Old friends...

Anyone who reads this blog knows that I'm not exactly the sentimental sort. I am not very proud of that fact, but it's who I am. I don’t put too much stock in old “things.” I cherish memories, I reflect upon past conversations (good thing I have a very good memory!)…I don’t keep very many physical mementos of times gone by—I’m a real minimalist in that regard, some old photos, a handful of letters in a box, and that's just about it. The rest goes by the way side.

I’m also not the type of person who stays friends with people only because there is a history of knowing the person for a long time.

But I do have some people in my life who I have known for a really significant number of years. One of those people is my friend Trish in Ohio. I met her right before the start of my freshman year of high school (she was a big-time junior!) and we were both on the tennis team. She was so nice to me immediately and she introduced me to all of her other junior girlfriends and she really made me feel comfortable starting high school and learning the ropes. She took me under her wings and set a great example for me as someone who used high school to her advantage and made the most of her time there in all aspects.

We then wound up going to the same college—she was one reason why I felt so comfortable there too—because she had opened her college life up to me and let me come visit her while I was still in high school and she showed me around and told me all of the “inside info.” Again, she made my transition to a new school (and a new life!) easier.

After college, a good number of years ago now, we lost touch for a while, she relocated to Ohio because her soon-to-be husband had gotten a great job out there.

Then, sometimes things happen in our lives and people who have drifted away drift back and so on. I’m not even sure when we reconnected, but I think it was basically because we had never totally disconnected, if you know what I mean.

Now Trish is a mom and a wife and an activist for women and children and a great adult human being. Her birthday was this weekend, and you know what the amazing thing is? SHE called ME the day before her birthday to leave me a message to thank me for her birthday card and to tell me how much she thinks about me and all of the funny things we did in high school and to tell me that she prays for me. I want to cry whenever someone tells me that they pray for me and I think it’s because I pray a lot and I pray hard and I cover a lot of bases when I pray. I know the power prayer has and to know that someone else takes time out of their life to pray for me is the greatest thing another person can do for me. I mean that.

Last May I went out to Ohio for the first time and stayed with Trish and her husband and son and got to watch her live her life out there. I had so much fun. It’s funny, because she is so much like her mom in her personality and her very friendly way. I’ve talked about us all turning into our parents before and I am convinced that nine times out of ten, we do. In her case, that’s a great thing. I still see her mom around town and at church sometimes and I love it because it's the next best thing to getting to see Trish.

Sometimes old friends are great friends and we have to work to keep them as much as we do the “newer” people we surround ourselves with on the day to day. God sends us all kinds of people at all different times in all different ways. If you take the time to really listen, He will let you know who He wants to to keep close to your heart for all of your days on His earth, and you'll find as time goes by that it's not just your mom, husband, or daughter...We have all different kinds of family and all different kinds of soulmates in this life, both men and women. Stay open to all of yours.

The timing of things...

I just love the way things occur sometimes. I chalk it up to God revealing himself to us in small ways to let us know He hears us at all times, but others may just call it no more than crazy coincidence. We can debate that issue too, but that’s not the heart of my story. This is:

Yesterday, E and I were talking in my office and we were talking about rings. I wear a small crucifix ring almost every day. I wear it on the third finger of my left hand (hey, until God sends my husband, if there is one for me, I’m all God’s!). E was asking me why I don’t wear it on my pinkie finger and I said that men do that more often than women. He asked if it was an Italian thing and I said no, because Rob wears a crucifix ring on his pinkie and he is not Italian.

Now, Rob is a guy who works in sales for a print vendor my company used years ago, but no longer does. His company also provided service for the company E worked for became he came to work at my company two years ago, so we both know him, but from different times in our lives. Because Rob’s company no longer works for our company, we have no regular contact with him at all anymore and we haven’t seen him in months.

Imagine our surprise then when no more than 5 minutes after E and I talked about him, Rob walked around the corner and appeared in the doorway of my office. I was so shocked that my whole face lit up and I couldn’t stop smiling. Rob stopped by to see me—he was in the office because he was taking someone from another department that he’s still friendly with out for her birthday. I just love when things like that happen out of nowhere!

