Last night in the home of the Catholic Librarian...
*brushes teeth*
*pops cute purple toothbrush back into holder. Notes that there are suddenly 2 identical blue toothbrushes also present*
*retreats back to bedroom*
"Honey, didn't you notice that you and Henry both picked the exact same blue toothbrush when you replaced yours recently?"
This toothbrush coloration issue has been vexing us for quite some time. When we're at the dentist every 6 months, she gives us each a free toothbrush. And for literally years, they have all been exactly alike and exactly the same color - blue. When I inquired about this once, she apologetically told me that she had called the company that provides the toothbrushes to ask about this very issue - didn't they make other colors anymore? Because if you live in a dwelling with at least one other person, you want to be able to distinguish between your brushes. And the company had replied something about trying to be more consistent in their color choice? This doesn't really make any sense to me when we're talking about toothbrushes? :-0 You don't want toothbrushes to be consistent, you want them to be different! And I realize that we should be supplementing the free toothbrush supply with toothbrushes that we buy in other colors, but we don't remember to do this all that often, and so it's a constant balancing act with assuring that everyone has a unique toothbrush from what is available in our supply cabinet at any one time. I had only gotten my purple one by begging the dentist to prowl through through the toothbrush drawer in a desperate hunt for something that wasn't blue.
Anyway, back to the quandary of Mike and Henry having identical toothbrushes.
"So one of you is going to have to put tape on yours or something."
"My toothbrush isn't blue. I've been using the same purple toothbrush for the past few months."
😱😱😱
I tried to keep the horror I was feeling out of my expression as I replied: "But MY toothbrush is purple. I've been using a purple toothbrush for the past few months. In fact, it's been such an amount of time that I was thinking it was time to replace it."
I look at him with my nostrils flared, and he looks back at me impassively. He doesn't seem nearly as bothered by this disturbing discovery as I am.
So here's the thing: obviously, I...SHARE THINGS with my husband. You know. THOSE THINGS. I also kiss him on the lips all the time. So why should using the same toothbrush as him be something that causes me to recoil in alarm? I don't know, but there you have it.
"Well, I don't know, but I've definitely been using a purple toothbrush since January. The two blue ones must be the kids'."
I worked to steady my breathing as I made my way back to the bathroom. I flicked on the light and braced myself to confirm the truth. There were the two blue brushes. There was my adorable dark purple number. And there...was a white toothbrush with a lavender stripe. The sigh of relief that I let out left me weak in the knees.
"Honey, we're good." I was breathless from my exciting revelation and jog back from the bathroom. "Your toothbrush is white and just has a light purple middle, whereas mine is all purple. We haven't been using the same one."
He looked confused as to how these both weren't just "purple," and also bemused that this had caused me so much stress.
We can go on being happily married once again. We are using separate toothbrushes. That was a close one.
:-0
Showing posts with label marriage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marriage. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
Monday, March 4, 2019
"So. Your new Fitbit. Didn't you hear it last night?!" A story of false accusation :0
Several nights ago in the home of the Catholic Librarian:
*happily sports new Fitbit Alta HR to bed to track my sleep*
"You love that new Fitbit, don't you?"
"Yes. Her name is Francine."
😇
That night I had a dream that Mike was trying to wake me up, telling me that my Fitbit was beeping incessantly.
Next morning...
"Sweetie, didn't you hear your Fitbit last night?! It was beeping nonstop, it must have an alarm set or something. It was right around midnight."
Oops. I guess that wasn't a dream. 😬
"No, sorry, darling. You know what a deep sleeper I am."
😬😬😬
I spend the next day Googling "phantom Fitbit alarm" and mentally sending sympathy vibes to people in the Fitbit forums reporting that they are in tears over their devices waking them up every single night (and it's ALWAYS overnight, right?! Just like the low battery indicator in your smoke detector?!) despite there being no alarms set. Several odd solutions are offered, all of which I employ. I reset the device, I change the timezone, sync, and change it back. I set an alarm, sync, then cancel the alarm and re-sync. The next night, I am sweating it out a bit that any of these shenanigans actually worked, and hide Francine in the linen closet under a stack of towels.
