Overheard

At breakfast:

"Little Brother, would you like waffles or cereal for breakfast?"

"Is there any toast?"

"Yes."

"I want waffles, please."

Eye Opening

Go over and lend Adoro some support today. She has a fabulous post about "rubrics v. charity" that will certainly inspire some discussion. There's a lot in there, and it definitely moved me to reflect on my attitudes and actions. I hope that in the future I will think and behave differently.

A highlight:

If we love the law so much that we ignore the needs of our neighbor, then we have also failed to love God. The two cannot be separated!

Go read the whole thing. And respond with charity, not with venom.

Dad's Surgery Over!

My dad underwent surgery this morning to remove a tumor on the kidney. My brother just called to say that it went well; it was laparoscopic which will aid in recovery and they removed under 10% of the kidney. We have to wait to find out if it is cancer but there is a 90% chance of that.

We would all appreciate prayers for Dad during his recovery, and for Mom, whose job it will be to keep him tied down. He is not one for resting. This morning he was jogging at 4:30 AM in the sleet, since he knew he wouldn't be jogging for a while. My brother is considering removing all the front tires of all my dad's bicycles and taking them to an undisclosed location until the doctor clears him to ride.

Dad will be in the hospital probably for 3 more days.

I hope he will be OK. Thanks so much for prayers!

Cute shoes!

Today I took Middle Sister shoe shopping today to complete her Christmas outfit. Payless has BOGO right now (I love BOGO) so Little Brother came along to replace his basically-destroyed school shoes. I rejected the Silver High-Heel Shoes out of hand.



Not only did they make Middle Sister WAY taller than me, but they are also not appropriate for a girl her age. I did hear her telling Little Brother to help her beg TheDad for them, but I'm onto that trick and ahead of the game.

So she did find these really cute red shoes. I was happy to say YES to those. Although I did say that she can't wear them with jeans until AFTER Christmas, so that they'll look nice for the special day.



Meanwhile Little Brother found his black sneakers that he needs for school. But there is a TINY blue line (look really hard and you MIGHT find it) and he was all upset about that.



I told him I'd color the black line in with a Sharpie if I had to, but these were the only ones that were available in his size. He was shaking his head, saying, "My teacher is NOT going to be happy about this."

I figure that he moves so fast, his teacher will never see the blue anyway. I swear this kid is basically a blur most of the time.

Dream Kitchen

Last night I had a really strange dream. In it, we moved to some really old house somewhere. I don't remember too many details about the house itself (other than that it was really big, really old, and I think the roof was a little leaky) but I can remember the kitchen clear as day. I could probably even draw a diagram of it!

First of all, the kitchen was enormous. It was easily the size of my living room and dining room, plus a little extra! Probably it had once been two rooms because there was a little section in the middle of the room where the walls "came in" a little. It had high ceilings (probably 12-foot) and the walls were all white tile with black trim. There was a white vintage gas stove and room for both my refrigerators as well as my upright freezer!

In my dream, we had purchased the home from the estate of an older woman who had lived there alone. She must have been quite the gardener, because taking up about four linear feet of wall space was a large display of vegetable and herb seeds. She had the packets all sorted out, as well as some seeds she was drying from her own harvest.

Many kitchen tools and a worktable were still in the kitchen and, along with the seeds, were ours to use. Of course, in my dream I am just as bad a gardener as I am in real life, so I knew those seeds would go to waste!

Down at the end of the room was an ancient board with coat pegs. I'm wondering if that was actually designed to hold servants' coats. I planned on using it to hang my apron collection and maybe some spare oven mitts.

Often, I dream of places where I have already been--but not in this case. I can't remember ever having been in a kitchen like this. TheDad says that maybe I was dreaming of our future home.

Who cares what the rest of the place looked like? The kitchen was awesome!

Fashion Rant

Today I ordered some clothes for my Big Kids to wear on Christmas. I'd taken care of Little Brother's needs a couple of weeks ago. He got a new sweater that he can wear with the khaki dress pants and a turtleneck that he already owns. So he's all set. Big Brother only needed a shirt, and since he just likes wearing a golf shirt and khakis, his shopping was done in a flash.

Then it was time for Middle Sister. Gone are the days when I could buy any dress with a "twirly skirt" and she was good to go. She's been emailing and IMing me with possibilities and I have rejected each and every one. A halter dress with net top, or spaghetti straps, or deep V-neck and sleeveless--in December? For a 12-year-old?



