The Back-to-School Seven

August 26, 2011 By 6 Comments

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I thought this week would be so easy and I would get so much done. I mean, as of Wednesday I have one less kid during . And it’s the kid who fights with the other walking kid.

I didn’t really factor in the baby having an ear infection. Or my husband working lonnnnnnnng hours. Or exhaustion stemming from both of the above.

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And another thing: I miss her.

I did not expect that. I can keep myself pretty busy with the stuff I need to get done. The half day of kindergarten flew by. What’s another half day on top?

It’s a LOT, I tell ya.

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My office needs an intervention. I’m thinking of scheduling time with the Only Person I Know Who Can Whip It Into Shape.

The problem is, if She comes over, I will HAVE to deal with it.

Go ahead, laugh. I’m going to try it on my own next week. But if I don’t get to it, She will have read this, and She will ask me about it.

(How’s THAT for accountability?)

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Speaking of accountability, I have discovered a great thing. And it is called a writing accountability partner.

Her name is Jennifer Fitz, who blogs at Riparians at the Gate and is the brains behind the Catholic Writers Guild blog. She’s a homeschooling mom of many who writes.

We email each other every day, and she tells me what she’s done and I tell her what I’ve done. I have learned, through these interchanges, a few important lessons:

(1) A sense of humor is not optional in the world of parenting and in the world of writing. When the two worlds collide, it’s EVEN MORE important.

(2) Jen is great. (I suspected this before, but now I have proof. In my inbox. Every single day.)

(3) It is IMMENSELY helpful to have someone who shares your state in life to share your writing hurdles and triumphs with. I have a support system, indeed, and it’s great. Adding Jen to it has filled in a gap I didn’t realize existed.

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Can you tell I’ve been reading a lot of Junie B. Jones in the last week? We’ve read three books in the last two days.

I love that my six-year-old (and even my three-year-old, really) wants me to read to her. I love that she knows how bad Junie is, and that we don’t want to be like Junie. I love that I am gaining insight into the niece I nicknamed Junie long ago.

HOWEVER, there is now a Voice in my head that talks in what I can only call a “Junie B. Jones style of talking.” Once we get through these books, I HAVE TO FIND SOMETHING WITH BETTER GRAMMAR AND EQUAL HILARITY!

Suggestions welcome! (Read as: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE SUGGEST GOOD BOOKS!)

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This week, Weightless: Making Peace with Your Body by Kate Wicker arrived in my mailbox. It happened to arrive on the day where I had to hold the ouchy grouchy baby, so I held him and the book.

I couldn’t put it down. (I don’t often say that about nonfiction.)

I’ll be reviewing it at length, but I couldn’t resist saying here: all the positive things everyone else is saying and raving about this book is TRUE. (Not that I thought it was false, mind you.) GO BUY A COPY RIGHT NOW!

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I’m going to be blogging less in the coming months, because otherwise I might never get my book done. This pains me, but it’s the conclusion I’ve come to.

My plan, starting next week, is to post Mary Moment Mondays and 7 Quick Take Fridays, with the possibility a quick linky-to-other-places sort of post thrown in mid-week.

Sob.

Yes, I do love blogging. But…well…you know how it is. Something about priorities.

(My Junie Voice has something to say about that. But it’s not nice and I’m keeping my hand over her mouth.)

Stop by Jen at Conversion Diary for all the fun that is 7 Quick Takes Friday!

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The Friday Seven: Back to School & Linky Fun

August 19, 2011 By 2 Comments

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I’m back to working out intensely twice a week. I took most of the summer off, so this is week 2. Butt = kicked.

It’s zumba, a sort of Latin dance thing (there’s a video here, and I look about like the guy in the back). We are a bunch of moms, not one of us under 30 (I think), except for the kids who get dragged along. I never would have expected to like it, but there are a couple of factors keeping me going back:

(1) A good friend and I call or text each other. If one of us misses, the other is haranguing her. Accountability is a good thing.

(2) The instructor is really laid back. In fact, she’s a lot of fun. In fact, I like her. Even though she causes me a lot of pain.

(3) The sweating isn’t so bad. The pain isn’t so bad. The laughing is great. I know all the ladies (it’s a group from our parish), and when I feel like it’s too much, I just look over at the 72-year-old lady beside me and realize I could slow down, take a drink, and start over.

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I haven’t noticed that exercise is good for my mental health. I know the facts support that, but I think having a routine will help me more than the exercise, to be honest. And next week, school starts.

School = routine.

Yay!

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Speaking of school, I thought we were all set with school supplies and such. Then my husband looked at me, a bit shocked, and declared that our six-year-old, who will be entering first grade, needed a new outfit. And probably new shoes.

Said six-year-old was in complete agreement.

So, on Wednesday, I sucked it up, found an aunt to take the three-year-old, and took her to the store.

