Thoughts on Home

Yesterday evening I was pondering the subject of "Home" - mostly the Farm, which in many respects will always be home for me. My parents are selling it and the thought of loosing it is terribly sad to me. I miss it so terribly already - the smell, the feel, the look, the people. The more I remembered, the more I missed it all. I felt rather homeless. Of course, I'm not homeless, but the farm is where my roots are and it is where I grew up and it contains everything that is homey for me.

These thoughts were with me as Chris and I walked up campus to Mass that evening.

During Mass I was rather distracted with more thoughts and emotions flooding in. The feeling of homelessness was so acute. But in the sadness of this loss, and in the stillness after receiving communion, I heard a voice say "I am your Home."

And then . . .

"I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you." (The Gospel reading for the 6th Sunday after Easter)

"In him we live and move and have our being"


"Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.
In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place of you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that were I am, there you may also be."

". . .receive you to Myself, that were I am, there you may also be. . ."

Home is where Christ is. Home is Christ.

And I was comforted in my moment of sadness, loneliness - homelessness.
We are never alone, and we are never homeless.

And I was also filled with gratitude that I am a member of the Church - literally "incorporated into the mystical body of Christ"- thankful that I was there, kneeling in front of the Blessed Sacrament, in that physical church - that I had just received Christ into me - that I was with Christ.

Fascinating

Yesterday, while standing in line for confession in the Philosophy department hall, I surveyed a display board with recent publications from the faculty.  One of the titles contained the following word:

Biopsychosociospiritual

Is that legal?  It took me a long time to figure out how to break it up and read it - that middle section is a toughie - and I was hooked on the word "Biopsy" since the word that came after that conglomeration was "medicine."

The first paragraph of the essay (which was all that was posted) talked about how, for hundreds of years, sickness, death and dying took place in a monastic community.  Monks and brothers were the herb masters and doctors and a large focus of monastic life was on caring for the poor and needy - those approaching death especially.  In such a community the dying were tended to both physically and spiritually (thus the big old word in the title).  The monks and nuns had a way of life and view of death that aided those confronting their own mortality.  The author posits that, although sickness and death as well as medicine and patient care have changed dramatically, we have retained some remnants of this sort of care . . . 

and that was all that was posted.  

Fascinating

  

Our little deck

Confession and the Cubs

Yesterday contained:
* A brisk walk around campus (I finally found a route all the way around campus, about a 1.5 mile walk. The Texas blue bonnets are in full bloom - great patches of deep blue. A small, trickling stream, sure to be dry in a month, but flowing now with spring rain - it smelled so good. )
* Mass
* A chat with Dwight and Emma (while being fascinated with Ike as he tumbled town hills, wandered off into shrubs and generally investigated the world around him "boy" fashion - i.e. lots of physical contact).
* Then confession with Father Robert (who apparently has a reputation for being a sage, since the line outside his office trailed down the hall and around the corner. We waited for 2 hours - but well worth it. We both felt Father Robert must know us, since his advice was so spot on. Can we say "152 insights into my soul?")
* Off to "the Rat" to watch the Cub's game. (The Rat is short for The Rathskeller - the on-campus deli, which happens to have TVs. A great alternative to the sports bar for grad students. Oh, and the cubs won - it was a fun game.)

Today's Gospel

Gospel
Jn 14:21-26

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me.
Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.” Judas, not the Iscariot, said to him, “Master, then what happened that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?” Jesus answered and said to him,“Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me. “I have told you this while I am with you. The Advocate, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name he will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.”

Birthday Girl

Today Grace is 9! It is so hard to believe. She is growing up so quickly.
I remember the day she was born - Saturday April 17, 1999. It was the evening of Prom. I left the house in the late morning to get my hair done. When I returned, Missy (who happened to be the only one home) was in the early stages of labor, but thought perhaps it was just false labor. She painted my nails and put on my lipstick :) By this time labor was picking up and I was seriously considering not going to Prom. But, Missy convinced me I had to go. So, with a heavy heart I left my dear sister. I don't think I was a very good date that evening - rather distracted and very much wanting to be with my sister.
While we were getting pictures taken and eating dinner, and my parents were at a youth group event half way across Wisconsin, a friends mom raced Missy down to the hospital - turned out it wasn't false labor. My parents arrived just minutes before little Grace Anne came.

I remember getting the phone call while in the restaurant. Missy - announcing Graces arrival - Grace - little baby crying softly in the background. I cried too.

I didn't see Grace until the next morning - Holding the little girl in my arms, so sweet - my nails still painted.
I loved her from the moment I heard her voice on the phone - loved her with all my heart.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRACE!

Visitors - Expected and Unexpected

The expected visitor tonight brought us the Internet! Though in the past we've been able to tap into UD's wireless (when the wind is right and students are sleeping or in class), we decided to officially get it. We are splitting the cost with our neighbors, Joe and Polly, who will be able to tap into our wireless

The unexpected visitor was rather surprising! We just looked out the window and there he was.

