Update: They finally came and picked up the dryer we’ve been trying to send back. Now we have to wait for them to refund the money so we can purchase the correct dryer. In the meantime, there have been a lot of laundromat trips.

Andrew came to the laundromat with me one day this week. He wanted a candy bar from the vending machine. I bought him a Hershey bar. As he sat on the bench with me, the older gentleman who worked there said, “Oh boy, that looks good. Can I have a piece?” Without thinking twice, Andrew held up a piece for him. He politely declined and said he was joking, and thanked him.

5 minutes later, he came back and said “I have something for you. You are such a kind boy, I want to give you something special. He pulled out a brand new and uncirculated $2 bill. He said he gets them for his grandkids for Christmas. Andrew was thrilled.

The craziest thing that happened this week? I preached a funeral. For a bird.

Andrew kept talking about a bird. I told him I didn’t see a bird. So he walked me over to this bird that was, as Monty Python says, “no more.” I told them not to touch it and that I would take care of it. I found my shovel in the garage, returned to the yard and scooped it up. They asked if we could take it to the “bird doctor” like on Bluey. I said that it was a little late for the bird, because it had passed away.

I had never seen this particular kind of bird before. I searched the internet and it appeared to me a “Michigan Bluebird.”

I made the mistake of trying to dispose of it in the trash. I didn’t really think about it. They were visibly upset at the thought of this bird going in the garbage. Thinking quickly, I told them to both follow me. They asked what we were doing. I told them we were going to a have bird funeral. So I took the bird to the back of the yard, prepared a “grave,” and placed the bird in it.  

So the three of us are all standing around this hole with the bird in it looking down at it. Ella said that we should pray for the bird. I asked her if she wanted to pray but she said that I should. So, I looked around at the back yards around me. I took a deep breath and while the neighbors to the left and right of me were out in their yards, I sent up prayers for the poor little black/brown and blue bird.  

An “amen” followed afterward. I scooped up and replaced the dirt, covering the bird and we walked away. Ella said, “That was very nice, Daddy.”

As ridiculous as I felt, after she said that, I knew I had done the right thing.