Halloween Manners

TheDad just left for work, after whipping Little Brother into an anticipatory frenzy about the evening's activities and the likelihood of collecting a lot of chocolate.

(Little Brother's teacher will not be pleased, as I'm sure the other 27 kindergarteners are similarly excited.)

So Little Brother bounced over to me and said, "I'm going to say 'Trick or treat! Trick or treat!' That's like 'please' in Halloween! And then you say 'thank you'!"

Pencil Point

TheDad is helping Middle Sister prepare for a math quiz. She was absent from school for a few days, and her teacher recommended that Middle Sister review a few lessons. Middle Sister resisted the review, but TheDad said that they were going to keep at it until she mastered the concepts.

Finally, she seemed to get the hang of it. "Very good, Middle Sister! I'm so proud of you," TheDad said.

"If you were proud enough, we'd be done," she responded.

Why Teenage Boys Don't Get to Plan These Things

Big Brother is telling me all about the Haunted Hayride he went on with some friends last night.

"And then you got to go in the corn maze, only it wasn't really a maze. It was only a path." (this in a disappointed tone)

I reminded him that if it were a real maze, someone might get lost in there, in the dark.

"Right! That would be awesome!"

Priesthood Sunday

Sponsored by Serra USA (a group dedicated to fostering priestly vocations), Priesthood Sunday is a day to honor our parish priests for the work they do for the Kingdom of God.

No big event at your parish? Start planning one for next year. In the meantime, thank Father on your way out of Mass today. Offer a rosary for his intention, and one for priestly vocations as well.

I'm sure that at my parish, Father H. would not want a big event calling attention to himself. He is an example of humility, prayer and reflection. He wants his parishioners to know that the Gospel is not only for people 2000 years ago--it is for us, today; it calls us to change our lives.

An artist starving for recognition

Are artists, like prophets, not accepted in their own country?

Middle Sister is very busy making a ghost out of a white trash bag. She's using a Sharpie marker for the features.

I asked her what she was planning to use to stuff it, and where she'd hang it.

Turns out she doesn't think she will need stuffing, and she'll hang it somewhere outside.

"But we just cut the tree down," I reminded her.

"People never appreciate my work," she sighed.

Prayer Request

Today my friend and fellow Franciscan SFO Girl (you know her from the combox) is presenting a workshop for the Secular Franciscans of our region.

She's a confident speaker and I know she's well prepared. But prayers never hurt. So today I call upon the intercession of two very powerful preachers--St. Francis and St. Anthony--on her behalf. And may the Holy Spirit inspire her words.

Creativity

Why is it that children are at their most creative while their parents are busy preparing dinner?

We just had to break up an indoor baseball game between Little Brother and Adventure Boy, using a Fisher-Price cannonball and a blue light-sabre.

Mal-Formation?

I'm preparing for our Secular Franciscan fraternity meeting tonight.

A part of every regular fraternity meeting is Ongoing Formation. Right now, we are combining that with the formation of a new member who is preparing for Profession. Because there is only one candidate, the entire fraternity is participating in the formation process.

We have a formation textbook that is copyrighted 2004, but the author admits that the title and some concepts have been in use since the 1960s. And that explains some of the "Church of the Felt Banner" paragraphs in our assigned chapter for tonight. (This chapter is on the Eucharist, and prayer.)

I can hardly wait until we get the chapter on Nature. Yes, I peeked ahead.

But anyway, I'm quite sure that some of what is said in this chapter about Eucharist is actually incorrect. Like the one line, "The Eucharistic table is a place where all are welcome."

Next time I will have to prepare farther ahead for this meeting. Then I can counteract this garbage with some good solid stuff. Like Chesterton.

We can't complain about poor formation among our members if we're using texts that are full of errors and liberal interpretations, and sacrifice Francis' deep message on the altars of ecology and anti-war protests.

Spelling Errors

I've always had this thing against places that add an "e" to the end of a word where it doesn't belong. I think it's pretentious, and it drives me crazy. My whole family knows that I will never live in a neighborhood called "Oake Pointe" (which I insist on pronouncing "Oaky Pointy.")

Little Brother is proud that he knows how to spell my name: "M-o-m-m-y." He was writing it on his Magna-Doodle yesterday.

Then he thought about it. He's learning about letters, and the sounds they make, at school. So he told me, "This is the wrong way to write your name. It should have an 'e' at the end, to make the 'e' sound."

So, at least until the kindergarten works its way to the letter "y," just sign me: SFO Momme

Getting Political, Again

Certainly we deserve better. And I'm willing to do MY part to make sure she doesn't wind up in the White House.

Lindsey is running a sale on "Anyone but Hillary '08" bumper stickers. Get yours now!