It looped itself along our railing, down a pole, out onto the side of the house.  In an attempt to wedge itself between the siding and facia, it fell to the ground and slithered away.  We're not sure what kind of snake it was - most certainly not a rattler, although it did shake it's tale at us violently - it lacked the rattles.  And we're not sure where it came from. Most likely (and a horrid thought indeed!) it was living in the roof of our little patio.  There is a very small gap between the roof and facia - and there have been many tales of other condo dwellers confronting the same creatures crawling from similar locations.  The most well know tale is of a rattler spending several happy years up there, feasting on the young birds whose parents inevitably built their nest in his lair year after year.  Eventually the snake had to be removed by taking apart the roof and extracting him - he had grown too large to fit out the original hole - or so the story goes.  (Disclaimer: everything is bigger in Texas :)

Cardinal Francis Arinze

Cardinal Francis Arinze visited the University of Dallas yesterday. Along with saying the noon Mass on campus he gave a lecture on "Inter-religious Dialogue and Evangelizing" which Chris and I both attended. The cardinal was a very good speaker - funny, engaging and motivating. It was fun being back in an academic setting. A wonderful evening!

"Get this book (The Catechism of the Catholic Church). If you don't have this book, sell your overcoat and buy this book. You won't need your overcoat for another 6 months anyway."

The Weekend

The weekend contained:

Dishes, laundry, cleaning the bathroom (finally!), taxes (procrastination!!!), reading, dinner with friends, Frisbee, Mass, baby baptism (Charles Augustus Wendland)

Other activities included listening to the Cubs games online, watching the house finches and sparrows feast at our feeder and hop around on our patio (the seed spills out of the feeder onto the patio - even the morning doves ventured onto our patio)

It was a beautiful weekend - cool, sunny, a bit windy.

Sunday was Good Shepherd Sunday - The Gospel reading was from John 10:11-16.

Ponder:
Jesus guides us, leads us, cares for us. He calls us to follow him. He lays down his life for us.
Do we hear His voice? Do we follow Him? Even to the cross?
Only goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life - even if I walk in the valley of the shadow of death (from the Sunday psalm) - for the Lord is my shepherd.

Baby Judah

Pictures from my visit home in early March. Judah was just over 2 weeks old when I was home - he's now 7 weeks! Be sure to check out Missy's blog for current pictures and a beautiful entry about life with a newborn. I can't believe what a "big boy" he is!

Currently Reading

John Henry Newman's "Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine"
The "essay" is about 400 pages long and not exactly light reading. But, wow, is it good (so far I've only just finished the introduction)


I just finished reading "By What Authority?: An Evangelical Discovers Catholic Tradition" by Mark Shea, which follows the logical/theological journey Shea finds himself on as he attempts to defend Christianity against modernism from a "bible only" stance. Concise, well written, easy to follow. I would highly recommend it for anyone interested in better understanding the nature of Tradition and Authority in the Catholic church.

Chris is currently reading "Joseph Ratzinger: Life in the Church and Living Theology" by Maximilian Heinrich Heim. He'll be writing a book report on it for class.

Thoughts on the "Mostly Raw Diet"

Well, yes, um, about that diet.
(cough cough)
How about that basketball game last night!?
We had a grand evening out at a friends house watching the national championship game. Jonathan is one of our very few friends who has a TV, so he ends up playing host whenever there is any major sporting event. He seams to enjoy it though, especially since he usually ends up with a few extra bears in the fridge and at least one bag of chips and can of salsa.

Diet? What? Yes, well . . .

After both of us arrived home from work with raging headaches, upset stomachs and no energy . . . we modified things just a little. Perhaps easing into this "raw" business would be better. So, nuts, the occasional potato and whole grain item and a few cooked veggies are now back on the menu. (I found great recipe for carrot soup that I am going to try tonight. There were 8-10 ENOURMOUS carrots in our produce basket this week. When Chris says he "ate a carrot for lunch" he means he consumed about 1 pound of carrot.)

Last night consisted of an apple and nuts for a snack and a big salad (lettuce, spinach, purple cabbage, fresh basil, red onion, fresh tangerine chunks, cashews) and oven roasted rosemary potatoes for dinner.

On a different note - after dinner we both felt well enough to take a leisurely walk around campus. The weather has been absolutely beautiful lately and campus is now in full bloom - Iris beds, rose bushes, blooming trees. We soaked in the beautiful evening, thankful for a small patch of nature so close to us in this big, noisy city.

The Mostly Raw Diet

Today we started a variation on The Raw diet.

Phase 1 = Two weeks of a select group of fruits and veggies - mostly raw, though I am willing to lapse into cooked items.

