7 Quick Takes

Happy Friday everyone!  Here are a few Quick Takes!

♦I had to make an emergency call to my sister Cate this week. We both live a few hours from our parents. “Well, ” I said “Don’t try calling 251-0711 cause its been disconnected.”  “Ooooh…Wow…” Our parents have been in the same house with the same phone number since they first came to the USA 47 years ago. Yesterday they moved. We’ve never known another home. It’s all good, it needed to happen, but…well…TIME.  It seems to be passing. My parents are aging and that is unsettling. I would give anything to be there helping them right now, but I can’t go and that makes me sad.

♦If you are ever considering moving far away from home and raising your kids away from family, don’t. That’s all I can say about that!

♦I had several meetings and “things” this week having to do with our Lafayette Catholic Schools. That’s not unusual, as there is always plenty to do! I guess this week I had the chance to see so many people working so hard from such good motives that I found myself, yet again, humbled, in awe and inspired. Nothing new there, but a privilege to see all the same.

♦Truly, the Lenten theme is gaining traction all the time. I know that there is a lunar/calendar/whatever thing about where Easter falls, but there is something to be said for a late Lent. (Bishops – Look into it. I’m tellin ya.) We’re all over it with a swagger and a “Bring it on!” attitude. Sure, we’re talking a big game, cause we’ve eaten as many Girl Scout cookies as we can handle. In two weeks we’ll be cryin the blues, lamenting the chocolate we threw out…but Bring It ON! (Meanwhile I am eating 6 weeks worth of desserts before Wednesday. Way to go, Hard Core Lent Girl.)

♦Whatever about the upcoming penitential season, I have an 18 year old son who came to me with a grave expression ususally reserved for a loved one’s poor prognosis. “Do you realize,” he said very slowly and soberly “There may not BE an NFL season next year?” This is unthinkable. He couldn’t even talk about it afterward. Let’s think about this now, my dear boy. We will be on 5 football teams this fall, again. In person. These are the games we go to in all weather, cheer our hearts out, no matter what weather, sitting on nasty bleachers, even in the freezing cold…(can I mention the weather again?) What if we cannot watch even more football in our home? Laying on the couch, unable to move or do homework or take out the trash? Oh dear. Whatever will we do? Die, by the looks of things. We’re just gonna die.

♦I just got back from All School Mass at St. Mary’s. I’ve had kids at this school for 21 school years.  How many All School Masses have I attended? Too many to count.  Not too many, evidentally, as that Mass with the simple homily, with all those little kids singing their hearts out, still brings tears to my eyes.

♦Do any of you have daughters? Do you sometimes wonder how to guide them in finding their path – toward motherhood, the single life or religious life? We may be able to help. Michael, our 9 year old,  is spending his first year at St. Boniface School, which is staffed by Sisters of St. Francis.  He has had since August to observe these sisters. He just told me this week that they have some similarities.  They all wear a brown  habit, and the same sort of veil, and their shoes are usually a certain kind. They are all nice to kids and funny. “Did you ever notice, there’s one more way all nuns are alike?” he says, “Every single nun has, you know, those sort of fingers. The bendy kind. They have those fingers and you notice them when they are helping you with your work. Their fingers bend more.”  Well!  That’ll sure make the discernment process a thing of the past, huh? No. Don’t thank us – we’re just happy to help.

Have a great weekend everyone, and don’t forget to visit Jen – when you do, she’ll be sending you to Hallie Lord’s Blog  “Betty Beguiles” for more Great Takes.