meet cancelled

I'm still here.  But I think I've lost my blogging voice.  But then there was yesterday.

My boys are participating in wrestling at their high school.  Yesterday was to be their last meet before the State Meet in about 10 days.  On days that they have a meet after school, they stay at school to practice and go in the short bus to the school hosting.  On those days, I don't have to pick them up at school, so I look forward to a little extra time to wrap up loose ends at school.

Yesterday, though, I got a phone call from one of the other wrestling parents as my school day was ending.  One of the coaches had collapsed during practice, she said.  The paramedics were there and working on him.  It didn't sound good, so I assured here I would be there just as soon as I got things squared away at school.  I was on my way when she called to tell me that he had passed away.

I had gotten a single text from one of my sons:  "Meet cancelled.  Come get us."

When I arrived at their school, the ambulance was still there.  There were dozens of kids milling around on the sidewalk outside the gym.  My two and one of their teammates came to my vehicle, wordlessly opened the doors and dissolved into tears.  Three teenage boys sobbing is not pretty.  Who do you hug first?  I parked in the parking lot, and the mom of my extra child showed up shortly.

Death can be so sudden.  This man was my age.  Graduated the same year as me.  Was in decent enough shape.  Had a daughter in one of my sons' classes.  "Hug with two arms," was the advice that one of my co-workers passed along from a funeral that she had been to the day before.

We headed home.  "Church or home?" I asked.  "Church," one said.  So we stopped off at the church by my school and in the rainy evening darkness we knelt and prayed.  I know I prayed for wisdom to know what to tell them and how to comfort them, as well as praying for this man and his family.

One minute he had been wrestling with a group of kids.  The next minute, he was unconscious.  The kids were present until the ambulance arrived.  I've not seen someone dying, but my children have. "Coach (the other one) was crying," they said.

Lord, give peace and comfort all those whose lives were touched by Coach Greg - his family, his friends, the youth that he gave his time to.

catching up

Do you ever really catch up?  This is more like the once a month reader's digest summary.

Life has been wild.  I started a post before Thanksgiving entitled "ch-ch-ch-changes."

It has been really roller-coastery.  The most glaring change has probably been school.  We heard the Saturday before Thanksgiving, that we would have a new principal beginning in early December.  Not really a new one...she retired from our school about 6 years ago.  But then things were said at a school board meeting, and the position had to be advertised, interviews, blah, blah, blah.  She's coming.  She's not coming.  They offered her the job.  She accepted.  The position is being reopened.  Never mind.  It has been four or five weeks of that kind of uncertainty.  Our current principal hanging in there,, not really sure of where he was going or when his last day would be.  But a week ago - the day before the Christmas break began - it became official.  We said good-bye to one and hello to the new old one.  Almost anything is better than the never-ending roller coaster.

I made a slight change of my own.  I ordered a pink box.

It came in the mail the week of Thanksgiving and promised "endless possibilities" and "boundless opportunity", and that sounded really good.

 
And so I began life as an independent Thirty-One consultant.  My first thought was "what were you thinking", but it's not been bad.  I have a few "whys".  The extra money is a draw.  The chance to buy the products at a reduced price.  The chance to get out of the house.  I think even the craziness at school contributed to my decision to embrace more craziness.  I have never had a school year this bad.

It is not the students.  It is not the people I work with.  It is the absolute craziness of the system, the absence of any meaningful discipline system, and the mind-blowing amount of paperwork and accountability they expect from us.  It is the fact that my pay will be based on the performance of hormonal adolescents (and to some degree hormonal observers.)  In 4 years, I will reach 30 years, which is my goal for retirement.  I must reach that.  Always I have figured that I would hit 30 years, perhaps do 3 years of Deferred Retirement (DROP), and then see how the spirit moved me.  Now my mantra is "4 more years, 4 more years."  I can't imagine going a day longer.

So, yeah, Thirty-One...where the motto is to Encourage, Reward, and Celebrate.  (Not necessarily in that order).  It sounded a lot better than Discourage, Antagonize, and Demoralize.  I have closed out two "parties".  Mostly random orders from friends that I combined, but enough to qualify for one of the December incentives, so that I got 4 items from the new Spring catalog free!  Of course there is an "Add-On Kit"  for spring that I would be crazy not to purchase....a great deal with new products.  So I guess what I made in commission will go right back to them?  Not sure when I will find time to host actual parties.  Perhaps in the summer.  Or when wrestling season is over.  Not sure where the hostesses will come from, either.  But one thing at a time.