😀
As would be expected, we hear nothing. The next night, I was too tired to make the trek to the linen closet after getting into bed, so I shove Francine under our mattress. That night at midnight:
I sit bolt upright.
"Why am I awake?"
Mike is snoozing happily beside me as I hear a faint beeping coming from my side of the room.
Well, crap. I lay back down and pray that it doesn't wake Mike. It doesn't, and eventually I drift back to sleep. The next morning, Mike seems to delight in the fact that it woke ME up this time, and not him.
*glares*
At this point, I am mad. I've had kids and suffered through YEARS of sleep deprivation. Now that I am past that, I do not want a freaking rogue fitness tracker waking me up at midnight every night.
I do more online research, and reset Francine yet again. I resolve to keep the Fitbit out in plain sight over the weekend, when the disturbed sleep isn't as catastrophic, so that we know for sure exactly what is going on before calling Fitbit customer support. Otherwise, Francine is going to meet an untimely end.
Snort.
Saturday night, we are at a party until about 11 pm, thus when 11:55 rolls around, we're just getting into bed. Perfect. Midnight strikes.
I look expectantly at my arm. Nothing is happening.
"Look honey! It's midnight, and the Fitbit is quiet. I must have fixed it!"
Then I notice something. There is muffled beeping, but it is clearly NOT coming from Francine. Mike still tries to blame her. 😑I leap out of bed, determined to find the nefarious source of our nighttime trauma.
It seems to be on my side of the room, and I follow it all the way to our door. As I open our bedroom door, the beeping is clearly much louder, and originating on the main floor of our house. I descend the stairs in a run, determined that I will ferret this little *&@!'er out before it stops and we are left in mystery for yet another night. As I get downstairs, the noise becomes downright ear splitting.
I first check the alarm clock in the guest room, because our children seem to delight in setting alarms on that thing for no discernible reason. Nope. I go out into the living room and snap on the light. Could it somehow be the landline phone? Henry's Nintendo Switch? Is one of the remote controls losing it's mind?! I cannot figure out the source of the noise that is now imprinting itself permanently on my brain when I notice something flashing on our fireplace mantle. You know what it was?
Mike's weather station.
!!!
I felt a deep sense of satisfaction as I ripped the batteries out of the weather station and placed it in a heap back onto the mantle. I went upstairs and reported the news to Mike, who was just about to fall asleep in our bed.
😇
"It's your weather station, my love."
He looked dutifully both confused and horrified, as we've had that weather station for years, and never even known that it had an alarm function. I'm certain one of the children was involved in this plot to destroy our lives, but we'll never know for sure.
I've been sleeping like a rock ever since.
*righteous sniff*
Are you reading your Lenten Book Club book?! First post coming on Thursday!
*happily sports new Fitbit Alta HR to bed to track my sleep*
"You love that new Fitbit, don't you?"
"Yes. Her name is Francine."
😇
That night I had a dream that Mike was trying to wake me up, telling me that my Fitbit was beeping incessantly.
Next morning...
"Sweetie, didn't you hear your Fitbit last night?! It was beeping nonstop, it must have an alarm set or something. It was right around midnight."
Oops. I guess that wasn't a dream. 😬
"No, sorry, darling. You know what a deep sleeper I am."
😬😬😬
I spend the next day Googling "phantom Fitbit alarm" and mentally sending sympathy vibes to people in the Fitbit forums reporting that they are in tears over their devices waking them up every single night (and it's ALWAYS overnight, right?! Just like the low battery indicator in your smoke detector?!) despite there being no alarms set. Several odd solutions are offered, all of which I employ. I reset the device, I change the timezone, sync, and change it back. I set an alarm, sync, then cancel the alarm and re-sync. The next night, I am sweating it out a bit that any of these shenanigans actually worked, and hide Francine in the linen closet under a stack of towels.
😀
As would be expected, we hear nothing. The next night, I was too tired to make the trek to the linen closet after getting into bed, so I shove Francine under our mattress. That night at midnight:
I sit bolt upright.
"Why am I awake?"
Mike is snoozing happily beside me as I hear a faint beeping coming from my side of the room.
