St. Claire

I love this picture ….it’s on our Catholic calendar for this month.  I just had to post it.  And I must get a print of it!

St. Claire of Assisi, Pray for Us!

Transitions…

It’s a lovely overcast day here in our corner of the world.  The train is blowing it’s distant whistle and all else seems to be very still and quiet….What a change from a week ago!….or even a few days ago with that hot bright August sun still beating down!  I’m sure that sun isn’t gone forever quite yet; we will still see Mr. Sun for quite some time – well into October.  I love October, but I do not love that it leads way to winter :(  I am not a winter person…for many reasons.  And the last few winters have seemed to be very long and wicked.  sigh…..

So, I will embrace even the overcast days of the better weather season right now.   Helps me appreciate what we have now even more!

We are slowly preparing to start back to school at home.  The children in town start back next week. I will be schooling just two boys when we begin.  We won’t start anything until well after our daughter is settled into college (Aug 27th it all happens).  Then we will likely be still finishing work on the attic.  It is nearing the stage where we can start to actually prime and paint, and decide more seriously what we are doing with the floor.  I will be working on the entry way and stairway up, when my items arrive – shipped from Lowes, but on backorder. 

In the meantime, this week we celebrate my husband’s birthday.  Hats off to him!  He has done such a great job on the attic remodel, really bearing most of the work, and it’s been both tedious and good for him.  I think he will love the success he will see – that he accomplished.  He’s a good husband and good father for sure.  Happy Birthday Pete!

Have a great day where ever you are – may God’s face shine upon you and be gracious to you!

Success for me these days is making it to my one son's appointments and back again -- yes, because of his terrible aversion to driving...or being a passenger I should say.  Throw in his ultra-nervous nature in going to an appointment...this was just a review of his medication for OCD;  but it's so stressful getting him prepared to go, the whole mindset.  At any rate, we did it....I should say we all did it together.  Grandma, sister, another brother and myself....off to the ever important appointment yesterday and then shopping at Target for college and birthday items, and leaving there feeling pretty good about what was accomplished with Starbucks Caffe Latte in our hands :)  The sweet smell of success! haha

So, I am still spiritually preparing for a new year ahead.  Soon our pastor will come over for a lunch meeting with me in regard to our religious education schedule and program for the year ahead.  This will be such a different year and I'm somewhat bracing myself for the change and feel of it all.  I am even fasting for the positive benefits of it spiritually;  I feel very much like I have to be prepared to deal with many differences and transitions and only God is going to hold me by the hand through this one.

Happily, we celebrate the Feast of Clare of Assisi in just a few days -- August 11th.  We have a relic of St. Clare here at home in a small reliquary that sits on top of our china cabinet mantle.  I think of her often and ask for her prayers and blessings in this home.  I liken the many women saints I admire so much, my heroines, to a group of friends cheering me on and praying for my strong resolve and goodness in this life so I can enjoy visiting and conversing with them in the next.  It should be a lovely tea party :)

May God bless you with a beautiful day and answer all your needs.  St. Clare of Assisi, Pray for us!

Light and sweetness

My days have been incredibly busy and deeply moving lately.  I am in the middle of vacation bible school currently at our parish which is always a hectic but enjoyable experience for the children and adults alike.  And this one does not fail….as always, it enriches my spiritual knowledge and gives some hope and refreshment to my very being.  I am grateful and in awe of the great helpful people God has placed in my life and the life of the parish.  When I see how wonderful such a week can be, and how people pull together, I wish ALL PEOPLE OF THE PARISH could know and experience these tremendous moments of “team” and joy.

I am also excited and emotional over my only daughter preparing to go to college and live on campus.  Although she won’t be far away, it is still “far away” as college life and studies will greatly consume her every waking moment.  With my oldest son commuting, but gone at least 85 percent of the time, this will leave me with tending to home school and adjusting daily life with two younger sons.  I recall how I did not conceive easily ever, and how each child, even miscarriages, were planned and planned again; how I used a basal thermometer and charted for what seemed years and years.  How there are gaps of years between children due to low fertility.  And when I complain about these same children  I recall how blessed I am to have every one of them, “four” being a great number to me, because it could be “none”. 

So, I stand back in awe once again of how God has blessed our lives and blessed me personally.  I don’t know why God insists on doing things in a certain way, but I liken it to how I insist on doing things a certain way because “I know”, I know something will turn out right when I do it “this way”.  Ahhh, God knows too, doesn’t he?

Next week we will return to usual appointments for special needs children in this brood, college shopping, library programs and preparing for many upcoming events – some of which include moving my daughter to college and attending ceremonies.  Our days of swim lessons have passed, the evenings while muggy are starting to darken again a little sooner, goldenrod and ragweed are in the air, and the low chirping of crickets can be heard in the evenings……all signs of summer’s end……

It’s amazing how my little corner of the world seems so insignificant and all meaningful at the same time.  How my life and living it is so mundane and yet life is never mundane, but full of mystery and intrigue. And so is the life of a mother.

As one season grows near the end, and another season beckons to emerge, may our Lady of Perpetual Help bless and help all those mothers I know and care about and give them the strength to rule their little corner of he world with love and patience, wisdom and strength, that they may know the joy of Our Lady and withstand the sorrow knowing an eternity of rest and peace awaits them in the next life.  There will be time to sleep in heaven.