Jemima

Jemima Farwell is Calvin Farwell's younger daughter. She was born just a year before Shirley and I built the house here in Dummerston, and so was a little toddler when I first got to know their family. She was a feisty litle girl! A little later she was part of the Junior Choir at the Guilford Church which I led at that time. This would have been in the 1980s. There was a memorable moment at a Christmas Eve service back then when someone standing next to her wasn't paying close attention to the burning candle they were holding and accidently set fire to Jemima's long, red hair. It was put out very quickly, but it filled the sanctuary with the odor of burnt hair! If you have ever smelled burnt hair you know how shocking that moment was! Jemima has a son, Simeon, who is just a few months younger than my Katie. They have been living in the Berkeley, CA area for several decades, but now, at age 50, Jemima is reforming her life. She has given up her home in Berkeley and has come back East. She has been house sitting in various places, trying to decide just what comes next. This week she was staying with Calvin (who lives with his son, Sam, and his family) and I took advantage of the opportunity to see her this afternoon. I have long been very fond of Jemima and had not seen her for many years. So it was really great to see her again! We didn't have a lot of time - Ellen is still working on the big meal - but we had a chance just to see each other and catch up a little bit. She is going to be living with a friend on Bunker Road starting next week, so she will still be in Dummerston for a while, and I hope we'll have a chance for a longer visit in the near future.

Me and Jemima************************ This morning we actually went to church! Guilford has resumed services in-person, with masks and social distancing. But it felt really good to be back with others again. Ukraine was very much a part of the service - a more somber service than other years when Mardi Gras was more in the forefront. "Planting seeds" was the theme, and we were each handed a sunflower seed when we came into the church - the sunflower being the Ukrainian national flower. According to Pastor Eiisa, she had planned to hand out sunflower seeds today long before the Russian invasion of Ukraine! The Holy Spirit was at work! This will be a big week - John and Cynthia are coming over Tuesday evening and Wednesday is my birthday! It is also Ash Wednesday. When you turn 89, being told "you are dust and to dust you will return" makes a lot of sense!