Poetry Friday: One Leaf Rides the Wind

 

One Leaf Rides the Wind by Celeste Davidson Mannis, with Susan Kathleen Hartung's gorgeous illustrations, has captured Ramona's fancy.

We were at the library and the cover caught my eye. Did you click over? Isn't it lovely?  The illustrator has a wonderful website -- go ahead and tour her studio (I'll wait until you're back) and take a look at how helpful she is.

One Leaf Rides the Wind is called a counting book for ages 4-8, but I'm going to call it a treasure for Ramona and me. Each page of counting includes a haiku and a visual treat.  

This one is going on my list: 

Books Ramona loves

Tucked away for her birthday

Delight awaits her.

~~~~~

Anastasia Suen is hosting the Poetry Friday round up today.

I'm at Faith & Family Live Today

Please join me at Faith & Family Features for some thoughts on parenting mistakes and the things I can -- and can't -- afford to declutter from my life.

And that therapy I mention in the piece? Well, at least, if my kids end up on a therapist's couch, I bet they'll choose one who's Catholic.

Happy Anniversary, Atticus!

(Atticus filling the girls in on the history of Falling Water.)

Tomorrow is the 26th anniversary of my marriage to Atticus. I love this man.

He* is the father of my many children, a teacher, a scholar, a literary critic, a poetry know-it-all (in a good way, Honey), a walking history encyclopedia (he amazes and humbles me ... he should really be the one homeschooling these kids) ...

a romantic, a cook, a bathroom and oven cleaner, a gardener, a reader, a runner, a bringer-of-flowers, a listener, a sympathizer ...

a man with a fierce sense of what is just and right, a faithful man, a kind man, an unselfish man, a great provider (and a man who knows when to provide coffee, chocolate or dry red wine) ...

a maker of scrumptious fudge and Betsy's favorite coconut cream pie and Anne's favorite key lime and Ramona's favorite chocolate cream and the best spaghetti sauce you've ever had ...

a family man, a Yankees fan, a lover of classical music, chant, and opera (who also listens to Stevie Ray Vaughan and Asleep at the Wheel and Smash Mouth and George Thorogood and Warren Zevon) ...

a Civil War encyclopedia (yes, I know I'm repeating the encyclopedia thing ... it's just that, well, he is one) ...

a Catholic man, a praying man, a devoted daddy, a laugh-out-loud witty man, a lifelong, we're-in-this-together-until-we-die-and-even-after-that friend of mine.

He's the quintessential Renaissance man. And, without even knowing he's done it (because he's humble enough that he'd never take credit for any such thing) he has made me a better woman, wife, mother, teacher, thinker and friend.

I love you, Atticus.

Happy 26th Anniversary!

~~~~~

*(Here's a past post with lots of marvelously mushy marriage and Atticus links.)

Heart-shaped bird photo courtesy of Stock.xchng

Bits and Pieces of Our (Sick) Days

Current Hot Commodities at Our House: 

Soap
Water
Hand Sanitizer
Tissues
Pillows and Comforters 
The Couch
Naps
Thermometers
Acetaminophen
Sympathetic, motherly sounds and gestures, such as sighs and head shaking
Sympathetic motherly phrases, such as "You poor baby!"
Books
Videos
Mp3 players
Computer puttering
Chicken Soup
Water, water, water
The Phone (my connection with other human beings who are not my family and are not coughing)
M&Ms (not for sick children, of course -- medicine for Mom)

