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1. Our pastor is away for a well-deserved 2 week+ vacation. When Mr. Pete found out about it he looked at me with that wry smile and said, “I should’ve been a priest.” It’s true that priests get a lot more vacation than Mr. Pete does. I’d like to think that there are some benefits to marriage and family life that make up for that, but I guess that would depend on what day you ask him!

2. My littlest daughter is fearless. I took her to the wild animal show at the library yesterday and every time the trainer asked for a volunteer to go up and pet one of the exotic animals (from exotic African Cockroach

to albino python

to chinchilla) she raised her hand! She finally got to go up and touch the Lion faced rabbit!

It’s amazing to me that she would be so willing to volunteer to go up all by herself AND that she has absolutely no fear of any of the animals.

3. Noah surprises me with his ability to remember detail. He remembered from the show the difference between a tortoise and a turtle, and how the chinchilla takes a bath. Nice to know he was not only listening and enjoying the show, but learning some things as well. Do you know the difference between a tortoise and a turtle?

4. I think one of my goddaughters is living with her boyfriend in another state and her parents seem fine with it. I feel a little guilty about this because we have always had a long-distance relationship since she was little. So I’m going to do something sneaky and underhanded that my mother would have done if it were her goddaughter – I’m going to pray for her harder in a very focused way. Sending little religious gifts now and then wouldn’t hurt either.

I tell the story to the Pre-Cana couples every year that when I was in my 20s and sort of drifting away from the Catholic Church (while still hanging on to the edge by my pinky toenail!) my mother would persist in sending me religious gifts and articles. Many of these, I am ashamed to say, I threw away. But many others I tossed into a closet or drawers. When I reverted back to my Catholic faith with enthusiasm, I poured over all of those books and booklets and put the religious articles on my walls and around my home. I was so happy to have them then!

And maybe that’s what my mother knew all along?

5. When a loved one is dying it tests your faith. I had to remind myself of a concrete reason of why I believe in all of it, God, guardian angels, the afterlife etc. I was sharing this with a friend who gave me her guardian angel story. She was driving with her kids on a stormy winter night and some stopped in front of her and she started to skid. Suddenly she heard a voice say, “turn now!” She made a sharp turn and ended up going off the road a bit but she got control of her vehicle and made it back. The next day she went to examine where she had turned so suddenly and noticed that she had missed hitting some poles and other items. Had she hesitated obeying the voice she would have had a collision. Had she not heard the voice at all, she probably would have rear-ended the car in front of her. Guardian angel story? I think so.

6. With my mother’s passing I am getting some funds from insurances and other places. And I feel soooo guilty about it. My sister gave me some of the money from her savings account and I can barely make myself spend any of it. Mr. Pete thinks I’m nuts but I can’t get the image of the last hour I spent with my mother out of my head and it reminds me that she had to go through that so that I could get this money and then I don’t want any of it. This is really an unexpected emotion. I have always thought in the past that it was good if parents can leave something for their children although there is certainly no obligation to. When Mr. Pete’s mom died they had enough money to throw a big party for all the kids and their families and that’s what they did. That seemed right and good. But I guess I never felt so acutely the reality that someone has to DIE to leave an inheritance. Am I whacky or is this just part of grief?

7. Michael Jackson tragic life has been on my mind a lot. Some want to idolize him and others want to demonize him. I think the truth is in the middle. I think he was the victim of child abuse and neglect and it made him the man he grew up to be. The funny thing is, if he hadn’t had the fame and fortune, he probably at some point would have had to quit blaming his father for his messed up childhood and taken responsibility for his own life. But the money made it easier for him to wallow in his lost childhood miseries, and I think that is what ultimately cost him his life at such a young age. What a waste.

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