what a week!

B and I have had quite the week!  The first half of the week was spent with a two-year-old; she is the daughter of our dear friends who traveled to Florida for a family celebration.  There were plenty of hilarious times and just a few challenging moments.  In all, we had a blast with her - albeit an exhausted blast.  I think B and I are still wiped out, two days after we dropped her with her parents!  

I'm pretty sure B is feeling the brunt of his exhaustion today - he came home from work running a fever, about 100 degrees - not necessarily the classic medical definition of a serious fever, but enough to have him considerably uncomfortable.  He's been asleep since 8:30 and will stay asleep until he wakes up tomorrow morning - I am thinking he needs a really good night's sleep and that will hopefully toss the fever out of his system.  

In all, the time we had with our little friend was exhausting, challenging, wonderful, and, in its own small way, pretty magical.  It was such a blessing to have a little girl to snuggle, to make laugh, to enjoy as a married couple for a few days.  Don't get me wrong, we were completely exhausted most of the time - I remember silently begging to myself that she would fall back asleep when she roused at quarter to six one morning - but it was still magical, and certainly a glimpse into what our family life might look like someday, should God choose to bless us with children.  It will always warm my heart to remember some of the littlest moments of our days with her.  For example, one evening she and I spent a good 25 minutes picking out B's work clothes for the next day - every bit of clothing, even down to the skivvies!  As B washed the dinner dishes, she and I would be in the bedroom, and she would take a piece of clothing, run it out to the kitchen, and say to B, "You wear this to work?" And B, saintly B, would always say "Yes, that is great!" And we would proceed to hang up or fold the clothing somewhere either in the bathroom or living room - a methodical, meticulous, hilarious process.  While fairly ordinary, it was priceless, and one of the fondest memories of our time with her.  


Especially, after our three days with the little one, I know definitively that motherhood will be the greatest challenge of my life.  There are times that realization exhilarates me, and at the same time terrifies me. I remain convinced that, should God choose to bless us with children, I will need to cling to Him in my motherhood to a new and even more intense degree.  

St. Joseph, pray for me!
Mother Mary, pray for me!  

culinary revelations

We have had a particularly delicious week as far as our dinners go!  Between the porkchop recipe for Sunday Dinner and a navy bean and bacon chowder this evening, we've been on a roll as we try some new recipes for our "wheelhouse" - basically our term for our collection of recipes that have been successful and can continue in our dinner rotation.  

Along the way, we've had just a few revelations: 

1. Sage is wonderful.  We have used sage in just a few recipes, and this weekend we needed to add it to a cornbread that we were using as the stuffing for the porkchops Sunday Dinner recipe.  We made the cornbread late at night after dinner with my cousins, and we were both exhausted, but we couldn't help but marvel, even in the late hour, about the amazing smell as the bread cooked in the oven.  It was the sage!  It was a smell that seemed so familiar to me, but I just couldn't place it.  We went to bed that evening with the aroma of the cornbread throughout the apartment.  It was awesome!  

2.  A turnip, when cooked for an extended time in a soup recipe, tastes almost exactly like a soft, cooked potato.  The chowder for today's dinner called for a chopped turnip (found at our local cooperative), and I'll admit, I was a bit hesitant about using it - particularly about its texture and taste in the chowder.  However, after a bowl of chowder tonight, I can safely say that it tastes just like a cooked chopped potato would in a soup recipe.  Seriously, if I wanted to make this recipe again and didn't want to go to the co-op for a turnip, I would use a chopped baking potato.  It was really neat to use a vegetable I have never encountered before, and even more neat that it was a successful addition to our dinner!  

3. Turkey bacon, lower in fat and calories than pork bacon, will (hopefully) be a welcome addition to our kitchen for future meals.  I am really trying to adhere to eating well with the hope that I can consistently maintain a healthy weight.  It isn't a stretch to say that we've both put on a little bit of weight in these eighteen months of marriage!  I saw turkey bacon for sale at the store today and gave it a shot in the soup tonight - and really liked it.  B is definitely going to be a hard sell - I am sure he was slightly aghast tonight when I told him that there was turkey bacon in the chowder instead of pork.  When I asked if he liked the turkey bacon, he said, "Well, I don't want to say that I like it!"  I took that to mean that he feels he will have betrayed his longtime favorite, bacon of the pork variety, if he admits to liking the turkey bacon.  I am hoping he'll learn to love it - we still have about ten slices to use, I only needed six for the soup!  


To think that I didn't know how to cook more than pasta, Tuna Helper, and Macaroni and Cheese when we were married eighteen months ago.  My, how times have changed!  


a presto.

humility

It is no surprise that there are disagreements among the faithful of the Catholic Church.  Day in and day out there appear to be dozens of teachings, doctrines, and precepts of the Catholic faith that are controversial and difficult for her members.  (For example: the Church's teachings on homosexuality, the Church's teachings on birth control, the Church's understanding of faithful citizenship, etc.  The list really could go on and on and on.) A particularly difficult teaching for some of the faithful is the Church's traditional teaching that She is only able to ordain men to the priesthood of Jesus Christ.  The Holy Father, Venerable (but soon to be Blessed!) John Paul II, went so far as to promulgate an Apostolic Letter concerning this very topic.  