St. Francis de Sales

from last year, on his feast day:

~~~~

Quotes from St. Francis de Sales, patron saint of writers:

"Every moment comes to us pregnant with a command from God, only to pass on and plunge into eternity, there to remain forever what we have made of it."


"Oh what remorse we shall feel at the end of our lives, when we look back upon the great number of instructions and examples afforded by God and the Saints for our perfection, and so carelessly received by us! If this end were to come to you today, how would you be pleased with the life you have led this year?"


"Some say it is unreasonable to be courteous and gentle with a reckless person who insults you for no reason at all. I have made a pact with my tongue; not to speak when my heart is disturbed."

"Lord, I am yours,
and I must belong to no one but you.
My soul is yours,
and must live only by you.
My will is yours,
and must love only for you.
I must love you as my first cause,
since I am from you.
I must love you as my end and rest,
since I am for you.
I must love you more than my own being,
since my being subsists by you.
I must love you more than myself,
since I am all yours and all in you. Amen."

*************************************

And, look at this!

Daily de Sales!

I peeked ahead to my birthday, and found this incredible quote:

"You recognize thousands of imperfections and failings in yourself, contrary to your desire for purity and perfect love of God. In reply I say that it is not possible to avoid all of these. While we live on this earth, we have to put up with ourselves, until the day that God takes us to Heaven. Meanwhile, we can do no more than to keep a close watch on ourselves, and be patient. How can we correct in one day defects that we have contracted by our prolonged lack of diligence? Sometimes God has healed a person in an instant, without leaving a trace of his previous spiritual sickness. But in so many others He has left the scars of their conversion, for the greater benefit of their souls." (Letters 277; O. XIII, p. 19)

Scars. Oh, yes. He is perfect. Just perfect.

Poetry Friday: Creatures, by Billy Collins

Today's pick is for my daughters: for Anne-with-an-e, who at age 3 (and with the imagination of a poet) often saw faces in the whorling woodgrain of the doors in our house.

I was a sympathetic audience for her fears -- like Anne and Billy Collins in today's poem Creatures, the faces looked to me like something melting and Norwegian from Edvard Munch.

And today's pick is for Betsy, too, who did not react as Billy, Anne and I did.  Rather, Betsy has always seen sunny images in woodgrain -- smiling faces, kittens, and the like. She has the imagination of a poet, too.  Just a happier and less disturbed poet. 

Creatures

by Billy Collins

Hamlet noticed them in the shapes of clouds,

but I saw them in the furniture of childhood,

creatures trapped under surfaces of wood,

one submerged in a polished sideboard,

one frowning from a chair-back,

another howling from my mother’s silent bureau,

locked in the grain of maple, frozen in oak.

I would see these presences, too,

in a swirling pattern of wallpaper

or in the various greens of a porcelain lamp,

each looking so melancholy, so damned,

some peering out at me as if they knew

all the secrets of a secretive boy.

(Read the rest here.) 

The Poetry Friday round up is at Liz in Ink.

Today's Tweet

Morning Person says: "Hey, c'mon! Time to get up!" 

Night Owl hears: "Hey! I hate you! Here's some torture for you!" 

These are my children.

It shouldn't be cute, but ....

Ramona is really enjoying Crafts from Your Favorite Bible Stories, by Kathy Ross.  We stumbled upon it at the library, and now Ramona has grand plans for a life-sized manger (however, I'll be dashing those plans -- I'm thinking we'll go with paper towel rolls rather than wrapping paper rolls, thus reducing the scale of the model with absolutely no ill effects on the One Who occupied the real thing.)

But, should the serpent insinuating himself into the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil look so darn cute?

As Betsy pointed out, "Well, Mom, y'know, evil can appear to be cute."

"The devil hath power to assume a pleasing shape."

~~ Shakespeare,  Hamlet


Ah, yes. A spontaneous opportunity to throw in a little extra theology. Who knew pipe cleaners could be so profound?

How Gray Is Our Day?

Well, this picture is actually in color. Note the red sled hiding on the left, behind the lilac hedge.  The trees looked gorgeous, dressed in icy frost, but the overall effect is decidedly, umm, chilly, eh?

With Apologies to My Readers in France

Ramona: "Mommy, I am in France, and I'm at the most exclusive restaurant. Be my waitress."

Me: "Ok. What can I get for you, Mademoiselle?"

Ramona: "Please take these sunglasses off my face."

Me (dropping character): "Wow. You are one spoiled lady."

Ramona: "Mom. I'm French."

Another Way to Help Haiti: Kids Against Hunger

They are sending food to Haiti -- details here.  Help is always needed at satellite offices, and donations are needed as well.

It "Counts" as School

I'm not a true unschooler, as there are things I impose on my kids' learning lives.

But, as I've said before, "most of our curriculum is talking."

Here are a few recent examples:

