Wildly distracted and sad

As we headed to our friend Meg's ordination on Saturday, I learned of the unexpected death of Henry, a very dear family friend. To say that he's the dad of my best friend from childhood doesn't describe the depth of our bond; perhaps saying that he's the one who bestowed upon me my Raisin nickname in June of 1970 tells you how strong the relationship is between our families.

The ordination was lovely, though sparsely attended due to wintry driving conditions. I told myself that I just needed to get through singing the litany, then get through celebrating 4 Advent -- then I could allow this grief to do what it will.

Imagine standing at the altar, and the altar book has two missing pages in the middle of the Eucharistic Prayer. Oh, on some other morning I might have been able to call forth the rest of the words, but not so yesterday. I paused. The rector rescued me by handing me a prayer book. Human error is just that -- something with which everyone sympathizes. But I do very much mind that it showed up in the midst of our liturgy.

After that, I left my boots behind in my office, got stuck in the snow, forgot to put the garage door down,....what else? If I continue to be not quite all here in these next days, please bear with me.

(And yes, I did find the missing pages.)