S.tay A.t H.ome M.om at Work

Ok - I know, I know, by this title, you are probably wondering where I can go from here, right? Well - today at mass, our little 18 month old son was literally pointing, laughing, and looking up towards tall windows in our church. Not just once, but several times, and for several minutes. Those behind us were convinced he saw something no one else could see....that our little guy saw an angel! In reality who knows, but here's what I do like about the whole scenario. At times, things happen around us, that we just can't explain away. Things happen that can either test our faith, or strengthen it. We all have moments where it seems there is something else going on, besides just what we see. Part of me loves that the people sitting behind us, saw something today that strengthened their faith in angels....and that it was my youngest son that initiated it. Sometimes we are on autopilot and really do miss those little things that happen to cross our path, those little things ...

We knew the little critter was sick, our active little hamster became quite lethargic. Remembering how our last encounter went when dealing with death, I suggested we take it to the vet for some medical relief. I know what you must be thinking....a rodent to the vet? Well we did. If I could spend a few bucks to prolong this critters life and stave off the tears for a few more days, well, it was worth it. The vet did give us some medicine to include in the water bottle, and it probably gave us a few additional days to prepare everyone for impending doom. We did something this time, in our effort to prepare the kids for yet another funeral in the backyard. We talked at length about impending death, and that death is apart of this world we live in. What do we teach our kids when we know death is imminent for something/someone they love? We prepared them to say good bye when the animal was still alive. They all got to hold him, pet him, feed him, and talk with him a bit before his death...

Over the weekend we had the pleasure of going to Zing, Zang, Zoom - Barnum and Bailey's / Ringling's Circus. We have gone the past few years as a yearly tradition and the kids love the sensory overload of lights, sounds, tricks, animals, clowns and performances. I'd never gone as a kid, and I tell you, it truly IS the greatest show on earth. While at the circus we had a big group sitting directly behind us, and over time, became more and more rambunctious, as the majority of the group were children, accompanied by a few adults.....all women (no dads, which you'll find interesting as you read on). Certainly the circus is about having a good time, but before long, the group directly behind us got out of control. I can handle others being loud. I can handle a few random kicks to my chair. I can handle all the distraction. What I can't handle is when my children are in the mix of their 'good time'. It's hard to know when to say 'It's enough...

I witnessed something a bit disturbing last night, and I thought it worthy for comment this morning as I iron out the crux of the matter mentally and learn from the experience. Honestly, I do think that we are meant to pay attention to what goes on around us, that we might learn something new, apply a new outlook on life, tweek a thing or two, flip an attitude around etc etc. And so to that end, I find myself watching people....listening more than talking....picking up the non-verbal....and ultimately seeing people for who they are, not who I want them to be. It's not easy to see reality in this way. It sets us up for disappointment more times than not, as we are all human, prone to make mistakes here or there. But again, a lesson learned by using this technique is infinitely valuable....that you must accept people for who they are, not who you THINK they are, or who you want them to be. Acceptance can be difficult, but in difficulties, we find virtue. Back to last night. I witness...

Yikes. I've caved. I now have a facebook account. What have I done? This phenomenon is beyond me. I've played around most of my morning on Facebook, and still can't see what's so exciting. I guess I need a bit of education to get it. Thanks HH, in advance! So after all my lamenting of never joining a social networking site, I have joined one, and one might ask, what on earth led me to finally succumb. Well, being that my children rely on their parents for knowledge of the current world so that we might educate them....I felt it appropriate to have some experience with the hullabaloo of Facebook. I know many good Catholic families fear this tech age, and want only seclusion for their families and children....and I am sympathetic to this fear. It's in all of us. But if we are to truly send our children into the world ill-equipped to handle it, what are we doing as their parents? With a true education of these sites, the advantages and disadvantages, the pros and c...

Ahhhhh, the dreaded swine flu. Now that I have experienced it, I understand how people have died from it. I definitely had moments when I thought it just couldn't get worse, and then it did, making me feel like the end was near. Let me tell you, I like to be babied just as much as the next person, but when there is so much to do, and absolutely no energy to do it, I just got mad. I know, mad at who...right? Well, angry at this bug, to tell you the truth. For the first several days, I was more stubborn and refused to let this bug tug me down. I still kept up with the kids, and most other duties around the house....I did it all with such an attitude, like out of spite, I was telling this illness, 'You can't get me down!' Well in hindsight, perhaps I pissed off the bug enough to take new refuge in my throat and lungs, and it sought to destroy what was left of my voice. While I attempted to keep going at full speed, I just wasn't getting any better. Once again, ...

We all know that young girls in our society are expected to grow faster than their maturity level can handle. This isn't news. However, as a mother, seeing my nine year old deal with issues beyond her years, I want to cry. She is a carefree young girl, who still loves to swing in the back yard, color in a coloring book, and tell silly knock-knock jokes. She is full of love and life, a simplicity and innocence that I have long worked to keep intact for her sake. New issues have arisen for her. Peer pressure to keep secrets from her parents has begun, at the possible peril of friendships. It breaks my heart. She is having to make a choice, between being honest with her mother, and possibly losing a dear friend. (Which of course, I retort, "What friend is it that makes her make that impossible choice! No friend at all!") But again, let me stress, she's a loving carefree girl, who loves her girlfriends and told me last night, "Mom, I see the good in them." How G...

So the flu has hit our home. Thankfully the children are well, and only HH and I are sick, which I much more prefer even though painful for us. I will say though, that sometimes it does take time to sit back and watch how empathetic children can really be. For a couple of days now, they have had to make their own lunches, most of their own breakfasts, as well as take care of their own backpacks, as I rarely find myself off the couch. I tried to smile when they would come with a blanket to cover me. I tried to hug them back when they said good-night. I tried to laugh when they worked so hard to see me smile. I could only say a quick thanks when they made pictures for me to lighten my spirits. My oldest has taken over in a lot of ways, playing with the baby, putting on his coat and shoes and checking everyone's cubbie before school to see if they had forgotten anything. I thank God for her, especially these last days, where I saw true empathy in them all, because of her exam...

In usual fashion we attended mass this morning and it was beautiful to ask the saints this day, of all days, to pray for us. As a mother, I was also comforted to hear some my own kids name sakes mentioned, and in a beautiful way, we remembered how we strive to live as they lived: with simple faith. How their little eyes lit up to hear their own name! Our Pastor began his homily, and just as I thought Halloween was behind us, past and over for another year....he began to teach his congregation a reality that I just hadn't thought of, in regards to this holiday. Yikes - another blog post on this dreary holiday! He began to discuss a misconception about Halloween. He stated that many people think that Halloween is in fact a Christian holiday, when the truth is that this holiday is actually the antithesis of Christianity. He went on to state that the ghoulish decorating and dressing up as the vampire, the monster, the slasher etc, was meant to scare people. In essence to spread ...