Last week Daniel and I were asked to be the pro-life chaircouple for our parish’s Knights of Columbus council, and we accepted the position. Obviously Daniel is the one who is a Knight, not me, but they usually choose a couple for this particular chair position, and the fact that we are young and have a baby made us appealing to the Grand Knight. Anyway, I’m really excited about this because the abortion issue is something I have always been really passionate about. Of course, being pro-life is about more than just abortion, but I believe that the right to life is the pre-eminent moral issue of our time.
I had Charlie’s ultrasound images (I had four of them during my pregnancy) spread out on my bed yesterday and was getting all sentimental. It breaks my heart that an unborn child in this country is legally only considered a person if he or she is wanted. And at the abortion clinic in my town, during open hours, one baby is killed every hour.
Daniel and I already have a list of pro-life activity ideas for our parish, and I can’t wait to get started.
I’m sure many of you have heard about the 40 Days for Life program taking place all across the nation. It began on September 22 and is the sixth campaign since 2007. Please join in fervently praying for an end to abortion everywhere. According to the 40 Days for Life website, “Reports document 2,811 lives that have been spared from abortion — and those are just the ones we know about.” That is awesome! Prayer changes things. Get involved—fight for life. Visit http://www.40daysforlife.com for more information.
Also, please pray for Charlie this weekend; he is being baptized on Sunday during noon mass!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
Adventuring
I was that lady this week, for the first time ever. The lady with the crying baby and a gazillion coupons in the grocery store checkout line.
Thankfully it was around one o’clock on a Wednesday afternoon, so the store was almost empty, and I didn’t receive any of the dirty looks that I have heard other women complain of in the past. In fact, the woman behind me in line was jingling her keys in an attempt to cheer Charlie up—a very kind effort, but one which served only to make him (if possible) angrier. The cashier, too, very nicely stepped around the counter to rescue one of my coupons that fluttered to the ground beneath my cart. Passersby looked on in sympathy rather than annoyance, thank goodness.
Apparently poor Charlie was sleepy and just couldn’t manage to drift off in the baby carrier. Then, the moment I stepped through the doors and into the bright sunshine that caused Charlie to pinch his eyes shut, it was as though he suddenly realized that having his eyes closed felt nice. He was out. Yet another everyday event turned into an adventure by a three-month-old.
Yes, my little boy was three months old yesterday (Thursday)! It’s crazy how fast time is going by. I’m sure this weekend will prove to be an adventure as well, when he will be attending his first wedding (the first of three in the next five weeks). Daniel is a groomsman and will need to be there early, so Saturday really will be an all day affair, plus an hour drive there and an hour drive back. I hope Charlie handles everything well… I also hope that I am seated at the reception somewhere near a door or along a wall for an easy escape route.
Then after Mass on Sunday we are getting together with extended family on my mom’s side to celebrate my Pop-pop’s birthday, and later we’ll need to go shopping for food and supplies for Charlie’s baptism reception which is the following Sunday. I’m crossing my fingers that all of this weekend activity doesn’t throw Charlie all out of whack. We’ll see!
Thankfully it was around one o’clock on a Wednesday afternoon, so the store was almost empty, and I didn’t receive any of the dirty looks that I have heard other women complain of in the past. In fact, the woman behind me in line was jingling her keys in an attempt to cheer Charlie up—a very kind effort, but one which served only to make him (if possible) angrier. The cashier, too, very nicely stepped around the counter to rescue one of my coupons that fluttered to the ground beneath my cart. Passersby looked on in sympathy rather than annoyance, thank goodness.
Apparently poor Charlie was sleepy and just couldn’t manage to drift off in the baby carrier. Then, the moment I stepped through the doors and into the bright sunshine that caused Charlie to pinch his eyes shut, it was as though he suddenly realized that having his eyes closed felt nice. He was out. Yet another everyday event turned into an adventure by a three-month-old.
Yes, my little boy was three months old yesterday (Thursday)! It’s crazy how fast time is going by. I’m sure this weekend will prove to be an adventure as well, when he will be attending his first wedding (the first of three in the next five weeks). Daniel is a groomsman and will need to be there early, so Saturday really will be an all day affair, plus an hour drive there and an hour drive back. I hope Charlie handles everything well… I also hope that I am seated at the reception somewhere near a door or along a wall for an easy escape route.
Then after Mass on Sunday we are getting together with extended family on my mom’s side to celebrate my Pop-pop’s birthday, and later we’ll need to go shopping for food and supplies for Charlie’s baptism reception which is the following Sunday. I’m crossing my fingers that all of this weekend activity doesn’t throw Charlie all out of whack. We’ll see!
Friday, September 10, 2010
Settling Into Fall
Well, almost. I’m so very glad that it seems to finally be cooling down at least. I’ve had enough of 100 degree weather.