Well, crap. I lay back down and pray that it doesn't wake Mike. It doesn't, and eventually I drift back to sleep. The next morning, Mike seems to delight in the fact that it woke ME up this time, and not him.
*glares*
At this point, I am mad. I've had kids and suffered through YEARS of sleep deprivation. Now that I am past that, I do not want a freaking rogue fitness tracker waking me up at midnight every night.
I do more online research, and reset Francine yet again. I resolve to keep the Fitbit out in plain sight over the weekend, when the disturbed sleep isn't as catastrophic, so that we know for sure exactly what is going on before calling Fitbit customer support. Otherwise, Francine is going to meet an untimely end.
Snort.
Saturday night, we are at a party until about 11 pm, thus when 11:55 rolls around, we're just getting into bed. Perfect. Midnight strikes.
I look expectantly at my arm. Nothing is happening.
"Look honey! It's midnight, and the Fitbit is quiet. I must have fixed it!"
Then I notice something. There is muffled beeping, but it is clearly NOT coming from Francine. Mike still tries to blame her. 😑I leap out of bed, determined to find the nefarious source of our nighttime trauma.
It seems to be on my side of the room, and I follow it all the way to our door. As I open our bedroom door, the beeping is clearly much louder, and originating on the main floor of our house. I descend the stairs in a run, determined that I will ferret this little *&@!'er out before it stops and we are left in mystery for yet another night. As I get downstairs, the noise becomes downright ear splitting.
I first check the alarm clock in the guest room, because our children seem to delight in setting alarms on that thing for no discernible reason. Nope. I go out into the living room and snap on the light. Could it somehow be the landline phone? Henry's Nintendo Switch? Is one of the remote controls losing it's mind?! I cannot figure out the source of the noise that is now imprinting itself permanently on my brain when I notice something flashing on our fireplace mantle. You know what it was?
Mike's weather station.
!!!
I felt a deep sense of satisfaction as I ripped the batteries out of the weather station and placed it in a heap back onto the mantle. I went upstairs and reported the news to Mike, who was just about to fall asleep in our bed.
😇
"It's your weather station, my love."
He looked dutifully both confused and horrified, as we've had that weather station for years, and never even known that it had an alarm function. I'm certain one of the children was involved in this plot to destroy our lives, but we'll never know for sure.
I've been sleeping like a rock ever since.
*righteous sniff*
Are you reading your Lenten Book Club book?! First post coming on Thursday!
Thursday, May 3, 2018
"Eh, no worries. Everyone will just think you're a crazy person!" Adventures in love and marriage...
Life is an adventure, is it not? And we're often navigating it with our lifelong partner by our side. Even re-reading the title of the post makes me smile, because it brings back a happy and joyful memory from this past weekend. One that I shared with Mike. And that got me to thinking about larger life issues, as my mind is wont to do. :)
So, this weekend I had a dance gig. It was a birthday party, and I was totally solo in terms of other dancers. I navigated the entire thing by myself, setting it up, getting the contract together, and finalizing details of what they were looking for. I haven't done this by myself in a couple of years; my gigs more recently have always involved having another dancer with me. And that other experience a few years ago, wherein I set it up by myself, was the only other one I've ever done. Thus, needless to say, my stomach was in butterflies over this one in the 2 weeks leading up to it. I wanted it to go smoothly, and for everyone to have a good experience. I felt like it was an important milestone in my little career as a pro dancer.
Saturday arrives, and my stomach is doing flip flops all day long. As I was texting with the woman who had hired me (heretofore known as Nice Hiring Lady), I thought to confirm with her that the birthday party was in a banquet room in the restaurant. I don't know why, but I just had a sense of foreboding. 😂She texted back that, nope! They were out in the main restaurant, but not to worry, we would figure it all out when I arrived. And what she meant by that is that my presence was a surprise for the two birthday honorees. So my surprise arrival was not going to be at ALL the way I planned. :0
Not only that, but there was a live band there, and it was LOUD. And crowded. And loud, did I mention that already? I had a standard aux cable for my music, but when we got there we found out that it wasn't compatible with the band's sound system. We had to use my little iPod speakers, and let's just say that wasn't going to make a dent at ALL in that large crowd.