For a while I thought it was just because she had outgrown the girls' sizes and now had to shop in Juniors, but when I peeked back at the girls' dresses they were not much better. And almost nothing had sleeves. Most of the junior dresses barely hit fingertip length. How do they sit in those things?

And then we've got the shoes, because nothing says "Merry Christmas" like above-the-knee high-heeled hooker boots. (She doesn't understand why she can't have them).

Fortunately we did find a dress we could agree upon, though Middle Sister insists that she's not happy with this choice. But it's modest enough, provided she wears it with some leggings. And she'll get a new pair of flats to go with it.



It would be a lot easier if she'd just wear pants and a sweater....

Things to be thankful for

When you're under the weather you have time to think of all kinds of things to be thankful for!
--a caring family
--Little Brother, who saw the bandage on my hand where the IV went in, and has been very concerned about my injured HAND!
--TheDad, who has been working hard with work and his startup business and Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts AND doing all the kid-shuffling these past couple of days
--a big pot of homemade soup from a friend
--a freshly-opened box of crispy saltines to go with the soup (I swear, saltines only taste good on the day you open the box)
--enough food in the fridge, pantry and freezer that we haven't had to have a takeout run

I wonder if they miss me at Shop Rite? I haven't been there in over a week!

I Love This Comic Strip

Zits is such a great comic. I AM THAT MOM, just with shorter hair.

Big Brother tells me that his long-suffering AP Language teacher reads this every day. She puts up with him and his friends in her classroom for lunch daily so I guess she can relate to this as much as I do--if not more! She's got teen boys times ten every day for lunch.

Awesome

My friend SFO Girl called here late this afternoon and announced that she was on her way here with a big pot of Chicken Noodle Soup.

Boy, it was good.

And not only did it take the heat off TheDad for coming up with a dinner for tonight, it's going to make my life easier tomorrow morning when it's time to pack lunches. Guess what's for lunch tomorrow?

I might even have some for breakfast, it was that good.

Prayers work

Thanks for the prayers; I got home early this afternoon, had some lunch (and coffee!), slept a while (and this coffee is probably NOT decaf; I doubt TheDad asked for decaf for me) and that's that.

Keep the prayers coming for our Franciscan Deacon. Yesterday he was storing some stuff to be used at our Greccio (coming up a week from Sunday) and he tripped, landing on his knee and tearing the quadricep. He will likely need surgery.

And I thank you for the prayers on my behalf. I should be A-OK in a day or so.

Heading Out

In keeping with the theme of "you never know what's going to happen during Advent, so don't plan the perfect one" I am off for a minor outpatient procedure.

This means I haven't had any coffee today.

I'll make up for that later. You can depend on it.

The kindness of your prayers would be appreciated!

Advent: Still Keeping It Real

Me: "Stop warming your food over the Advent candle!"

Guilty Child: "Awesome! It really toasted the bread!"

Multitasking

Earlier this morning, Little Brother and TheDad invaded the kitchen for their Weekend Pancake Ritual, complete with sprinkles on the pancakes.

After the pancakes were all made, Little Brother poured himself a cup of ice water and headed to the dining room to chow down. On the way, he brushed by a dish towel that was hanging over the back of a chair, and knocked it to the floor. So he bent over to pick up the towel while still holding his water cup--spilling ice water everywhere.

"This rag never says here," he muttered to himself as he started wiping up the spill with the offending towel. "Mom, I made a mistake!"

Then I heard TheDad intervene: "Little Brother, let me take your water cup while you wipe up the spill. This way you won't make another mistake."

Clash of the Christmas Carols

Middle Sister just came in here to ask if she could go with her friend to the Dickens Festival. Then she wanted to know what they do there.

"Basically, they walk around dressed like characters from A Christmas Carol," I said.

"We just finished reading that in class," she said. "The third spirit is my favorite."

"Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol is awesome," I remembered. "We should rent that."

"We just read the Charles one," she informed me.

Unboxed

I spent about 5 hours today working eliminating a giant pile of clutter from my dining room. It was SO worth it.

This stuff has been sitting here since February, when the role of minister of my SFO fraternity was thrust upon me. The out-going minister handed along a File Box O'Stuff.

Then the parish merged with another parish and we had to clean out a file cabinet in the rectory basement. Guess where that stuff went?

Yup. My dining room.