Another really lovely thing happened today when E and I were talking. He reminded me of who I want to be when I grow up. We were getting back to work and he said:

E: “Go back to what you do best.”
Me: “My job is the thing in this world I do best?”
E: “Not really. You’re great at your job but the two things you do best are take care of the people you care about and serve God.”
Me: “That’s the nicest thing someone has said to me in a while.”
E: “Well, it’s the truth.”
Me: “Thank you.”

I fully know that I still stink at least half the time, so I pray that may live up to that moment. I may be fair at those two things some of the time at different times. I pray that someday I can be good at those two things ALL the time and that it may be by those two things that I known. I’ve worked at my job for many years, but I would much rather be known as a beloved daughter of God than a skilled manager.

Random odds and ends, part 7

First of all, I do just want to say just a couple of things in regard to the death of Anna Nicole Smith. You can say what you want about her (but think wisely before you start judging her too much), but no matter what you think about this woman, I think everyone has to admit that the whole situation is a crying shame—from the very start up to the circus we are in the middle of now. I feel so sad for this little baby who now has no mother. Let’s just find out who this little girl’s dad is already. If Maury were involved he could have gotten us DNA test results within a day or however long it takes on his shows!!

Also, I still have a lot of “blog lurkers,” many of whom are friends of mine who enjoy reading this blog but feel like they can’t say anything. I can’t say that I will ever understand why, but I suppose some people are just more comfortable observing. So be it! Keep enjoying!

LC (of LC and DJ fame from CT) celebrated a birthday yesterday and Terry (a friend from my church who is going to Italy on the same tour my parents and I are) celebrates a birthday today. I spoke to LC last night and they are in the new house and away from their crazy downstairs neighbor that was constantly reporting them to the police for walking in their own condo!

What else? I have my birthday next month and LC and DJ will be down here to spend the Saturday of that week with me and spend the night. They did the same thing last year and we had a really nice night—Matty T went out to dinner with the three of us. I am sure we’ll do something similar this year. Anyone who is around would be more than welcome to join us if interested! LC always does such a bang up job of taking me all around when I go up to visit them that I need to definitely thing of something decent to do with them during the day when they visit. I better start thinking now…

E and I were both big fans of the White Rapper Show on VH1, and the finale was on Monday. The guy we wanted to win, did, so we are satisfied. I also have a new appreciation and fondness for the host of the show, MC Serch (formerly of 3rd Base).

Kathy and I are taking a day off in mid-March for a day of culture. I think we will likely go to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which, I am ashamed to say that I have not seen in MANY years.

Hope you all are having a great week!

One of my 2007 "improved living" goals

I saw my friend Michelle on Friday night and she shared with me her scrapbook from a trip to Italy in May, 2006. It made me so much more excited for my trip. Just looking at the pictures, hearing the stories, and seeing the colors and the sights made me wish the next 7 months would hurry up and fly by so that I could get there to see it all with my own eyes.

But then I realize that I need the next 7 months to get myself into fighting shape so I will be ready to really enjoy this trip to the fullest. I have set some modest weight loss goals and have finally gotten my lazy self back to some regular exercise. This is one reason why I am glad the trip is still off in the distance, so that I have time to actually make some realistic changes and see a good difference before we go.

Sadly, I have done this all before, so I know exactly what needs to be done, it’s simply a matter of making it happen. I say “sadly” because, yo-yoing my way through life is not something that’s good for anybody.

Here’s to consistent and healthful changes for the next 7 months and beyond so I can enjoy every moment in Italy to the fullest and enjoy good health to boot!

(Get it? “Boot?” Italy is shaped like a boot? Yes, I am corny and I love it!)

confirmation (with a small "c")

We so-called “religious types” like to talk about receiving “confirmation” in situations. That’s confirmation with a small “c” and not the sacrament Confirmation (with a large “C”).

I try to allow the Lord to lead me (as much as I am willing to allow Him) and a lot of times it’s only through confirmation that I can begin to know that I am heading down the right paths. The Lord will sometimes place someone in your life at the right time to tell you something that you need to hear.

I recently received confirmation from two different friends in the same week about my youth ministry certification. My friend Paul (who I went to visit in California in 2005, but who is now back in NJ) responded well when I told him that I have been a youth minister for the past half a year. He told me youth ministry “makes so much sense” for me.