When we arrived, Nice Hiring Lady came out to meet us, and said that I could clandestinely slip in without being seen, so that I could enter just from a tucked away spot within the restaurant. I have to admit, I was dubious: I was wearing a florescent pink costume coverup with a long orange sweater over top because it was so cold. Also because of the cold, I was wearing socks and boots, which *really* made the costume, as I'm sure you can imagine. ;-) My bag holding my music accoutrements and silk veil was covered with bright pink sequins. Mike was carrying my sword in it's sheath. Blending in, we were not. That's when Nice Hiring Lady made the comment from the title, and I knew how much I liked her. 😀I love people with a solid sense of humor!
So we get inside and squeeze our way through the crowd to the dance floor area. I tuck myself into the servers' station, where staff members keep coming out to tell me that I can't be in there, but there's really no where else for me to go without giving away the surprise. So I'm hopping around on one foot over there peeling off my socks and boots, while Mike struggles with the music on the other side of the dance floor. I was expecting the band to take a full break and vacate, and hopefully then the crowd would quiet down a bit, but also nope! Suddenly, they're announcing this surprise arrival (oh right, THAT'S ME), but my music cannot be heard over the din. I waited for a few beats, peeking out while shrouded by my veil like a freak, and saw Mike finagle up my iPod speakers to the band's microphone. Suddenly, my music could be heard. The first song was already WELL past my precise climactic entrance part, but by that point there was nothing to be done. I sailed out with Veil onto the small dance floor.
Yes, everybody was surprised. Everybody was also still quite loud. :0 But luckily the microphone at least made the sound situation palatable.
It was not at all what I expected. People quickly sealed around me on the small dance floor and there wasn't a lot of room to be flourishy. Therefore, Veil's debut was pretty short lived. This part of the situation was particularly dicey for Sword, but I will say, he did GREAT. Everybody loved him, like usual. Sword and I definitely have a new and happy understanding for gigs like this. ;-) Everything went fantastic, and I had an excellent experience, despite the unexpected circumstances. I could tell that Nice Hiring Lady was also quite ecstatic.
So, at some point, I turn around, and there is my husband: balancing a microphone in one hand, and my sword in another, beaming at me while I belly dance in approximately 5 feet of space at a surprise birthday party, dragging willing women into the circle to dance with me like there was no tomorrow, and I thought to myself...I bet this isn't what he pictured when he married me. 😂 That his bookish wife would become a professional belly dancer, and that we would have weekend adventures with me blinding people with my sheer volume of costume beads, and him brandishing a sword that I will balance on my head. Life does not always turn out the way we plan. But I have to say...I am SO GLAD for that!
Our life is not perfect, and neither he nor I are perfect people. On paper: him a baptized Catholic that currently professes atheism, me a devout Catholic, it seems like an odd match, right? However, we are not only happily married, but more in love than ever. Again, that does not mean that we are without bad days and disagreements. ALL marriages have those, or else the couple is not being honest! But I look at my husband now, and think about how freaking adorable I find him, and that I'm so glad that he's the "party guest" I will be escorting home, and I know that he feels the same way. ;-) It's as we feared when we were all kids: old people really DO still think about and do *those things*, and not only that, but it's WAY BETTER than when we were younger! :0
My marriage is a sweet gift that I do not feel worthy of. This year has had some tough moments in it for me, and Mike has never given up on me. He is always there to support and reassure me. I know that he will always be there for me. Our marriage means as much to him as it does to me. And that means THE WORLD to me.
Someday, (hopefully, many, many decades from now) one of us will pass away, and our marriage will come to it's natural end. It's until death parts us. But until then, I want to enjoy every moment that I have with this wonderful man. I hope that we still have hundreds of adventures in our future, many memories still to be made.
Apparently, this is a sappy post! Would you also like to sing the praises of your significant other? Have at it in the comments!