Phase 2 = 2-3 weeks of a broader fruit/veggie diet with a few additions - legumes, potatoes, squash and perhaps the occasional whole grain item as well as plain yogurt and milk. Yet to be determined is weather or not we will Feast on Sundays and allow a small portion of meat.

The final stage will essentially be a continuation of phase 2, with more whole grains, rice, perhaps even the occasional slice of bread and healthy sweet! and most certainly meat on Sundays.

The goal is first, to "cleans the system" (that's phase 1). Second, to lose some weight and balance metabolism. Third, just to get healthy - stop putting stuff in our system that it doesn't need and is really not good for it.
(Incidentally we joined a co-op from which we receive a basket of fresh produce every Saturday for only $10 a week. It's more produce than we could normally eat in one week - but with this diet we'll burn right through it)

So far everything is going well.
We'll keep you posted.

4 Week Old Laundry

4 Weeks without a washer creates quite the pile of laundry!

5 weeks ago, just before I was leaving for a 10 day stay in Wisconsin, we discovered a slow, steady leak coming from our washing machine. The machine still worked, but produced a river of water, streaming out from under the washer, around the legs of our pantry shelf, back behind our water heater, out into the kitchen floor. And it just wasn't working soaking it up with towels - the pile of clothing decreased slightly but the pile of soaking wet towels grew. It was time to get a new one!

After negotiations with our landlord and searching Craigslist and scratch and dent stores, we found a nice, fairly new stacked washer/dryer unit. Finding the unit was tricky since it had to stack and had to be small enough to fit in the tiny nook in our little pantry at the back of our small galley kitchen in our less-than-spacious condo. But we found one!

So, last Saturday, Chris and I rented a truck from Lowes, made the 30 min drive to the pick up location and purchased the unit. And despite all the smallness that was required the machine was huge! There was nothing for it but to muster up our strength and load it up. It was superhuman-like. Chris on one end, me and the very nice young woman who sold it to us on the other - staggering across the apartment courtyard - taking a breather at the truck - one last heave and onto the flatbed - wide-eyed looks of amazement at the effort!

The loads of laundry were diminishing in my mind as we drove home.

The cement flight of stairs up to our condo was looming large in Chris's mind.

"Honey, how are we going to get that beast up our stairs?"

So we rang up all the big strong guys we knew (which wasn't many. There's something about liberal arts Graduate students. . . not usually the biggest and the strongest who don't even need to exercise.) But, we were feeling pretty confident by the time we rolled up to 1800 C.

The guys loved it. Who doesn't like a little community project on a beautiful Saturday afternoon? The ladies watched on the sidelines as the men discussed the techniques and options for carrying the gargantuan machine up the stairs. Finally, the white beast was lifted, mounted the stairs, slowly through the doorway, across the living/dining room, a brief stop at the edge of the kitchen to ensure it would fit between the fridge and counter, then eased back into it's spot, stopping with just enough room to squeeze back and hook up the water lines and vent. Good work by the men!

The pile of laundry had almost disappeared in my mind!
A quick run to Lowes - dropped off the rental truck, picked up some supplies and back to hook everything up.

3 hours later we were still trying to "hook everything up" - but 15 years of corrosion doesn't budge very easily. One of the old supply hoses was rusted fast onto the valve and no amount of twisting, turning or banging would loosen it. Finally my heroic husband cut the hose off with a snips! A few more connections and we would be filling the tub and washing away!

There are 2 "Rules of Connecting a Washer" that I learned while working with my Dad. When connecting the hose to the plastic inlet valves on the washer 1) Don't cross thread them. 2) Don't over tighten. Well, I didn't do either of those. I just tried to unscrew the old hose - the wrong way! Needless to say, the threads on inlet valve no longer existed by the time I realized what I was doing.

To wrap up this overly long story . . .

• I stripped the inlet valve
• I attempted numerous "home fixes"
• None of them worked
• We finally called a repairman
• The pile of laundry grew for 6 more days
• The repairman came on Friday and
• We now have a beautiful working washer and dryer
  

Who knew staying home and doing laundry on a Friday night could be so great! It was just about the most exciting thing to hear the water filling, load the stinking clothes into the tub and here the whirring of the spin cycle. Small delights!

The final episode in this long story was waking up Saturday morning, having left a load in the dryer and a load in the washer the night before (there were a few more loads in the baskets as well). Chris rolled over in bed and said "I have a surprise for you - but no hints." When I walked into the living room, there were piles of folded laundry covering the couch! What a husband! He had gotten out of bed after I fell asleep and dried and folded, dried and folded, dried and folded. .

Here at the frontier there are falling leaves.
Although my neighbors are all barbarians,
And you, you are a thousand miles away,
There are always two cups on my table.

Though my neighbors are not all barbarians, you, you are a thousand miles away . . .

and thus this blog.
To share with you the small, daily events of our quiet life.