Cruella DeVille

Cruella Deville

Cruella Deville

If she doesn't scare you, No evil thing will.

To see her is to take a sudden chill.

Cruella, Cruella

She's like a spider waiting for the kill.

Cruella Cruella Deville.

At first you think Cruella is a devil,
But after time has worn away the shock, you come to realize you've seen her kind of eyes watching you from underneath a rock.
This vampire bat, this inhuman beast,
She ought to be locked up and never released.
The world was such a wholesome place until...
Cruella, Cruella Deville.

Here she is, with her meanest Cruella expression......:-)

Busy Day

Today I substitute taught 7th and 8th graders algebra and science. Then came home to get my youngest ready for a Halloween party. She dressed as Cruella DeVille, complete with black and white washable hair dye, full length fur coat with polka dot scarf (white with black spots, of course) and small dalmation key chain hanging from her belt. It was too funny.

Then we went into high gear picking up and cleaning the house since Mike was coming home with two friends who would spend the night. I love it when I have a deadline to get my house in order. (That's the only time it happens :-) After cleaning, it was on to the dinner which we were going to have after they arrived. Surprisingly, everything went pretty smoothly. Dinner was simple but nice and I think Mike's friends felt welcome. Now I'm ready for bed....

Birthdays!!!

Today is a double birthday in our house. My son John was born on my husband's 36th birthday. The best birthday present he ever received, as he says. My husband is an electrical engineer and he works very hard for us. How grateful I am to be married to a man who is open to life and committed to his family.

I have all the things I need for dinner, just made the fruit salad, and have the ice cream cake in the freezer. All set.

Johnny is our pianist. The piano man, as we sometimes call him. I've written about his gifts before. He is the only baby of mine who actually asked me to "shhhh" when I sang lullabies to him. Lol. I think he was born with perfect pitch. He started begging for piano lessons at age three. At four we let him start. Then there was no stopping him.

So Happy Birthday, guys. Love you both lots!!!

This little tiny picture of my son Jim running with the ball was the best I could post tonight. He's number 23. Oh! I was just able to post another. Sometimes I just hate computers!! They are soooo frustrating. The football season is over and Jim was moved up to varsity. That's the good news and the bad news. Those guys are BIG. He's going to start weight training soon. We'll see how things go.... Anyway, I'm thanking God for a safe season.

The following is a handout we received on our retreat with Sue Cummins. We actually went to our rooms and meditated on Scripture for an hour right after the talk. It was good. We could try out what we were learning.

"HOW TO MEDITATE ON SACRED SCRIPTURE
1. Find a place where you won't be distracted. Make sure that you have a Bible, pen and notebook.
2. Ask the Lord to bless your time of meditation.
3. Pick a scripture from the meditation sheet. Don't take a lot of time reading all of the scriptures listed. Ask the Lord to guide you, decide on the type of meditation you want to do and pick an appropriate scripture.
4. Pray and ask the Lord for the special grace you are seeking.
5. Begin to prayerfully read the scripture. You can read all of the verses or stop at any point that you feel moved to stop.
6. Go back and read over the passage again. Repeat phrases out loud. (Don't distract others.) Let the Holy Spirit touch you and let the Lord speak to you. If the scripture is a story from the gospels or some other story, visualize the scene. Imagine the smells and sounds. Try to visualize where you might be in the scene.
7. Speak freely with the Lord about what you are thinking and feeling. Ask him again for the grace that you are seeking. If you feel a desire to cry, do so. lf you experience restlessness or fear, speak to the Lord about it. If you get distracted and your mind begins to wander away from the Lord, return to the scripture and read some more verses.
8. At the end of the .hour, write in your notebook all that you experienced during the meditation and anything that the Lord seemed to be saying to you. (Don't write during the meditation but rather wait until the last ten or fifteen minutes of the hour to write.)
9. Note anything that you want to consider in the future in regards to decisions, changes etc., but don't make any major decisions or promises to the Lord at the time of the meditation.
10. End the hour of meditation with a prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord. "

Words of wisdom from my retreat

The women's retreat for my parish was led by Sue Cummins and the theme was "Delighting in God's Word." Sue provided the following in a handout. I wish I could reference it further. (I don't know if it's from something else she has written or taken from somewhere else. She did say that her perspective on the topic was from Saint Ignatius Loyola. So....