My friend Diana, who relocated to Florida a couple of years ago, wrote me the following message when I shared the same news with her:

When you told me about your becoming a youth minister, I thought "that is a perfect fit." I can't think of anyone more appropriate than you. The kids will certainly be able to identify with you because you are young and hip, you have a nice career going, and you certainly can understand their issues very readily as well. Absolutely PERFECT! :) I'll say a special prayer in church tonight thanking God for recognizing your wonderful qualities and channelling them into our youth.

I can’t tell you how blessed I felt when I read that. Not so I can get all puffed up about how young and hip and relatable I may be, but because I have been so wrapped up in trying to “do” youth ministry that I actually never took any time to “see” that I am perhaps really doing God’s will and that he is giving me a gift that I can share with the youth.

Lord, give me eyes to "see" what I am "doing" for Your kingdom.

Everyone, please pray for Jim’s brother who passed away last Saturday. Eternal rest, grant unto him.

My youth ministry experience...

I have been enjoying being a youth minister more than I thought I would.

You see, I am not a woman who deals well with bad attitudes—and I don’t care if you are 5 or you’re 65, if you’ve got a bad attitude, are nasty, like to roll your eyes, don’t take what I’m saying seriously or think you above it all, etc, then I have little time for you and will let you know just that.

So obviously, knowing that almost every teenager behaves that way at some point or another, I was a little concerned that I wasn’t going to enjoy working with this age group. I figured I would be surrounded by a bunch of teens whose parents force them to come to our gatherings and that they wouldn’t listen and wouldn’t care. These teens have proven me wrong…They are bright, they are open, and they aren’t afraid to be honest with me when I ask them to be. They aren’t afraid to talk about their relationships with Jesus (they also aren’t afraid to talk about the fact that they don’t have relationships with Jesus in some cases).

Most of all, I am touched by their trust. These teenagers listen to me talk about God and my experiences and they open themselves up to me telling me about what (and who!) bothers them, what makes them feel happy, what makes them feel accepted. These teens feel safe when they are with me and the two other adult facilitators.

And I feel honored that God has entrusted them to me for a few hours a month—to have fun with them, and joke with them, and teach them—and most of, continuously remind them just how much God loves them. I am blessed.

Back in the "habit"

I received good news yesterday!

A friend of mine entered a Carmelite convent in California in late August/early September of 2004 as a novice. She had lived in NJ up to that point, but attended graduate school at the Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio and met some nuns from this particular Carmelite order during her time in Ohio. Over a period of years she discerned that she was being called to the religious life. She had visited the sisters in California and then came home to discern some more. She then left the east coast to go live near the sisters in their convent and pray with them daily, but still work a "regular" job. Then, after almost a year there, she asked to be accepted as a novice and begin her journey toward becoming a nun.

What a sacrifice to make, but what great reward!

When she was a lay woman, my friend's name was Christa--but about a year and a half ago she took her religious name--Sr. Sophia.

Sr. Sophia's family let us know that she has very recently been approved for her first profession! These set of vows--Chastity, Poverty, and Obedience--are pronounced annually for a period of six years. During that time, she'll continue her ongoing formation in her Carmelite consecration and spiritual formation. She'll gradually assume responsibility in the service of her community apostolates thus integrating the Carmelite charism of uniting prayer and service.

She will be clothed in the habit of Carmel on March 19, the Feast Day of St. Joseph.

Both Sr. Sophia and her family are asking for continued prayers. I'm asking you to pray for her too!

Random odds and ends, part 6

I am now a certified youth minister (certified by my diocese), which means I have an answer to give if a parent ever asks me what makes me "qualified" to teach their teens anything about God or the Catholic faith or spend time with their teens. I now have what the diocese calls a basic skill certification and am also getting certified in True Love Waits (which is a Catholic chastity program for teens, I'll be certified to teach that program too). But the nice thing is that from here I can go on to get a more intense youth ministry certification as well, if I choose to. I may take some more classes over time--it's a great thing to have in my pocket (ie, if I ever want to change careers some day and find a parish that pays to have full time youth minister). My parish is paying for the classes, so it's a gift I should take full advantage of.

