Oct. 26, 2007
Since re-reading "The Story of a Soul," I have been praying a novena to St. Therese of Lisieux for a special intention -- one that was very important to me. And, having read about St. Therese, I know that people who seek her intercession sometimes seek -- or find -- a sign that she is indeed praying with them by the unexpected appearance of a rose or roses.
Well, I was on the lookout here in Virginia in late October for some roses to show that St. Therese was hearing me. When I took the children to noon Mass on Tuesday, I looked hopefully in the chapel garden which has a large fish pond. I decided that the blooms on the lily pads could not count as roses. But then my eye alighted on a single rose on the hill above. When I walked up, I saw that blooming rose bushes surrounded the rectory, and I took heart.
I wonder why we humans need so much reassurance that God cares for us when he has already given the ultimate gift. Yet, we are human, and we need the constant encouragement of our community and the communion of saints in our establishment of the Kingdom of God on Earth. So I thank God for the Church. Anyone who says they can do it on their own is fooling himself. I know that I cannot.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Books, books, books
Oct. 23, 2007
You can tell I'm old-fashioned (or just old) by the fact that the media I read most consistently is still my morning newspaper. That may also reflect on my previous life as a newspaper reporter. I am a news junkie, although I do read features. A feature in my newspaper today was kind of depressing and kind of encouraging. Titled Reading Reality, the article was all about what teens are reading these days. The double point of the story is that we should be glad teens are reading, but young adult literature of today is a bit more adult than young.
Apparently, hot books these days include the Twilight series, about a teen who is in love with the undead. And then there is the "The Gossip Girls," which is a sort of "Sex and the City"-themed book about teens at a New York private school.
Themes like AIDS, violence and pregnancy are popular because they reflect the teens' real lives, according to this article.
Anyway, this inspired me to reminisce about my favorite books as a teen and a pre-teen. Plus, a yahoo group that I'm a member of has been discussing must-read books for middle school years.
So, here is what I read as a pre-teen and teen-ager:
My very favorite books when I was 12 were "The Diary of Anne Frank" and "Little Women," both of which I had read at least 10 times. I read everything by Louisa May Alcott. I had also run through the "Anne of Green Gables" series and the "Little House" series a bit earlier. Now, that's all very typical, I know.
But as a teen-ager I got really into all of Leon Uris' books after reading "Exodus," his novel about the establishment of Israel after World War II. I was kind of a WWII history junkie and read all of his books that dealt with that era.
I also got way into Herman Wouk, best known for "The Winds of War. "But I have to say "The Caine Mutiny" is my favorite. And then I was off on a Jewish author phase which included Chaim Potok, Isaac Bashevis Singer and Bernard Malamud. This lasted into college.
As you can tell, I found an author I liked and stuck to him or her until I had read most everything by him. Mark Twain is another author I enjoyed early on - more in middle school. My particular favorite was "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court." Twain's name has come up a lot on this yahoo group of classical home educators discussing good books for the middle school years.
I read a good bit of Judy Blume in my middle school years, although I wouldn't recommend it to my own kids in middle school. The books have an obvious agenda, and they are just not that great - in my opinion.
As a native of Eastern Kentucky, I wish I had been steered to some of the excellent Appalachian writers when I was in high school. But I never even heard of people like Lee Smith or James Still until I was in my 20s. When I first read Lee Smith, it was with a great sense of relief and discovery, "Oh, there are other people out there like us!" If you are from Appalachia, you know exactly what I mean. She is also a beautiful writer.
I was fortunate that I avoided "junk" reading in my teen years. But I always had an interest in history and in religion and that guided my reading choices.
My kids, who are 8 and 6, seem to like typical kid fiction -- although I happily admit to steering them away from things like Junie B. Jones and the Babysitters Club.
Olivia loves all the Beverly Cleary she has read so far: "The Mouse and the Motorcycle," "Ellen Tebbits," etc. Also she really likes the American Girl series of historical fiction books. Joey loves anything about science of history or the military.
For fun, though, nothing beats Calvin and Hobbes for them. Their dad is the same, but his serious fiction favorite is Daphne du Maurier.
Thus ends my rambling about books. No point really, not today.
You can tell I'm old-fashioned (or just old) by the fact that the media I read most consistently is still my morning newspaper. That may also reflect on my previous life as a newspaper reporter. I am a news junkie, although I do read features. A feature in my newspaper today was kind of depressing and kind of encouraging. Titled Reading Reality, the article was all about what teens are reading these days. The double point of the story is that we should be glad teens are reading, but young adult literature of today is a bit more adult than young.
Apparently, hot books these days include the Twilight series, about a teen who is in love with the undead. And then there is the "The Gossip Girls," which is a sort of "Sex and the City"-themed book about teens at a New York private school.
