday night. i took my parent's hooptie out of the parking lot and drove to the prayer service for dave. i arrived just as it was ending, but i still was able to connect with several people whom i've not seen for quite some time. my friend, deena, looked into my eyes and just broke down. then she mentioned that she'd been fine until she saw me. guess that's the effect kids have on their moms. :D she really has been like a mom to me throughout my life. she and her husband, burke, have walked me through many challenges in life. they've been my spiritual mentors, and loving supporters throughout my life. it was good to share our grief together.

after several minutes of chatting with people in the foyer, it was time to go and meet the family. it was a odd feeling walking to the front of the church, and seeing dave laying in the casket. normally dave would be standing there, with his arms wide open and a huge smile on his face. he was just that type of guy. i remember that is how i saw dave on our wedding day - huge smile and a wonderful hug. i will never forget that amazing smile and his tender embrace. even now as i think of dave, my eyes are filling with tears because he loved me and i loved him.

cindy and dave invited me to be part of their family. each of their 5 kids are 2 years apart. i am 2 years older than their eldest, my good friend, laura. so when i think about dave, i think about how he has seen his 3 oldest kids get married (one is me), has seen the birth of his first grandbaby (nolan), and his kids graduate from college. i remember when i was about to leave for africa and how the swiers invited me to their house to tell them what i would be doing. then they prayed for me before i left. those prayers availed much in africa. and when i got back from africa, they again invited me into their home to share of the beautiful adventure in tanzania. they listened with great enthusiasm. they asked great questions, too. they weren't overly concerned when i told them about the kids whom i taught who were HIV positive. ;-)

back to the story (again). after the service, laura and paul rode with me to the airport to pick up my parents. my parents took the hooptie to their house and i stayed at the swier's. we stayed up late telling stories, enjoying each other's company and just being us. that is the way dave would've wanted it - all his family together, joking around and having a good time with one another.

thursday came and the funeral was sad, yet hopeful. the video of many pictures and stories was wonderful. after the graveside service, we all went back to the swier's house and had more fellowship. there were many people over there. the weather was truly beautiful during the day - the sun shining and a light breeze, barely a cloud in the sky.

friday we mostly hung out, went to eat lunch at a place called 'k' - it's at 8th and railroad center downtown. after dining the girls walked thru some cool shops, and the guys went to do their guy thing. we all hooked up for a few rounds of geocaching - girls against the guys. for the record, the girls found all three caches. annie swier is the mack-daddy at geocaching. she's 'all up in it' - as we say in the south. after geocaching we headed back to the farm for some games and pizza. since my flight left at 6am on saturday i went to bed a about 11.30. that was the end of my sodak trip.

i'll have to finish the story later about my parents coming to visit.