Journaling the Day 4/29/14

This was one of those days where somehow I never had time to take a shower.  I hate days that like.  I am spoiled rotten about daily showers.  Yuck.  It's 10:14 p.m. and I feel so greasy and gross.

Got up and got Sean up.  Fed him breakfast, made him lunch.  Took him to school by 7:35.  Got home and did a little bit of Aquinas Learning email stuff and such.  Woke Becky up.  She was grouchy so I said get your own breakfast!  We read history though before we went off to her voice lesson.  While waiting for her there I read through several essays from my class.  On the way home we stopped at Chick fil a.  I ate a chicken salad sandwich on wheat.  No fries or soda.  Not much of a diet but at least it was something!

Came home and talked with Hannah a bit.  Tried to renew prescription but was having difficulty.  Went to visit Aunt Jackie.  She's in bad shape. We are trying to get her to move back here.  She's really losing her grip on reality and there are all sorts of problems at the retirement home that make us very unhappy.  Very worrisome situation.  Flew through the rain to pick up S ten minutes late.  Rain was pouring down.  Took him to his therapist appt.  While waiting I finally got prescription filled, read a little in the car but then fell asleep and woke up with my neck killing me.  Talked to the therapist and then drove home.  Got on the phone with my sister about the Jackie crisis, wound up talking about everything.  She's got it rough right now.  Luckily I had remembered to plop some chicken the slow cooker which I poured a bottle of teriyaki sauce over this a.m.  so we had chicken, rice from the rice cooker and sugar snap peas for dinner.  After dinner S needed to do prepare a slide show presentation on Elizabethan Art and Architecture.  I helped him.  It was pretty interesting.  Cleaned up the kitchen somewhat. B was supposed to be doing her Latin this afternoon but I forgot to check whether she did.  She did a math test this evening with Rick.

I found my kindle!  I couldn't find it yesterday and I was very sad because Jen Fulwiler's memoirs came out today and I pre-ordered!  Gonna go to bed now and read it.

Journaling the Week - 4/28/14

Monday - Spring break is over, back to the grind!  Got S up at 6:30 and did our usual routine.  Drove him to school.  Came home, got Becky up and gave her breakfast.  Math tutor came at 9:00.  Subjected myself to the humiliation of having Rick take photos on my on the scale to submit to Dietbet which he kindly did for me.  Took a shower.

B really needs khaki pants to go with her AHG uniform.  We decided to go get them since she had an AHG meeting.  Didn't trust target to have any since probably they have only summer clothes.  Didn't want to go to the mall.  Decided to drive to the uniform store in our little town.  So we did, but it was closed.  Went grocery shopping instead.

B read the rest of St. Margaret Clitherow and we read all of her Catechism notes out loud.  These were really good; all about Vatican II which was really timely since the canonization of John XXIII and JPII. Went for a brisk 20 minute walk.

Picked up S. Came home and took B to AHG meeting.  They worked on music badge and then helped pathfinders with a craft project.  Trying to deal with religious awards stuff, ugh.  Came home - S was out with physical trainer.

Stuck frozen lasagna in oven for dinner.  Rick came home.  Helped S a bit with his Latin homework.  Then Rick helped a bit with his Algebra project.  Then I went to bed and they watched Dr. Who.  Spent all day trying not to overeat and to remember to drink plenty of water.

The Viaduct Murder - Book 19

The Viaduct Murder by Father Ronald Knox is a brilliant little book.  It is erudite but not pompous like I think Dorothy L. Sayers can be.  It is sly in its humor and a bit different from other murder mysteries as the sleuths never do figure out who did it!  The murderer eventually confesses.

Paston Oatvile is an old estate that has been turned into golf links with bungalows and hotel where the patrons can stay while they vacation.  Four golfers, who stay or live at Paston Oatvile join together to solve the mystery of the death of another golfer who turns up dead on the links.  Actually his body is over in the rough grass under the viaduct where the railroad crosses.  The four comrades are Gordon, Reeves, Carmichael and Marryat.  Inspired by Sherlock Holmes they want to figure out who murdered Brotherhood (that's the victim's name).  They each come up with theories, sometimes very elaborate and all proved wrong eventually.  Their thinking processes, as they unfold, can be quite comical at some points and slowly reveal their different characters.