Themes like AIDS, violence and pregnancy are popular because they reflect the teens' real lives, according to this article.
Anyway, this inspired me to reminisce about my favorite books as a teen and a pre-teen. Plus, a yahoo group that I'm a member of has been discussing must-read books for middle school years.
So, here is what I read as a pre-teen and teen-ager:
My very favorite books when I was 12 were "The Diary of Anne Frank" and "Little Women," both of which I had read at least 10 times. I read everything by Louisa May Alcott. I had also run through the "Anne of Green Gables" series and the "Little House" series a bit earlier. Now, that's all very typical, I know.
But as a teen-ager I got really into all of Leon Uris' books after reading "Exodus," his novel about the establishment of Israel after World War II. I was kind of a WWII history junkie and read all of his books that dealt with that era.
I also got way into Herman Wouk, best known for "The Winds of War. "But I have to say "The Caine Mutiny" is my favorite. And then I was off on a Jewish author phase which included Chaim Potok, Isaac Bashevis Singer and Bernard Malamud. This lasted into college.
As you can tell, I found an author I liked and stuck to him or her until I had read most everything by him. Mark Twain is another author I enjoyed early on - more in middle school. My particular favorite was "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court." Twain's name has come up a lot on this yahoo group of classical home educators discussing good books for the middle school years.
I read a good bit of Judy Blume in my middle school years, although I wouldn't recommend it to my own kids in middle school. The books have an obvious agenda, and they are just not that great - in my opinion.
As a native of Eastern Kentucky, I wish I had been steered to some of the excellent Appalachian writers when I was in high school. But I never even heard of people like Lee Smith or James Still until I was in my 20s. When I first read Lee Smith, it was with a great sense of relief and discovery, "Oh, there are other people out there like us!" If you are from Appalachia, you know exactly what I mean. She is also a beautiful writer.
I was fortunate that I avoided "junk" reading in my teen years. But I always had an interest in history and in religion and that guided my reading choices.
My kids, who are 8 and 6, seem to like typical kid fiction -- although I happily admit to steering them away from things like Junie B. Jones and the Babysitters Club.
Olivia loves all the Beverly Cleary she has read so far: "The Mouse and the Motorcycle," "Ellen Tebbits," etc. Also she really likes the American Girl series of historical fiction books. Joey loves anything about science of history or the military.
For fun, though, nothing beats Calvin and Hobbes for them. Their dad is the same, but his serious fiction favorite is Daphne du Maurier.
Thus ends my rambling about books. No point really, not today.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Gloria Patri
Oct. 18, 2007
As we are getting back to normal here at home, we are trying to resume some of our regular routine. Part of that routine is to say one decade of the Rosary every night as a family before bed. We talk about which mysteries we are to meditate on for the day and for which intentions we will pray.
Well, trying to reinstate this little routine for my kids has been like trying to drag a couple of cats into the bathtub -- especially for Joey, who is notoriously stubborn. But we have persisted. And tonight Joey, who is 6, offered to lead. So, off he went and was doing fine. When we came to the last Glory Be, Joey decided to deliver it in Latin -- which is one of the kids' subjects at homeschool. We just finished learning the Gloria Patri this week. He waded through it, and Olivia and I joined in. He looked pretty proud of himself, and I was proud of him. After the sometimes arduous days of school, it was encouraging to see that parental persistence -- or insistence -- can pay off.
As we are getting back to normal here at home, we are trying to resume some of our regular routine. Part of that routine is to say one decade of the Rosary every night as a family before bed. We talk about which mysteries we are to meditate on for the day and for which intentions we will pray.
Well, trying to reinstate this little routine for my kids has been like trying to drag a couple of cats into the bathtub -- especially for Joey, who is notoriously stubborn. But we have persisted. And tonight Joey, who is 6, offered to lead. So, off he went and was doing fine. When we came to the last Glory Be, Joey decided to deliver it in Latin -- which is one of the kids' subjects at homeschool. We just finished learning the Gloria Patri this week. He waded through it, and Olivia and I joined in. He looked pretty proud of himself, and I was proud of him. After the sometimes arduous days of school, it was encouraging to see that parental persistence -- or insistence -- can pay off.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
My biggest fan
Oct. 17, 2007
Well, the industrial fans are gone. Thank God. We had them going for 12 days to dry out the floor. Sunday was the last day of fans. It was the kind of day you have to look back on and laugh, but when you're in it, it's not funny.
It's the kind of day where you clean the bathtub grout with your own toothbrush and don't realize you've done it until it's too late.
It's the kind of day where only one of your three bathrooms is working.
It's the kind of day where you are 20 minutes late for Mass and you have to stand in the back the whole time.