TheDad had to have his car repainted after the last presidential election. He's quite sure that someone annoyed at his "Bush '04" stickers keyed the entire side of the car--several times. I'll bet he's willing to risk his paint job again for a sticker like this!

Calvinball, anyone?

Little Brother is sitting here with a magnetic checkerboard that has really tiny checkers. They are about the size of M&Ms. He was very busy playing a game of checkers against himself, and giving us the play-by-play: "Black just got a king. But White got a king too...."

After that game was over, he decided to take the game to the Next Level: Vertical checkers. His goal was to stack all the white pieces and all the black pieces in two tall columns. "WAR!" he declared, and provided a vocal version of tympani as the columns advanced toward each other. Finally, one column was placed atop the other, and the whole thing collapsed under its own weight.

THEN he made "kings" out of all the checkers, and he is figuring out how to place them on the board so he can start a new game.

There's definitely a good reason that my mom refers to him as "Calvin."

Recipe for a Happy Day

Take 28 wiggly kindergarteners. Squeeze them into a school bus with their parents and take them on a bumpy ride to a pumpkin farm.

Release them to a playground, then herd them to the learning area to see all the different kinds of pumpkins and gourds that the farmers grow.

Pile them into wagons and use tractors to pull them through the farm to the pumpkin patch.

Let each kindergartener pick a pumpkin to take home.

Take them back to the play area and feed them hot dogs. Let them play some more before squeezing them back onto the bus.

Yield: 28 happy, tired, wiggly kindergarteners. 28 pumpkins to take home. 28 happy, tired, caffeine-deprived parents (they don't sell coffee at the farm). 1 happy day.

Poverty and Christianity

By special request of Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle.

One of Donna-Marie's commenters posed this question:

Why is it many Christians praise poverty? Why is it many Christians praise poverty while not living in poverty?

This question particularly hits home with me because as a Secular Franciscan, I take as my model Saint Francis of Assisi, who identified so much with the materially poor that he had absolutely no possessions of his own.

People who are interested in becoming Secular Franciscans often worry that they will have to give up their homes or cars in order to follow a Franciscan life.

And while I much admire Franciscans like the Friars of the Renewal, who truly do not own a thing in this world (but surely are building up many treasures in Heaven), not all of us are called to that kind of life.

In Matthew 5: 3, Jesus says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit." He does not say, "Blessed are the materially poor." Certainly to be materially poor is a difficult life, and most people would not consider it a blessing to be challenged to live that life. But the poor in spirit are the ones who realize that it is not material possessions that matter. They are the ones who are willing to be generous with the resources with which they have been blessed--so they can bless others. They do not hoard up their treasures for their own future selfish use (like the man in today's Gospel) but instead are ready to share their treasures.

In Luke 12:34 we read, "Wherever your treasure lies, there your heart will be." I believe that one who is poor in spirit is one who knows from where these treasures have come, and looks for opportunities to use these treasures to make life better for even one other person.

In that respect, my husband is a far better Franciscan than I am. He is generous to a degree that I am not courageous enough to imitate. He has brought a homeless woman and baby into our home (when Big Brother was an infant) so that we could give this woman some formula, diapers, baby clothes, and a chance to bathe her little boy. He has bought dinners for soldiers in uniform when he sees them in restaurants. He is far more gentle and generous than I am with Adventure Boy. It seems like he is energized by these actions--I find them stressful and exhausting.

Yes, I believe that he is a wonderful example of what it is to be poor in spirit.

Halloween Personality

What's scary here is that in 5 questions, they managed to figure all this out. It's all true, too.

What Your Halloween Habits Say About You

You're a friendly person, but not the life of the party. You like making someone else's day - and you'll dress up if you think of a really fun costume. You're weird. You're downright deviant. And you use dressing up in a costume as an excuse to act out. Your inner child is full of wonder and very sweet. You truly fear the dark side of humanity. You are a true misanthrope. You're logical, rational, and not easily effected. Not a lot scares you... especially when it comes to the paranormal. You are picky and high maintenance. If you wear a Halloween costume, it's only when you really feel like it. And it has to be perfect.

What's Your Halloween Personality?

The Mass in Latin

A few weeks ago, my diocesan newspaper carried a Catholic News Service column by Father Peter Daly of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, MD, on the subject of the moto proprio. In this article Father Daly appears scornful of those who wish to attend the Mass in Latin, claiming that they want a speedy Mass during which they are not responsible to participate. He also declares that these Masses are a burden on the priests who celebrate them.

Today, the Curt Jester reports that Father Daly has revisited the subject. I was really glad to see this new article, which he said was to correct the failures in the first one:

First, it did not convey my own affection for the old liturgy. Second, it did not recognize the good motivations of the people who want a return to the Latin liturgy.