E turned 30 yesterday. He always takes off on his birthday. My mom wondered if he was taking off so he could try to see his shadow. I got a kick out that, but it would have been funnier if his birthday was today. He thinks it's absurd that (most years) I actually come to work on my birthday. I know a lot of people that feel the way he does. If it makes them happy, I say take the day off and enjoy! My mom turns 60 on Sunday ("I'm exactly twice E's age!" mom pointed out).

Staying with the theme of YOP (Year of Positivity), I have been trying to pinpoint a hopeful story each day, a story of people doing good or something that reminds us of what we are capable of. It's been making the work day brighter for me this past week, so I plan on sharing some of those with you too as time goes by, so stay tuned!

Happy Groundhog's Day everyone :) most especially to Trish in Ohio--this has always been her favorite holiday. Thanks for the Groundhog's day card T!

Words may be cheap, but...

I need everyone to start to pray for me and the writing of my book. I started the book about a year and a half ago and I am ashamed to say that I only have 17 pages written. That’s a borderline disgrace, especially when I tell you that I am writing this book for God’s glory.

I have always considered myself a writer of sorts. Although my career is in publishing, I write nothing for my job. I am a reasonably good writer and really have always had the talent. I consider the talent one of my gifts from God, if you will...My grammar is not always as good as it should be (and I majored in English in college no less, although I always tell people--English majors read books and poems, no one was showing me how to write grammatically correct sentences in college. Maybe they assumed I already knew that!)

I am a good writer because I am good with words. I am a pretty good story teller and I write in a similar manner to how I speak. I submitted 80 pages of a novel in progress as my senior thesis for the honors program I was in in college. For several years right after college I actually tweaked that book in many ways, but kept working on it.

Then my entire life changed when I came to allow the Lord to start to work on me and I let Him into all of the areas of my life. A couple of years after that (about a year and half ago) I knew the kind of story God wanted me to tell. It was a completely different story from what I had been working on for all of those years, but I trusted God and started the story over from page one. My story. A memoir about my “conversion.” The first 17 pages are exciting (even E thinks so--he edited the first 16 pages a year ago, but is literally furious when we talk about it now because I have had no forward momentum. He expects better from me). It’s a story that secular readers will really enjoy and holy rollers can get into too--kind of like me--relatable to all sorts of folks.

I know God wants me to do this. I want to do this. I just have to actually commit myself to a regular writing schedule and I have to make this happen. I have to make it happen so I can be true to something I believe God wants me to do for Him and for others. I ask for all of your prayers that I will not be lazy and I will see this project through. It doesn’t have to be finished in a few months, but it has to be worked on on an on-going basis.

Please pray for my commitment to this. As always, I’m praying for all of you.

When in Rome...

It’s official--I am heading to Italy later this year!

My parents and I are going on a family vacation to Rome, Venice, Florence, and the Amalfi Coast (a couple small towns along the coast).

It’s really exciting for us because, if you can believe it, none of us have ever been out of the country (we were all in Canada once when I was 12 or so, but I certainly don’t count that as international travel). It’s just a great opportunity for all 3 of us to experience something new and beautiful together. It means a lot to me to be able to share the experience with them and not just tell them about it.

I would love to hear anything from folks that have been to Italy—thoughts, tips, ideas, etc. We are going with a tour group, but the nice thing is that we chose a tour that is only going to a few places so we can actually spend some time in each city and have some free time too. I know there is a lot to see in Italy, and we are only seeing some of it, but I think that if I was constantly on the move from city to city to city that I would wind up exhausted and not really getting to savor anything.

That’s a big part of this trip too, you see--RELAXATION. For the first time in the almost 12 years I have been a part of the “work world” I have never been away from the office for 2 solid weeks. It’s really a once in a lifetime opportunity to get away from everything (literally) for a meaningful length of time and immerse myself in something different. I may forget I have a job while I am away—and as much as I like my job, I am hoping that will happen!

Worry...

I started thinking that I am too much of a worrier to ever be able to be a parent.

Anxiety runs in my family and although mine is in check most of the time, I feel like being responsible for one or more entire human lives may be what pushes me over the edge. Once I have a child, it will be too late for me to turn back and my anxiety may wind up taking me over and runing my life, my future husband's life, and any and all of my children's lives.

But then I realized that worrying about something that may or may not ever happen is no way to keep anxiety in check! Hello!

This weekend, I will be rooting for my Philadelphia Eagles! Let's make something happen!

