just another day of Catholic pondering by Sarah Reinhard
1. Laundry on the line. Nuff said.
2. I have not shaved my head, despite my inability to figure out how I will get this new hairstyle to work.
3. Though my desk is a mess, and though I have at least two projects that need my attention, I’m going to log off and run errands, smell horses, and play with girls.
Share your small successes at Faith & Family Live today!
1. I broke down and asked for help with the mop on my head that some call hair. Is it curly? Is it straight? It’s actually some of both, and being pregnant isn’t helping. So today I went with my sister-in-law and came away…pretty. *happy sigh*
2. Potty training, despite the setback of a urinary tract infection this week (hers), is progressing nicely. In fact, I’m giving my sister-in-law a special gift to thank her, because without her little spurs in my side, I would have totally waited.
3. I have been sleeping in, and it’s helping with the morning nausea. I have been drinking clear carbonated beverages, and that too has been helping with the daytime nausea. I have been slacking on quite a few things and accepting help with a certain rambunctious two-year-old, and that had been helping with…well, the mental nausea. 
Share your small successes today over at Faith & Family Live.
1. We have had a few weeks of Medicine Wars with one of our children. Though perhaps the motivation method I’ve resorted to would be frowned upon in some circles, it’s working for us. And that is a success (and less of a headache).
2. Last week, obsessed with my two-year-old being rid of the stinkin’ pacifier, I cut all of them. Every. Single. One. And…she’s been pretty fine about it. And…so have I.
3. This week, because of some wonderful help from a sister-in-law, a niece, and a mother-in-law, we have started Potty Training. And…she’s been pretty fine about it. And…so have I.
(The real success, in case you were wondering, are my being fine with things.)
Now, celebrate your small successes over at Faith & Family Live!
1. I took a little blogging break this week, because life took over (and it wasn’t worth sharing what I wanted to say). Does this mean I’m prioritizing better or that I didn’t manage my time well? A little of both, I think, but I’m still counting it a small success.
2. I hung laundry out on the line. Though it may not be folded, it is clean and dry and wonderful-smelling.
3. I said “thank you” (instead of “how much do I owe you?”) to the aunt who totally spoiled my daughter yesterday.
Share your successes, small and otherwise, at Faith & Family Live today.
Today is the feast of the Annunciation, a mystery I contemplate frequently.
Today is also Thursday, which means that while I’m thinking about Mary’s Yes, I’m also thinking about the small successes of my week.
So many of my successes involve when to say Yes.
Yes, I will get you some chocolate milk. Yes, I will vacuum. Yes, we can go outside. Yes, I’ll go to work today and be productive (as much as is possible).
Each Yes, though, involves a No. I hadn’t thought of that until I heard Jeff Young talking about it on episode 64 of the Catholic Foodie.
No, I won’t burn away an hour checking email. No, I won’t get this book finished tonight. No, I can’t make it to the XYZ parish/family/friend function.
Sometimes, I say Yes to others and No to myself. I might be pursuing the greater good, the calling of my vocation, the small voice of conscience.
Other times, my No, while not making sense to others, preserves the good of those people most important to me, keeps me sane, reminds me of my priorities.
I’ve been examining my Yes’s and No’s with more consideration in the last few weeks. I used to be very concerned with how my Yes or No would affect people’s opinion of me, especially those people who I most want to love me or admire me. Though I’ve grown past that, to some extent, there is still a seed of worry in me.
Do I need to justify my choice of what I’m saying Yes to to anyone other than God? Should I explain or just let it stand?
What will they think? Will they be angry?
Mary’s Yes was a courageous stand, an acceptance of what God asked from her. To say Yes to God, she had to say No to a host of other things.
It wasn’t easy. She stands before me, a mentor on my journey toward discerning when to say Yes to God and No to others and myself.
As I begin my preparation for Total Consecration tomorrow, I’m reminded that I’m saying Yes to God (and No to some of the other things I’d like to be doing in that quiet morning time).
There are blessings and graces waiting for me with each Yes I give God. He gives them back, arranged in a lovely bouquet of graces, a hug of blessings, a smile of strength.
Lord, help me to say Yes to You. Help me to embrace Your will as Mary did. Today, as I go about my daily work, may she guide me always back to You.
1. This week, after farrrrr too long, I went to Confession. (Ahhhh, what a nice, clean, wonderful feeling, leading me to ask, yet again, why I waited so long!)
2. My hair has not been in a ponytail all week (thanks in part to a contraption Jen recommended a while back).
3. We had not one, but two family movie nights in the last seven days. (If you’re curious, we watched Misty and Where the Wild Things Are.)
What are YOUR successes (small or otherwise) this week?
Share them at Faith & Family Live!
1. Though I have mentioned it on Twitter, I have not officially complained about a certain two-year-old’s magnetism for mud. I have resolved, instead, to hold off on potty training until mud season is over, because I can only handle so many outfit changes an hour.
2. I have wanted to give up on a certain Lenten project, but I haven’t. I have also wanted to do more (you know, because I can never do enough), but I haven’t. Instead, I’ve been holding steady, offering my small failures to God as a little gift of humility and taking the graces as a sign of love.
3. Tonight is leftover night, because I’ve been cooking this week (not with a plan, mind you, but still).
You’ll find more small successes today, as you will every Thursday, at Faith & Family Live.
Here at Snoring Scholar, you'll find marriage and motherhood, book talk and rambling remarks, observations and distractions, in the midst of life in rural Ohio on a farm, with kids, critters, and Catholic flair.
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