Much of this stuff is stuff that the minister needs to keep at hand. But it was really getting in the way, especially since I need to start getting cleaned up so the Christmas decorations can come out to play. Plus, the cloth file box stacked underneath a cardboard file box next to a tote bag was SO attractive in my dining room.

So I cleared the dining room table and immediately covered it with the contents of those boxes and the tote bag. Then I found a small file box (that fits under one of my living-room side tables so it's covered by the tablecloth) and got down to business.

Five hours, one bag of recycled paper and a trip to the Parish Center later (to drop off some books for the fraternity library) I was all done. Everything important is filed in the box. Meeting minutes are in the proper places in the proper binders. I found papers in there from the days when the fraternities were bound to Friar Provinces rather than Regions. I kept one copy of everything but tossed most duplicates (like we needed 24 "programs" from a Mass celebrated in 1984....) Things are now filed and portable--so when elections roll around this summer I can easily pass this stuff off to the next minister!

I've still got a couple of tote bags out, but they're neat. One for choir, one for SFO and one for SFO music and Greccio scripts. They are all lined up next to my guitar. Not bad for a day's work, and the backache is worth it.

Advent: Where Table Manners and Fire Collide

As usual, my kids are finding ways to sink to a new low around the Advent wreath.

I'm spending a lot of time employing the Mom Glare in the vain hope that it will discourage the Big Kids from putting out the candle with a wet finger--mostly because I don't want Little Brother trying this.

And then, overheard tonight: "I like to put the candle out with my spit."

This is where we parents say the kinds of things we never thought we'd need to say: "No spitting on the Advent Wreath!"

Next year, I'm thinking we'll switch to battery-operated candles. They're not only safer, they're more hygienic.

Overheard

Boy Next Door is over here playing with Middle Sister and Little Brother. His dad called to ask him what side dish he'd like with the chicken he's having for dinner. (Apparently it's "just the guys" over there tonight, so his dad thought he'd give Boy Next Door a choice).

I wasn't surprised to hear the answer: "Ketchup!"

We Never Get the Advent We're Hoping For

I've been noticing a theme among many of the moms whose blog I visit: this is not the Advent we had planned. For some of us, it's due to sick children; for others, there are other circumstances that have made this Advent not go as planned. (And we're only 4 days in!)

Jane observed,

I'm finding myself getting--not necessarily the Advent I hoped for--but in some ways, the Advent of quiet solitude and prayerful reflection perhaps I need.

I never thought I'd quote the Rolling Stones in a post about Advent--but Jane's thoughts sound suspiciously like

You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes you might find
You get what you need.

Fr. Tommy Lane, a faculty member at Mount St. Mary's Seminary, observes,

"Sometimes we pray for what we want and instead God gives us what we need. What we need is not always what we want but God in his provident mercy gives us what we need."

So, I didn't get the Advent Chain done this year. I was late getting the stable and the wreath set up. And in many ways, I feel like I'm a few steps behind, and getting "behinder" at every turn.

It's Advent. Will we ever be truly ready? Probably not. Jesus came to a world that was certainly not ready for Him. There wasn't even any room in the inn in Bethlehem, and surely Mary wasn't too thrilled about making a census-related journey late in her pregnancy. Christmas will come whether or not we have found the perfect candles for our wreath or the perfect gift for our kids' teachers. We know this, because the first Christmas came in a less-than-perfect manner. Even the Grinch learned this lesson:

"'It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes or bags!...Maybe Christmas,' he thought, 'doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!'"

I think Advent is less about preparation and more about trust. "Preparation" implies that we are concentrating on the worldly, the material. "Trust" demands that we concentrate on our souls, let go of our need to have everything perfect, and reflect upon the beautiful gift of the first Christmas.

Six Things that Make Me Happy Meme

Rosemary tagged me for the Six Things That Make Me Happy meme.

In no particular order, here are some big and little things that bring a smile to my face.

1. Music! (Right now, Trans-Siberian Orchestra's Christmas Eve and Other Stories)

2. Family and Friends! I couldn't ask for a better husband or children, or better friends.

3. Reading!

4. Cooking and baking (for family and friends)! I'm not good at arts and crafts, but I do enjoy creating in the kitchen--and I enjoy sharing these creations with my loved ones.

5. Writing! (here and here and here)

6. Being a part of a wonderful faith/parish community and Franciscan community.

I declare an OPEN TAG on this one. If you haven't yet played, why not do so?