Last Friday I was pleasantly surprised by scrambled eggs, a strawberry banana smoothie, coffee, and chocolate cheerios (yum!) in bed. Okay, part of that was a lie. It was my birthday, so I was actually expecting it…but that didn’t make it any less pleasant! The only difference from last year was that this time I was already awake, feeding Charlie his own breakfast in bed when Daniel carried the tray in. Charlie gets his breakfast in bed every day, of course.
The rest of the day was wonderful, too, and although I was home with Charlie all day just like I am every day, it was the best birthday ever because he wasn’t around for any of the others!
On Saturday, my little boy got to attend his second bridal shower—actually it was the shower of his soon-to-be godmother, who is getting married on October 9th. I’m so excited for her! And the rest of the weekend was spent with Daniel and his parents working on building a pergola/awning/shade-providing structure on our patio; we’re really not sure what it would technically be called. But we bought a set of furniture to put under it and hung outdoor curtains (they’re actually fabric shower curtain liners, shhh!), and our patio is completely transformed. Now I can take Charlie to hang out in the fresh air. It’s lovely!
I really don’t have too much to say this week. This weekend should be relaxing since we don’t have too much going on—hopefully housecleaning though. I’m anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Ergo baby carrier I ordered last week. Thanks to those who made suggestions! Now, I’m off to wait outside for my sister Rose who just passed her driver’s license test this afternoon and is driving over here all by herself to see Charlie and me. What a wonderful feeling that is—it feels like so long ago!
Take care all!
Last Friday I was pleasantly surprised by scrambled eggs, a strawberry banana smoothie, coffee, and chocolate cheerios (yum!) in bed. Okay, part of that was a lie. It was my birthday, so I was actually expecting it…but that didn’t make it any less pleasant! The only difference from last year was that this time I was already awake, feeding Charlie his own breakfast in bed when Daniel carried the tray in. Charlie gets his breakfast in bed every day, of course.
The rest of the day was wonderful, too, and although I was home with Charlie all day just like I am every day, it was the best birthday ever because he wasn’t around for any of the others!
On Saturday, my little boy got to attend his second bridal shower—actually it was the shower of his soon-to-be godmother, who is getting married on October 9th. I’m so excited for her! And the rest of the weekend was spent with Daniel and his parents working on building a pergola/awning/shade-providing structure on our patio; we’re really not sure what it would technically be called. But we bought a set of furniture to put under it and hung outdoor curtains (they’re actually fabric shower curtain liners, shhh!), and our patio is completely transformed. Now I can take Charlie to hang out in the fresh air. It’s lovely!
I really don’t have too much to say this week. This weekend should be relaxing since we don’t have too much going on—hopefully housecleaning though. I’m anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Ergo baby carrier I ordered last week. Thanks to those who made suggestions! Now, I’m off to wait outside for my sister Rose who just passed her driver’s license test this afternoon and is driving over here all by herself to see Charlie and me. What a wonderful feeling that is—it feels like so long ago!
Take care all!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Pop Goes Perfection
My Wednesday to-do list (which can be found on a 8×12 framed dry erase board that Daniel recently bought for me to make my lists on, since he was getting tired of finding dozens of little scraps of paper with different kinds of lists scattered all around the house—a fair compromise I think):
- Make bed
- Put away clean dishes
- Wash last night’s dinner dishes
- Fold clean white laundry
- Wash darks
- Take out recycling
- Finish addressing birth announcement envelopes
- Bathe Charlie
- Write blog entry
I used to have much more extensive lists towards the end of my pregnancy when I was home all day but without a baby to take care of. Of course I never finished everything on my daily lists then, and the same goes for now, even though my lists are much shorter. Sometimes I even add things like “Eat lunch” or “Get dressed” so that I can feel accomplished when I cross them off as complete.
To be honest with you, though, a lot of times that second one doesn’t happen these days. It’s just Charlie and me here all day and we don’t usually have anywhere to go and most days it’s been too hot for me to even want to take a walk outside. And pajamas are just so darn comfortable and easy to nurse in…
Do you want to know how many of the things on my list I have gotten finished so far, as it nears the end of the day? Five, including writing this entry. I never got around to addressing those envelopes, taking out the recycling, or doing any laundry at all. But the sink is empty, my baby is clean, and soon enough my weekly blog entry will be sent off to be posted.
If only I could let that sigh of relief last a little longer. But there are a million things that need to be done that didn’t even make it onto my list.
Did Jesus really mean it when he said, “Be perfect, just as your heavenly father is perfect” (Mt 5:48). I’m only the perfect mother, the perfect homemaker, and the perfect wife in my dreams.