There's a lot going on under the surface here.  In fact, I felt like I missed things so upon finishing, I immediately started to reread the book.  Knox has a wonderful sense of humor that plays out in his understated way of drawing out his characters and sometimes he just throws in a terrific pun.  For example, just as two of the men are going on a wild chase to capture a person who they think is the murderer, they dash to the car the owner has named Tarquin "Superbus."  You have to know Roman history to get that one.  So silly!

Anyway, this is a fun, intelligent book that says more about morality and character than you think it does.  I am enjoying my reread immensely.

For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.

Dietbet

Well, I did it.  I just paid $35 into the 'pot' at Dietbet.  A homeschooling mom I know is starting a game up at Dietbet.  I definitely need some motivation to get myself into shape.  So maybe this will help.  It does sound like it could be fun.  You can use any diet you choose.  Here's the one I'm thinking of - of my own cullings from various sources:

1)  Drink more water - just always be sipping away. And I need to make sure I drink two tall glasses in the a.m. before lunch.
2)  Walk every day.   If I can't walk outside, I'll do a Leslie Sansone dvd.
3)  Breakfast - lowfat yogurt, low cal 1/2 English muffin, probably with some peanut butter on it, fruit and black coffee.
4)  Mid morning snack.  I get hungry in the middle of the morning.  I'll eat MSG free turkey slices and fruit or veggies.
5)  Lunch - either a big salad with lots of leafy, crunchy stuff in it and including leftover chicken or cubed cheese or tuna and a little oil and vinegar plus the other half of the English muffin on the side.  OR a bowl of veggie soup from Trader Joe's plus a little grated cheese and that other half of the English muffin.
6)  Mid afternoon - so I don't get too hungry when cooking dinner - tea and a handful of nuts.
7)  Smaller portions of dinner.  Make sure I eat a big helping of veggies before I tackle the protein and starch.
8)  Put leftovers away right away.  If they sit out, I start to gnosh on them.
9)  Brush my teeth and get into pajamas as early as I can.  That makes me feel like it is bedtime and not time to eat.
10)  If I am really hungry still, I'll eat a small scoop of Breyer's vanilla ice cream.  But not in my pajamas!  There's something about eating food in my pjs at night that I can't stand.

The dietbet I'm joining is the 4% in 4 weeks.  Now I have to go get my initial weigh in picture taken and submitted.  Humiliating!

Spring Break Journal

Life has been nice and slow this week.  Both Sean and Becky are on spring break right now (a week later than all the public schools).  Sean's break is from high school and Becky's is from Aquinas Learning only.  She also had last week off as well.

Things were hectic going into Holy Week though.  Sean had lots of homework, we had lots of prep stuff to do for both Passover and Easter.  Josh came home for Easter weekend.  Will stayed up in Boston though.  We definitely missed him.

Holy Thursday - we went to the Mass of the Last Supper which was beautiful and then Becky and Sean went on the 7 Church Pilgrimage with the parish youth ministry.  The wound up at the all night diner at midnight where they ate a meatless small meal.  It's Good Friday by then so no meat.  They didn't get home until 2:00 a.m.  This has always been a rite of passage for all the kids.  The first time they stay out late and get home when their parents are sound asleep.  Now my youngest has done that.  Boo hoo!  Growing up too fast!

Good Friday - we kept meaning to go to confession somewhere but I was in a panic about prepping for the in laws visit on Saturday.  Also, I woke up with a weird earache and couldn't hear out of one ear.  So we wound up just fasting and cleaning the house.

Holy Saturday - Sean had gone to confession on Wed so he didn't need to go, but Josh, Becky and I did.  We went to morning prayer at another parish, then out to chick-fil-a for breakfast and then back again for confessions.  Whew.  Got that done.

Then we came home and started cooking for our Passover dinner with the in laws.  We had a very nice one and I love that the house, the main level of it anyway, looked so nice.  Originally we were going to go to the Easter vigil but I was too tired and still recuperating from that weird ear thing.  Plus we hadn't dyed eggs yet.  So Becky dyed the eggs (after I had hard boiled them) and basically did all the Easter prep (that is she got out the Easter baskets).