Public Service Announcement

Thank you for indulging my little Pity Party.

Party's over, folks. (Get thee behind me, Satan, and all that.)

Instead, I'm going to listen to Christmas music, and let the joy take over.

Want some FREE Christmas tunes? Amazon has one each day for the whole month. Today's is gorgeous!

Have you ever...

Tami posted this and it looked like fun.

How to play: BOLD anything you have done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars (in a tent, does that count?)
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland (DisneyWorld)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (in general)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelos David
41. Sung karaoke - if that's what you want to call it!
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Pardon Me, Your OCD is Showing

My kids have found me out.

Now that I think about it, I can't believe it took them this long.

Last night I was chopping stuff up for our dinner (Sweet & Sour Pork) and I felt like having a little something sweet. So I opened up a little bag of Skittles.

Middle Sister walked into the kitchen to find that I had sorted out all the Skittles by color, and had them sitting in a row of pairs, waiting for me to eat them. I don't even realize when I'm doing this.

I do the same with Smarties, jellybeans and M&Ms. It just has to be done. (And I save my favorite colors for last, too.)

Of course, Middle Sister had to immediately rat me out to Big Brother, and the two of them mocked me for a little while. I may never be able to eat M&Ms or Skittles in their presence again. I'll have to start eating my candy in secret, so I can furtively indulge my little (harmless) compulsion.

A Bitter Pill

I'm the one feeling bitter, actually.

Just got back from cantor practice at church.

The choir I sing with has not been assigned a Mass on Christmas. If we want, we can join in with the organ-accompanied choir at the 10:00 Christmas Eve Mass.

So a group that volunteers Sunday after Sunday after Sunday, and that has learned all the new music that has been thrown at us since June (including an Advent that is All New Music All The Time) will not be allowed to handle familiar Christmas carols on Christmas Day.

I consider it a gift and a privilege to be able to sing and play at Mass. It's nice to sit with my family, but I know they like it too, when I am part of the choir.

And yeah, I'm hurt.

In the grand scheme of things, this is really not much. But it's something to which I am very dedicated (and I can say the same for the other choir members). Many of us have been part of music ministry for almost 30 years. We don't take much time off--and when we do, we arrange with the rest of the choir for coverage. And basically, it feels like we're good enough to jump through all these hoops for Advent, but not good enough to do Christmas carols. Thanks for that.

Complete with Remote Control

Adventure Boy and his grandfather are here, awaiting the start of a Tiger Cub Scout meeting.

While the kids wait for everyone else to arrive, they are building things with Legos.

"This is my grandpa," Adventure Boy announced. "Grandpa, this is you!"

Adventure Boy's grandpa admired the creation.

"My grandpa rocks," Adventure Boy continued. "He's handsome."

His grandpa looked at the Legos again, and asked, "Does it have remote control?"

I'm not sure who was more disappointed that it doesn't--Adventure Boy or his grandpa.

Neither Jackie NOR Marilyn

And I didn't expect to be Jackie or Marilyn. This one is pretty accurate, I think--and with only 2 questions!

Your result for Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz...

You Are a Grace!

You are a Grace -- "I need to understand the world."

Graces have a need for knowledge and are introverted, curious, analytical, and insightful.

How to Get Along with Me

• * Be independent, not clingy


• * Speak in a straightforward and brief manner


• * I need time alone to process my feelings and thoughts


• * Remember that If I seem aloof, distant, or arrogant, it may be that I am feeling uncomfortable


• * Make me feel welcome, but not too intensely, or I might doubt your sincerity


• * If I become irritated when I have to repeat things, it may be because it was such an effort to get my thoughts out in the first place


• * don't come on like a bulldozer


• * Help me to avoid my pet peeves: big parties, other people's loud music, overdone emotions, and intrusions on my privacy

What I Like About Being a Grace
* standing back and viewing life objectively
* coming to a thorough understanding; perceiving causes and effects
* my sense of integrity: doing what I think is right and not being influenced by social pressure
* not being caught up in material possessions and status
* being calm in a crisis

What's Hard About Being a Grace

• * being slow to put my knowledge and insights out in the world


• * feeling bad when I act defensive or like a know-it-all


• * being pressured to be with people when I don't want to be


• * watching others with better social skills, but less intelligence or technical skill, do better professionally

Graces as Children Often

• * spend a lot of time alone reading, making collections, and so on


• * have a few special friends rather than many


• * are very bright and curious and do well in school


• * have independent minds and often question their parents and teachers


• * watch events from a detached point of view, gathering information


• * assume a poker face in order not to look afraid


• * are sensitive; avoid interpersonal conflict


• * feel intruded upon and controlled and/or ignored and neglected

Graces as Parents

• * are often kind, perceptive, and devoted


• * are sometimes authoritarian and demanding


• * may expect more intellectual achievement than is developmentally appropriate


• * may be intolerant of their children expressing strong emotions

Take Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz at HelloQuizzy

Found at We Have Been Blessed.