How was this year different than last year?

Was it really any different at all? Think about that.

Will next year be any different than this year?


But first, how was your Christmas (or Hannukah for my Jewish friends)? Mine was really nice. My parents and I went to 4 pm mass on Christmas Eve. This picture is one that my friend Terry took before one of the Christmas masses…Fr Pat, before his homily, had called all of the kids to gather around the manger scene with him. He asked them some questions about the holiday and they answered them. One question was, “Whose birthday is today?” A little girl who was literally standing right in front of his lapel microphone proceeded to yell “My Daddy!” The whole church went up in laughter. It was just one of those priceless “kid” moments. Fr Pat later said that he never heard the church all laugh together that hard. One reason might have been that you never see the standing-room only crowds any other time of year than Christmas...

The open house I had was very nice—thanks to all of you who came. As predicted, it was a smaller crowd than last year, but we all still had a really nice time. Krista shared a story about my goddaughter, who, when watching a Christian kiddie Christmas show on TV was asked by the person on TV, “Who is the King of the Jews?” My goddaughter proceeded to say “Uncle Jarred” as her answer. Another hilarious kid moment (Jarred is her Jewish godfather).

On Christmas Day I went to Caroline’s open house (as I do each year). It was great to see her two boys (as well as the rest of her family!)

OK, so now we’re a few mere days away from 2007. I am a person who always looks forward to a fresh new year. Jarred always proclaims the new year the “Year of….” Many years, it has been the “Year of Jarred” (or YOJ) whether you knew that or not. In 2005, we had the “Year of Joy” (anotherYOJ). Many people in our circle got behind that movement. Around September of 2005, I granted a one-year extension on the Year of Joy so it would last all through 2006. That was an unprecedented move, but I got Jarred to agree. A couple months ago I told Jarred I wanted 2007 to be the Year of Positivity (yes, you guessed it—YOP).

One thing that I always do before the New Year is clean my house. I keep a clean house in general, but I mean business right before the new year. It’s a mental thing for me—I want to have all of my “junk” thrown out so that I can start the new year off with a “clean” slate.

It’s that way for me with my relationships too. It was in early 2006 that I left the lives of a couple of friends of mine. When I do that, it’s rarely because they treat me bad or they are mean or I don’t love them anymore. It’s usually because I do have love for them and I have realized that I am not able to be the kind of friend that they need, or that the relationship is no longer reciprocal or mutually beneficial and some selfishness on one or both of our parts have come into play. Sometimes you grow apart over time because you both change. Sometimes you can no longer support their decisions, so it’s easier to fade away and let them live their lives. Sometimes you wake up one day and realize you haven’t been “friends” in a very long time. I continue to pray for all of the friends who are no longer a part of my life.

I think one pair of my friends let me go this year as well. If they have, I accept that—it’s a part of life. God love them.

While I have let go of some people in 2006, I have gained other new, quality friends through my parish. Also, I have reestablished contact with some old friends—I saw Steph for the first time in over 5 years in 2006, I saw Trish’s home and family and “lived” with them for the first time in 2006. I also think I became better friends with my parents in 2006—our relationship is stronger and better than ever and I am grateful for that, especially as they get older.

I have been giving a lot of thought to what I want in 2007. I have been giving a lot of thought to what work I have to do to make these things a reality. I have been praying about them to try to discern if the things I want are the same things that God wants for me. Some of the changes I want to make are pretty subtle. Some others will take some more time and effort. My Lord will lead me, but, it’s important to remember (for ME to remember) that God helps those who help themselves. God can provide opportunity, God can open doors, God can lead us, but I still have to make things happen.

May God bless you all and keep you and yours safe, happy, and healthy, in the new year!

Odds and ends (the Christmas edition)

We Christians are getting robbed a little bit this year. The fourth Sunday of Advent is this Sunday, December 24. Then the next day is Christmas Day. The fourth week of advent is no week—it’s one day!—even less if Christmas Eve is when you really celebrate Christmas, like me and my parents. I do feel like I have been robbed of some of my preparation time this Christmas season, but I know I’ll live.

Another weird thing this year is that after I leave work today I have my normal weekend to go through—Friday and Saturday and then the Christmas festivities don’t really begin until Sunday.

