The simple pleasures of a good book, a good game and good company

I wish more Mondays were like the one I had yesterday. Nothing special, but filled with unexpected (good) surprises. I started reading a book by Mike Yaconelli called Dangerous Wonder. It was recommended by and lent to me from Lori. I began in the morning, had to take a break to go to an appointment, then started back up again when I returned home. I decided to lay on the glider on the back porch since for some odd reason it was actually quite pleasant outside. There was a "cool" breeze. Mind you, in Texas lingo, that means anything under 90 degrees. At one point I got up, thinking I should make my bed this morning, and noticed a car pulled up in my driveway. It was Steve. He came over to use the air compressor to fill up the tires in Mish's car. One of his chores for the day. We chatted briefly. It was good to see him. After he left, I weighed my options. Do I do something constructive? Or do I sit back down and finish the book? For those of you that know me well, that might be a tough choice. But I decided to throw caution to the wind (is that right Bob?) and take the afternoon to finish the book. And that's what I did. Now I read for the moment. Unfortunately, that's how I've been trained since my younger school days. I thoroughly enjoy reading. Get totally engrossed in a book. But then I move on to another. Sometimes it's difficult for me to explain the book to someone. I just know if I liked it or not, and why. Well, I liked this book. It took me a few chapters to understand where Yaconelli was going with it. The premise of the book is that we should all have a childlike faith when it comes to God. We tend to lose that childlike aspect as we grow older and our faith can become dull and uninspiring. I particularly liked the last four chapters of the book. It all came together for me then. Thanks Lori for lending this book to me. Now I'm going to read another one of his books. Anyway...just after I finished the book, Steve and Mish came over. They stopped in while on one of their bike rides. Mish needed some bug anti-itch cream as she had been bit while riding and it was getting red and itchy. Mom to the rescue. I like being able to help out. I guess they weren't in a rush to get back on the bikes because Mish started chanting "Rumikub, rumikub." It's been our game of choice these days. We may be addicted. Bob suggested we just keep it as a centerpiece on the kitchen table. Well, we played two games and finished up just as Bob walked in from work. Steve won both games. He's been crowned the Rumikub King lately. Mish and I think its going to his head. We're determined to dethrone him. They left with the open invitation to drop in anytime to start up a game. They know how to get into the house, so we may come home some night and see them sitting at the kitchen table ready to go. Unexpected surprises. Well, Bob and I finished off the day at dance class. As I stood back and watched Bob with our dance instructor Cyndi, trying so hard to figure out some more difficult moves with the foxtrot, his feet all twisted like a pretzel, I smiled. Life is good when you have the good company of your children, and a partner in life who enjoys spending time with you.