We read about St. Hilary of Poitiers last week. The reading was simple but it led to a discussion of doctors of the Church, as well as a discussion of the difference between doctrine and discipline.  That in turn led to a discussion of Vatican II, of church councils in general, as well as authority and obedience.

And all of that led to talk of the definition of "Vulgate" and why the word "vulgar" has come to mean both common and crude. 

Whew. All from a one-page summary of St. Hilary.

Ramona has been back on her Emily Dickinson kick, and has been finding I'm Nobody! Who Are You? all over the place: in a coloring book, in several of our poetry books. She really loves the poem, has memorized it, and loves to recite to anyone who will listen.

Finally, this is an old example, but a few months back we reread The Penderwicks on Gardam Street together.  The Halloween scene led my kids to discover what a Richard Nixon mask is, and what it looks like:

as well as learning a a bit more about Watergate and partisan politics.

That Halloween scene also led my children to find out exactly what Mr. Spock looks like:

They know the "Live Long and Prosper" sign (which, because I can't seem to manage separating my fingers in exactly that Spockian way, is also known around here as my awkward version which in Vulcan roughly translates to "Die Young and Poor") but that's about all they know of Mr. Spock. I'm afraid we aren't really Trekkies here, as evidenced by the fact that my favorite Star Trek movie is the one in which they went back in time to the 80s. The other ones generally put me to sleep or make me say, "Eeeww!" (as in the Ricardo Montalban-thing-in-the-ear.)

I guess Mr. Spock could have led to a discussion of Dr. Spock and various child-rearing philosophies, but we didn't get that far.

Still, it's all about connections and curiosity. It all counts.

Here are more posts detailing spontaneous moments of learning. 

I'm So Misunderstood

I have to write everything down lest I forget it.

A daily "To Do" list could conceivably include:

• Breathe. That would be "In ... Out ...."

So, that's why I had a note to myself on the white board in the kitchen one day. Betsy looked at it and said, "Freeze the children? What do you mean by that?"

I glanced at the board.

"Chicken. It says chicken."

"Oh."

Cue Emily Litella.

Poetry Friday: Briefly It Enters, Briefly It Speaks

Briefly and beautifully, this poem speaks for itself.

Briefly It Enters, Briefly Speaks

by Jane Kenyon

I am the blossom pressed in a book,

found again after two hundred years. . . .

I am the maker, the lover, and the keeper....

When the young girl who starves

sits down to a table

she will sit beside me. . . .

I am food on the prisoner's plate. . . .

I am water rushing to the wellhead,

filling the pitcher until it spills. . . .

(Read the rest here, at the Poetry Foundation.) 

The Poetry Friday round up will be hosted today at Great Kid Books.

Donation Links for Haiti

Catholic Relief Services

Other aid agencies

Quote for a Wednesday

"Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted."

~~ C.S. Lewis

(photo courtesy of stock.xchng)

Updates from the Inbox

Please keep up the prayers for Sarah Reinhard, who has had so much going on of late ....

*****

The "Helping Those in Need" page at the Hillside Education website has been updated, with a current appeal for Regina Doman and her family. Regina just discovered that their young son has diabetes. More details at the "Helping" link above. 

*****

Homeschool Connections has all kinds of great courses coming up -- Visit the website, or their blog for more information. Maureen Wittmann's blog (Maureen is one of the dynamos behind Homeschool Connections) also has loads of info. 

*****

Lesley Austin is closing Small Meadow Press, due to pressing family concerns.  Her lovely creations will be missed, but her heart and energy are clearly in the right place.

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Speaking of beauty, visit the website of the Foundation for Sacred Arts for a dose of it.

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I dropped the ball on sharing the details about Khaya Cookie Company and their Christmas sale, but I'm intrigued, and plan to try the Orange and Chocolate Krunchi. Yum.

*****

My Work Here is Done

When Atticus got home from work tonight, he walked into the living room and said:

"Is there something different in here? Why does it look different to me?"

I replied, "Ummm ... I cleaned it?"

Writing With the Kids

This year, Anne-with-an-e once again led her "Christmas Fan Fiction Challenge."  The idea is to start with characters from Harry Potter, and write a Christmas story based on one of the challenges Anne offers us.  This year, the themes from which to choose were "The Hope of Christmas" or "A Retelling of A Christmas Carol."

The results of the challenge are over on our writing blog, Writing with the Kids. 

Anne chose the "Hope of Christmas" theme, Betsy did A Christmas Carol with Snape as Scrooge, and Ramona the Renegade came up with her own theme, which she called "The Gift of the Wizard." I think she remembered that one of last year's themes was "The Gift of the Magi."  (I left Ramona's story just as she wrote it, re. spelling and punctuation, etc.)   I went with "The Hope of Christmas" (and go easy on me, as I threw my assignment together the day before it was due. Don't tell my kids.)