In the 1994 Apostolic Letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, John Paul writes (emphasis my own): 

Wherefore, in order that all doubt may be removed regarding a matter of great importance, a matter which pertains to the Church's divine constitution itself, in virtue of my ministry of confirming the brethren (cf. Lk 22:32) I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church's faithful.  

John Paul makes it perfectly clear: there is no ability whatsoever for the Catholic Church to ordain women to the priesthood.  Period.  

Despite this Apostolic Letter, there has been dissent - sometimes particularly vocal dissent at that.  There is even an organization brazenly referring to itself as "Roman Catholic Womenpriests."  On its website (the link I will not provide, for fear of potentially causing my small readership to be scandalized), there are, in living color, photos of "ordinations," female "bishops," and female "priests".  There are even photographs of "Masses" and "liturgies" which these "priests" purport to have celebrated!  Needless to say, the Church does not recognize these "priests," these "Masses," or these "ordinations."  And sadly, these "ceremonies" still occur, and cause scandal for more and more of the faithful.  

Yet today, I read a beautiful story of humility regarding Norma Jean Coon, one of the purported "Womenpriests."  Her humility is completely inspiring.  

I wish to renounce the alleged ordination and publicly state that I did not act as a deacon as a part of this group except on two occasions, when I read the gospel once at mass and distributed communion once at this same mass. I withdrew from the program within two weeks of the ceremony because I realized that I had made a mistake in studying for the priesthood. I confess to the truth of Pope John Paul II's Apostolic Letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis . I confess the authority of the Holy Father on these issues of ordination and recognize that Christ founded the ordination only for men.

Formally, I relinquish all connection to the program of Roman Catholic Women Priests and I disclaim the alleged ordination publicly with apologies to those whose lives I have offended or scandalized by my actions. I ask God's blessings upon each of these folks and their families.

She proceeds to close her remarks with a beautiful, humble prayer to our Lord.  Read her remarks in their entirety here.  

What a blessed example, that those souls who appear to be the most lost, can still find their way back to our good God.  And what's more, no matter how lost a soul may be, our Lord, in His infinite mercy, will forgive the repentant sinner.  How often do I need these reminders!  However cloudy my own conscience might be and however sinful I (and humanity) may be, our Lord is always waiting, with open arms, to welcome back the repentant sinner.  He is always ready to bestow His mercy - it is our weakness, our pride, and sometimes our fear that keep us from asking for that mercy, particularly in the Sacrament of Confession.  What love!  What mercy!   And.....what strength of will it takes us to return to receive His open invitation to sanctifying grace. 


a presto

can't we all just get along?

While I know that the readership of my somewhat ridiculous ramblings is slim to none, I've very much enjoyed seeing from where my (albeit small) readership comes from.  (I'm talking about you, Denmark!  Hello!)  It's always interesting to log on to post something and to see from what corners of the globe people may be checking in to my humble cyberhome.  (Keep visiting, Denmark, happy to have you here!)  

There is a mess of things happening in my fair city right now, where I've lived for almost seven years, where, ultimately, my husband and I would like to settle down in the long run, someday (after we discern and sort through our graduate school aspirations).  

If you are unaware of the protests that have descended upon my fair city, a quick glance at the following link, from the most recent article from our daily newspaper about the current protests, should bring you up to speed at least a bit.  From the little I know of the current situation (I tend to remove myself from the political climate of this town for various reasons), our dear state is downright broke, and our newly-elected governor is attempting to repair our (possibly crippling) budget deficit.  From what I can deduce, his hope is not to have to declare bankruptcy eventually, and curtail this shortfall sooner rather than later.  Part of this has been asking public employees to increase the amount they pay for health and retirement benefits.  Concurrently, there are measures in his proposal that would strip the ability of public employees (through their unions) to collectively bargain with the government in all things except salary.  (The link above can route anyone interested to further [hopefully nonpartisan] articles, explaining the ramifications of the governor's proposal.) 

Needless to say, this proposal has created a virtual firestorm of dissent that has reverberated throughout my fair state.  My facebook feed is daily packed with rallying cries - call your legislators!  Kill this bill!  Come to the capitol!  Recall (Governor) Walker!  Unfortunately, with these rallying cries also often comes a good amount of vitriol being tossed around.  In various photo galleries from the protests this week, I have seen our governor paralleled to a dictator, with names such as Hitler and the recently-ousted Mubarak as the choice comparisons.  It is at that moment in a political discourse that most often I attempt to tune myself out.  I relish good political discourse - as a former student of political science, I am proud to see my fellow citizens exercising their right to assemble and make their voices heard.  To exercise our rights as enumerated in the Constitution is something in which to take pride - we have a unique ability that not all citizens of the world possess.  However, when the discourse turns ugly, and becomes a campaign of name-calling and hyperbole (and often hysteria, and sometimes downright hatred), I often take a step back and try to evaluate just how this political discourse became an arena of such vitriol. 

