personal: i was greeted with a hug.

this morning as i participated in a business seminar, i tried desperately not to pay attention to the rain falling outside on to the rooftops and streets of saint stephen. please God let the rain ease in time for my afternoon photo session in saint john! i spoke to my client at noon and we decided to go ahead, it seemed to be letting up in saint john. i hit the road at 2pm, anxious to get there in time to scout out the location she had chosen and see what creative options we had with the open, outdoor space. as i moved closer and closer to saint john, the fog grew denser and the rain fell harder. oh no. i arrived at the agreed upon location. beautiful. there are so many possibilities! i placed a makeshift plastic cover around my camera as the rain, which had eased slightly, lightly fell (i need to find and invest in a 'rain guard' for my camera!) and began to traipse about, only to quickly turn back as the rain began to pour again. i made the phone call i dread the most. we're going to have to cancel. it's pretty nasty out here - it won't be fun for you, and i am concerned about the equipment. thankfully my clients we gracious and willing to reschedule to next week, and this time we will have a back up plan!

en-route to saint john i had texted my good britney. i'm going to be in the area, can we meet up after my photo session? or something to that regard. she invited me to dinner at the l'arche home where she works and shares life with individuals living with developmental disabilities. hesitant at first to accept the offer i decided i could not turn down the opportunity to meet britney in her new home, and to be introduced to the people she has quickly come to love and know as family. when i arrived, britney (aka 'splenda' or 'kney' to various community members) was in the middle of making dinner, and making a cowboy belt buckle for stephane's halloween costume. abandoning her tasks she introduced me to debbie, who greeted me with a hug,  and christina who kept me company while brit moved in and out of the living room, attending to her duties as care giver. debbie introduced me to her dog Rickie, a well snuggled stuffed toy dog wearing a black and orange cape (his halloween costume).

after a short time we congregated around the dinner table. after thanking God for the food and the hands that had prepared the meal, we dug in. brit had made turkey pot pie out of the turkey leftovers from the previous night's celebratory dinner; it has been five years since debbie joined the community. during dinner we each took turns to recognize five "greats" of the day (aka five things to be thankful for)... my heart was filled when three of the community members mentioned my presence as a "great" in their day! after the meal we bowed our heads to pray as a community, to pray for those we love, are thinking of, or for the things we are thankful of today. while waiting for my turn i recognized the great honour and privilege it was to be invited to this table, one where change in routine and placement of things is not taken to very easily. and i thought about how the simple act of invitation, to dinner, to coffee, to dessert or tea, is an invitation to friendship. this was confirmed when debbie and stephane and the others made sure i knew that i was welcomed back, anytime.

my day started out late (i slept through my alarm), i drove through rain and fog to a photo shoot that i ended up having to postpone, and it was a long drive home wherein i had to pull over at one point to rest my tired eyes. but in the end it was a really good day, full of greats!. yes. although my day did not play out as planned, i will never forget my dinner in the home where i was greeted with a hug.