A Backwards Week Put in Perspective

I have this thing before most dinners, with or without guests, where I give a mini-speech. Below is a taste of one of them. 

How does one cope with a backwards week? Why, he or she makes a backwards movie. We've had a week of pretty serious sickness, a new church calling, a broken washing machine, and a stolen bike (which merits a post of itself--that was quite a blow). While we don't want to rewind this week to relive--except to lock up the bike last night--deliberately making something backwards provided a fresh perspective on reality.

Life is good. Temporal things are temporal. We've got what matters in abundance. And any temporal setbacks or challenges bring us closer together as a family, making the eternal more tangible. 

Before I get too spiritually poetic, I'll get on with the movie. 

This just in: Right before I posted, Abe threw up. I'll spare the details, but it was an open door to become a hypocrite in the face of what I just wrote--particularly since I thought we were out of the woods with him and Ben's nasty illness. But Abe's submissive, cheerful demeanor just now completely melted me. He was reflecting on how much he enjoyed "the yummy, yummy drink" (Sprite) earlier this week, casually talking about the Tintin movie we have in the works, and smiling while I cleaned him up! The relationship took precedent over the incident and all is well. We may even both be better for it.

Now, onto what I'm sure none of you have been waiting for...