How Did Daddy Do It?

I did some book sorting at Mother’s today. We have to get her estate settled and that means distributing all her (and Daddy's) belongings from 98 years of living stashed in every nook and cranny of her large house. I get sidetracked often. I find things that set me to thinking. 

Today, in a three volume set of commentaries, I found some makeshift bookmarks: two were index cards on which Daddy had written the orders of worship for prayer meetings from 1953 at Mackville. The other bookmark was a folded letter from my sister Jan written about 1962 or 63 probably.

The index cards just made me stop to think of how hard Daddy worked. He was a full time student and served two churches, preaching at each on Sunday mornings, at least one on Sunday evening, plus — according to these cards — Wednesday and Thursday prayer meetings! How in the world did he manage to pass his classes and preach all those sermons and lead all those prayer meetings and visit the sick and comfort the dying and pay a little attention to five then six and eventually seven children?

I suppose these index cards were lying on his desk and so served as handy bookmarks. And I suppose they stayed in those pages for 69 years.

Every time I see my Daddy's handwriting I want to preserve it.

Since Lyn or Charmaine are not mentioned I suspect this letter was written before their births, but obviously after we moved to Trinity in Rome. Also Jan mentions Mother and Daddy's "new address" so I'm guessing around Christmas time, 1962 or early 63.