A Delightful Evening

Some things are really small but are cause for much delight.

Last night I spent an evening catching up on my book club reading. This month we'd chosen to read The Bronze Bow. As I read the first chapter, I quickly became aware the book was not what I expected it to be. It was totally different material from what we usually read. And, of course, last month we read The Book Thief, by Marcus Zusak-- one of the best books I've read in years. Simply amazing, beautiful and beautifully written. So with that history, any book following that act is bound to disappoint, right? Well, wouldn't you know it, as I realized the preface of this book, I was disappointed. The book was set in the time of Christ. Any book that is fiction that is also talking about Christ always throws me off. I'm overloaded with a watchful, anxiouys eye-out for weird theology the author may be trying to creep into the story (It may be paranoia, but I can't help it and I find it exhausting).

Anyhow, despite my anxiety over the type of story and it's setting and a couple of the characters, I really couldn't help but like the overall story and the main character. So, read, read, read. I was reading for so long I felt like I was getting bed sores.

It was almost 10pm. Then Male called. He had been watching the basketball game at a friend's house. We chatted briefly. And then -- "So, do you want me to stop by?" "Yes, that would be great. Are you almost here?" "Yep." "Ok, See you in a few." Moments later, Male is here. We chat for several minutes, talking about my ridiculously expensive car insurance (I can't help it. I don't even KNOW I'm speeding, and it's hard to stop doing something when you don't know you're doing it.)And then arguments about eye color. Male's are blue, but they have some goldish yellow in the middle. He classifies them as "hazel" on his driver's license. And for the record, my eyes are hazel. Not brown. Hazel. They've got some green in the middle (I've always wanted green eyes, so I really treasure the bit of it that I have and get disappointed whenever people fail to notice it). And then, Male left.

I went back to my book, which I was still warming up to, with a big grin on my face and a flutter in my chest. I read till about 12:30, at which point I had finished the book and knew I should have stopped reading and gone to sleep an hour earlier. But who can fall asleep when they are moments away from the end of the story? Not I.

Most of the hours of that evening-- not remarkable at all. And suddenly just a few minutes made them all delightful. Moments like that remind me of why relationships are wonderful. Sometimes I'm terribly dull and I can't always feel that excitement. But then sometimes, like last night, I do feel it. What a lovely way to spend an evening.