I'm sure the kids would love to get a few comments, so if you have time, head over and let us know what you think.

Too Much Food Network?

Last night, Anne-with-an-e had a dream that Bobby Flay was trapped for twelve hours in a vat of steamed tomatoes. In the dream, she was watching a "Food Network Special!" about his rescue. No one had thought he would survive the ordeal.

We need to:
a.)  read more
b.)  turn off the TV, or
c.)  have a cooking lesson.

I mean, steamed tomatoes?

Really?

Reading in 2009

I know this isn't everything -- it doesn't even touch on the things Anne, Betsy and Ramona read on their own.  I keep promising myself I'll get a little more organized about our booklists. I signed up for Good Reads and have done nothing with it other than to think, "I've done nothing with Good Reads."

And as I look over this list, I see that much of my reading time is spent either reading to my kids, previewing something for my kids, or keeping up with my kids. And, then, when all that's done, I throw in a few books for me. 


Fiction (mostly stuff I read with the kids/previewed for the kids/stuff I read to keep up with the kids):

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury 
How to Be Good by Nick Hornby (not for the kids)
A La Carte by Tanita Davis
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan
The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
Midnight Dancers by Regina Doman


A Little Non-fiction:

Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
Mockingbird by Charles Shields
Wish I Could Be There by Allen Shawn 
Fruitless Fall by Rowan Jacobsen
Chocolate Unwrapped by Rowan Jacobsen
I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron
On Writing Well, by William Zinsser


Various read alouds with various kids, re-read alouds (Ramona's first time with some of these) or things I reread because the girls were reading them: 

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
An Old Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott
Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes
The Moffats by Eleanor Estes
Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater 
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
On Tide Mill Lane by Melissa Wiley 
The Road to Roxbury by Melissa Wiley
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,
Prince Caspian,
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,
The Silver Chair,
The Horse and His Boy,
The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
Charlotte's Web, by E.B. White
The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
The Penderwicks on Gardem Street by Jeanne Birdsall
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
The Twenty-Four Days Before Christmas by Madeleine L'Engle


Spiritual Reading (and in some cases, re-re-rereading and looking over highlights):

Abandonment to Divine Providence by Jean-Pierre de Caussade (a regular and constant reread)
Fr. Elijah (fiction ... my kids groan, "You're reading that again?" It's like medicine to me)
Fire of God's Love by Mike Aquilina
Angels of God by Mike Aquilina
Happy Are You Poor by Fr. Thomas Dubay
Miracles by C.S. Lewis 
The Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson
The Ministry of  Motherhood by Sally Clarkson
101 Devotions for Homeschool Moms by Jackie Wellwood
Grain of Wheat by Fr. Michael Geisler  (fiction)
Mother Teresa and me by Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle
Grace Cafe by Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle
View The Domestic Church by Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle
The Miracle of Lourdes by Fr. John Lochran
New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton 


A few of the books I started and need to get back to:

Mary, Mother of the Son (volumes I, II and III) by Mark Shea
Mother Teresa's Secret Fire by Fr. Joseph Langford
Praying the Rosary for Inner Healing by Fr. Dwight Longenecker
The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Faith, Literature and Easy Lives?

We had a priest friend over for dinner the other night, and I was talking about Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury. I was summing up the ways in which the book seemed prophetic: the electronic entertainment, the way the characters were constantly plugged into sounds, music, and interactive-but-unreal reality tv, and the fact that no one -- but a brave few -- cared about reading or critical thinking in a book-burning world.

"And it was published in 1953!" I said, with admiration for Bradbury's foresight.

Father shrugged and smiled, shook his head and acted not a bit surprised.  He said (I'm paraphrasing, but it was something like), "People will always look for the easiest way."

He's right, of course.

It's not surprising that Bradbury could look at the world around him and figure out where it might be headed. It's always been true that one could just about any current trend and spin it out to the extreme.  With just a little knowledge of mankind's fallen nature, one can assert with a fair amount of confidence the paths we will undoubtedly take. Bradbury didn't have to look very far to see people who didn't understand why poetry made them cry, who thought that children were "ruinous" and that politicians should be elected based on good looks and height.  He didn't have to stretch the imagination too far to predict relentless escapism consuming a culture.

