Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On

I’ve missed some photo opportunities of late, not least of which was the sight of my class crouching under our desks during yesterday’s 5.8-magnitude earthquake! No harm done, apparently, except to the National Cathedral, where we had just been to church on Sunday.

While my writing workshop class waited out the shaking and then calmly evacuated, Christy and Sarah were at home. Over lunch they’d been putting up with the noise and rumble of workers remodeling the apartment above us. That’s when the quake began.

CHRISTY: Are those the workers upstairs, or is that an earthquake?

SARAH: Well, it had better be an earthquake, because if it isn’t, I don’t think they know what they’re doing!

On top of all that, they say Hurricane Irene will slam into Virginia this weekend. I’ve never been in a hurricane before, nor do I have any idea what to expect this far inland. Sunday is Christy’s and my twelfth anniversary, so I sincerely hope it won’t disrupt our date night!

In other news, Sarah wanted to be sure I shared with all of you that her first grown-up tooth is coming in, and the tooth next to it is wigglier than ever.

Last Saturday we visited the Washington Monument (which, contrary to early quake reports from FOX News, is not leaning). We went with a large group from the seminary, including the families of the two girls closest to Sarah’s age. The three have them have been hanging out a lot.

On Sunday night the seminarians in our apartment complex had a cookout. We had brought our hammock all the way from Seattle, and now I’m glad we did: it was a hit with the kids! Midway through the party, out came a cake celebrating Christy's upcoming birthday (and other August birthday people who happened to be present as well).

I have registered for fall classes, which begin after Labor Day. I will be taking:

‎

1) Hebrew (continuing from August term)
2) Church History
3) Theology & Practice of Ministry (including a volunteer component at a hospice - 1st quarter only)
4) Seminary Choir (for fun!)
5) Old Testament (begins 2nd quarter)

6) Revisioning Parish Ministry (basically, introduction to next year’s Field Education)

Christy is busily job-hunting and hoping for the best. And Sarah is spending her mornings this week at a Star Wars-themed art camp! I haven’t been able to pull much information out of her yet about what must be sheer awesomeness, but I’ll keep you posted.