Back to work today, after a too-short week away. I was so tired during the weeks leading up to Easter that we didn't plan anything sensational for vacation, nor did I want to do much driving. We got to Charlottesville to see the Hoos win a basketball game. (SEAN SINGLETARY STEALS THE BALL AT HALF COURT WITH 4.8 SECONDS TO PLAY AND GOES IN FOR THE WINNING LAY UP!!) We got to Richmond to share a dinner with son Nathan and daughter-in-law Renee. I went to Norfolk for an appointment with my infectious disease specialist. Included with that is always the blood work to check my liver and kidney functions (both normal!) and the urinalysis to check the level of histoplasmosis. That hasn't come back yet, because there is exactly one lab in the country that does that test, and it's in Texas. I'm hoping that the histo reading is zero, after a year and a half of anti-fungal medication. (It has stubbornly held at five the past two times it's been checked, eight and four months ago. When I was diagnosed, it was "off the charts" (the doctor's words) at 57, so there's been dramatic improvement, but still ... This past Wednesday, as I handed the urine sample to the technician I asked, "Can you guarantee that this will come back with a zero reading?" She said, "We will pray over this pee!!") I did some yard work. I got out on my bicycle several times during the week too. On Thursday I even rode my age. (Clue: I was born in 1953. And for my nit picking bicycle friends out there: it was in miles, not kilometers!)

Actually, today I felt like I was working part-time, since it was youth Sunday. My only role was to officiate at the sacrament. The youth proclaimed the gospel, based on the appointed texts for the day. I am moved to tears, literally, to hear how the Spirit is creating an adult faith in our youth.

Have you seen the TV ad for Dominion Power, featuring our own Zhou Hui Stauffer? Paste this into your browser search line:
http://www.dom.com/media/video/zhouHui/index.html