So, this weekend I had a dance gig. It was a birthday party, and I was totally solo in terms of other dancers. I navigated the entire thing by myself, setting it up, getting the contract together, and finalizing details of what they were looking for. I haven't done this by myself in a couple of years; my gigs more recently have always involved having another dancer with me. And that other experience a few years ago, wherein I set it up by myself, was the only other one I've ever done. Thus, needless to say, my stomach was in butterflies over this one in the 2 weeks leading up to it. I wanted it to go smoothly, and for everyone to have a good experience. I felt like it was an important milestone in my little career as a pro dancer.
Saturday arrives, and my stomach is doing flip flops all day long. As I was texting with the woman who had hired me (heretofore known as Nice Hiring Lady), I thought to confirm with her that the birthday party was in a banquet room in the restaurant. I don't know why, but I just had a sense of foreboding. 😂She texted back that, nope! They were out in the main restaurant, but not to worry, we would figure it all out when I arrived. And what she meant by that is that my presence was a surprise for the two birthday honorees. So my surprise arrival was not going to be at ALL the way I planned. :0
Not only that, but there was a live band there, and it was LOUD. And crowded. And loud, did I mention that already? I had a standard aux cable for my music, but when we got there we found out that it wasn't compatible with the band's sound system. We had to use my little iPod speakers, and let's just say that wasn't going to make a dent at ALL in that large crowd.
When we arrived, Nice Hiring Lady came out to meet us, and said that I could clandestinely slip in without being seen, so that I could enter just from a tucked away spot within the restaurant. I have to admit, I was dubious: I was wearing a florescent pink costume coverup with a long orange sweater over top because it was so cold. Also because of the cold, I was wearing socks and boots, which *really* made the costume, as I'm sure you can imagine. ;-) My bag holding my music accoutrements and silk veil was covered with bright pink sequins. Mike was carrying my sword in it's sheath. Blending in, we were not. That's when Nice Hiring Lady made the comment from the title, and I knew how much I liked her. 😀I love people with a solid sense of humor!
So we get inside and squeeze our way through the crowd to the dance floor area. I tuck myself into the servers' station, where staff members keep coming out to tell me that I can't be in there, but there's really no where else for me to go without giving away the surprise. So I'm hopping around on one foot over there peeling off my socks and boots, while Mike struggles with the music on the other side of the dance floor. I was expecting the band to take a full break and vacate, and hopefully then the crowd would quiet down a bit, but also nope! Suddenly, they're announcing this surprise arrival (oh right, THAT'S ME), but my music cannot be heard over the din. I waited for a few beats, peeking out while shrouded by my veil like a freak, and saw Mike finagle up my iPod speakers to the band's microphone. Suddenly, my music could be heard. The first song was already WELL past my precise climactic entrance part, but by that point there was nothing to be done. I sailed out with Veil onto the small dance floor.
Yes, everybody was surprised. Everybody was also still quite loud. :0 But luckily the microphone at least made the sound situation palatable.
It was not at all what I expected. People quickly sealed around me on the small dance floor and there wasn't a lot of room to be flourishy. Therefore, Veil's debut was pretty short lived. This part of the situation was particularly dicey for Sword, but I will say, he did GREAT. Everybody loved him, like usual. Sword and I definitely have a new and happy understanding for gigs like this. ;-) Everything went fantastic, and I had an excellent experience, despite the unexpected circumstances. I could tell that Nice Hiring Lady was also quite ecstatic.
So, at some point, I turn around, and there is my husband: balancing a microphone in one hand, and my sword in another, beaming at me while I belly dance in approximately 5 feet of space at a surprise birthday party, dragging willing women into the circle to dance with me like there was no tomorrow, and I thought to myself...I bet this isn't what he pictured when he married me. 😂 That his bookish wife would become a professional belly dancer, and that we would have weekend adventures with me blinding people with my sheer volume of costume beads, and him brandishing a sword that I will balance on my head. Life does not always turn out the way we plan. But I have to say...I am SO GLAD for that!