Wrestling.  Practice most days after school.  We seldom arrive home in the daylight.  Meets every Wednesday night and nearly every Friday and/or Saturday.  It takes up a lot of time.  But both boys are participating, and doing alright. Our team, as a whole, loses more than it wins.   But my guys are enjoying, and it is fun to hear them talk about the moves and strategies.  It is such a boy sport.

Confirmation... that got overlooked in the scheme of things in November.  It took place the day after Cross Country ended and the day before Wrestling began.

My child, with his Godmother, and our good priest.  The Mass was simple and beautiful.  God takes a "yes", even a fearful or uncertain "yes" and does great things with it.

My sister-in-law grabbed the camera from me, and insisted that I get in the picture, too.  Sometimes Moms DO need to get in front of the camera.  Dear hubby was across the room...waiting patiently.

A picture of the bunch that has been together since first grade.  Most now go the the Catholic School, while a couple went the public school route, but it was always a tight-knit group. The boys were always outnumbered.  (Just for the record, my child DID have dress shoes on while he was in church.  Somehow he managed a quick change.)

Al-Anon...(how's that for a quick detour onto a totally different path)?  Went to my first meeting ever a few weeks ago.  No active drinking going on here, but surely some self-centered behavior that is difficult to deal with.  A lack of boundaries, for sure.  It has been on my radar for several months...so many of our Retrouvaille conversations seemed to end focused on alcoholism, and I realized how big of an influence some of those things were on our lives.  I wasn't sure if I'd fit, but I was assured that I would, and I did.  I couldn't relate to everything, but some of it, I certainly could.  I'll be going back.

Church decorating...one of my small pleasures during the Christmas season.  My oldest accompanied me this year.  It was he and I, one of my Scout-mom friends, and our priest.  We were a finely oiled machine this year.

The good Monsignor takes care of the sanctuary.

 
My teenager hauled things in and out of the attic, put up the wreathes that go under each Station of the Cross, and provided a critical (in a good way) eye of some of our experiments.  My friend and I hung wreathes on each side, put already-assembled arrangements in each window and fixed the banner and wreath across the choir loft in the back of the church.  Simple, but nice, is the theme.

Christmas...kind of dreaded it.  I've come to realize that for some reason, holidays are most often marked with drama in this family.  But, we survived.  No one - of any age - had any meltdowns this year!!  It was, however, the first time I can remember having tornado warnings during Christmas dinner.  All was well, though.

We celebrated Christmas Eve with dear hubby's family, but no photographic evidence exists.  ;-). Christmas Day found us at my sister's new house.

A casualty from the high winds -- the decorations on the front porch.

A group shot of our clan...four generations from ages 4 - 96. Missing are my sister-in-law who was taking the picture, and my brother and sister-in-law who live out of state.

Today, I celebrated my own birthday.  Both of my boys came with me to 6:30 Mass.  (It was because they had wrestling practice at 7:30 and didn't want to be late, but I'll take it for the gift that it was.)  Later, I had lunch with friends from school, as we bid our outgoing principal farewell.  And then I spent a quiet evening at home.  Not bad in the scheme of things!

And that, my friends, is that.  The high points, and maybe some of the low from the last month or so!

dispensation notwithstanding

I attended a conference in New Orleans this weekend.  About a month ago, when I knew that I would be there for today's Feast of the Immaculate Conception, I mentioned it to my priest.  I was riding with someone else, and I couldn't tell from Google Maps if there was a church within walking distance of our hotel.  Besides, I didn't know how the Mass schedule would mesh with the schedule for the conference.  He listened to me and then granted me a dispensation of the obligation, if it was not possible for me to attend.  So I really had no intention of going to Mass.

Yesterday evening, looking out of the window near the 14th floor elevator, I saw the stained glass windows of a church next to the hotel.  I wasn't sure it was operational or Catholic, though, and I wasn't really thinking along the lines of going to Mass.

This morning was a lazy one, but at 7 a.m., still sitting in bed, I heard church bells.  Perhaps I should investigate further, I thought.  So I opened the Maps App on my iPad and found out that the name of the church was....get this....Immaculate Conception.  Think someone is trying to get my attention?  So...I did a quick Google Search and found the website for the church, looked at the bulletin, and observed that there was an 8 a.m. Mass on Saturday.

