7-Quick Takes

  Join Jen and the other Quicktakers over at the Conversion Diary.

1. Sam is going to the prom next week with a girl he has known all of his life. Last week I went to help him pick out his tux and then today I went with his friend to match the colors of his vest and tie to her dress. I am also hoping to finally get some senior pictures taken!!!

2. Sam got a haircut today to as did Gabe. I didn’t actually plan to get their hair cut but when I realized I had them both trapped in the van, I sort of just wandered over to the hair cutting place! Gabe’s hair is still long but it’s layered. Sam looks positively dashing!!

3. I will have a post next week about Sean and Carolyn Savage and their new book Inconceivable They’ve been all over the news and talk show circuit this week. I blogged about them back in 2009. I’ve had two exchanges with Mrs. Savage on Facebook and on her blog this week about the Catholic perspective on IVF – which we obviously disagree on. But I just got the book from the library and I’m anxious to read it to get a full understanding of their perspective first.

4. I’m also reading Veiled in Grief which is just so heart wrenching. It’s one Catholic Family’s experience of grief after the death of their 6-year-old son, John Paul. It’s full of sorrow but also deep faith – but it’s hard to read straight through, at least for me.

5. So I know I want a weeping evergreen tree for the front of my house.

I like the Alaskan Weeping Cypress
but I really love the weeping cypress!

6. Back when my mom was going to St. Mary’s College, my grandparents discovered that they just didn’t have enough money to pay for college and music lessons and everything else by themselves. So they told mom that she was going to have to give up piano lessons for the year, which she did. She also took a job in the cafeteria and worked there as well as finishing off her degree.  In the meantime, my grandpa planted a field of soy beans with the express purpose of using that harvest to go towards college tuition.  Turns out he had a great crop and by working together like that, my mom was able to graduate without any debt.

7.  I mention that story because my sister had it on her heart to provide a little scholarship to a high school senior who was going to need a little bit of help towards her education costs, but was also a hard worker and a talented musician.  So today sis handed out the very first Maryrose Esquibel Scholarship fund to a lovely young lady named Kayla.

My sister talked about how mom had been involved with music from the time she was a little kid until her final illness. She loved music and she loved sharing music. Her career as a vocal music director at a local high school was perfect for her! and I remember her little operettas and programs.  But then one year the millage didn’t pass and vocal music was cut from the schools. Even though I didn’t quite understand what was going on I remember how devastated Mom was and how worried she was about how she was going to support us. Luckily mom had a history and English certificate so she was hired back on to teach middle school English and social studies. It didn’t take long before the study of American Indians included learning some American Indian music, and the Revolution wouldn’t be complete without some early American music. And what better way to learn Lewis and Clark than to put on a play!  The point was, mom bloomed wherever she was planted and when she did so, she always brought her music with her. Hopefully lovely Kayla will do the same!

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