"A-R-R-R

St. Ignatius of Loy-ola says in his Spiritual Exercises that God is "laboring to love us." Our part is to open our hearts and allow his love to enter in. How do you open your heart? This simple four-step movement in prayer is a helpful description of how you can open your heart and let God do his loving work.

Acknowledge ~ First, acknowledge what is stirring in your heart. Observe whatever memory, thought, or feeling is strongest in your heart in this moment. Call it by name in your prayer before God.

Relate ~ Relate that thought, memory, or feeling to God. You are sitting before God in prayer. Don't pretend that you are in this alone. Speak to the Lord from your heart in a way that acknowledges his active presence.

Receive ~ The Lord is laboring to love you in this moment. But love comes to us in different ways depending on what we are presently experiencing. Receive the love that the Lord is now giving you in the midst of this memory, thought, or feeling.

Respond ~ Now that you have tasted the Lord's love anew, respond to that love. Perhaps speak a word of thanks to God or ask his help to act from that love. Respond in such a way to God's love that you bring his love with you from your time of prayer. "

I love this.

Meditating on Scripture

The focus of my retreat was meditating on Scripture. It was really wonderful. We heard so much practical advice on how to do it and then were given the chance to go back to our rooms and try it for an hour. After the hour we came back to our meeting room and several people would share how their hour went. This was so helpful. It made the whole experience of Scripture meditation seem very do-able. After all, we had just done it! I will share more about the details in the next few days. And I did pray for all the readers of this blog.

Right now I'm pretty tired, having subbed all day today for "Daniel" who sometimes comments on this blog :-) But the kids were great. No problems. A full day of teaching is just pretty tiring. I don't know how teachers do it every day for nine months. And they need to write the lesson plans too and correct the papers! I just show up and follow directions. You have a great class, Daniel.

Retreat!!

I'm going on my parish's Women's Retreat this weekend so I probably won't be posting again before Monday. I'll pray for all of you and please say a prayer for me, if you think of it. God bless!!! (Fall is here in Michigan. It's getting really chilly!)

Queenship of Mary established today

On October 11, 1954 Pope Pius XII instituted the feast of the queenship of Mary......

"51. By this Encyclical Letter We are instituting a feast so that all may recognize more clearly and venerate more devoutly the merciful and maternal sway of the Mother of God. We are convinced that this feast will help to preserve, strengthen and prolong that peace among nations which daily is almost destroyed by recurring crises. Is she not a rainbow in the clouds reaching towards God, the pledge of a covenant of peace?[62] "Look upon the rainbow, and bless Him that made it; surely it is beautiful in its brightness. It encompasses the heaven about with the circle of its glory, the hands of the Most High have displayed it."[63] Whoever, therefore, reverences the Queen of heaven and earth--and let no one consider himself exempt from this tribute of a grateful and loving soul--let him invoke the most effective of Queens, the Mediatrix of peace; let him respect and preserve peace, which is not wickedness unpunished nor freedom without restraint, but a well-ordered harmony under the rule of the will of God; to its safeguarding and growth the gentle urgings and commands of the Virgin Mary impel us.
52. Earnestly desiring that the Queen and Mother of Christendom may hear these Our prayers, and by her peace make happy a world shaken by hate, and may, after this exile show unto us all Jesus, Who will be our eternal peace and joy, to you, Venerable Brothers, and to your flocks, as a promise of God's divine help and a pledge of Our love, from Our heart We impart the Apostolic Benediction.
53. Given at Rome, from St. Peter's, on the feast of the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the eleventh day of October, 1954, in the sixteenth year of our Pontificate."

Something much less significant also happened on Oct. 11, 1954. I was born. :-)

Fundraising Requests

What do you do when an organization sends you something along with a fundraising request. I'm thinking specifically of Catholic organizations that, for example, send you a rosary with a request for a donation. I used to just send them a small donation. But lately it's been happening much more frequently. One organization told me the object that had sent had been blessed and would I please let them know that it arrived safely. I finally sent them a small donation and now they have sent a rosary with another request for a donation. I'm sure these are wonderful organizations and they have found that these methods help them bring in more money. I don't want to throw a sacramental away, of course! But I also don't feel like sending money to every group that sends me a rosary, which has become a lot. I'm wondering if it's just my bad attitude that makes me feel a little manipulated by these requests.

Exhausted!

I worked for hours at the concession stand at my son's high school homecoming football game. It was sooo busy. We were working non-stop. It was 80 some degrees-- uncomfortably hot.