So, even with a "Free Pass", the Good Lord was calling my name.  Drawing me to Him.  I told my co-worker roommate that I was going to 8 a.m. Mass.  The morning conference session started at 8:30, so I'd be a little late.

I inquired at the front desk, where exactly the church was...I'd seen it, but wasn't sure which direction to go from the front door.  "Go down to the corner and take a right."  I did, and as I walked, I could hear the bells,  but still was unsure exactly where the church was.  Then I looked up, and right there in front of me was an older African American lady holding the door open.  I smiled at her and entered.  I wasn't 50 steps from the front door of our hotel!

 

Absolutely gorgeous!!  I was SO distracted!

The abundant stained glass windows were beautiful!

This is the view of the rear of the church - the choir loft, perhaps.

The pulpit...it looks like a shell arching out over it.

A side altar.

A sample of the beautiful artwork and mosaics.

The pews.

Baptismal font.

A couple of the many statues.

All in all, I was glad that I didn't ignore that quiet but persistent voice.  What a treat to worship in such a beautiful space!

post-election musings part 3: moving forward

And so...moving forward (pun intended) what are we to do?  First we need to accept that we are where we are at this pointing time because Christians have fallen short -  that look in the mirror thing.  We have allowed our voices to be silent and have just gone along with the crowd.  In our values and morality, we have become indistinguishable from the rest of society.  We live together with out benefit of marriage.  We use artificial contraception.  We divorce.  We skip Mass when something better comes along, or it is too inconvenient.  We have been silent and we have tolerated evil.  Some of us even think that religion is something that we do at church on Sunday.  Many of us think that we are so virtuous we have no real need for the sacrament of reconciliation.

Someone posted on Facebook this past week...it is true that things happen for a reason.  But sometimes the reason is that you are stupid and make bad choices.  Truer words may have never been spoken. 

But that still doesn't answer the "what now" question.  While it is true that we do not always follow God's will for our lives, it IS true that God continuously brings good from bad situations.  Writes straight with crooked lines, as it were.  One of the good things that should come from this is a return to prayer.  Honestly, I think most of us are prayer-slackers. 

We need to pray for (and with) our families and for the conversion of our country.  We have turned away from God, and there will be consequences for our actions.  One thing that I have come across recently is the Patriotic Rosary.   Pray a decade every night if a whole Rosary seems overwhelming. 

During this year of Faith, get to know your Catholic Faith.  Understand why we believe what we believe, even if you don't think you agree with it.  Make use of the sacraments!  Even (or maybe, especially) confession.  Invite a friend - to Mass, to confession, to pray.

Padre Giovanni Triglio suggested going a bit further in a recent post:

I suggest a modest program. Voluntary resumption of the ALL Friday abstinence (except on Solemnities) and voluntary fasting on all Wednesdays (or at least one day a week, except on Solemnities) in REPARATION for the sins of our age; DAILY rosary; MONTHLY confession; ANNUAL retreats; PERIODIC pilgrimages; and FREQUENT acts of piety and devotion. Simultaneously, we need to READ and LEARN more about our religion and be more assertive in SPREADING it, first by example and secondly by prudent and compassionate CATECHESIS.

The Roman Empire converted thanks to the blood of the martyrs but also because their faith became contagious. Lukewarm Catholics attract no one. Mediocrity is a cancer. PRAY for vocations AND pray for better politicians. Support those who defend LIFE and oppose those who promote death and perversity.

 There is much to be done, my friends!  Are you ready?

 

post-election musings part 2: looking in the mirror

I went to Mass Wednesday morning feeling quite defeated.  My pastor, as he often does, knew just what to say.  After the readings, which he acknowledged could not have been more prophetic for the day, he hesitated a second and took a breath.  To begin with, he said, we should be eternally grateful that we live in a country that does not change leaders by military coup.  Next, we must not lose sight of the fact that we are first of all Citizens of Heaven, and secondly citizens of the United States.  If society is broken and sick, then it is because we as individuals are broken and sick.  We as Christians have often fallen short. If we want to effect a change, we need look no further than the mirror for a place to start.  We must allow the Lord and His gospel to work through us. The cost of discipleship is "take up your cross and follow me".  If we are serious about living in pursuit of justice and peace, there is always suffering involved.  The bottom line however, was uplifting....Be not afraid; the Lord is with us.

