too long

So many different topics to consider on this blog, but the past month has certainly gotten away from me.  How is it May 22nd tomorrow?!  

The Cliffs Notes version is that much is going on in our lives - very good, very exciting things.  Many new goals have sprung forth from these developments.  There's so much to document and to post here, but I don't even know where to begin.  

As far as short-term future blogging goals, I'm hoping to revive "New Meal Monday" this week with a new chili recipe.  Here's hoping I remember to get out my camera when the time comes to make the meal! 

In the meantime, here are 10 extra-short snippets of the goings-on in life right now:

1. I have a job!  Starting July 1st, I'll be diving back into campus ministry full-time after a two-year hiatus.  It is humbling, exhilarating, and exciting to think about being back on campus (my alma mater!) with students, attempting (albeit weakly) to love them like Jesus. 

2. My little sister is engaged!  She'll be married next October, 2012.  It is terribly exciting - and I get to be maid of honor!  (Or, as my husband informed me, matron of honor - it sounds so much older than just maid!)

3. B and I have resolved to begin (slowly) making our way through the seasons of The West Wing.  Considering we just watched the pilot episode this evening, I'd say we have quite a ways to go.  :-)

4. I bought a cilantro plant a week and a half ago, and while I haven't used any of it yet, I am so looking forward to being able to just snip the leaves I need in any given week, instead of buying an entire bunch of cilantro and having about 85% of that bunch go to waste because we just can't use that much cilantro before it spoils.  Hooray for herbs!  I have a small pot of basil and another of chives that have just started sprouting, too.  I am hoping to maintain this trend of keeping our most often used herbs in pots during the summer - it is convenient, low-maintenance, and inexpensive, a great thing! 

5. I am a convert to the FranklinCovey daily system of planning.  (www.franklincovey.com)  I sat in on meetings all week at my new job and after a quick introduction to the daily system, I have resolved to integrate that method of planning into my work next year.  I am hoping it can provide a balance to my work/vocation/homekeeping and increase my effectiveness in each of these areas. 

6.  I witnessed a beautiful Nuptial Mass today of two former students with whom I worked during my first stint in campus ministry.  They are a beautiful example of faithful love - I am honored to have known them during their college careers and to have watched from afar their journey to this momentous day. 

7.  "Sway" by Dean Martin might be one of the greatest songs ever.  I'm listening to the Glee cover of this song right now, and it just makes me want to get up and dance!  (Dean's version is best, however!) 

8.  B is making pulled pork for Sunday Dinner tomorrow!  EXCITED!!!!!!!  (pulled pork is one of my very favorite meals, and we've never made it before)  :-)

9.  Making plans to visit Washington, DC this summer to visit my old roommates at the end of June.  They have lived out there for 2+ years, but this is the first time I will visit them there.  I haven't been to the District in ten years, so I am more than looking forward to my return.  It promises to be quite the trip! 

10.  No matter how many times I fall, fail, or make a mistake, I am a beloved child of God.  All of us are.  How mind-boggling is this?! 

a presto. 

on death, judgment, and difficulties

I understand this is a massively depressing title for this post.  It's a work in progress - thanks for bearing with me.  

Last night was strange in a variety of ways.  Firstly, B and I were completely exhausted - Friday and Saturday nights were late nights (in bed no earlier than midnight) and we were certainly feeling the brunt of the ensuing exhaustion.  I was also coming down with something resembling a cold (dangit!) for the second time in three months - I am still on the couch and not 100% as of today.  We were supposed to attend a cookout, to meet the university students with whom I will work closely next year in my new position; however, after attending an evening Mass and not feeling any better (if not worse), we elected to go home, order a pizza, and rent a movie (which happened to be The King's Speech!).  

About three-quarters of the way through the movie (His Majesty King George VI and Lionel Logue were about to rehearse for the coronation in Westminster Abbey), I, without any particular reason, decided to log onto Facebook.  It was there on the social networking site that I saw a flurry of status updates about someone not often thought about in my mind these days.  These statuses were reporting a massively historical bit of news: 

The United States had eliminated Osama bin Laden.  