We had trouble keeping the drinks cold since we needed more ice and it was so hot. I was amazed at how unpleasant some people were about the drinks not being cold enough. This was a little concession stand at a Catholic high school football game. Some were hostile. Others sarcastic. But most people were very understanding and some didn't care at all. They just wanted something wet. I guess the others were probably irritable from the heat.

Anyway....I'm sooo tired. I'm going to bed.

The Football Cake

I thought I had everything under control. (That was my first mistake.) I had the cake all ready to go, prepared the pan exactly as they suggested, made the batter, poured it in....and guess what? My oven would not heat up!! It got to about 200 degrees and stayed there for about 45 minutes. I didn't know what to do. Finally, called my friend Pat who very generously allowed me to come over to use her oven, even though she wasn't going to be there! We had a nice family birthday party and Jim did like the "football cake."

My blog is not allowing me to post pictures anymore. It's so weird. I also can't link to anything and I can't change the font or color. Could it be a virus?

Happy Feast of Saint Francis!!!

Jim just came by and showed me I was looking at the template and not the compose tab. NOW I can post a picture. So, here is Jim with his football cake. :-)

Happy Birthday to Jim!!!

Today is my son Jim's birthday!

What a week he has had. On Monday, with the score tied 0 to 0, and a minute and a half left in the game, Jim ran 78 yards for a touchdown!!! 78 yards!!! Ukok, that's a LOT of yards. Each team gets four tries to get the ball down the field 10 yards. We were so happy for him. He won the game for his team. The varsity players carried him off the field on their shoulders. And this from a guy who never played more than one or two plays per game last year. He is so fast. If he gets moving, hardly anyone can catch him. So, there's my maternal bragging moment.

Happy Birthday, Jim!!! We're celebrating tomorrow because he had practice and then a CCD class he's helping with almost right after tonight. Guess what I found? A Wilton cake pan shaped like a football. I'm going to surprise him with the football cake tomorrow. Made the girls promise not to tell....

Strep Throat

My daughter came home from school on Thursday complaining of a sore throat and nausea. She threw up several times after we got home and spent Friday with more of the same. Her tummy was what really bothered her. On Saturday morning I asked if her throat still hurt and she said yes, but not as badly as before. Thinking I was probably wasting our time I took her in for a throat swab. It was strep!! I was so glad I went in. I knew that strep could cause an upset stomach (as well as a headache) but I thought it would at least be accompanied by an awful sore throat, not just a moderate one. Anyway, good news was she was practically fine after 24 hours. She was out of bed, appetite back, and by today she was 100%. What a relief.
I hear there's a lot of strep going around here.... Everybody, stay well.

A mom's job

My daughter is home sick today. What a blessing to be able to be here with her to see to her needs and to comfort her. How sad for a child to know that Mom is inconvenienced by her illness, that her work suffers, that plans must be rearranged etc. In my opinion, it is a mother's job to care for her children, especially when they need extra attention. It is the nature of a child to desire this care. Thanks be to God that I can be home with my daughter.

Dyslexia as a Gift

Dyslexic people are visual, intuitive, highly creative, multi-dimensional thinkers.
Guess what the following list of people all have in common.

Mark Twain, Edgar Allen Poe, Agatha Christie, Hans Christian Anderson, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Wright Brothers, Henry Ford, Louis Pasteur, Leonardo DaVinci, Michaelangelo, Julius Caesar, Walt Disney, Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Orlando Bloom, Winston Churchhill, Benjamin Franklin, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Beethoven, Mozart, General George Patton

According to Bright Solutions (http://www.dys-add.com/sitemap.html all of the above people had ADHD, dyslexia, or both. And to think there are still people who think that dyslexics are stupid or just need to work harder. I'd say the above list is evidence to the contrary.

Dyslexia

"The greatest weakness of all is the great fear of appearing weak, LD / Dyslexics face their fears everyday in school, thus are some of the fearless people I know. "
Girard Sagmiller

Man's Best Friend

I think one of the sweetest things about dogs is their devotion to the people they love. A week or so ago, my daughter was sick to her stomach and sitting on a stool in front of the toilet trying to throw up. This little canine she adores came up behind her, and with front paws on the stool reached up and rested her head gently on my daughter's shoulder. It was so cute. One of those moments where you know the dog is just trying to convey the sentiment 'I know there's something wrong and I'm right here.' Don't those moments just endear you to your dog?