SFO Mom Fails Advent

As Big Brother would say, I failed.

We had company today and it was a very nice time. But I was busy focusing on getting dinner served...and not on getting that Advent wreath onto the table with candles ready to light. I also didn't get that empty manger onto the living room shelf.

I've got plenty to do tomorrow, including making up for what I did not get done today.

I guess birthday candles for one of our young visitors don't count toward Advent, do they?

Blessings of Advent

I dug through the Christmas closet and found the Advent wreath and the Nativity scene. Both will be placed in their usual spots tomorrow.

If you want to decorate your BLOG for Advent, just visit The Curt Jester and pick up his Advent wreath and Christmas counter! Just another free-of-charge service from one Catholic blogger to the rest of us. Thanks, Jeff!

Wishing you and yours a very blessed season.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This Thanksgiving I am thankful for blessings large and small.
Family
Friends
Food, clothing, shelter and transportation
Good health
Good kids
The modern conveniences that make it possible for me to carry Thanksgiving dinner 75 miles from home and get it on the table

The Canticle of the Creatures is the ultimate Franciscan prayer of thanksgiving, and perfect for today. I especially like the final line.

Most High, all-powerful, all-good Lord,
All praise is Yours, all glory, honor and blessings.
To you alone, Most High, do they belong;
no mortal lips are worthy to pronounce Your Name.

We praise You, Lord, for all Your creatures,
especially for Brother Sun,
who is the day through whom You give us light.
And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor,
of You Most High, he bears your likeness.

We praise You, Lord, for Sister Moon and the stars,
in the heavens you have made them bright, precious and fair.

We praise You, Lord, for Brothers Wind and Air,
fair and stormy, all weather's moods,
by which You cherish all that You have made.

We praise You, Lord, for Sister Water,
so useful, humble, precious and pure.

We praise You, Lord, for Brother Fire,
through whom You light the night.
He is beautiful, playful, robust, and strong.

We praise You, Lord, for Sister Earth,
who sustains us
with her fruits, colored flowers, and herbs.

We praise You, Lord, for those who pardon,
for love of You bear sickness and trial.
Blessed are those who endure in peace,
by You Most High, they will be crowned.

We praise You, Lord, for Sister Death,
from whom no-one living can escape.
Woe to those who die in their sins!
Blessed are those that She finds doing Your Will.
No second death can do them harm.

We praise and bless You, Lord, and give You thanks,
and serve You in all humility.

May you and yours be deeply blessed this Thanksgiving and always.

Memo To My Children

If you are going to insist on wearing mismatched socks on purpose, I am going to stop trying to match your socks when they come out of the laundry. I'm just going to give you a whole pile of your unsorted, unfolded, and inside-out socks and let you figure it out.
Love,
Mom (who wears her socks matched, thankyouverymuch)

Fast Break

Because Suzanne asked so politely and everything.

1. Three favorite recipes that you think you cook well (you can write the recipe if you like but you don't have to). That's easy; just visit my recipe blog. All my favorite recipes are there. I think my best-loved ones are spaghetti and meatballs, Granma's Biscuits, and Christmas cookies.

2. Two places that you would like to visit and why. I'd love to go back to Ireland again. It's beautiful there. And the beach is always good, any time of year.

3. Three secret things you'd like to know how to do .. learn to do. No secret: I'd like to learn how to play the organ, speak/read Latin, and use all the features of my amazing cell phone.

4. In your heart, do you feel more close to the Dominicans, the Benedictines, or
the Franciscans? Why one over the others? EASY! Franciscans! Why? I've been raised in the Franciscan spirituality, surrounded by Franciscans of all kinds, all my life. Guess it just rubbed off on me.

And that's all the time I have today.

Time to rethink!

