Family Day

A good day in the company of my brother Nicholas and also with Mom and Dad. As good a family day as any I have had in recent visits, if not one of the best.

Nicholas put me to work as I had hoped, and the work was easy. We re-assembled his mirrored chest-of-drawers. We stacked books on shelves. We unpacked and closeted his wardrobe. We went shopping for groceries and kitchen accessories. We said a prayer of blessing for his new home.

I like Nicholas' apartment. It feels like his kind of space. The kitchenette is small, the living room is large, and the bedroom is just the right size. This is a place where he can be still with himself and God, and, if he is willing, hear the voice speaking him into more abundant being.

We went to Mom and Dad's for dinner and dessert. No drama, just the quiet delights of home, my first true home. Somehow, setting up Nick's new place made me feel an uncommon attachment to the place of my upbringing this evening -- and to my parents, who have kept the home fires burning for these 33 years our family has lived in Babylon.

I feel I have rendered to Nicholas what is his, not that I was in his debt fraternally, but that I gave freely what only a brother could give to another. He was feeling anxious as the moving-in got underway on Friday. I hope that my being there today for some of the small stuff helped to relieve his stress over this big change in his life.

A day like today makes me want to spend more time with my kin before, God willing, I move to Kansas and then California. As it happens, the postulants have a free day on Monday, Presidents' Day. If it is convenient for Nicholas and my sister Jennifer, the three of us may get together in Babylon for the late afternoon and evening. Wouldn't that be nice!