He mentions that the reasons people wish to attend Mass in Latin include a search for three things that we feel a lack of today:
--Reverence
--Mystery
--Tradition

Born in 1965, I grew up and was catechized in the Age of Felt Banners and the Era of Simon and Garfunkel Hymnals. Church became a place of entertainment rather than worship. It became commonplace for choirs to have birthday parties in the sanctuary, for high-school students to perform songs from the movie "Fame" (with accompanying liturgical dance), and for church architecture to allow stadium seating wherein the assembly looks at people in the facing pews rather than at the altar and pulpit. And Father Daly hit the nail right on the head when he said that Catholics are searching for reverence, mystery and tradition. Those have virtually disappeared in the past forty years.

I've never attended a Mass in Latin. That's not to say that I never would. But I can honestly say that I probably wouldn't feel too much need of doing so if I found more reverence, mystery and tradition in the Church today.

I appreciate that Father Daly has clarified his first column, and I hope that in days to come, we will experience more reverence, mystery and tradition in our churches. It is sorely missed.

In Which Aisle Do I Find That?

Little Brother came over to me, all sad, after he finished his after-school snack.

"I'm sorry, Mommy. I ate the rest of the Pizza Goldfish."

I knew there hadn't been that many in the bag, and I told him not to worry about it.

"But I wanted some for my lunchbox on Monday."

"Well, I'm going food shopping this weekend. Just ask Middle Sister to write it down on the shopping list on the white board. Say please."

He did, and she wrote.

But when I went into the kitchen, I discovered that "Pizza Goldfish" was not on the list, under the flour, sugar, and parmesan cheese. Instead, Middle Sister had written down "please."

Great Read for Today

Denise's post "I am not the Enemy" reminds us that we parents are the ones responsible for our children--not their teachers, not their coaches, not their catechists, not their doctors, not the local in-school birth-control clinic.

It is time for parents to understand that being in the driver’s seat as a parent means more than just sitting behind the wheel of the minivan. It is time for institutions to abandon their adversarial stance towards parents. They are to cooperate with my agenda for my child, not fight it. No one loves my child more than I do. I am not the enemy. I am the parent.

Read the whole thing. And don't be afraid to take back your kids. They're your kids.

A Kitchen Meme!

How could I resist? I love memes, and I love kitchens. So Milehimama tagged just the right person for this one: 8 Random Things About My Kitchen. However, I don't think I'll be able to top the picture she used to illustrate her post.

I'll have to make do with this one:
1. My collection of over 100 cookbooks (there are more in the dining room that didn't fit on this shelf). You can never have too many cookbooks, despite what TheDad thinks.

2. We don't eat in our kitchen. Once Little Brother outgrew the high chair (liberating the corner for my fabulous cookbook shelf) we couldn't all fit at the small kitchen table. So now we eat all our meals in the dining room and have nearly completed our mission to ruin the carpet in there.

3. My kitchen table belonged to my Granma Josie. My parents had given it to her, and I know she spent many hours there each day. Her kitchen was her headquarters. It's where she cooked, baked, did crossword puzzles, prayed and visited with her grandchildren. After she passed away, my dad asked me if I wanted the table. I like to bake here too.

4. That cool recipe box/cookbook holder was made by one of my mom's students when she taught at a technical high school.

5. I like to reorganize my kitchen cabinets and counters. I promised TheDad that I wouldn't relocate any of the stuff he needs to know how to find: skillets, his coffee, dishes and silverware. As for the rest of it, he never notices.

6. My toaster oven is a nice big one, to replace the small one that Big Brother burned to a crisp in a quest to scorch his toast (helpful hint: do not double-toast your toast when it's on the darkest setting. It WILL catch on fire.) This toaster oven has been on fire too, but since it's bigger, there was no damage to the oven. Bread flambe is pretty dramatic, though. And the birds around here are too proud to eat it, so it will languish in the garden for weeks.

7. Two things you could never convince me to live without in a kitchen: a gas stove, and an extra-deep sink.

8. And because I am completely incapable of cooking without making a mess all over the kitchen AND myself, it's important to keep some of these around too:



Who wants to play? Consider yourself TAGGED!

More Wishful Thinking

The Mom-imposed rule in our house is "no video games on school days until After Dinner." This presumes that homework is done Before Dinner.

Little Brother is honing his creativity by trying to find ways around this rule. Here's today's gem:

"Mommy, since we have a new principal at school, I can play video games Before Dinner."

Mean Mommy didn't fall for it.

What Kind of Reader Are You?

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Dedicated Reader You are always trying to find the time to get back to your book. You are convinced that the world would be a much better place if only everyone read more.
Book Snob
Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
Literate Good Citizen
Fad Reader
Non-Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Create Your Own Quiz

I love the last question about the bookshelves: my floor probably IS sagging from the weight.