My BFF sent me a prayer later that afternoon. It was attributed to Max Lucado.

 Let others lose sleep over the election.  

 Let others grow bitter from party or petty rivalries. 

 Let others cast their hope with the people of the elephant or the donkey.  

Not followers of Jesus. 

 We place our trust in the work of God. 

How many kings has He seen come and go?  

How many nations has He seen stand and fall?  

He is above them all.  And He oversees them all. 

 So, while others get anxious, we don’t. 

 Here is what we do:  we pray. 

“First of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—

 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.  This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”  (1 Tim.2:1-4 NIV). 

It is time to take this job seriously.  

Over the next hours and days ahead, turn your heart toward heaven and ask God to:
         Unite our country
   Strengthen us

She acknowledged that God must know that we are trying, but I kind of feel like he is shaking his head at us in frustration.  Maybe echoing the closing words of Psalm 95...

    Forty years I endured that generation.
I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray
  and they do not know my ways.”
So I swore in my anger,
  “They shall not enter into my rest.”

post-election musings part 1: God's will

I think there is a wide-spread tendency to chalk up everything  -  especially unpleasant things -  that happens as part of "God's Plan" or "God's Will".  This has become especially clear to me in the wake of the presidential election, the results of which, were quite disappointing to me and mine. 

There is an "oh, that must be God's will" mentality that follows.  I submit that it is most assuredly NOT God's will for us to have a leader who promotes abortion, who is hell-bent on pushing contraception to the point of  requiring even those whose consciences dictate otherwise to pay for it, who advocates and approves of  gay marriage, etc.  We have the God-given gift of free will, and on November 6, 2012, more Americans than not, used their free will to vote in support of these things.  This was even more disappointing to me than the choice for President.  Ultimately God's Will is not determined by popular or electoral vote, but rather by the teachings of Jesus and His Church.  (And in the interest of being bi-partisan, I don't propose that Mr. Romney was God's Will, either.  Closer in many areas, but far from a perfect candidate.)

That we humans would screw it up should come as no huge shocker.  Man has been deviating from the will of God since the apple incident back near the beginnings of mankind.  His Chosen People, the Israelites, didn't get it right, either.  They were left to wander in the desert for 40 years as a result of their hard- heartedness, and then they still didn't get it right after that.  Hundreds of years later, they were sent into exile and some of the tribes were never to return.

My Facebook status that night, cognizant of the fact that I have friends and co-workers who cancelled my vote, borrowed from Deuteronomy. 

    ...oh that you would choose life.  Maybe next time, Lord.  Have mercy.

those little things

Things that are probably not particularly meaningful to others besides me, but that I don't want to forget.

A week or so ago, we showed up at Catechism (CCD) only to have our priest drive up right beside us.  "Oh, no," one of my offspring groaned.  "Confessions?  Tonight?  I haven't even had time to make a list."  Usually towards the end of the fall catechism run, our priest comes to hear confessions from the kids enrolled, but there were still a few weeks left to go.  Due to a scheduling conflict,. I think this was a last minute alteration to the schedule.

As we were driving home that evening, my child remarked that the 20 minutes or so standing in line waiting really hadn't been enough time to think about what he wanted to say.  He must have conveyed this to the priest, though, because the priest told him not to worry - just to leave every thing else up to God.  He seemed to be at peace with that.  I noticed the peace.  As we continued on, he volunteered that he had just mentioned the two things that had been bothering him the most.

I have no clue as to what these might be, but I asked if he had gotten any advice.  He said about our priest's counsel, "He knew just the right thing to say."  I find this to be true about our pastor in my experience, as well.  He DOES know just what to say.  Surely as much as the Holy Spirit working through him as his own wisdom and experience.  I just think it is cool that one of my teenagers can see that, too.

Those are pictures taken of a sunrise one morning from school.  I think I am there too early, if I can see the sun rise.  To be fair, these were before we set the clocks back.

Above is a picture of my older son measuring things for his Eagle Scout Project.  Just documenting that small minute in time.

A couple of pictures from Tuesday's District Cross Country meet.  Neither did particularly well, but the weather was gorgeous, and it was a distraction for the afternoon.

Nothing earth-shattering.  Just some little things.