Immediately I relayed the news to B - who, understandably, was shocked.  After all, it isn't every day that the major news networks are reporting that the United States has eliminated the most wanted terrorist in the world.  We fumbled around with our remote controls (we have way too many!) and finally was able to reach a news station to see what exactly was going on.  The coverage confirmed the flurry of Facebook statuses - the United States had raided the world's most wanted terrorist's luxury compound in a city north of the Pakistani capital city, and in a firefight, the man wanted for orchestrating the 9/11 attacks had been killed.  

I didn't know what to think.  At first, deep down, there was almost an excitement to the news, similar to when the United States had captured Saddam Hussein many years ago, thoughts of "we finally got him" and "it's about time" that swirled in my mind.  Then, as we started to digest and process the news, calling our parents to make sure they had heard, I found myself trying to pray for the repose of his soul.  I remember a particular moment of solitude before the President's address to the nation where I finally realized that bin Laden, like all of us someday, came face-to-face with God, the Just Judge, and needed to answer for the doings of his life.  And in that moment, I feared for his soul and tried, albeit poorly, to ask God's mercy through a series of silent Hail Mary's.  

Let me tell you - it was difficult.  The memories of September 11th remain palpable to me - I recall watching the news footage of the anniversary of the attacks last fall and my heart still aching for those who perished in a fiery grave on that clear September day.  I remember sobbing into my mother's shoulder the night after the attacks, as the news coverage continued incessantly and as lower Manhattan continued to smolder.  I remember writing busily in my journal in the following days, and I know that in my fifteen-year-old immaturity, I had a few choice words for Osama bin Laden as I tried to process my thoughts.  So, last night, to attempt to pray and ask God's mercy on this man was a difficult task. 

And then I watched the ensuing celebrations around the United States - places like the White House, Ground Zero, and Times Square, where hundreds gathered to celebrate the death of this man.  And I know that my fifteen-year-old self from September of 2001 would have joined in the revelry and celebrated robustly what the media and politicians have dubbed "a decisive victory in the War on Terror."  To be honest, as I watched the celebrations ensue, my stomach was uneasy.  It is one thing to celebrate patriotism and be proud of our America, it is quite another to celebrate that patriotism in the wake of a man's death.  I agree wholeheartedly that Osama bin Laden has caused devastating agony to the citizens of the United States.  The actions of al-Qaeda and its influence on America will be written about for ages to come.  Yet, as Americans, we should not be treating this moment in history as if we won the big game.  Our lack of decorum in recognizing bin Laden's death was difficult for me to watch - and B and I agreed that the footage of the celebrations could ultimately be damaging for the United States in the wider Arab world community.  Indeed, this is a defining moment in American history - but to rejoice in this man's death is not, in my humble estimation, the way to go about these things.  

This is truly one of those moments where the teachings of our Lord are so very difficult.  Jesus knew what he was saying when he instructed the disciples (and us) to "love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you."  It is something that I - and the rest of the United States - very much need to take to heart.  

a presto

BEATO! BEATO!

Santo Padre, some days you are but a distant memory to me, yet deep in my heart I know how influential you were to my following Christ.  Your love for the youth of the Church inspired and encouraged me, and continues to do so.  I remain so very grateful to your yes to God in all things - your vocation, your episcopal appointment, your election to the papacy, and especially your yes to the corporal suffering you endured on earth, to show the world how to unite our pain to His on the cross.  Holy Father, you are my hero!  

My spiritual grandfather will be beatified in a few short hours by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI!  I will attempt to watch a bit of the beatification coverage (beginning at 1:30AM our time, about an hour from now), but I am so exhausted that I am not sure I will make it very long.  In any event, I rejoice with the rest of the world and look forward to many celebrations in the days, weeks, and months to come to honor and remember the heroic life of Father Karol.  

"Remember, Christ is calling you; the Church needs you; the Pope believes in you and he expects great things of you!"  

Beato Giovanni Paolo, prega per noi!

Blessed John Paul, pray for us!  

a presto :)
picture source

UPDATE: Regrettably, I fell asleep with EWTN on before the coverage even began, rats!  Thankfully it is on tape-delay later today.  :)