Monday Morning Almanac

Patrick made this collage. He returned to soccer yesterday, 15 weeks after tearing his MCL. It was so good to see him play. We are making some very concrete changes as the season shifts. He's had a lot of time on his hands as he recovered. Now, he will have school and work and the formidable challenge of getting back to elite athlete fitness levels. The times they are a-changing. Frankly, we all need more structure, so it's good. 

I find myself:

::noticing God's glory

My garden is finished. It was a less than stellar garden year. I'm looking for guidance for what to plant now. Maybe I can have a rocking fall garden?

::listening to 

quiet. Everyone is still asleep.

::clothing myself in 

curly hair. On Saturday, I got my haircut. I went to my usual lady and when she asked me what I wanted I said, "I don't care. Do whatever you want. I'm sure no matter what you do, I'll look better than I feel right now." (It was the last day of pretty much the worst week since the turn of the century.) So, she proceeded to cut my hair and do some sort of magic that made it stick straight. When I saw my children after the haircut, Karoline cried (curls are very much a Kari-Mommy thing). Sarah said, "Your hair is weird; it's so straight." Stephen said, "It's not that bad." And Katie, bless her heart, said, "I'm not going to lie. It's awful." Happily, I sat in the rain and watched soccer for four hours on Sunday and now it's back to its curly chaotic mess. 

::thinking and thinking

that some things are better left unsaid.

::pondering prayerfully

Like Jesus, we belong to the world living not for ourselves but for others. The joy of the Lord is our strength. ~Blessed Mother Teresa

::carefully cultivating rhythm

It's soccer camp week. I will be living in my car. I like my car, so that's ok.

::creating by hand

I hope to sew tomorrow morning and Wednesday. I'd like to get back into a rhythm.

::learning lessons in

I don't know. I'm certain there are lessons to be learned here in the midst of my mess, but right now, I'm too tired to make sense of them. Last week was a hurricane. The list of big, difficult things is impressive. I kept thinking of Padre Pio's advice to "Pray, hope, and don't worry." And I did. But I didn't sleep. Now, I'm sick. So, the takeaway is to pray, hope, don't worry, and get some sleep. It's a new week. New strategy? I think so.

::encouraging learning 

We are going to attempt a full school schedule in the mornings and then soccer in the afternoons.

::begging prayers

for all the people who have joined our weekend prayer community. I carried your requests with me to Mass and I will keep a candle lit for you throughout the week.

for a dozen personal intentions--each of them precious and urgent. 

::keeping house

the laundry is all caught up. So there's that.

::towards being unplugged

I experimented last week with keeping my phone off and away except when I pick it up to use it as a phone. I think the experiment was a bit of a failure. I missed an email Saturday evening that significantly  affected our Sunday morning plans. I read it around 11:00 Saturday night, five hours after it was sent, not the ideal time to be making new plans. I missed several texts on Saturday and Sunday and I'm sure people wondered if I was being rude. And I missed an important phone call from my sister-in-law early Friday morning. I'm sure there's more. Anyway, unless the rest of the world is going to operate in "unplugged mode" I'm not sure it is going to work for me to operate that way.

::crafting in the kitchen 

I have about six hours to figure out five meals that can happen here at home this week while I'm not here to cook them or serve them. Suggestions welcomed.

::loving the moments

a shining bright spot in an otherwise difficult week was the benefit dinner I attended with Mike on Saturday night. We met Ginny  and Jonny there and we all sat with my friend Molly and her husband. It was an amazing evening and I'll share more of that with you later. But as I sat there, I couldn't help but be grateful for the internet. Those two ladies at my table are dear and precious friends. Real friends. We have history. We've shared hearts. It was so incredibly good to see Molly and get to hug her and to get to soak up actually being with Ginny all evening and just let it all be real. These are two women who are go-to girls for me when things get rocky around here. They are close friends who don't live close by. I was so grateful to bridge the physical distance.

::giving thanks 

for hope.

::living the liturgy

I cannot receive the Eucharist without requesting a nearly gluten free host. At my little mission church, this is no big deal. I tell Father beforehand and either I or him or my sons who are altar servers take the special host and put it where it won't be forgotten. Then, I wait until everyone else has gone to communion and put myself at the end of the line. Two Sundays ago, I introduced myself to a new priest and we put the wheels in motion. When it was my turn to receive, the priest looked back to the altar and then, with tears in his eyes, looked to me and said, "The altar boys must have taken it away. I don't have communion for you." 

Wednesday was a feast day. We went to a church nearby because there was no Mass at the mission. No low-gluten option there. Then, yesterday, I went up to the mission and we had a visiting priest. He was in prayer when I arrived. There is a formidable language barrier, also. I didn't even try to explain. No communion. And I am missing it. There is no daily Mass at the mission this week either. The Saturday vigil seems a long way off. I am so eager to welcome my priest home from vacation. So eager.

::planning for the week ahead

Sleep would be good.