It's been quite a while since I posted anything...

and that's mainly because life has been returning to "normal" and I've actually been quite busy lately. There was one big development that I can't believe it has taken me until today to post about though....I'm driving again. Yippee! Independence!

I've been making good progress at PT and am able to bear quite a bit of weight on my right leg now. I started driving again on the 9th of February. I may have been able to start a little earlier, but my car was in the shop for repairs. My cooling system had a leak and the last I was driving it back in September it was overheating quite a bit. My dad took it in to the shop for me in the hopes that it would be ready the same time that I was ready. I think it was coordinated as closely as we could have hoped, although mentally I was ready to try before the car was back.

So, I had four days of practice behind the wheel and on Friday the 13th one of the other teachers and I headed into Washington DC for a weekend retreat with this year's Confirmation Class. We each drove three of the students in our respective cars. I took the boys and Jane took the girls. We had a great weekend.

We stayed at the Church of the Pilgrims just off of DuPont Circle and participated in a World Religions Tour. We attended a Friday evening service at the Washington Hebrew Congregation. On Saturday we visited the Islamic Center and Mosque. We were extremely fortunate to get to witness a wedding ceremony and afternoon prayers in addition to our tour. Saturday afternoon we toured the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, sometimes called America’s Catholic Church. After our tour we attended Mass with hundreds of Catholics visiting our Nation’s Capital. On Sunday morning we worshipped at St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral. It was quite a diverse collection of art, architecture, language and styles of worship. It was good to experience both the similarities and differences in the various faiths as we together explore what it means to be a Presbyterian.

People need to see that, far from being an obstacle, the world’s diversity of languages, religions and traditions is a great treasure, affording us precious opportunities to recognize ourselves in others.

--Youssou N’Dour, Musician