Bear Paw

"Bear Paw" is the name of an annual festival that takes place each year in Eagle River, the town where we are currently living. This morning we took part in some of the activities.

I ran a 5K race while Robyn watched the kids. She had a greater endurance test than I did. First, for about 10 minutes leading up to the start, Meredith was in tears and near hysterics because of the fact a gun would be shot to begin the race. Then, as soon as the race started (thankfully with a very quiet gun), Sander began bawling because he also wanted to "take the race." After he got over that disappointment, the girls had to go to the bathroom. So, between traumatized children and potty breaks, Robyn saw none of the actual race.

Which is fine with me. I'm definitely not the runner I used to be. Not that I was ever anything special, but I would have run the same distance at least five minutes faster in college. Every time I run a road race like this, I think to myself, "Wouldn't it be fun to devote myself daily to training and see if I can get back to anything near my previous speed?" Then reality hits: too little time and too many more important things to do. And there's that little aging thing, too!

After the race, we watched a parade. It was a typical small-town parade like you would find anywhere in the U.S. One difference was that it is the middle of summer but everyone was wearing long pants and jackets. Then we had lunch. I had a Philly cheese steak sandwich. With the caveat that it is impossible to have an authentic Philly cheese steak anywhere outside of Philly, it was pretty good. Robyn went native and had a salmon quesadilla.

Tomorrow is the Lord's Day. I will preach on the meaning of Christian baptism in the morning, and on faithfulness - God's and ours (or our lack of?) - in the evening.