I am going to get my hair cut by my friend Liz at Posh Salon at a very early 8 am tomorrow morning (hey—might as well link them here—why not?). Am I a glutton for punishment even on my days off? No, I’m just a huge morning person who enjoys trying to find a reason to get up and get the day going.

Some of my staff got me a Borders gift card for Christmas. They know what their boss likes! A few of the others got me little individual gifts. E and I are going out to lunch one day next week (we did the same thing last year—we leave a couple hours early and have a late lunch and walk around the city). A couple of them got me nothing, and that’s OK too. It won’t be reflected in their annual reviews I have to do next month, I promise. I took them all out to lunch over the past few weeks—there are a dozen of them, so I did it in two groups of six. It’s the least I can do to thank them for all they do and for putting up with me. God bless them!

Oh and as a little P.S., I got an electronic Christmas card yesterday from Massachusetts Man telling me some very nice things. It was a sweet gesture.

Have a very Merry Christmas. I pray we all use the coming of the infant Christ as a time to welcome Him into our hearts anew.

Where have I been?

I have been trying to think of why I haven’t posted in so long and I can’t use the excuse that E was away from work because he has been back for almost 2 weeks now (although we still are busy!)

It certainly isn’t that I don’t have anything to say!

I took off on Tuesday and finished my Christmas shopping. I have two small things left to pick up and then all that I am left with is the unpleasant task of wrapping everything. It’s one of my least favorite things for sure, and you better believe that anything that fits in a gift bag winds up in one.

I am having the annual Open House on Christmas Eve. I am expected just a small crowd year, but that is OK with me—as the Lord wills! Whoever He wills to send is who is supposed to come this year. The nice thing about having a small family is that even when we just add a couple extra people it feels like a big crowd. Mom and Dad are well, praise God. They are as funny as ever. We have been having fun shopping for the holiday and deciding the menu for our dinner on Christmas Eve before everyone stops over. As proper Italians, of course we always have some fish on the menu!

This Advent has been a real time of joy for me this year—I have been trying to focus on the coming of Christ this year like a little child. I feel excited like a little kid, looking forward to Christmas for all the right reasons. I have been thinking a lot about my commitment to my job and how I sometimes feel like I am the only person who cares about quality as much as I do—it causes me some stress and some restless sleep some nights; that is often the plight of a perfectionist. I want to work on keeping my main focus on the more important things in life other than my job.

Thinking of all of you and the blessing you are to me. I hope to see some of you on Christmas Eve!

Is everybody crazy?

Do you ever have those times where you are pretty convinced that everyone around you has lost their minds?

I am in the middle of one of those times right now. People making crazy choices, taking huge risks, people not thinking things through, rash decisions out the wazoo...

Then it makes me think about my senior year of college when things with John and I were coming to an end (for real) and I was really not in a good place emotionally and mentally and I was on the phone with my friend Wyndee who was in North Carolina at school and I was screaming, "I am not crazy! He is crazy!" at the very top of my lungs like a lunatic.

Over a year later (or even more), when everything was long back to normal for me, praise God, Wyndee told me that she made herself a mental note to one day tell me that I was indeed totally crazy on the phone that day, but just wasn't in the place to be told so right then.

That's where I think some of the I know folks are right now. Acting crazy, but not in the right place to be told so...

P.S. I have survived week one of doing my job PLUS E's job. Monday was a terrible day, really bad, but the week progressively got better. Four more work days to go! He comes back on Dec 8--YAY! Then I can get back to "normal," whatever that is. Thank you for your prayers and please keep them coming.

Also, please pray for my friend Gary (and his wife Claire--she sometimes posts comments here). Garys mom died suddenly of a blood clot this week. May God rest her soul.

Guess where I am?

I am sitting in the customer seating area of my Honda dealer, waiting for my car to finish getting an oil change. I randomly looked at the little sticker in the upper left corner of my windshield earlier this week and realized my car was about 800 miles overdue for an oil change. I had called my Honda dealer to see when they could take me, assuming they would have more openings on Friday than Saturday; however, as you can see, here I am on Saturday. I don't care, I'm just glad I am getting back on track. My dealer is kind enough to offer free Internet service at a little computer station for the customers while we wait. Talk about great multi-tasking for me!