Happy Birthday Rich!

Happy Birthday (yesterday) to my brother Rich. Does he get the uncle of the year award? On his birthday he drove two hours to come see his nephew Jim play in their toughest football game of the year. He got to see Jim score a touchdown!!

My brother is so funny. He sat down and proceeded to tell all the parents around him that he was a scout for Notre Dame, that he had come hoping to recruit Jim Bogdan. Lots of laughs. Did he sit quietly through the whole game? No. He screamed right along with me for every kid whose name he could remember. He even yelled at the refs and told them why their call against our team was wrong. (oh dear.)

And he knows everything about football. Every flag on a play was immediately identified by him and he told me exactly what the call was going to be. Dads sitting around us would turn around, smile, and nod. He would also strategize and discuss the psychological aspects of the game and the ramifications of each play. It was fun. I learned a lot!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RICH! It's fun having you for my brother!

Go Irish!!!!!!

Go Irish!!!!!!!!!

As a graduate of Michigan and a member of the Notre Dame family (since my son is a domer), I can't lose today. One of these teams is finally GOING to win. But my allegiance is to Notre Dame because of maternal pride and my sincere belief that Notre Dame is Our Lady's school. (Although I realize that there are those with limited information who think otherwise.)

As I sit here yawning....

I started to write this as a comment after my last post but decided I should just post it.

I should add that I always say the rosary when I can't sleep. Always. I don't even get in bed if there isn't one under my pillow. I go to sleep saying the rosary (unless I'm really tired and go out as soon as I hit the pillow.) And if I wake up I go on with the rosary, unless I can't remember where I was and then I just start again. I try to look at the inability to sleep as an opportunity that God may be very intentionally giving me to pray. Sometimes random people came to mind and I pray for them. Once I found out later that the person who had come to mind was someone who was having a very difficult time and needed prayer. I took that as a confirmation that sometimes I'm awake because God wants me to pray. That really improved my attitude. I reminded myself that others are tortured for their faith. I'm asked to give up a little sleep. Who wouldn't be willing to give up a little sleep for the Lord.

(I should confess that I'm sitting here yawning having been awake for a lot of the last few hours and I'm not in bed saying my rosary. I came down to check an online football practice schedule so I'd know what time I HAD to be up) Course, I had to check my blog while I'm here :-)

The Sleepy Mom

I must confess that for many years when I had trouble sleeping I would watch the clock. I would calculate how many hours of sleep I would get if I fell asleep right then. Then I would bemoan how tired I was going to be and set myself up for the self-pity of the next day.

It was only with age that I realized how unhelpful this pattern was. It didn't matter how much sleep I had gotten. I would still need to perform the duties of the day. I can do it totally exhausted. We all have. Doing it totally exhausted while also feeling sorry for myself is a lot worse than just getting the job done. Now I try not to see the clock if I know I will not be getting enough sleep. I avoid looking at it. It's better that I not know. The day ahead is the day ahead and I will live it the best I can regardless of how I feel. No need to fuel the pity-party.

Ironically, since I stopped looking at the clock, I fall asleep and get back to sleep much more easily. I think it is because I have accepted that it's all right if I face the day really tired. Nothing will happen. And so lack of sleep no longer causes the anxiety that can actually keep me awake. Acceptance and surrender....those recurring themes in my life.

"Catholic" politicians

Michael Kinsley in the September 17 issue of Time magazine wrote a commentary called "God as Their Running Mate." It was primarily about Mitt Romney and secular fears about his faith. It does not appear that Kinsley himself is a believer. What I found interesting was this first paragraph where he addresses the issue of so-called Catholic politicians who are pro abortion. He writes:

"Mitt Romney wants the J.F.K. deal with voters: If you don't hold my religion against me, I won't impose my religion on you. But that deal made little sense in 1960 and makes no sense today. Kennedy said, "I believe in a President whose religious views are his own private affair." But the Roman Catholic Church holds that abortion is the deliberate killing of a human being. Catholic liberal politicians since Mario Cuomo have said they personally accept the doctrine of their church but nevertheless believe in a woman's right to choose. This is silly. There is no right to choose murder. Either these politicians are lying to their church, or they are lying to us."

This from the secular press!!! For once they got it right. The inconsistency is glaring and I credit Michael Kinsley with being intellectually honest enough to see and tell it like it is.