Our life is not perfect, and neither he nor I are perfect people. On paper: him a baptized Catholic that currently professes atheism, me a devout Catholic, it seems like an odd match, right? However, we are not only happily married, but more in love than ever. Again, that does not mean that we are without bad days and disagreements. ALL marriages have those, or else the couple is not being honest! But I look at my husband now, and think about how freaking adorable I find him, and that I'm so glad that he's the "party guest" I will be escorting home, and I know that he feels the same way. ;-) It's as we feared when we were all kids: old people really DO still think about and do *those things*, and not only that, but it's WAY BETTER than when we were younger! :0
My marriage is a sweet gift that I do not feel worthy of. This year has had some tough moments in it for me, and Mike has never given up on me. He is always there to support and reassure me. I know that he will always be there for me. Our marriage means as much to him as it does to me. And that means THE WORLD to me.
Someday, (hopefully, many, many decades from now) one of us will pass away, and our marriage will come to it's natural end. It's until death parts us. But until then, I want to enjoy every moment that I have with this wonderful man. I hope that we still have hundreds of adventures in our future, many memories still to be made.
Apparently, this is a sappy post! Would you also like to sing the praises of your significant other? Have at it in the comments!
Tuesday, November 21, 2017
A 15 year milestone this Thanksgiving week...
Happy Thanksgiving week to all of my American readers! This is one of my favorite weeks of the entire year - I rarely take vacation days in the summer, and instead use them at Thanksgiving and Christmas to take an entire week off. So I'm home this week, watching Christmas movies on the Hallmark Channel, crocheting in my jammies, drinking tea, creating a dance choreography in the middle of my kitchen...and all while having the house blissfully to myself.
💃
The kids still have school until Thursday, and as much as I love them, I also love being able to hear the thoughts running through my own head, and being uninterrupted as I do...well, *anything*. GLORY.
I've also been reading, and I'm preparing for our first Advent Book Club post late next week, horray! I own the book in print, but sadly I may need to buy it for Kindle due to my eyes' inability to enjoy print books anymore, ugh. FYI for those of you not in the Facebook group where I already posted this, but Kindle Paperwhites are $30 off this week for Black Friday! I snagged one for Henry. 😎
So, I'm reading, but finishing up another book before I start The Christmas Quilt. I'm also coming up against the Christmas crafting deadline, and crocheting and knitting my little heart out. I need to finish a shawl and a scarf, and start on (yikes!) a pair of mittens and 2 coffee cup cozies. And maybe some dish cloths. It's doable, but I must stay focused. 😳
We're hosting Thanksgiving dinner at our house, so Mike and I are also busy with food planning and preparation. It's a lot going on, but in the best way possible. I love it.
In the midst of all this, Mike and I are celebrating a personal milestone - November 22nd marks the 15th anniversary of our first date. Back in 2002, we met the weekend prior at a gathering hosted by mutual friends. He set up the double date that week, and we went out on what was a Friday that year. It's also the feast of St. Cecilia, my confirmation patron!
*virtual fist bump to the communion of saints*
We became engaged in the autumn of the following year, and were married just over a year after that, in January 2005. Even though this dating anniversary is a much more informal event to commemorate, we still look back on that time very fondly because of the loving involvement of our friends, who are now also married. I almost didn't make the party that weekend because I was scheduled to visit my sister, brother-in-law and nephew for his birthday on November 15th, but a storm on the east coast prevented the trip. And so I met Mike instead.
Our first date was at a restaurant called Cecelia's (I'm not making this up, she's clearly a busy woman up there in heaven), and we go to dinner there often for date nights. Ever since our 10th wedding anniversary, we've started going to Cecelia's every November, on the Tuesday evening prior to Thanksgiving, to mark our dating anniversary. The restaurant sends us a coupon for it and everything. :0 This year is 15 years, and that feels really special!
I remember being in my 20's and wondering if I'd ever meet anyone. Mousy wallflowers who like to read and crochet don't exactly attract the star of the football team, if you know what I mean. I dated a few guys, but not many, before I met Mike, and none of the relationships were long-term or very serious. I feared that my reserved, introverted nature meant that I would never find a companion with whom to share my life.
And then I met another reserved introvert, and the rest is history. :) 15 years later, I'm more in love with my husband than ever, and very glad that God brought us together. *heart*
What are you up to this week, dear readers? How are your Thanksgiving plans shaping up? I'd love to hear from you!
💃
The kids still have school until Thursday, and as much as I love them, I also love being able to hear the thoughts running through my own head, and being uninterrupted as I do...well, *anything*. GLORY.