Easter morning - I got up and played Easter bunny by hiding the eggs and getting out the Easter chocolate.  But everybody slept until 10:00 a.m.!  Finally I forced them to get up..  They conducted an easter egg hunt.  Rick made matzah brie and we made cinnamon waffles with cinnamon roll dough.  Pretty good!  Then we got dressed and went to the 12:00 p.m. mass.  While there was plenty of Easter joy, it was the guitar mass and the choir there really thought they were giving a concert instead of assisting the liturgy.  Many, many people were there who don't usually go.  The thirty something couple in front of me, all dressed up in their Easter finery were both chewing gum and he was frequently checking his phone and texting.  Gah!   I felt sinful all day because I let myself get so annoyed on Easter.

Sean and I went to visit Eileen for Easter.  That was nice.

Roasted a leg of lamb.  It was absolutely delicious!

Monday - Becky still had her math tutor come in the a.m.  Sean slept in.  He then began to do a marathon watching of Bob's Burgers.  He had his physical trainer come in the evening as usual.  I drove Josh back to college.  Beautiful day and a beautiful drive.  Hannah worked.  Had left over lamb and deviled eggs for dinner.

Tuesday - Took Becky to her voice lesson.  Sean continued his marathon.  Got a last minute volunteer gig for Sean at a place where he'd volunteered before.  So from 4-6p.m. he help decorate for a dance they are having there.  We ate out for dinner.  No more Lent so I can eat out now.

Wednesday - Becky informed me she had read all of The Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer in two days.  She's also been watching a ton of Dr. Who with Rick in the evenings.  They are both totally into it.  Sean continued his marathon.  Oh, Becky had her math tutor again in the a.m.  Sean and I went out to lunch at Chipotle with the youth group.  Then Sean also went out to CLC in the evening.  I made baked chicken and rice for dinner.  Sean finished his marathon watching of Bob's Burgers.

Thursday - today - Sean needs to get started on homework.  He's got to write a paper on Elizabethan art and architecture and work on a Biology project.  Also, both he and Becky need to study for Certamen this Saturday.  Sean's going to join our team for the last competition of the year.  After that we want to go to our town's Taste Of festival which they are all having all day on Saturday.  Yum!  I absolutely have to go visit Aunt Jackie today.  I have been meaning to all week.  Planning on Fettucine Alfredo for dinner.

Friday - tomorrow - more homework and studying Latin, plus the lawn needs to be mowed.  Friday evening Sean is helping at the dance for the place he volunteered at on Tuesday.  Some kind of salmon dish for dinner.

Saturday - Certamen!  Taste Of the Town festival!

Sunday - Mass and homework.

The weather has been beautiful this week.  I want to plant strawberries again.

Feeling Conflicted about Popes JXXIII and JPII

The Catholic world is all abuzz with the upcoming canonizations of Pope John XXIII and John Paul II on April 27th.  I am 54, so both these popes lived within my lifetime.  I see everyone rejoicing and getting all excited about the coming event but I look on with many conflicting feelings and thoughts.  This is an attempt to parse them out and to see if maybe other people are coming from the same perspective I am.

I am a Vatican II Catholic.  I can not remember what going to Mass was like before the changes that were precipitated by Vatican II.  I have no memory of the Latin Mass or any of that.  I went to Catholic schools all my life (until law school).  The catechism I received was terrible.  They took out the Baltimore Catechism and replaced it with the most wishy-washy stuff imaginable.  I have distinct memories of listening to Simon and Garfunkel in religion class.  I don't remember learning much about the saints at all.  Maybe St. Francis of Assisi or a couple of other famous ones.  I managed to get through Catholic grammar school, high school and college and never read a word of Augustine or Aquinas that I recall.  And I was in a 'conservative' diocese.