Will Jim play? Prayer Request

Will Jim play football today? On Friday he strained his knee. By the time he got home it was just a slight limp. The doctor has looked at it. Nothing is torn, nothing broken. He was told to rest, elevate it, ice it, compression bandage, motrin, etc. The doc said if he feels up to playing on Monday he can play. He said only he can tell if he's ready to play because only he can really know how it feels. He took good care of it this weekend. He was really good because he so badly wants to play. He even stayed off it most of the time.

OK. Here's my prayer. May the Lord protect his knee. If he can play safely, may he be able to play. If he does play may he be protected from further injury to this vulnerable spot. May the Lord give him wisdom about what is the right thing to do. (I told him to not be a hero. If he plays and gets hurt worse he's not doing his team any favor. I also warned about long term consequences of an injury. He agreed) Oh Lord, may he play only if he can do so safely....

The New Mommy Track

Last week U. S. News and World Report ran an article on "The New Mommy Track." It was about companies allowing their employees to work flextime, allowing moms to to be home more with their children. I think allowing mothers to be home more with their children is a great idea.

They told of a lawyer who can now eat breakfast with her family (because she got up at 5:00 and worked for two hours before the kids got up) and she can be home in time to make dinner. This is wonderful? How much was she seeing her children before?!? Showing up for breakfast and dinner? This is the mommy track? Who's taking care of the kids between breakfast and dinner? Does anybody care? Is it insignificant who takes care of the kids for the majority of the day? Mothering is important!! How can people have so little regard for children?

I just don't understand this mentality. This woman's children were 2 years old and an infant. Where did our society get the idea that caring for one's own children was somehow menial and/or meaningless work. It is a mother's greatest work.

The Bishop's Mass

Our bishop came to my son's high school today to celebrate Mass. He does so once a year. Concelebrating were several area priests. I thought what a blessing it is to have a good bishop who loves the Lord and is faithful to the teachings of the church. It is good of him to come to our children every year like this. Because the high school is a diocesan high school he usually uses his authority to pronounce they should have a day off-- which the principal schedules to the delight of the students.


And then there was my own pastor, Father Ed Fride, whose example as a courageous and holy priest has led numerous men from our parish into the priesthood. When Father Ed preaches he speaks the truth whether it be on the love of God or on Catholic moral teaching, in even the most controversial areas.


And Father Fortunato was there. I have worked with Father Fortunato for several years now. He is a priest full of love-- love for God, love for the Church, and love for children. He is the chaplain of my youngest children's school. What an immense blessing it is to have him for a chaplain.

With all the criticism of priests these days I so enjoyed seeing so many members of the clergy who really love God and love the church-- priests who are faithful and true shepherds. Thanks be to God. There are many such priests.

When the pool is empty summer is over.

Here was the pool yesterday, everyone having fun in the "whirlpool." Today the water was gone. It was still hot out. We still wanted to swim. But school starts tomorrow. the summer is done. It's a little sad but Fall here in Michigan is also very beautiful and most certainly has its own charm. I actually very much enjoy the change of season. Believe it or not, there is one tree down the street that has several leaves that are starting to turn already. It won't be long now. To everything there is a season....

Labor Day

How on earth did it get to be Labor Day so soon. Oh no. The summer is officially over.
Our neighborhood pool had the closing day barbecue and potluck, and the traditional "whirlpool." They pull the plug on the pool and the kids all swim in a circle around the perimeter trying to get a current going. And they really DO get a current going. Then when it seems almost impossible to swim the other way. the lifeguard blows the whistle and they have to reverse. The kids love this ritual that happens every year here. But it is always bittersweet because it marks the end of summer. Perhaps tomorrow I can post pictures. I hope you all had a relaxing Labor Day. (It's a national holiday, UKOK :-)

Enjoying the public parks

Tonight we went on a family outing with my three youngest. We went to a nearby county park that offers these little exercise stations along a hiking path.

It got dark rather quickly, although not as dark as it appears in this picture. This was a wooded section.

There were benches along the way. This is my youngest with her dog.

....And home again.....

We have tried to get out more to our local parks and nature areas, even for short visits. They are so lovely. Our tax dollars pay for them. We might as well enjoy them. And it makes for some really fun family time. We took a frisbee with us, ran ahead with the dog, talked, laughed, took pictures, you know... a quiet relaxing time. And it cost us nothing except for a few bucks at the Dairy Queen on the way home. Fun.

