Danny ChaiToday is Abby’s first day in daycare. I’m so sad about it. It’s just hard to imagine trusting a stranger to our most precious Abby; it tears me up. And it was a lot easier for us to decide on Jieun going back to work and doing the daycare thing before she was actually born. 5 months seemed a reasonable age back then. Now… I dunno, I still think we’re doing the right thing for the family but it’s hard. Especially since so few in our community can relate; we’re literally the only family in church right now where the mom is working (albeit half time) and the baby is going daycare. Honestly, it kind of makes me feel like we’re subpar parents. But whatever.
I actually really enjoyed Young and Cindy’s wedding. (SN. Minho has mentioned something like this before about himself, but I realized I use two words inappropriately – “literally” and “actually”. Like I’ll say, “It’s literally raining cats and dogs”, that is, use it for emphasis, not correctly. Or I’ll say “actually”, which kind of has an undertone of surprise or unexpectedness, where there is none. Like, “Actually, two plus two equals four.” The latter one is Ted rubbing off on us.) But it was a nice reunion, good to see people, and the homily was perhaps the best wedding homily I’ve ever heard.
Anne Cr0ssman nee B0nner was at our table, first time we’ve seen her in like 8 years. The story of how she and Jieun became friends is great, but I’ll let Jieun share that.
I have no idea why he keeps doing this, but Henry keeps subscribing me to Esquire. Actually, he never said he did, but the subscription is for “Daniel Squawk Chai”, and only Henry is a loser enough to do that. Anyway, it’s a completely odd magazine; you get emotional whiplash reading it. Like, this month’s issue features these two beautiful, heart-wrenching stories about a nursing home that was destroyed (with many people inside) after Hurricane Katrina, and a story about what’s happened to a handful of people after 9/11. I almost cried reading it; I told Bea to read it and she cried too. In between, a story featuring Mary Louise-Parker in her underwear talking about songs that make her want to have sex. Jarring juxtaposition.
Also, the latest issue of Christianity Today features an article with an evangelical who until recently was an advisor and speechwriter to GW Bush. One exchange that caught my attention was a discussion he has on immigration; while he understands why people want strong borders, he says Christians have an obligation to help all people, regardless of their legal status, and that colors how we should approach the issue.
I was really encouraged by that. I happen to lean against what he’s saying, but just that fact that he’s not a party line Republican, that his faith informs his politics instead of vice-versa, made me happy. I have no idea why some people think being Christian means you have to buy wholesale into the Republican platform. Like why so many evangelicals are skeptical about environmental issues, or why I’ve heard anti-gun control commentaries on the Christian music station in Houston. That prominent Christian political figures aren’t like that made me feel better.