It was a pleasure to see all of the sneakers stacked up in the mud room at Pompanuck Farm over the weekend, the signature sneakers of the RISSE refugee soccer team a/k/a the Bedlam Farm Warriors. Two or three of the kids had winter books, most wore their sneakers or in some cases, flip-flops with socks.

I was glad the weather was warm – in the 40’s both days. They cleaned up feverishly this afternoon, and Maria and I finished what they couldn’t get to. They did a great job of cleaning up for themselves. It was an exhausting weekend, even Ali seemed worn out by the end of the day.

Everybody got up at 5 a.m., there were some plumbing issues, and then one of the kids rolled backwards in a rocking chair and was unscathed, although the chair was banged up. We had pizza for lunch, made by Scott, whose Round House Cafe pizza has become a huge Friday night hit.

This weekend was a complex undertaking, involving a lot of saving, fund-raising, planning and negotiating. I saw how much it does for these kids, and it was a gift and a joy to be involved. Maria spent a lot of time at Pompanuck, serving and helping with the clean-up, I am always grateful for her presence.

She was worn out too, we went out to the Bog for dinner and she is soaking herself in the bathtub, she needed some bubble bath time. I’ve got some blogging to to, and normal life resumes tomorrow.

I am grateful for the weekend. I wrote last week that I am building a Cathedral, brick by brick, and that’s what this weekend felt like. Thanks for supporting it, it would not, of course, have been possible without you.