I spoke to Jim briefly last night while he was driving and I filled him in on the plan for Christmas for the very little kids of my parish--we (well, technically, the kids in the youth group) are going to host a "Breakfast with Santa" event, but in an effort to try to help the kids remember WHY we celebrate Christmas the event is going to be called "Santa Presents...Breakfast With Baby Jesus." We will have the Baby Jesus in the manger from our large nativity scene set up in the room and will have the kids see Him and have a picture taken with Him (kind of like they do with Santa, but we still have to figure out the exact logistics of that). I know the little ones will still be more jazzed about hearing a big Santa yelling "Ho Ho Ho," but at least we are trying to instill a sense of meaning, which is more than I can say for some of their parents, but I digress.

I had a long talk with Cathi and Terry yesterday (two of my great older lady friends from my parish) and they feel like I may have to marry an older man in order to marry someone who is living the life I am trying to live. I don't disagree with them, to a point, but my Dad is only 59 years old for goodness sake, and I simply don't see myself being attracted to a man the same age as my dad or even very close to his age.

My consolation is that even if I have no idea that is in store for me in terms of a husband (or lack thereof) the Lord knows what the plan is. I have complete faith in that plan. He hasn't ever steered me wrong. I will continue to fight the good fight in His name. I know that I will never be punished for trying to live by the teachings of Mother Church, in fact, my life will be blessed, so I am content with what unfolds specifically designed for me.

God will not be outdone.

What are you thankful for?

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I'll tell you one thing I am thankful for right now--the fact that today is the first day of a 4-day weekend. As I mentioned a time or two ago, the next 2 weeks at work are going to busy and challenging, so I am happy to have a few mindless days of nothing before it all begins. Although, truth be told, I think the fact that the busy time at work as a clear and definitive end to it makes a huge difference in my outlook, so I know I'll make it. Oh, and by the way, E did the right thing and finally told me where he is going on his vacation before we left work yesterday.

I went to mass this morning. I always try to go on Thanksgiving. If I can't give thanks to God for the countless blessings I have been given and am given every day on Thanksgiving day in particular, when else can I? Really and truly, that is what today is all about. Fr Pat kept up with what apparantly is a very old tradition of blessing bread after mass and then he distributed it (he kindly gave me 3 rolls so I can share them with my parents).

I am happy to be with my parents today--it's always just the 3 of us on Thanksgiving and we always wind up having a good time. It's very relaxed since it's just us and the food is good and we usually wind up yelling and laughing about various things. I will stop by a friend's house later tonight for dessert.

Mike Day was working at QVC yesterday, filming some of the Thanksgiving Day material in advance (product shots and the like). He is recently back from a trip to California (LA and south) and enjoyed it although it sounded like he saw more people than places. It was his first time there. Speaking of travels, I think a trip to Italy is a go for me in later 2007--it will likely be my parents, me, and Cathi and Terry (my friends from church).

I hope you are all with people you love today and I pray you will take some time to remember all of the blessings of the past year and give a word of thanks to God.

I found all of your old comments!!

Hello everyone!

Dumb me (aka blogging dope) just found all of the old comments that you guys posted and have been in the "holding area!" I have released them all, so please scroll through the past few old posts and read, read, read!!

Friday ramblings...

I hope everyone has had a great week.

On my end, all is really well. I am going for some annual blood work on Monday morning (I am taking the day off too!) so please pray for good/normal results. I have regular blood work done to monitor me because my dad has diabetes (and so did his dad). I appreciate your prayers, as always!

Work is going well. We are getting ready to come up on a busy period, because we have a couple of new people starting and I will likely be training one of them (which, after training and checking all of the work for upwards of 5 and 6 people at once during the consolidation of our production sites a year and a half ago, one new person on top of the one employee’s work that I still check is a dream!). However, E is getting ready to go on a 2-week vacation to an undisclosed location (he won’t tell me because he knows it drives me crazy. Does he have my number or what?!) and his workload is getting ready to change, so, in a sense, I will wind up doing his new journal for the 2 weeks he is gone. That alone is also not a huge deal and I will live. However, the start of his 2-week secret vacation coincides to the day of the new employees first day. Oh, and I am out of the office that very first day too. Ah, such are the joys of Management!