Nothing much has changed since the fall of Adam and Eve.

Our first parents had it all, didn't they?  Still, they wanted things to be easier. They wanted to make the rules, define the world, create their own reality show. And they left us their legacy, left us seeking, always, what's easiest.

And, what is faith?

Faith is an ongoing reaction against what is easy.

Our justification is initiated by God and His grace, of course. Our salvation is impossible without Him.  But,

Justification establishes cooperation between God's grace and man's freedom ... When God touches man's heart through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, man himself is not inactive while receiving that inspiration, since he could reject it; and yet, without God's grace, he cannot by his own free will move himself toward justice in God's sight. ~~ Catechism of the Catholic Church, (para. 1993-94)

We can't be saved by our own actions and free will, but God, having touched us with His grace, does then ask us to employ our free will in His service.

He loves us enough to give us the freedom to reject Him each and every day.

And rejecting a life of faith is easy, really. I know how often I want to dig my heels into the world, avoid the pain of poetry, and seek new ways to forget and escape.

Accepting a life of faith is hard. There is truth, there are rules, the humility of admitting that I don't have all the answers. There is suffering, and the knowledge that God works through pain for our good.

But, having lived a life without faith, and a life of embracing it, I can say that what at first seemed easy — making my own truth, my own rules, and avoiding the bonds of religion — turned out to be a much harder (and unhappier) way to live. And the freedom I've experienced as a result of my faith has been more freeing than anything I tried to create on my own.

Near the end of Fahrenheit 451, a man named Granger explains to Montag, the former fireman, what a phoenix is, how the mythological creature dies and rises again. Civilization, these men know, has destroyed itself. The life that awaits this small band of people will not be an easy one. But, in another way, it will not be nearly as hard as the life they were living.

I think a life of faith is like that.

Like Granger's phoenix, we arise from the ashes of each day, to begin again to do what is hard. And what is easy.

The Feast of the Epiphany

Journey of the Magi

by T.S. Eliot

'A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
...

All this was a long time ago, I remember,
And I would do it again, but set down
This set down
This: were we led all that way for
Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly,
We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death,
But had thought they were different;
...

(Read the entire poem here.)

School-y Ramona

I'm the Unschooly Mom, right?

But, Ramona is this kind of child:  a couple of months ago, she said, "Mommy, please write a 'state of the day' on the board every day. Then, I'll learn about that state that day. I'd like to do it everyday. Okay?"

Ummm ... okay. 

And, in the last two days, I've heard this:

Ramona:  Mommy, I miss school.

Ramona: Mommy, when will we do some more school?

Ramona: Mommy, I like math.

Ramona: Mommy, I love school. I'm so happy I'm homeschooled.

Ramona: Mommy, when does school start?

Ahem.

Unschooliness -- for me -- mostly means that I follow their lead in a number of ways and areas.

So. I'd better go map out the next few days and their states.

(Image courtesy of ImageChef.com)

Bits and Pieces of Our Twelve Days of Christmas

It's Twelfth Night!  (And don't forget that St. Lucia bread makes a delicious King's Cake.)

And, although we celebrated the Solemnity of the Epiphany at Mass on Sunday, since tomorrow is the actual date of the Epiphany, tomorrow is the day we'll celebrate again here (i.e., continue to eat celebratory amounts of delicious foods before we decide to give it up for ordinary amounts in ordinary time.)

We've been living in a sort of suspended animation during these Twelve Days of Christmas -- relaxing, and spending family time together. Real life starts again for Atticus today as he heads back to school, and it will come soon enough for the rest of us. But, in the meantime, we've taken these Twelve Days seriously.

I even swatted my children away a number of times while I caught up on some reading. Which reminded me of this past post, which I should have rerun earlier in the Christmas break, but it's never too late for such a reminder.

Happy Twelfth Night!

*****

(from December, 2007):

I've been on vacation from a lot of things, including blogging.

Christmas break is like that.

There's been a lot going on: the kids had a great time at the birthday party of a friend and had an equally great time at a church youth group party, which included going to see National Treasure 2. They went sledding with Atticus and built gingerbread houses with me.

And I've fit in a fair amount of reading (and will be back later with some notes on what I've read.)

But for now, I want to quickly address a little issue we homeschooling mothers sometimes struggle with:

Benign neglect.

Faith, at Dumb Ox Academy, got me thinking about this. Perhaps, a better phrase would be "masterly inactivity" (sounds a little nicer and more deliberate, doesn't it?)