Was I proud of this guy?

Here is my son Jim, number 23, coming off the football field after his first game this year. Last year he had very little playing time. Maybe some of you remember my post when I was so excited about his having scored a touchdown with a seventy yard run, one of the few times he was actually put in and given the ball.

Well.... he played almost the entire game today!! And boy did he play! He had numerous tackles, blocked a pass, intercepted the ball, had a number of great runs, and even received a pass and ran for a touchdown!!! Seeing my son who has worked so hard on his football skills and had so little playing time last year have a game like this just made my heart proud. I think it was the most exciting football game of my life. (I'm not a big football fan in general, but watching Jim succeed like this was just awesome.) I made a total fool of myself screaming.

OK, I'm sure he'll say I should add that he also fumbled twice when he himself recovered the ball and once when a teammate recovered it. I say, so what? No harm done.

He just had an unbelievable first game. You can see from the smile on his face that he had a lot of fun out there. I can't wait till the next game. And Lord, please keep him safe. Please protect him and his teammates from injury, and may they play for Your glory.

(Thanks for letting me brag....:-)

I am tired. There are too many schedules coming at me, too many events, too many things to coordinate, too many things to remember.....I always feel a little overwhelmed in September.

I am so honored that Deb from UKOK's Place has nominated me for the Nice Matters Award.

“This award is for those bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends and those who inspire good feelings and inspiration. Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world. Once you’ve been awarded please pass on to seven others whom you feel are deserving of this award”.

I am so touched and humbled to be included in this list. I realize, happily, that I must be staying on my good behavior in this blog since people don't seem to know how not-very-nice I am capable of being:-)

So here are my nominations for the Nice Matters Award. These are bloggers I like, people I think I'd like to know in real life, and people I believe have a positive influence on the blogging world because of the values they hold.

1. Michelle at Rosetta Stone

2. Ruthann at Jabberwocky

3. Angie at Many Little Blessings

4. Denise at Catholic Matriarch in my Domestic Church

5. Mary Poppins Not at Crazy Acres

6. Lori at View from Our Porch Swing

7. Catholic Wife and Mother at Deo Gratias

Now, having received the Nice Matters Award, please pass along the honor to 7 others. And thanks for having such NICE blogs!!!

A birthday party

Today my daughter had seven friends over for a birthday party. Her birthday was actually several weeks ago but we didn't get around to the party until now.

Unlike other parties we've had over the years I did not plan this one in much detail at all. I didn't actually get the cake until this morning. I bought most of what we needed this morning too. Didn't write out the treasure hunt until shortly before the party. Didn't straighten up the house until the last half hour. Forgot to buy the drinks and had to send by son out to get some....

But it was all OK. The girls had fun and for ONCE I just accepted that I had done the best I could, that it would be all right, and that everything doesn't have to go completely smoothly for it to, in fact, go well. It was fine. I think my daughter was happy and her friends had a good time.

It's all about love, isn't it. It's not about the house or the details or the organization. It's about love.

Final performance of Grease!

Mary and John who did the musical direction..

Big brother Mike drove three hours to come see Jim sing and dance in the chorus and to hear John's musical direction

Here is Jim after the final performance of Grease. My brother (on Jim's left) drove an hour and a half to come see the show with his kids. It was good of him to come. These family ties are so important. They help us to hold each other up.

BUBBLES, BUBBLES, BUBBLES

The other day was so humid my youngest girls decided it was perfect giant bubble making weather-- and it was. Here is the proof. You might have to click to enlarge the picture to get the full effect. I can't tell you how many pictures I took right as they popped:-)

"Grease", clean-cut or sleazy?

A few summers ago my family saw a version of "Grease" in a theatre in northern Michigan that was really raunchy. I couldn't believe it. We took the whole family because we thought we all knew what "Grease" would be like. The show being put on by our local Catholic high school is very clean-cut. And yet, it's essentially the same story.

The summer version we saw was, of course, not the school version these kids are putting on. Still, the actual story is not very different. All I can say about the one we saw up North was that it was sleazed up as much as it could possibly be. Every vague innuendo was exaggerated. The whole show was dripping with oversexualization. They ruined it. We considered walking out. Afterwards, the kids themselves said they were surprised that we hadn't walked out.

