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| A daffodil! It's a miracle! |
Yet more flowers blooming in our yard this week, including this lovely daffodil. I had a perfect photo framed in my smartphone of Anne sniffing the daffodil, but some sort of automatic focusing feature very boldly took over my camera and by the time it had finished its bossiness, Anne had long since moved on. Bummer.
We arrived at Mass yesterday to find a bulletin chock full of upcoming parish activities, and I have to say that I absolutely love our new pastor. He's very social and friendly, and I can tell that he is really trying to get to know everyone and inject some life into the community. Starting in May, there will be a monthly coffee and doughnuts gathering after the 10 am Mass where Father will be present for lively conversation. I am very much looking forward to this and am thinking of even calling the number listed for volunteers to help with these.
Indeed, Fr. Joe came over to chat with us following Mass, but let me circle back for a moment since I'm jumping ahead, as I'm wont to do. :) I am loving the readings from Acts that we focus on during Easter, and Mass was as joyful as ever. When I brought Anne back to the sacristy for the inevitably demanded trip to the restroom, I noticed some wilting Easter flowers back there, the true sign of our progress through this liturgical season - lily weeding. :0 But the church just has a different feel to it during Easter, just such a sense of satisfied joy.
After Mass, the kids and I stopped to chat with our friend Kendra, and that's when Fr. Joe wandered over from his spin around to any lingerers. He's newly back from a short vacation, so we got the scoop on that. Priests have real lives too, who knew? ;-) We talked to Kendra extensively about her senior project art show, which had been the following evening at a local gallery. She's about to graduate with a bachelor's degree in Art, her specialty is drawing and painting, and so Henry, Anne and I went to support her. It was hard to see everything because it was VERY crowded, but it was a lovely event, and she is very talented. I saw several other people there from our parish, including her parents and a couple people from the music ministry, and I'm really feeling like I'm getting to know people now outside of Mass, which is so, so lovely.
The only one not enjoying all of this post-Mass sense of community is poor, long suffering Henry, who sits politely by with a "can we go now?!" face. It's not easy being 9. :)
Mike and I also had a really nice date night this weekend, aided by the fact that the kids spent the night over at their grandparent's house. This was hard on Mommy who has never had Anne spend the night somewhere besides home, aside from our anniversary getaway back in January. It's always hard with that first sleepover, I remember it from when Henry was littler too. So I struggled a bit with the two empty bedrooms for that night, but Mike and I went out for a nice dinner and a movie, and that time together is always so valuable.
How was your weekend, dear reader?
My parish is getting a new pastor in a few months - I'm looking forward to it! Hopefully we'll enjoy him as much as you're enjoying your new pastor! We really need someone like you described him to be: sociable, friendly, and someone who'll inject some life into our church.
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