and of course i was sitting right up front.

tonight was our "Candlelight & Carols" Advent service at church. it's one of my favorite services. the church is lit almost entirely by candles (one spotlight shines softly on the altar) & we pause to think, to reflect, to find peace in the midst of all the bustle associated with Christmas. it is designed to feel like a refuge in the center of a whirling storm.

we reach a point in the service when we are pausing to remember loved ones who have passed away. the church is silent & reverent.

and then, i hear it. that unmistakable whine.

a mosquito.

and he is buzzing all around me. first by this ear, then the other. lands on my neck, my hair, my arm. i cannot just allow a mosquito to land on me & nibble. just can't. so i am trying to discreetly swat him away. but he.won't.leave. he just keeps hovering. and whining. faster & faster. tormenting me.

and there i am, swatting away at the mosquito. but the church is dark & no one can *see* it. so i just look insane. arms flailing, hands waving, trying to defend myself. from a mosquito. AT CHRISTMASTIME. only in Florida is this an issue.

i can't tell you how grateful i was when, at the end of the service, the guy sitting behind me tapped my shoulder & said "i just want you to know, i know you're not crazy. i saw the mosquito. i wanted to swat him for you when i saw him land on your hair but i thought you might turn around & hit *me*."

so much for some quiet moments to breathe & re-center myself.