I found myself wondering what on earth was the point of distorting such a nice little musical. We left with a bad taste in our mouths. It was just a yucky show-- and it didn't need to be. It was all the added raunchiness. I know it is said that sex sells. But this was so unattractive I can't imagine who would have thought it was improved by all the sleaze.

Anyway, the "Grease" being performed by Gabriel Richard High School is as nice as you would imagine in the pictures above. :-)

The first picture of the boys with the cokes includes our own Ruthann's Teddy on the right. And the boy dancing with the red tie on in the last picture is my Jim!

Grease!!!

Ann Arbor's Father Gabriel Richard High School Dramalums are presenting "Grease." The show opens on Thursday, August 23 and runs until Sunday the 26th.

Today I saw the dress rehearsal and took pictures. It's a great family show and as usual, they do a fabulous job.

Won't publish?

The last post I tried to publish said there was a problem with my HTML code. This is a trial to see if it will publish anything....

The pear that is out of reach...

This afternoon my daughter Mary saw a beautiful, delectable pear way up in the tree, beyond her reach. She told me about it and I suggested she get the pole with the basket on it for picking fruit out of reach. She did, as you can see in this picture.

But as I too have often experienced, she found that up close it did not look nearly so perfect. (Although it wasn't bad for a pear tree that is never sprayed.) Still, I think there may be a life lesson here....

First Child Launched

My oldest child has started his first real job and has moved into his first apartment. My first child has launched! He came home on Saturday to pick up more of his stuff and then had to leave again today because he has to work tomorrow.

Now it will always be this way. No long summer vacations, no month off at Christmas. He's in the adult world now and pulling his own weight, finding his own way. It's a strange kind of feeling for mom.

I am proud of him. I'm thrilled to have one child who is now a college graduate. But he is no longer a dependent. He's on his own. He's doing well. But we will all be missing him a lot. Fortunately, he's only a few hours away so we will still be able to see him often.

The Paradox of Anxiety

OK. On a completely different note from what I usually write about.....I once suffered from an anxiety disorder. For those of you who have never suffered, and I do mean suffer, from anxiety, let me say that I am not talking about being stressed out from normal life circumstances. I am not talking about being temperamentally high strung. I'm talking about ANXIETY. If you've had it, you know it. I'm talking about walking through life feeling like a demon has you by the throat and you have to walk around pretending everything is normal... It's a living hell.

I learned that the only way to overcome anxiety, the only way to get better is to be willing to not get better. I know that sounds like it doesn't make any sense. In other words, you must accept that the feelings (which are both emotional AND physical) might never leave and choose to live to the fullest anyway. It is the lack of acceptance, the desire to escape the sensation, that fuels its continuation.

When I consciously, and as an act of will, chose to embrace the anxiety as a sacrificial offering to my God I started to get better. It still took some time. I had to consciously accept repeatedly. But there was an immediate lessening of symptoms that continued until I felt completely normal again.

I am still amazed by this. It is in being willing to have things never change that they will change. It is in losing our life that we gain it. Blessed be God.

Hammocks

There's nothing like "hanging out" on a hammock with cousins. The cool breeze all around you, the rolling into each other, the swaying.... The kids sure enjoyed it up North.

For an adult, a hammock allows you to regress, to relax and be rocked, to feel nurtured and comforted.

Can you tell I enjoyed my hammock this vacation?

Men's and Women's public restrooms

Why are men's and women's public restrooms the same size?

At the end of our day on Mackinac Island I went to the public ladies room before the ferry ride back, only to find it "closed for cleaning." I came back five minutes later to find it still closed. I said out loud, "still closed?" One poor woman sitting outside it on a bench said rather desperately, "You mean it's been closed a long time? I don't know if I can wait much longer."

Always sympathetic to a woman in that situation I said, "If there's no one in the men's room you could go in there and I could guard the door for you." She said, "yeah!" and went to the door of the men's room and hollered, "Is anybody in there?" Some man answered, "Yes."

So we sat and waited for either the custodian to finish in the women's room, or the gentleman to finish in the men's room. Several more women in need arrived and joined the line. Probably another five minutes passed. Finally I said. "Let's find out how much longer it's going to be before they're finished with the ladies room." I went to the door which was locked, knocked real loud and yelled, "Are you going to be much longer?'

Well, the poor gentleman on the other side thought I was talking to him!!!! He yelled back, "No, not much longer!" The whole line of ladies clapped their hands over their mouths and doubled over in the "loudest" silent laughter I've ever "heard." When he came out about half a minute later we all pretended not to notice. But when another man immediately went in before we could stop him one of the ladies said under her breath, "It better not be number two," which sent us all in to more silent laughter.