Two hours ago I got a phone call from my mother-in-law; it seems that Pop had some minor surgery today and therefore they cannot travel to my husband's cousin's Thanksgiving dinner.
One hour ago my husband finalized plans with his parents. I would cook dinner here, bring it there and serve it. (It's much easier for me to cook in my own kitchen and just transport the food.)
So back I went to Shop Rite where I found two lonely little fresh turkeys sitting there. I have a turkey in my freezer, but it's 22 pounds and frozen solid. I don't have the kind of time it would take to get that thing thawed out. So instead we will settle for a measly 12 1/2-lb turkey, which is so small it's practically a chicken.
Because this dinner will be prepared in two different kitchens, separated by 75 miles, I've got to stick to the basics. But the important part is that we will be together with family.
Tomorrow I will figure out my menu and my timetable. I guess I'll be stuffing a turkey at the crack o'dawn after all, while I chat with my sister on the phone.

Just not meant to be

This morning I thought I'd be smart and get ahead of all the amateur shoppers who come out just before Thanksgiving. Monday is my day to volunteer at the school library, and I have to be there by 9, so I headed to the supermarket as soon as the kids got on the school bus this morning. I was doing great, since I had a short list and there was hardly anyone in the store. Obviously they were expecting big crowds because there were open checkout lanes everywhere--unheard of on a normal Monday morning.

But the shoppers had obviously been out yesterday because the store was cleaned out of Dr. Pepper and Yukon Gold potatoes, both of which were on my list. So I stopped for a raincheck after I paid for my order. The guy at the courtesy counter was helpful and courteous, but he couldn't get the soda raincheck to print. I waited 10 minutes before he finally gave up and wrote one out by hand, stapling it to the ad showing the deal.

Thinking I'd be out of the store pretty quickly, I bought a box of donuts. I wanted to eat one before library time. But by the time I finished getting that raincheck, I had just enough time to unload the cold stuff and head back out over to school.

I was obviously not meant to have that donut today.

They're Back!

Big Brother & Co. are back from Mississippi. He has numerous blisters, one bruised fingernail, plenty of dirty laundry, lots of stories to tell, a new T-shirt from Bourbon Street (why did they need to take a detour to the French Quarter?) and a can of Cafe du Monde coffee for me!

He missed out on the stomach virus that made its way through this house during his absence--not much else.

We're glad he's back, healthy and safe.

Help Out in Big and Little Ways

Over at O Night Divine, Mary Ellen Barrett has the story of a family in need of a little help right now--and two ways to help out.
Here's one--click on the picture to order a family-produced, Family Centered planner.


If you can, lend a hand. And definitely remember this family in your prayers!

Project Hope and Compassion

Today I'd like to introduce you to Project Hope and Compassion. This is a Katrina-relief organization headquartered in Gulfport, Mississippi.

Yesterday at 5 AM I took Big Brother to school. He was packed and ready to spend a week in Mississippi with 16 other students and 4 faculty members. They'll work 8 hours a day in the rebuilding effort.

It was really dark and cold at 5 AM yesterday, but the kids didn't care. They were excited to begin their big adventure. They all piled into the school bus and headed for the airport. After they landed in New Orleans, they stopped at the Cafe du Monde before setting off for Mississippi. They will sleep at St. Ann's Church in (to a Boy Scout) luxurious, indoor accommodations. (Translation: there are showers, a "flushie" and even laundry facilities.)

In January 1986, I traveled through that part of the country on my way to a National Catholic Student Coalition meeting in Louisiana. Mississippi and rural Louisiana look nothing like suburban New Jersey. I think it will be an eye-opener to him to see that not everyone in the country lives like he and his friends do. (I thought about having him watch "My Cousin Vinny" before his departure, but never got the chance.)

I know he is off doing a very good thing, but the house feels pretty empty without him here. Please keep him and the other volunteers in your prayers, that they will have a safe trip and that they'll learn what it means to make a difference.

Separation of Church and State

I received an email today from a cyber-buddy of mine. Normally, all those "forwards" (and I suspect that's what this was) are just deleted, but the subject line "Separation of Church and State" caught my attention.