I do sympathize with the protesters.  I agree that the haste in passing this bill is likely inappropriate - something that affects this many people is not something to be legislated quickly and compromises should be made to effectively take into account the ramifications of this bill on the working families of Wisconsin.  I acknowledge the historical ability of public employees to unionize and to collectively bargain.  I do not, however, find it necessary or appropriate to launch such vitriolic and outlandish comparisons about the governor and Republican lawmakers of our state.  Since when did we become a state that sinks to name-calling?  To comparing our governor to a dictator?  To portraying our governor as the one who is hanged in a game of hangman?  The hyperbole of these smears is childish and juvenile; it could ultimately hurt and hinder the goals of the protesters. 

Lately, in the midst of these protests, I have thought a lot about our Founding Fathers.  It also helps that I'm reading John Adams, David McCulloch's masterpiece about our second president.  I wonder what our forefathers would have thought about these protests.  I can say with some degree of certainty that they would likely applaud the protests as a laudable exercise of a constitutional right.  I am fairly certain, however, that they would also find the vitriol unhelpful and detrimental to the effectiveness of the protesting.  For as much as John Adams fought to amend the grievances of the colonies before King George, I don't think he would have ever sunk to a level of outwardly and publicly attacking the character of that same king.  For as much as the king caused serious grievances in the colonies, the Founding Fathers would not have called names - not then, not now, not ever. 

Maybe I'm an idealist, and this idea of constructive and amicable dialogue between two political groups is something that just doesn't happen anymore.  Yet I watch and read the news coverage of these protests, and I am saddened - saddened by the haste with which this bill will likely be passed, saddened by the lack of discussion between lawmakers and the protesters, and saddened more than anything by the vitriol. 

Come on, Wisconsin.  We are better than this. 

53 years in the making

In three weeks, my maternal grandparents, 75 and 77 years old, will celebrate 53 (!) years of marriage.  For the past week, my husband and I were blessed enough to spend some quality time with them.  Their winter homestead is in the Hill Country of Texas and we drove with them.  Some would say we drove them to Texas - there is a bit of hesitation within my mother's family to have them make the 1300 mile trip on their own, simply due to their age and the health struggles associated with being in their seventies.  I initially pitched the idea to my grandmother in October and she immediately figured that it was a setup.  In part, it probably was - but it quickly developed into quality time with them that I know both B and I will always treasure.  

In that week with them, we were able to learn more about them and, most importantly, experience their fierce devotion to one another.  It's a devotion that isn't terribly overt - it's not romanticized and it's not overly affectionate, but it is a quiet, strong, fierce married love.  They show it in the simplest ways - Gran helping Grandpa get his coat off, holding his hand as he walks down the stairs to the car, and the like.  Perhaps the most memorable for me was a simple moment in the middle of the week - we had arrived in Texas in the midst of one of the coldest fronts experienced by the Lone Star State in recent history.  Temperatures didn't get out of the forties (and sometimes struggled to reach them) on Wednesday and Thursday.  As we were preparing to watch the BCS Championship Game (Longhorns/Tide - which didn't turn out as my Texan husband hoped it would), my grandma was in the living room reading the paper.  My grandpa went to their bedroom to retrieve something, and returned with her new bedroom slippers, a gift from her children at Christmas.  

"I brought you your slippers, for when your feet get cold," he simply replied, handing her the shoes as he took his seat to watch the game.  

"Well, thank you, dear, that's wonderful...for when my feet get cold," my grandma replied.  

My husband and I exchanged glances and my eyes nearly teared up as we watched them interact.  My grandfather was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in late 2005 and has a limited range of motion due to his hips and knees being replaced several years ago.  Often his fastest gait is nothing but a shuffle, and it takes him awhile to get from place to place.  Yet, he had the foresight to make this simple act of love for my grandmother - just bringing her slippers to her, something that I doubt was a small act of exertion.  It wasn't a grand, blissful, emotional declaration of his love for her - but it probably spoke more volumes about his affection for her than any bouquet of roses or messages in the sky could ever speak.  

It was such a wonderful trip and B and I might not have the opportunity for this time alone with them in a long while.   What began as "chaperoning" - as my grandma snarkily called it the night before we left - turned into some really beautiful time with them, learning more about them, and experiencing those small witnesses to their married love, which, in three weeks, will be 53 years in the making. 

B and I are so blessed to have these wonderful examples of married love that we can learn from.

a presto.