When he came out we all stormed the men's room leaving my son Jim, good sport that he is, to stop any more men from coming in.

There must have been 5 or 6 stalls in there!! --- For two guys to use while we all sat there in pain. They were all older restrooms. I understand designers are doing a better job now of recognizing that there is a need for a larger number of facilities for women than for men. I wonder if it's because there are finally enough female architects out there who understand. The men just don't get it!!! Here's the difference. It takes us longer to go!!!! OK? Is that so hard to understand?

Anyway, it made for a humorous story of camaradarie among women who didn't even know each other. The good news? We all made it, and had a comfortable ride back on the ferry. They were good sports. LOL

Feast of Saint Maximilian Mary Kolbe

Esther at A Catholic Mom in Hawaii has an excellent post on Saint Maximilian Kolbe. Check it out!

My Vacation

We had a fun time in Alpena. The place we go to is so wonderful. It's isolated from the major roads. The cabins are all along this gravel kind-of service drive that loops around about a quarter mile circle. The kids can ride bikes endlessly and always within our sight. In the middle there's a playground. And that's not even the best part. There's a wonderful sandy beach on Long Lake, as well as a sand volleyball court, two different campfire circles, as well as a dock with rowboats and canoes to use. And nearly everyone there knows each other since the cabins are primarily rented though word of mouth. It's just a really safe, fun place.

The cousins who were there (not everyone could come) had a great time swimming, biking, and running around.

It was a nice, quiet, relaxing (for the most part) week.

We're Back.

This hammock was a favorite resting spot for the whole family on our vacation to Lorien Resorts in Alpena. We had fabulous weather and a lot of fun all week. I will post more but I woke up this morning with an awful headache and I'm trying to pull myself together to get to a 5:00 Mass. Thank you for all your well wishes. Hope to read what's going on with you later tonight.

I'm leaving today for Northern Michigan and I probably will not be able to post for the next week. My brother and my sister and their families will be there too. We will miss my Dad because in previous years he has always come too.

God bless your week. I'm sure I'll have a lot of reading to do when I get back.

My sister is here!

My sister is here visiting from Saint Louis. On Saturday our families will go to Northern Michigan together for one week. We do this every summer. The kids love it-- A whole week to hang out with their cousins.

Tomorrow we'll meet with my brother to (hopefully) get a lot done on my father's house.

It's nice having her here. She's eight years younger than I am. We're having a lot of laughs.

Collapse of a Minneapolis Bridge-- no evidence of terrorism?

Lord, have mercy on all who have died and may your peace and your healing presence be upon the injured survivors and upon all the families involved.

Does anyone else find it odd that the Department of Homeland Security would be downplaying the possibility that this is an act of terrorism? Federal and local officials are saying there is no evidence that this is an act of terrorism. Well, I should think so. There probably isn't much evidence of any kind yet. In this day and age are we to believe that an engineering error or a construction error led to the collapse of an entire bridge? No inspections? No warning signs? ALL of the people involved in maintaining the safety of that bridge dropped the ball? I find that hard to believe.

I understand that there may be a desire to not give "credit" or attention to evil people who wish to do us harm. I understand the desire to not get people terrified (which is, of course, what the terrorist wish). But I do think there is still an issue of honesty here. Should they not be saying "We really don't know the cause of this terrible accident yet and therefore can't comment on it."? Wouldn't that show a greater measure of integrity and transparency?

There have been other incidents in recent years that I have thought the same about-- incidents with dubious explanations or no plausible explanations, about which we are told there is no evidence of terrorism. Sometimes I just wonder if we're really being told everything.

Memorabilia

This week I have been doing a lot of work on my parents' estate. So many little items bring back so many memories. This is one of them. (If I've written about this before bear with me.)

In our neighborhood growing up in Fort Wayne, IN, my mother always had a neighborhood May Crowning at our house. It was very simple. We made a little crown out of flowers from the yard. We carried candles. We giggled. And all the moms came to watch. This is the statue we used to crown. It's little. Nothing special. But it means so much to me now to have it on the windowsill above my sink and to remember that my mother took the time to teach us about the queen of heaven.

I took it from the house with the candles that were still in it. They were all dusty-- perhaps from the last May Crowning. I can almost feel my mother smiling.