It's the kind of day on which your kind husband takes the kids out for a hike while you take a much-needed nap.
And then the kids and I took two days off from school and just relaxed and got some things done for the house and unpacking and shopping. So now I'm feeling almost normal again.
I just re-read The Story of a Soul by St. Therese, the Little Flower. It made a greater impression this time -- her incredible faith and love for God and her total abandonment to Him.
And then yesterday I saw a quote from the saint whom I chose as a patron when I entered the Church -- another doctor of the church named Teresa -- at the end of an email. This quote should be my motto for life and so I'll post it here because it is a great reminder to us all:
"Let nothing trouble you, let nothing make you afraid. All things pass away. God never changes. Patience obtains everything. God alone is enough." -- St. Teresa of Avila
Well, the industrial fans are gone. Thank God. We had them going for 12 days to dry out the floor. Sunday was the last day of fans. It was the kind of day you have to look back on and laugh, but when you're in it, it's not funny.
It's the kind of day where you clean the bathtub grout with your own toothbrush and don't realize you've done it until it's too late.
It's the kind of day where only one of your three bathrooms is working.
It's the kind of day where you are 20 minutes late for Mass and you have to stand in the back the whole time.
It's the kind of day on which your kind husband takes the kids out for a hike while you take a much-needed nap.
And then the kids and I took two days off from school and just relaxed and got some things done for the house and unpacking and shopping. So now I'm feeling almost normal again.
I just re-read The Story of a Soul by St. Therese, the Little Flower. It made a greater impression this time -- her incredible faith and love for God and her total abandonment to Him.
And then yesterday I saw a quote from the saint whom I chose as a patron when I entered the Church -- another doctor of the church named Teresa -- at the end of an email. This quote should be my motto for life and so I'll post it here because it is a great reminder to us all:
"Let nothing trouble you, let nothing make you afraid. All things pass away. God never changes. Patience obtains everything. God alone is enough." -- St. Teresa of Avila
Friday, October 12, 2007
A Kid's Perspective
Oct. 12, 2007
As we continue to deal with this crazy house, I'm trying to remain optimistic by looking at the situation through the eyes of my children.
As an adult, I'm quite aware that I won't have a new kitchen floor for at least two weeks, I still have an industrial fan drying my kitchen and I will be without a dishwasher likely for a month.
That aside, my kids think this is a great place. It's the yard, of course. More than an acre of beautiful green space to run and bike and ride their wagon, "The Blur," down the slope from the front yard to the back.
And then there is the creek. Yes, a stream is the boundary of our property. The creek is a world of endless interest to my little guys. They have caught salamanders and crawdads and have seen fish and frogs. And they even have a sitting log. A tree that has fallen across the creek is the perfect place for them to sit and think and chat. "The Nature Show never ends, Mom," Joey told me last night.
They also have a clubhouse. (They started a Little Rascals Club after seeing the 15-year-old movie by that name). Their clubhouse is the potting shed beside the house. It has a light, a floor, shelves -- obviously pots. A door. It's their own little spot. And I think it's OK now that I have cleaned out more than 100 old plastic pots that I feared were harboring snakes or mice or worse.
Our yard is the most level of any I have seen in this Blue Ridge area. But, as we are from Memphis where it is flat, my kids still think it is hilly. And they have named the little slopes from the front to the back yards Mount Zogo and Mount Zagala.
For me, this house is turning out to be a real chore. For them, it is an adventure. So maybe, just for today, I will try to see it through their eyes.
As we continue to deal with this crazy house, I'm trying to remain optimistic by looking at the situation through the eyes of my children.
As an adult, I'm quite aware that I won't have a new kitchen floor for at least two weeks, I still have an industrial fan drying my kitchen and I will be without a dishwasher likely for a month.
That aside, my kids think this is a great place. It's the yard, of course. More than an acre of beautiful green space to run and bike and ride their wagon, "The Blur," down the slope from the front yard to the back.
And then there is the creek. Yes, a stream is the boundary of our property. The creek is a world of endless interest to my little guys. They have caught salamanders and crawdads and have seen fish and frogs. And they even have a sitting log. A tree that has fallen across the creek is the perfect place for them to sit and think and chat. "The Nature Show never ends, Mom," Joey told me last night.
They also have a clubhouse. (They started a Little Rascals Club after seeing the 15-year-old movie by that name). Their clubhouse is the potting shed beside the house. It has a light, a floor, shelves -- obviously pots. A door. It's their own little spot. And I think it's OK now that I have cleaned out more than 100 old plastic pots that I feared were harboring snakes or mice or worse.
Our yard is the most level of any I have seen in this Blue Ridge area. But, as we are from Memphis where it is flat, my kids still think it is hilly. And they have named the little slopes from the front to the back yards Mount Zogo and Mount Zagala.