However, I completely get that the actual Vatican II documents are not to blame for this, except I do think they must not have been clear enough and the Church did not exercise enough discretion in their promulgation, hence the confusion and the terrible implementation of its directives.  No matter how you slice it, in the wake of Vatican II there came a social upheaval that the Church was unprepared for.  People went crazy and did all sorts of things that ranged from silly to out and out heretical, in the name of Vatican II.  The Church, at least here in the U.S. and I presume throughout Europe as well, simply stopped evangelizing her own children effectively.  People like me who reverted back to the faith in their adulthood had to engage in self-study to actually learn the basics of Catholicism.  The fall out of the Church's inability to catechize her own children is that many left her and many that remain do so out of inertia or sentimentalism and are not loyal to her at all.  And the Church is now in decline in the western hemisphere due to the abandonment of her teachings in her educational institutions and in her very poor living-out of the gospel in her hierarchy and parishes.

I don't glorify the pre-Vatican II days.  I think they had their own problems.  My older sisters all studied the Baltimore Catechism and only one is still a practicing Catholic today.  So the times, the virulent social changes that were going on, really had a devastating impact on our culture and on Catholicism.  I look to the future when all the fall out from the atomic bomb of the sexual revolution at last dissipates and we can pick our way through the wreckage and begin again.

But this is my problem.  I really distrust the speediness with which these two Popes are being canonized.  I think it would be more appropriate to do the official canonization after the fall out has cleared.  Right now we still have walking wounded, both individuals and institutions, who received their wounds under the watch of these two Popes.

I do not question their sanctity.  I trust they are in heaven.  I just don't think the official canonization, which has a political aspect to it, is in the best interest of the Church.  Or maybe.  I could be wrong.

I don't know.  I have to fight my own resentment when I see the terrible job the Church has done in teaching her own baptized children.  She is starting to rally but very slowly and inconsistently.  It may be too little, too late.  Not for the Church as a whole, but for her children in the western world at this point in time.  I think she will recover eventually (as she has recovered before from evil within) but at the expense of her flock.  The ones she is charged with caring for.

Now, maybe I am not being fair to Pope John XXIII.  He died before Vatican II was completed.  Maybe if he had lived things would not have gone down the way they did.  But he did start it.  It is his legacy and it is a very checkered legacy right now.  Maybe in 100 years, our perception and our experience might have shifted and we can look back on it all as a 'learning experience' that was, though painful, worth it.  The truth is Vatican II ushered in much division, confusion and occasion for sin.  And the Church is weaker for it.

I really admire JPII so much.  He was truly an amazing man with godly gifts.  But right now there are people walking around who suffered from sexual abuse.  Who were betrayed by the Church, not only by the terrible, personality-shattering evil done against them but also by the fact that the bishops chose to cover up the scandal.  I keep wondering how they must feel about this canonization?  If I were they, I would feel wounded and betrayed all over again.  The sex scandals are a permanent scar on the face of Christ's bride.  Permanent, like the inquisition or Galileo or the terrible things done in the name of the Crusades, they will forevermore be used against the Church.  How many people left the Church because of these scandals?  John Paul II did many wise and beautiful things, but he was blind to this terrible sin in the Church.  He stood by Marcial Maciel, the found of the Legionaries of Christ, who was himself a terrible sexual predator and manipulative con artist writ large.

I know that saints are still humans.  They are not perfect, but they are holy.  I believe JPII was holy, but much damage was also done while he reigned over the Church.  Why can't we wait a while for the official canonization?  Why the rush?  It used to be the Church waited hundreds of years, for the most part, to canonize saints.  I think that is probably wise.  We are too caught up in our own emotions, our own sense of alienation from the world of today, our own need to be defensive against the aggressive secularism that threatens our souls.  But the Church is a long standing institution that needs to act in terms of millennia and not act in terms of day to day or even decade to decade media reports.

The funny thing is, I too cried santo subito when JPII passed away.  But that was on a wave of emotion, of swelling admiration and grief at his passing.  But now I have this very uneasy feeling about the whole thing.

I have yet to talk to anyone who shares these qualms.  Am I the only one?  I don't know how I will handle the canonization.  I guess I'll watch on TV and pray.  Pray for my Church, founded by Christ, who battles against ever present evil both outside her ranks and within.

I have discovered Pinterest

And that's where I spend all my time now.  I'll be back when I am over my initial, heady infatuation!  Toodle-loo!