This weekend will be quiet (and a nice 3-day weekend at that). Next weekend is a marathon of running around like a lunatic with women’s group on Friday, my youth ministry certification class Saturday day, mass, a girl’s night with some of the girlfriends from high school on Saturday night, volunteering with my dad to deliver Thanksgiving dinner baskets to families in the town where my parents live on Sunday morning, and youth group Sunday night.

Life can never just naturally spread itself out, can it?

Oh, and an LC and Darryl update (they are the ones with the really mean, trouble-making neighbor below them). They are moving! LC’s parents are getting ready to retire in the next 2 years (LC’s mom has been a first grade teacher for many years, and should have retired long ago, but she loves it so much. She is basically being given a package in 2 years to make room for young blood). They have bought a house that went up for sale 5 doors away from LC’s sister (and 2 minutes away from where LC and Darryl currently live). So, since the parents are not yet ready to move from NY to CT, they told LC and Darryl to sell their condo and live in the house the parents bought for the next 2 years. LC and Darryl will have to contribute to the mortgage the amount they paid for their mortgage in the condo. It’s a great way for them to get out of a bad situation, the only bad side is that even in the 2 months since LC and Darryl last spoke to their realtor the price they can ask for the condo has dropped about ten thousand dollars. The housing market is really starting to tank, I guess. I barely know, I’ve been in my condo almost 10 years now, if anyone can believe that!

Have a safe and fun weekend! God bless!

Farewell Massachusetts Man...

I bid a fond farewell to my Massachusetts pen pal this morning. I thought about it all weekend and I felt it was really for the best. He was not surprised and I can’t say he disagreed.

As I stated in previous posts, he was a nice man with a lot of the qualities that I need to find in a future husband, if I am meant to marry (like living by all of the teachings of the Catholic Church--a partnership with someone who doesn't just wouldn't work, believe me, I have tried to compromise and it leads to disaster and resentment. I'd rather stay single and I mean that in all sincerity!). Believe it or not there are some guys out there that do live lives similar to what mine has been over the past several years--it’s just a matter of finding those guys, because they are few and far between, especially in today’s society!

However, in addition to those obviously critical similarities that we must have in order to be able to create a life together, there are also the other “regular” factors that come into play for two people getting to know each other, for example, am I attracted to him, do we share similar interests and goals, is he funny, etc.

We were on the same page exactly with all of the first area, in the second area it was more difficult to tell. As I had told you guys before, he was so kind and really genuine, but he really seemed to be quite serious. The fact that he was his mom’s sole caregiver (despite having 3 siblings, 2 of which were local) bothered me some. It came across to me that his older, married siblings took the fact that Massachusetts man (hereafter called MM) was unmarried for granted and expected him to bear the complete burden.

I am all for caring for our parents as they age—hey, they raised us—but, this situation was really not good. The mom clearly is suffering from some sort of Alzheimer’s/dementia and they are having trouble getting a doctor to diagnose her. My mom’s mom had Alzheimer’s and I know first-hand how hard it is to care for a person with that disease as it progresses and the patient declines. I am not sure how MM expects to be able to be his mother’s sole caregiver, work a job, and start and raise a family (having a family is his dream). He seems very resistant to relocation, due to his mother (and that being said, he needs to be more upfront about that, especially if he is going to be contacting women who are NOT in Massachusetts). Also, not to be completely selfish, but does a woman who is newly married and looking to start a family want to her have her elderly mother-in-law in the house with her? If I am being truthful, in this situation, I have to say that that I do not think so (but I think I am more inclined to say that because I didn’t really know MM, if I knew a man and loved him and knew his family and circumstances, I think I would/could feel differently about that situation—I’d never ask my husband to ditch his mom for me either, you know?)

Finally, MM never asked me anything of substance. He liked me on the surface—a cute photo and a great profile. He thought I was cute and he knew I was religious. I think he thought that was all it took and we can leave the rest to God. I like to try to leave a lot of the big things to God, but I also like to be an informed consumer! Find out more about me! Ask questions without asking too many questions? Find out about my life, my family, my friends, my job. Ask something. That’s how you really tell someone you are interested, no?

Today I ask that we pray for MM. That his mother get a firm diagnosis on her illness, that he get support and assistance in caring for her, and that the Lord, if it is His will that MM be married, send him a woman who lives locally who could fit in with his situation and be a supportive partner.