This weekend was quite full. Friday, Jesse and I left in the morning for Sydney, where we met up with friends to attend a one-day cricket match. Once we arrived at "the cricket" (as it is referred to here), we were in the sun pretty much from 2pm until it went down, gloriously, around 8pm. I have never been so hot in my life! But Jesse had a great time, and I enjoyed watching it, during those brief moments when the sun went behind a cloud, or during the cool of the evening once the sun had set. There was what appeared to be 2 families sitting in the row in front of us, with about 5 boys and 1 girl in total, ranging in age from about 4 to about 9, all dressed in Aussie jerseys and hats, waving flags and shouting things like "shot!" and "that was well fielded!" There is something incredibly charming about little children with an Aussie accent, particularly when it involves a phrase like "well fielded." We had a lovely 20-30 minute walk in the cool evening back to Sydney Central to catch a bus back to our friends' house. Great day.
Saturday, we got up quite early (for us) to head back to Maitland. An elderly woman in the congregation had passed away this week, and Jesse was presiding over the funeral. We arrived at our house in time to meet with her cousin, go over some last-minute service adjustments, scrub the temporary tattoos ("Go Aussie Go" and "Australia") off of our faces, and head to church. The funeral was a great tribute to her life, and many folks hung around for the morning tea afterward to discuss remembrances and enjoy each other's company.
It's interesting to contemplate grief, and how we honor the memory of our loved ones. I may have blogged about this story in the past, but it comes to mind again. I remember when we were putting together the services for my great-aunt Lois a couple of years ago, which included a handbell choir piece to honor her love of the handbells. I was standing next to my sister as we practiced before the service, and it must have been particularly warm, or I was particularly nervous, or something. At any rate, I rang one bell with unusual gusto, and it slipped from my hand. I panicked, reached out, and caught the bell just in time to ring it again (and, honestly, to prevent damage to the bell and its surroundings). My sister and I dissolved into laughter. My grandmother commented that it was just such a moment that Aunt Lois would have enjoyed. In that crazy moment, we honored her memory.
Saturday was one of the hottest days yet. A couple from the church who have a pool took pity on us and invited us over for a swim. It was glorious. We had lovely conversation, watched a bit of the Melbourne Cup, had tea (dinner) together, and then Jesse and I headed home.
Sunday, Jesse began his sermon series on Leviticus, for which he'd given the congregation a reading assignment last week. It seemed to go well, and it was nice to have the rest of the day to relax. While job-hunting online, I found a couple of positions that seemed like they may be a good fit, and applied for them. I'm optimistic; we'll see what happens, however.
Today, Australia Day, we had a church outing to a nearby lake for a day of cricket, boating, cricket, barbecue, and of course, more cricket. We had a great turnout amongst the church families, and played a few rounds (innings) of cricket with a group of guys enjoying the lake as well. Jesse and I have the sunburns to prove that we were thwarted by the overcast sky for much of the day (I didn't put sunscreen on until about 3:15), but we felt like we had celebrated Australia Day properly.