Where I bought her a new outfit and new shoes.

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Those shoes? They were SIZE FIVE!

I’m still in shock. She’s tall, yes, but SIZE FIVE?!?

And then a friend of mine told me that it probably translates into a women’s size seven.

I need a fainting couch.

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My nieces have been cleaning out their closets, and it’s with much rejoicing that I find myself as the aunt who can take hand-me-downs from nieces who are taller and more stylish than me.

That does not, however, make me fabulous, though a writer who I admire very much interviewed me recently and flattered me by calling me just that in her title. Do stop over to see the interesting questions Ginny Kubitz Moyer of Random Acts of Momness posed for me.

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Back to school for kids means back to a stricter writing schedule for me (and the acknowledgement of a looming deadline). Is that why I’m pondering where my office really is on the latest Mary in the Kitchen on the Catholic Foodie podcast? Maybe. Or maybe I’m just in my kitchen a lot. :)

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Arwen, Lisa, and I discussed girlfriends and mom survival this week on the Faith & Family podcast, and I’d love to hear what you think about these topics. I’m not in survival mode the way Arwen is, but I’m in a tough stretch lately, all the same. Listen in and let us know what you think!

Be sure to visit Jen at Conversion Diary for Quick Takes Friday!

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Being the Pencil

August 13, 2011 By 1 Comment

This is my latest “Finding Faith in Everyday Life” column from our diocesan paper:

The calendar year may begin in January, but for me, the year starts anew late each August. The sun has started to change her course and the evenings are starting to cool. The corn fields are fences around us and the sunsets are brilliant and orange.

And then there are the school supplies. There’s something about those aisles of pencils and markers and blank notebooks that beckon me, every year, to something more.

Maybe it touches the inner student in me, reminding me of the fun of school and the appeal of adventures yet to come. Maybe it hearkens to the hope of a schedule in my life and the excitement of a clean slate.

As I zip through the stores, trying to make sure I have the right folders and plenty of extra notebooks, it’s the boxes of plain yellow pencils that make me stop to ponder.

They are stacked, looking delightfully old-fashioned next to their mechanical brethren. They’re rather plain, in cardboard boxes.

I am an unsharpened pencil. Not so long ago, I began my Catholic journey under the tutelage of a wise priest with my devoted beau hand-in-hand with me. It’s all too easy, once I find myself understanding something new about my faith, to think that I’m better than those around me.

It’s all too easy to give in to the hypocrisy that my God is better than your God, that my knowledge is more complete than your knowledge, that my Church is better than your Church. It’s all too easy to turn right into a Pharisee.

Once I am sharpened, however briefly, there is always the reminder of humility and service. I might be at the top of my game, knowing it all and sailing through life, when a long algebra assignment hits, forcing me to calculate and use all my sharpness and most of my eraser, too.

It is only a visit to the Sharpener, through Mass or Adoration or Confession or a combination of all three, that can get my point back.

I don’t always realize I need sharpened, though. I don’t always listen to the scratch of lead on paper, feel the extra tug of dull lead, see the wider mark I make.

That box of plain yellow pencils speaks to me of the potential within all of us and of all God must intend for us. Those pencils could be the instrument for all sorts of brilliance. They shout to me of what I could be and what I could encourage others to be.

They also inspire work from me, work of a sort that I can only do at the beginning of a project, when my heart is still in it and my pencil is still sharp.

A pencil is no good until it’s sharpened. I’m reminded, even as I think of all I can do with that unsharpened pencil, of just what sharpening involves. It’s giving up my selfish inclinations and remembering that I am the tool, not the finished product. It’s a reminder that I’m not aiming for anything of this world, but that I’m on a journey to become a saint.

I have a hard time remembering I’m only the instrument. I think of all a pencil can do and I forget that someone else has to use the pencil first.

Who is using me? Am I letting the right force sharpen me, guide me, write with me? How can I step back and let the masterpiece flow from His hands through my sharpened point?

I found this image at GiveawayScout, and it made me smile, because a good friend just introduced me to the awesomeness known as Ticonderoga pencils.

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Healthy Lunch Box Ideas Video, by Peggy Bowes

September 21, 2010 By 1 Comment

Peggy Bowes has been here before and shared her wisdom. You might know her as the author of The Rosary Workout or a columnist at Catholic.net. Maybe you’ve come across her blogging, Twittering, and Facebooking.

Today, Peggy shares her tips for packing healthy lunches for your back-to-school kids (and I’m going to use some of these when I make lunches for the rest of us — husband included — too!).

Check out the statue of Mary she’s sporting on her kitchen counter. (But I was paying attention to the other tips too!) The website Peggy refers to for the saint of the day information she prints out for her children’s lunches can be found here.

I think I’d like her to make my lunches, after watching this video…

Thanks, Peggy, for sharing your ideas with all of us!