I've also been reading, and I'm preparing for our first Advent Book Club post late next week, horray! I own the book in print, but sadly I may need to buy it for Kindle due to my eyes' inability to enjoy print books anymore, ugh. FYI for those of you not in the Facebook group where I already posted this, but Kindle Paperwhites are $30 off this week for Black Friday! I snagged one for Henry. 😎
So, I'm reading, but finishing up another book before I start The Christmas Quilt. I'm also coming up against the Christmas crafting deadline, and crocheting and knitting my little heart out. I need to finish a shawl and a scarf, and start on (yikes!) a pair of mittens and 2 coffee cup cozies. And maybe some dish cloths. It's doable, but I must stay focused. 😳
We're hosting Thanksgiving dinner at our house, so Mike and I are also busy with food planning and preparation. It's a lot going on, but in the best way possible. I love it.
In the midst of all this, Mike and I are celebrating a personal milestone - November 22nd marks the 15th anniversary of our first date. Back in 2002, we met the weekend prior at a gathering hosted by mutual friends. He set up the double date that week, and we went out on what was a Friday that year. It's also the feast of St. Cecilia, my confirmation patron!
*virtual fist bump to the communion of saints*
We became engaged in the autumn of the following year, and were married just over a year after that, in January 2005. Even though this dating anniversary is a much more informal event to commemorate, we still look back on that time very fondly because of the loving involvement of our friends, who are now also married. I almost didn't make the party that weekend because I was scheduled to visit my sister, brother-in-law and nephew for his birthday on November 15th, but a storm on the east coast prevented the trip. And so I met Mike instead.
Our first date was at a restaurant called Cecelia's (I'm not making this up, she's clearly a busy woman up there in heaven), and we go to dinner there often for date nights. Ever since our 10th wedding anniversary, we've started going to Cecelia's every November, on the Tuesday evening prior to Thanksgiving, to mark our dating anniversary. The restaurant sends us a coupon for it and everything. :0 This year is 15 years, and that feels really special!
I remember being in my 20's and wondering if I'd ever meet anyone. Mousy wallflowers who like to read and crochet don't exactly attract the star of the football team, if you know what I mean. I dated a few guys, but not many, before I met Mike, and none of the relationships were long-term or very serious. I feared that my reserved, introverted nature meant that I would never find a companion with whom to share my life.
And then I met another reserved introvert, and the rest is history. :) 15 years later, I'm more in love with my husband than ever, and very glad that God brought us together. *heart*
What are you up to this week, dear readers? How are your Thanksgiving plans shaping up? I'd love to hear from you!
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
Anniversay trips and more New Year's resolutions...
 |
| Anniversary breakfast |
And so this weekend, as I dwelt in my contentedness, I was thinking about happiness and New Year's resolutions. I've been talking about New Year's resolutions a lot, but it's because I find them so valuable. I'm a tenacious sort of person - which is both good, and bad, trust me. ;-) Sometimes, I *should* let things go, and don't (many bad previous relationships come to mind), which has its own set of problems. But I find New Year's resolutions important because I tend to really want to stick to them, and thus I put a lot of thought into what I want to do better or differently each year. This year I have officially set my resolutions as:
- Make wellness a priority in three realms: physical fitness, emotional/psychological, and spiritual.
- Don't worry so much!
- Try to be more amenable to change.
- Be more positive about work.
Worry has been a lifelong battle for me, but hope springs eternal! And change? It's not always bad. Sometimes a new way of doing something may require an initial investment of time or skills that does not appeal to me, but the end result can be much more convenient or time-saving. I need to allow myself to try new things for different, more pleasing results sometimes. I really, really hope that I stick to this.
Besides that, I've been working quite hard to improve my spirits about my day job. So far so good, and after a fantastic team conversation, I'm feeling a lot more hopeful about our future teaching direction and load. Overall though, I need to cease the negative thoughts and complaints about how challenging it has been. It *has* been challenging (as in, major s*$!fest :0) but dwelling on that is not helping me. I'm going to focus on the positive changes we're making, and remain hopeful that things will be better. I'm also going to focus on the multitude of SUPER FUN things I have coming up this winter and spring: dance classes, performance and workshops, cute things with Mike and the kids, Lent and Easter approaching, enjoyable blogging and writing projects...in fact, I even have a *belly dance road trip* this spring. :0 That's some good blog fodder, right there!