We homeschooling moms are with our kids quite a bit. A lot. And that's a great thing. It's what allows us to pursue our vision of education, to grow closer to our kids, to share ideas and interests and fun.

But, it also sets us up, at times, for guilt. Because, when you're used to being with your kids all the time, you can start to feel a bit guilty if you're not with them, or if you're in the same house, but not fully "present" to them.

I maintain that a bit of masterly inactivity and benign neglect are a good thing.

As I said in a comment to Faith:

As homeschooling moms, we are with our children nearly *all* the time. It’s okay to take periods (like Christmas break) to be “selfish” because it isn’t really selfishness. It’s recharge time. And we need it. As your kids have shown you, they’ll be fine!

I tend to shoo my kids away fairly frequently during Christmas vacation, with a “Not now … I’m reading.”

Mothers need breaks, too. And, learning to entertain oneself without a plan, a schedule, or structure is a necessary life skill for a child.

If you want, record it in your best education-ese on your list of homeschooling accomplishments for 2007:

"Children learned the value of independently chosen and executed pursuits."

Then lose the guilt.

It's Christmas break.

Now, go away.

I'm reading.

The Year and the Decade

Anne-with-an-e asked me to name the biggest things -- for me -- of the past year and the past decade. The wow-factor highlights are pretty easy to recall:

The Decade:

In 2000, Atticus was received into the Catholic Church. Five years earlier, I had predicted (o, me of little faith) that that'd never happen.

In 2002, Ramona was born. After so many miscarriages, none of us saw that coming either.



The Past Year:

My first book was published.

Anne suggested I mention that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince came out in theaters. I said that I thought I would, instead, mention my book.

"Oh," she said. "Well. I guess that was a highlight, too."


Photo courtesy of Stock.xchng

Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

(from January 1, 2009, 2008, 2007, and 2006 ....) :

In reviewing last year's post on this day, I see that I totally ignored my resolution to stop posting the previous year's posts.

Ah, well.

I shall not make that mistake again this year. This year, I resolve not to resolve anything about reposting because, let's face it, an old post is always a new post to someone out there, and therefore, there's no reason to resolve a thing. And so, I now present an old post with the hope that it will be of use to someone, because revisiting this post is so useful to me each year.

Have a blessed feast day!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

New year's resolution: Stop posting last year's posts.

Note to self: Don't start that resolution until after Epiphany.

I dislike comparing myself to Mary, because it's akin to holding my Sculpey creations next to Michelangelo's Pieta and asking what kind of artist I am. The differences are glaring, apparent, painful to see and ultimately laughable. But, I do it anyway, because it's good spiritual exercise.

Mary was a wife and mother, as am I. Mary cooked meals, cleaned house, and did laundry, as do I. There the comparisons end.

I imagine home life with Mary and I envision peacefulness, a serene atmosphere pervading all, because she knew that the mundane tasks of each moment were a necessary part of the whole. The meal of the day, the washing, the tidying and the clean-up of dishes ... everything had import and was approached as such. She simply did it because that is part of what the mother of Jesus needed to do.

This year, I will strive to be more Mary-like in my household tasks, approaching them with greater serenity and acceptance, knowing that all things have import and that my duties as a mother and a keeper of our home are a necessary part of the whole.

I imagine affection, warmth and laughter in the home of Mary, Joseph and Jesus. (I loved the scene in The Passion of the Christ in which Mary and Jesus are joking and laughing about tables and chairs.)

This year, I'll thank God for all the laughter in our home, knowing He is the author of such joy, and I'll strive to find and hold on to the humor in those inevitable homeschooling days that crop up (you know ... the ones that will not, at first glance, seem to hold any humor.)

Mary's faith was bare and heroic. Again and again, she had to endure pain and separation and yet her faith did not, could not, waver.

This year, in my life and walk with God, when I feel distance from Him, though I can't resolve to have such faith (as only God can grant it) I can resolve to pray for it, to ask to be more like Mary in my faith.

I doubt that Mary would have blogged ... she would have pondered my mostly pitiable musings in her heart, rather than blabbing them to the world. She pondered, she prayed, she listened.

This year, though I'm not sure I can resolve not to blog (or blab, as it were) since I'm still in the throes of infatuation with this stuff, I can resolve to continue pondering things in my heart, and ask the Lord to make the answers to my ponderings clearer to me. If God however, asked me to quit blogging, I would. He'd have to be very loud and clear about it, though.

Like Mary, I pray I'll be listening.

(Painting: Polish Madonna)