What are your ideas for healthy and/or Catholic box lunches?

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Wordless Wednesday: First Day (from Monday)

September 1, 2010 By 2 Comments

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Mary at the Milestones

August 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment

A Mary Moment Monday post

Today is a milestone day in my life as a mother. In a few hours, a big yellow bus will pull up to my driveway and my oldest daughter will board it.

I’d like to be brave and not have tears coursing down my face when that moment occurs after lunch, but I’m not sure. Perhaps the distraction of laundry piles and writing projects and a two-year-old who wants to go too will keep me grounded and laughing. Maybe my friends on Twitter will be posting things that keep me chuckling and non-nostalgic. Maybe a dog will create some havoc (hey, it happens around here all the time) and I’ll forget all about her being gone.

It’s not like I’m an overly sentimental person. (Don’t let all my tears fool you.) But I do know this is a day of pictures and memories and opportunities.

I can’t help but think of Mary. Today’s the day of the Milestone Mysteries of the rosary, in a way: Jesus is announced, Jesus is recognized in utero, Jesus is born, Jesus is presented, Jesus is lost…and found. We don’t hear much about Jesus’ milestones, outside of these. Oh, there is His public life and ministry, but I’m thinking, today, of the moments His mother would have held dear to her heart, the ones that perhaps only she witnessed: His first steps, His first large building project, His success in some area of early life.

He didn’t get on the bus, but He surely took a series of steps away from her as He grew, just as all children must.

So, today, when I’m tempted to wish away the last few years and make my five-year-old an infant again (which, truthfully, I DO NOT want!), I’m going to turn to Mary. I’m going to say a Hail Mary for those women who long for children, offer a Hail Mary for those who suffer the loss of their children, give a moment of prayer for those who are not fortunate enough to have schooling available to them. Will you join me?

image source

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School Seasons, by Mark Szewczak

August 26, 2010 By 1 Comment

Here we are, the end of the Summer, and the world is full of school preparation activities.  Final shopping expeditions and the back-to-school sales, packing for college or final summer vacations, young folks preparing for the next year or first year of high school, little ones excited about seeing friends again or sorry that endless playtime is over, that very, VERY first day of school. Everywhere the world is taking a large collective breath, counting down, buzzing with anticipation.

Right?

Of course, even for a couple of empty-nesters like my wife and me. I had this worry thing in my mind when our last one left the nest and entered the working world. No grandkids yet. It was strange facing this empty freedom stretching before us through Autumn, into Winter, into the rest of our lives. It sent me into a funk, that idea of growing old and useless and all that.

But…it hasn’t happened yet. I find myself surprised that my world still revolves around the cycle of the school year. Time still is determined by when kids have Christmas breaks, by the school pageants at church, and the anticipation of the Summer recess filled with vacations and outdoors.

What gives? Why am I still in this cycle? I have been thinking a lot about this lately. Old habits die hard? Maybe. After all, it’s been 30-plus years of the school year routine ingrained into our psyches. Yet somehow that doesn’t feel quite right. The question remains: Why do we who are without little ones follow this yearly school cycle?

I think I have part of an answer. See if you agree: the cycle of the school year really isn’t about school. Our little smidgen of God’s universe works in a seasonal flow. We know that, it’s obvious. The school year, holidays, farm planting cycles, work opportunities, the rainy seasons and hurricane seasons and dry times are linked to the cycle of the Earth’s seasons.

We see the school year because we find it familiar. Having kids going to school for 30 years means I still see the year oriented around school. If I was a farmer, I would see the year oriented around soil prep, planting, fertilizing, harvesting. For a baker, the year revolves around holidays and wedding seasons…same with florists. These human, social, work, and school activities overlay the seasons on God’s Earth. The Divine Planner made us a part of this miraculous parade of the seasons. Pretty simple, pretty dramatic. Maybe scary.

Now consider one of Jesus’ teachings as described in the Gospel of Matthew:

Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you…?

And then the take-home message for me:

Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom (of God) and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. (Mathew 6: 26-30; 32-33, New American Bible)

So there is a hint of an answer for me and a great deal of relief. I don’t really worry much anymore about the empty nest. My wife and I are anxious less often about being older or not having kids to send off to school or should we take a vacation in October because we CAN.

My nest may be empty but my life, seeking God’s kingdom, is not ended. I am finding that there are many seasons of social interaction that have always existed but that I didn’t see.

In seeking His kingdom as first priority, the cycle of the year can be one of joy and fulfillment and service. My hours and days in reality are quite full. I realize I have a place here and a part to play, one given to me by our Heavenly Father. A plan in harmony with all the seasons, leading to the Kingdom.

Oh, and that empty nest?  They will all be home to celebrate Labor Day.

Copyright 2010 by Mark Szewczak

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