For me, this house is turning out to be a real chore. For them, it is an adventure. So maybe, just for today, I will try to see it through their eyes.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Soggy Saga
Oct. 10, 2007
Joey’s memory verse this week is “I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth” Genesis 9:13. That, of course, comes from the story of Noah and the flood.
We had a little flood of our own here last week – a very wet welcome to
I’ve been busy with plumbers, electricians, insurance adjustors, floor restoration specialists and water removal experts ever since. And, of course, I’ve been teaching the kids. They are still getting all of their subjects.
Much of our kitchen floor has been ripped out and we have had industrial fans and air scrubbers going for nearly a week. I have to say the most recent flooring in the kitchen was the best so far. And brand new. Too bad it didn’t last long. The kitchen has been stripped down to the original beige linoleum, flecked with black and white. And the staples are poking out of it so we have to keep shoes on all the time.
So, what can I learn from this? Well, old houses have plumbing problems (although our old house in
But here is something else I learned and it’s pretty basic:
I’m a worrier, a true-blue worrier. Anyone who knows me can vouch for that. I guess I think that if I worry about a potential bad consequence, I will be prepared for it. Well, I wasn’t worried the night of our flood. I was safe in my new home with only plans of unpacking on my mind.
And then – the water. So, I have been reminded that worry is futile. It prepares us for nothing except more worry. And worry separates us from God – because it is fear, of course. And fear is the opposite of faith.
If I had been worried about catastrophic problems in my new house, it wouldn’t have prepared me to deal with it. What enabled us to deal with it is our home insurance and a handy husband who knows how things work. And, of course, a willingness to deal with the problem as it unfolds. It is still unfolding.
I pray that soon we will begin to see some the problems resolved and our home restored.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Novel idea
Oct. 4, 2007
Novel idea
Sweet surprise.
Home early to find
the shape
my life has taken.
made of flour, eggs and sugar.
Stirred by little hands,
iced with caramel and care.
every sentence published somewhere.
Feel the heat of years,
then gather breath
to set free
the wish held within
unspoken.
I wrote that on my 35th birthday -- five years ago. But the more time I spend as a mother the more certain I am of the truth of those words, "Every day a composition. Every sentence published somewhere."
When it comes to kids, it seems that everything you do matters. And that is one reason we have chosen to homeschool our two.
We are a Catholic family who has just moved from Tennessee to VA. More on that later. I had an interesting experience a few days before the move, which I write about here:
Rosary-go-round
The saying, “what goes around comes around” is definitely true. And when it comes to rosaries, it can come around pretty fast.
My family and I are preparing for our first cross-country move since becoming a family. When my husband and I moved to
One old blue rosary figures largely in the turnaround made in my life. This macramé rosary was a gift to me from a wacky friend, who was a devout and good Catholic. Watching her life planted the seed of conversion and Catholicism in my mind. That seed was watered by some of life’s tribulations plus my decision to reach for the blue rosary one day. The daily habit of praying the Rosary changed my mind, changed my heart and changed my life. My husband and I converted to Catholicism about a year later when I was pregnant with our oldest child, now 8.
With two children under two, I have to admit I prayed the Rosary less conscientiously. But as the children and I have aged, my commitment to the prayer and the Blessed Mother has resurfaced and we make the effort to pray one decade of the Rosary daily as a family.
I had kept the old blue rosary for years and still used it for praying in the car, but as we prepared to move to
One day later, I was at an unlikely location for prayers and rosaries – a nail salon. It was my last chance to use a coupon given to me as a birthday gift. I noticed the large portrait of the Blessed Mother above the shelf of polish and the many religious medals worn by the elderly lady who was giving my manicure.
Because she didn’t want me to mar the polish, the lady insisted on getting my car keys out of my purse for me. My keychain – a Mother’s Day gift from my children -- is a disc with a picture of the late Pope John Paul II on one side and Pope Benedict XVI on the other. The manicurist, who was from
“Yes,” I said. “Turn it over.”
She beamed at the picture of Pope Benedict. What followed was a wonderful, unexpected sharing about our own faith lives between two people who might have otherwise never met. The lady, who was from
We talked a little more and then, as I was leaving, she placed the one-decade Rosary on the table in front of me. “If you don’t mind, have this please,” she said.
When I protested, she insisted that she has many other rosaries. So we ended our visit with a hug. I honestly think she was sent by God, as so many people are, to remind us that God is with us even when we can’t see him. And it was a comfort to me as I have been unsettled and anxious about this move – although I know it is good for the family.
I have heard it is a good idea to make gifts of your rosaries. But I have never heard of them coming back so quickly. I will keep this one as a reminder that God goes with me and my family on this latest installment of our journey.
And may God go with you and yours.
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