Thursday, January 11, 2007

Reflections of Scotland

I may not live in Scotland anymore, but I will always carry some of it with me.
These are some of the images/people I don't ever want to forget:

  1. Round-a-bouts.
  2. Expert drivers who maneuver around you with just inches to spare.
  3. Conversing with "the two Margarets" (two dear ladies I got to know at church).
  4. Pedestrians.
  5. Bright yellow reflector jackets.
  6. The twinkle in Charles Muir's eyes when he told a joke.
  7. The city lights of the central belt.
  8. David McCulloch saying "watch this" and then poking the notoriously ticklish Candace.
  9. Hanging with his mom, my dear friend, Kim.
  10. Walking in the rain.
  11. The unbelievable stories I heard of Beth receiving messages from the "mother ship."
  12. People's patience as I asked them to repeat themselves ... again.
  13. The powerful preaching of Andrew Quigley.
  14. Jimmy's flowers.
  15. Tesco shopping.
  16. Straining hard to count British money.
  17. The free flow of insightful exchanges during a MET.
  18. Winston, the wood pigeon.
  19. Holding David and Angie's new baby for whom we prayed so much.
  20. The castles and lochs.
  21. My son, Ben, breaking into dance during lunch breaks at home.
  22. Listening to Karen Reyburn sing the alto line of a Psalm.
  23. Getting to know Harry and Anne.
  24. Learning to appreciate people's passion for football (soccer).
  25. Glasgow.
  26. The friendly honks and waves on the street.
  27. Sam Bell's local stories.
  28. The charity shops.
  29. Christy's Pastry Shop.
  30. Ian Shaw's singing.
  31. The Royal Mile.
  32. Watching Amy act in Macbeth.
  33. Beautiful wee red-headed Bobbi.
  34. Heart-to-heart talks with Susan (Bobbi's mom).
  35. The long days of summer.
  36. The dark days of winter.
  37. Listening to George and Robert talk about theology.
  38. Getting directions by way of pubs.
  39. Visiting with Dorothy.
  40. Celebrating Thanksgiving in our house with fellow Americans.
  41. Ben Gordan playing the guitar and singing only the first half of songs.
  42. Playing a very loud game at the church family weekend and laughing so hard it hurt.
  43. Listening to Rob yell "Cheater!" at the top of his lungs.
  44. Praying for people in our neighborhood.
  45. Hearing Gordan Smith's laugh.
  46. Helping his wife, Carol, work in the kitchen.
  47. The mist hanging on the mountains.
  48. Hearing John describe himself as a man who loved the monarchy.
  49. Talking to Helen about homeschooling their precious daughter.
  50. Tea and busquits.
  51. Writing a Covenanter song as a memory aid for the children.
  52. Hearing the cd of my voice singing my song as it was played before the whole church. (ugg!)
  53. Browsing at a huge flea market in Glasgow with the McCullochs.
  54. Learning new terms for familiar things (cell/mobile, pants/trousers, soccer/football).
  55. Getting to see our old friends Walter and Betty again.
  56. Spending the night with David and Sybil.
  57. Robert fishing with Tim.
  58. Riding the train to Edinburgh.
  59. Spending lots of time in an art gallery.
  60. Robert and Bob clearing brush from an old Covenanter memorial site.
  61. Chauffeuring on a Covenanter tour.
  62. Becoming friends with Dick and Susan Knodel.
  63. Getting to know Christine and her baby boy, the very ones my family had prayed for before we moved to Scotland.
  64. Fish and chips.
  65. Spending time with my wonderful mother-in-law, Joy (her name fits).
  66. Working on needle point.
  67. Hosting several families in our house almost every week.
  68. Singing Psalms with Scottish voices all around.
  69. Designing gospel tracts to hand out.
  70. Hanging clothes on the line.
  71. Running out to fetch the damp clothes when it started to rain (and it always did).
  72. Draping clothes all over the house.
  73. Spending quality time with Fintan and Brogan (two Irish setters).
  74. Celebrating my first Guy Fox Day.
  75. Seeing more rainbows than I thought possible.
  76. Getting to know everyone at Airdrie RP Church.
  77. Saying goodbye.

Thanks for letting me share all that with you. Most of you don't know these people and places, but just telling you about them helps me to remember and appreciate them. These faces and places are forever woven into the fabric of who I am.

I love you, Scotland.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I loved your list of Scotland memories! thanks for sharing those. Brings back so many of the very same memories for me!

Amy Thorne said...

My mom has a cool post here!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the memories. I love you.

Anonymous said...

Things I remember from the Joneses being in Scotland:
1. A hug from Suzanne at church.
2. The way Amy's eyes lit up on seeing me - every time.
3. Ben-jammin'.
4. The big purple people-carrier.
5. Coffee with Candace at (a very full) Starbucks.
6. MET with Robert and Suzanne.
7. The look on Robert's face when he was given a huge painting to take home - after all the bags were packed.
8. Shopping for mobile phones.
9. Suzanne's Covenanter CD (I still want one!!)
10. Tears in Amy's eyes the Sunday night before leaving.
11. In prayer on Sunday mornings.
12. MET at my house, and cups of tea.
13. Caitlin talking a mile a minute to Amy.
14. Ben's comments in MET.
15. Suzanne asking how I am doing, and listening to the answer.
16. Hearing Candace describe London.
17. Ben's Coca-Cola necklace - suddenly appearing on someone else.
18. Seeing everyone talking after church.
19. Amy allowing me to take her photo.
20. Love you guys!

Charity said...

That was a beautiful list. :) I hope to make a similar list sometime soon.

Hey, you know, there are round-a-bouts in Carmel, IN. (though it'd all be backwards from what you learned) There are also several in Frankston, VIC. (yess, left-side-of-the-road driving!)

Don't worry, we still have your mo-bile number. :)

Suzanne said...

Heather, it is so great to have another person out there who lived in Scotland long enough to understand how it can get under your skin.

Thanks, A.

Joy, you're the best - I love you!

Karen, you blow me away - you're soooo sweet! I'd hug ya' now if you were handy.

Charity babe, I'll be looking for that list. And today I experienced one of the Carmel round-a-bouts when I picked up Ben's cello from a repair shop there after the cello had a not so uneventful airplane trip.

the green sharpie! said...

;;sigh;; I love you Mrs Jones! :0)