Let it rain...

10:20 p.m. Today's project was to drive to the Casa Del Prado Theatre to watch our great niece Cameron dance in the Nutcracker, a production of the San Diego Civic Youth Ballet. Cameron, 5, is in her first year with the group, and had a part as one of the Sugar Plum Candies.

Our nephew Chance treated us to our tickets, and Steve and I have been looking forward to this for a long time. I drive to San Diego several times a year, so that was no obstacle. But the weather sure was!

It was "Mrs. Toad's Wild Ride" as we entered the 215 South, trying to get the GPS working and helping Steve find the insulated lunch bag that he couldn't remember having put in the car before we left home for church earlier that morning. He ended up sitting in the back seat, so he could more easily find the lunch and eat his sandwich. (And was less of a distraction!) I ate a miniature orange--"Cuties," they're called--string cheese and a handful of Doritos, because the weather soon captured my attention! No time for salad!

The rain had been kind of drizzly earlier in the morning, but now it was a downpour. The glare from the sunlit clouds was dreadful, and combined with the spray-up from cars in front of me, made visibility very limited. I was glad to be wearing a huge pair of sunglasses meant to cover prescription ones, kind of like Morty Seinfeld (Jerry's tv dad) wore on the old show! But they made for excellent glare reduction, so I was thanking the Lord for them!

Many times I feel just like the Psalmist who wrote,

Who is like the LORD our God,

Who dwells on high,

Who humbles Himself to behold

The things that are in the

heavens and in the earth?

In every detail, God cares for His kids! We listened to Mercy Me's "Christmas Sessions" CD, but it was impossible for me to really get into singing along, because my eyes were focused straight ahead, my hands gripped the wheel, and I constantly adjusted and re-adjusted the front and back wipers and defrosters as the downpour would subside and start up again. Around Fallbrook, where hills rise up on each side, it got a bit foggy too, adding to the nerve-wracking glare. We just prayed as we went along. Thankfully, there was not much traffic--most people had the good sense to stay home!

The GPS had us go in a kind of roundabout way, counterintutive to my usual way of getting to the Balboa Park-Museum area (15->163), but we followed it (from the 15->8->52), I guess to keep peace in the car and not be told to "go back" by the bossy voice! I called Chance and he had directions for me from where we were, so it all worked out. My spirits lifted with the rain as we entered the San Diego city limits.

Steve and I got there in plenty of time to park at the Natural History Museum and walk over to the theater. We met up with Chance after he had dropped Cameron off backstage to get ready. Also there were our nephew Brady and his girlfriend Jessica; and niece Destiny, boyfriend Daniel, an Irishman who says "Happy Christmas," but I let that go with only minor teasing...Destiny's daughter Ashley, son Garrett, and Ashley's little girlfriend made up the rest of our party. The two 4-year-old girls were dressed in very nice floor-length party dresses, and 7-year-old Garrett looked very gentlemanly in a dress outfit with a sweater.

The ballet was wonderful! My Heather was in the Nutcracker back when she was three at Riverside Ballet Arts. She continued to dance all the way through her junior year in high school. Cameron did a very nice job in her group's brief appearance, despite one little girl picking up the artificial snow and throwing it at the others! It's good to learn an artistic skill that can stay with you for years. Kids who participate in extracurricular activities tend to associate with a better peer group and get better grades, because they are utilizing more of their God-given brains and talents, and have to learn to manage their time!

Believe me, I know! I was in Methodist youth group, orchestra, choir, and various clubs in high school, and continued in that vein with concert choir, sorority and service clubs at UCLA too. Since I met Christ in 1980, my focus has turned to knowing and serving Him, but I still keep busy at home with Steve and our family, writing about and teaching the Bible, and in women's ministries. I love every minute!

Steve and I declined a dinner invitation to Olive Garden, because at 4 p.m., it was already getting dark and we needed to head north. Steve mixed up my spinach, bacon, fried onion, Craisin and raspberry vinaigrette salad so I could eat on the way, while the sky was just a little drizzly. But with nightfall came steady rain, and a repeat of the process I'd gone through on the way south. Ugh! A bit bedraggled and little the worse for wear, we grabbed some necessities at Ralphs on Alessandro, and finally made it home.

Thank you, Lord, for answering our prayers and delivering us home safely!