Do I give Charlie enough tummy time to ensure his proper development? Am I letting him sit in the baby swing for too long, even if it is the only way he’ll nap for longer than a half an hour? Should I not be reading a book while I’m eating lunch since there is a dryer full of laundry to be folded? Should I wake up before Charlie does to take a shower and get dressed while Daniel is still home, regardless of how tired I am? And I know I should be praying in the wee hours of the morning when I wake up to feed Charlie and change his diaper rather than ever allowing myself to feel bitter towards the man still sleeping peacefully next to me who needs to wake up early and go to work all day.
Obviously, not all of these things fit into what Jesus meant when he used the word “perfect” (the last one is the only one that does I think). I will never be perfect, in that my house will never be spotless and I will never manage to feel perfectly well rested while having the time to exercise regularly; take care of our family finances; shower, dress, and fix my hair beautifully every day; make dinner; and keep up with the amazing amounts of dirty laundry produced my little family of three.
I feel like I’m playing that game called “Perfection”, trying so hard to fit all of the little shapes into the right holes before the timer runs out and the board pop up. I can’t imagine what it will be like when we have more than one child—I know that a lot of you are already at that point and probably have figured out how to juggle everything, and more, way better than I do right now.
What Jesus meant is that we should all be striving for perfection in the spiritual sense. No matter how many times I fail, I should always be trying my very best to love and care for my family as God would have me love and care for them. I should always be striving to center my life in living for Him. This is the kind of perfection Jesus was talking about: we are commanded to be perfect in love. When we are imperfect, that’s what the sacraments are for. Thank the Lord for that!
And as for the other imperfections I mentioned, I can try as hard as I want to and things will continue to get easier for now as Charlie gets older, but at the end of every day I’ll just have to come to terms with the fact that nobody’s perfect. Especially not me!
- Make bed
- Put away clean dishes
- Wash last night’s dinner dishes
- Fold clean white laundry
- Wash darks
- Take out recycling
- Finish addressing birth announcement envelopes
- Bathe Charlie
- Write blog entry
I used to have much more extensive lists towards the end of my pregnancy when I was home all day but without a baby to take care of. Of course I never finished everything on my daily lists then, and the same goes for now, even though my lists are much shorter. Sometimes I even add things like “Eat lunch” or “Get dressed” so that I can feel accomplished when I cross them off as complete.
To be honest with you, though, a lot of times that second one doesn’t happen these days. It’s just Charlie and me here all day and we don’t usually have anywhere to go and most days it’s been too hot for me to even want to take a walk outside. And pajamas are just so darn comfortable and easy to nurse in…
Do you want to know how many of the things on my list I have gotten finished so far, as it nears the end of the day? Five, including writing this entry. I never got around to addressing those envelopes, taking out the recycling, or doing any laundry at all. But the sink is empty, my baby is clean, and soon enough my weekly blog entry will be sent off to be posted.
If only I could let that sigh of relief last a little longer. But there are a million things that need to be done that didn’t even make it onto my list.
Did Jesus really mean it when he said, “Be perfect, just as your heavenly father is perfect” (Mt 5:48). I’m only the perfect mother, the perfect homemaker, and the perfect wife in my dreams.
Do I give Charlie enough tummy time to ensure his proper development? Am I letting him sit in the baby swing for too long, even if it is the only way he’ll nap for longer than a half an hour? Should I not be reading a book while I’m eating lunch since there is a dryer full of laundry to be folded? Should I wake up before Charlie does to take a shower and get dressed while Daniel is still home, regardless of how tired I am? And I know I should be praying in the wee hours of the morning when I wake up to feed Charlie and change his diaper rather than ever allowing myself to feel bitter towards the man still sleeping peacefully next to me who needs to wake up early and go to work all day.
Obviously, not all of these things fit into what Jesus meant when he used the word “perfect” (the last one is the only one that does I think). I will never be perfect, in that my house will never be spotless and I will never manage to feel perfectly well rested while having the time to exercise regularly; take care of our family finances; shower, dress, and fix my hair beautifully every day; make dinner; and keep up with the amazing amounts of dirty laundry produced my little family of three.
I feel like I’m playing that game called “Perfection”, trying so hard to fit all of the little shapes into the right holes before the timer runs out and the board pop up. I can’t imagine what it will be like when we have more than one child—I know that a lot of you are already at that point and probably have figured out how to juggle everything, and more, way better than I do right now.
What Jesus meant is that we should all be striving for perfection in the spiritual sense. No matter how many times I fail, I should always be trying my very best to love and care for my family as God would have me love and care for them. I should always be striving to center my life in living for Him. This is the kind of perfection Jesus was talking about: we are commanded to be perfect in love. When we are imperfect, that’s what the sacraments are for. Thank the Lord for that!
And as for the other imperfections I mentioned, I can try as hard as I want to and things will continue to get easier for now as Charlie gets older, but at the end of every day I’ll just have to come to terms with the fact that nobody’s perfect. Especially not me!
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