Mariah’s Reemergence

It is Sunday morning and we are stirring after a bowl of Quaker Oatmeal with fresh strawberries and blueberries. The Quaker Oatmeal has inspired Clay to attend Quaker Meeting this morning with his mother. The same inspiration will lead Mariah to go work out at a local Bethesda gym this morning. We will reconvene at lunch time and share our insights, which will probably consist of Mariah being in shape and Clay being totally out of shape as the hardwood pews at Bethesda Friends Meeting were designed to suffer the back of the sitter so he or she may Quake before God, rather than merely snore in the presence of Him.

Napping at Home (Photo by dear friend and roommate Suzanna Strasburg)

The weekend so far has already consisted of two off-campus gym work-outs, brother included (thank you very much and get off my back Richard Simmons). Mariah spent time yesterday in her very own bed (see above) where she was living pre-stroke with friend Suzanna. The picture includes her usual bed-mate, Chai, and Suzanna’s pet, Zoe.

[Dad’s note: This is the first time Mariah’s been in her own bed since she departed for Peru last June. After nearly seven long, difficult, amazing months the wheel has turned, and I believe Volume 1 of her story of reemergence can be bound and shelved.]

We also kept up our movie attendance over the weekend, which included for Mariah theater viewings of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Gran Torino. Friday night Ramon took Mariah to Baltimore to see a PBR bull-riding. She loves that stuff. Maybe she picked up a hankering for it in Texas?

So, the weekend has been stuffed, and so have we, thanks to the excellent cullinary skills of our mom and friends Suzanna and Georgia over the holidays. We thank you for the chilis, the veggie stews, and the baked goods. We hope everyones’ ’09 is kicking off as well as ours, and until next time…

Love and Light,
Clay