Here's the text of the email I received:

A Priest in Greenville South Carolina has told his parishioners to refrain from receiving Holy Communion if they voted for Barak Obama, saying that supporting him "constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil." The Rev. Jay Scott Newman said in a letter distributed Sunday to parishioners at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Greenville that they are putting their souls at risk if they take Holy Communion before doing penance for their vote. "Voting for a pro-abortion politician when a plausible pro-life alternative exists constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil, and those Catholics who do so place themselves outside of the full communion of Christ's Church and under the judgment of divine law. Persons in this condition should not receive Holy Communion until and unless they are reconciled to God in the Sacrament of Penance, lest they eat and drink their own condemnation."
I suppose Rev. Newman felt this Presidential election was a one-issue vote, despite the war, the economy and the changing face of America in the world.

With Thanksgiving approaching, It's important to remember that the Pilgrims risked their lives and left everything behind to travel to this new world so they could simply follow their religious beliefs free of political interference or coercion. That was the cornerstone for the separation of religion and government (aka Church and State) to fight against the repression that was rampant in Europe. How ironic that this Priest feels that our political beliefs should be subject to interference and coercion by the Church. No matter your political or religious conviction, you have a right to vote for the candidate who will best serve all your needs, just as you have the right to practice a religion that serves your soul. To deny one or the other is simply un- American.

I felt that I would be remiss in just deleting this email rather than responding to it.

I believe that the willingness to put a pro-abortion politician in office when a prolife alternative exists means that people are willingly cooperating in the evil of abortion. Denying someone the basic right to life only opens the door to denying other groups of people the same right. When a group of people (whether unborn, aged, handicapped, or of a certain religion, class, color or sexual preference) is considered expendable, we all know what can happen—because we know what HAS happened.
I also believe that it is the right and duty of religious leaders to encourage the members of their churches to prayerfully consider their vote IN THE LIGHT OF THEIR FAITH.
Please read this letter from Scranton Bishop Joseph Martino on the subject.
I do not believe that I leave my faith behind when I enter the voting booth. On the contrary, I expect that my faith has informed my choice—as I expect that it informs ALL the choices I make each day.

Pray today that people of faith everywhere will take the time to inform their consciences and their choices, and to defend them to others who believe that faith should be left behind when we exit the church on Sunday mornings.

There's more here, with links, at The Deacon's Bench.

One Man Band

Big Brother recently discovered how fun it is to play "Duelin' Banjos." In fact, he thinks it's so fun that he dug my banjo out of the basement and had me tune it up. This way he could play the song on two instruments, one after the other-with a big delay in between.

It's fun, but it gets exasperating after a while. And he doesn't want to play the song with me, where we could really have two people duelin'.

What we're up against

Michelle lays it on the line. I think she hits the nail on the head here:

The goal here is to marginalize anyone who is devout. Devotion is bad because it induces guilt in those who are not devout.

Read the whole thing. It's worth your time. And it's more worth your time to think about what you and your family will do in response to this.

Red-Letter Day

One of the highlights of first-grade life is the Great Crayon Replacement. A couple of months into the school year, that starter box of crayons is starting to look like a scrap of cardboard with a few naked, colorful stumps.

Little Brother was coloring a shark picture after dinner tonight when he announced that he was allowed to bring a 24-pack of crayons to school now. He was a very happy guy. I told him that I'd go down to the basement and get him a box of crayons to put in his schoolbag.

Little Brother had other ideas.

He took the nice, new 64-box of crayons that was just opened a week or so ago (I try to hide the school supplies until they're really needed, but the lure of the New Green and Yellow Box is irresistible to grade-schoolers and middle-schoolers alike). Then he started counting out all his favorites.

He has pretty good taste in colors. Like me, he goes for the interesting name. Why take plain old "purple" when you can have "purple mountain majesty?" Who settles for "green" when there's "granny smith apple?"

His teacher runs a pretty tight ship, though, and I was concerned that she might not appreciate the Little Brother Sandwich Bag of 24 Great Crayons. I figured that at least he should have the basic colors in there, so I started quizzing him on whether there was red, orange, black, and brown in his selection.

We were doing fine until we got to yellow. "I don't need yellow," he claimed. "I'll just use yellow-green."

"That's not the same," I answered. "What if you have to color something like the sun, or a star?"

He finally conceded that yellow would be a good addition to his set of colors, and happily zipped up his little sandwich bag of crayons and put it in his schoolbag.

And now we have a 40-box of crayons sitting here, with no good colors left in it, and plenty of empty spaces. No one's going to use that now. I'm sure they'll start tearing apart the basement looking for another 64-box, which I don't happen to have down there. (And if I did, do you think I'd tell them that?)