In that vein, let's start thinking about collaborative projects here on the blog. Anybody up for a Lenten book club or read-along? If you have ideas for titles, please do leave them in the comments!
Thursday, May 19, 2016
Tea Time with Tiffany #49 - Fruits of the spirit, & good God do I LOVE my husband...
Morning all! I am in a VERY chirpy mood this morning, for this late May edition of:
Today I talk about novena fruits, upcoming June novena plans, more book talk! And...I'll just say it. My husband is HOT. :0 He is! And I love him more after 13 years than ever before. What inspired this outpouring of wifely devotion? View on, dear viewer!
**To subscribe to the audio version of Tea Time with Tiffany, just search for it in iTunes or use this link to subscribe via Feedburner in your podcatcher of choice. Intro music is "Tea Ceremony" from PlayonLoop.com
Items mentioned in this episode:
Today I talk about novena fruits, upcoming June novena plans, more book talk! And...I'll just say it. My husband is HOT. :0 He is! And I love him more after 13 years than ever before. What inspired this outpouring of wifely devotion? View on, dear viewer!
**To subscribe to the audio version of Tea Time with Tiffany, just search for it in iTunes or use this link to subscribe via Feedburner in your podcatcher of choice. Intro music is "Tea Ceremony" from PlayonLoop.com
Items mentioned in this episode:
- Sacred Heart novena. You can sign up to receive the prayers via email each day!
- The Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, by Fr. John Croiset
- Upcoming Catholic Book Club discussion about chapters 1-5 of Church of Spies
- My recent post about upcoming summer reads!
- Anne's birthday post.
- Amish fiction book that I'm currently reading: Hannah's Courtship, by Emma Miller.
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
A weekend of reflecting on love and marriage...
Well hello to you all, and I'm happy to be with you again after a long weekend! I was blissfully away on my little anniversary getaway with Mike for a few nights, and we were terribly sad to come back, though happy to be reunited with the kids. I unfortunately developed some sort of nasty cold right before we got back, so I'm typing my happy recollection post over here with an unfortunate fever rash. :( (Gross! Sorry, I know). The perils of having very fair skin, I'm afraid.
At any rate, I have LOTS to tell you all, but we'll get to all of that over the course of this week. Today I wanted to focus on my trip and some quick thoughts on wedding anniversaries. Got your beverage? I've just about sucked down my entire giant travel mug of coffee, but that's just the way things roll on the first day back to work after a long and glorious weekend.
Let's circle back to Friday. Mike and I dropped the kids with their grandparents and headed north to beautiful and quaint Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. We went last year as well, to commemorate our milestone 10th wedding anniversary. This year is not a milestone, but we figured "why not? life is short" and booked our reservations back in the fall.
In a fortuitous difference as compared to last year, the weather was beautifully seasonal and not Sear The Skin Off Your Face cold. I mean, as I described in last year's post, we're all about the winter weather, but the cold front that came through 12 months ago really knocked our socks off. The wind chill was dangerously frigid, and people were RUNNING from shop to shop to avoid having even the smallest bits of uncovered skin exposed to the elements. It was wild. This year we were like:
"Oh look, the lake! Let's go take a walk down by it."
Last year was:
"There's a lake here?!"
And when the lake in question is LAKE ONTARIO, one would think you would spot it pretty easily. But it was just all hazy with blowing and drifting snow last year, and you couldn't get *near* the water. This year, while cold and snowy, was very manageable and winter wonderland-like.
So we checked into the idyllic inn that we usually stay at, and headed to afternoon tea. If you've never been to Traditional Afternoon Tea at the historic Prince of Wales hotel, this is something you *must* check out should you ever be in the area. We settled into a cozy table and happily ordered our tea. It was sublime:
We lingered and chit chatted to our hearts' content before heading out to some of our favorite shops. Unsurprisingly, given my sweet tooth, my very favorite is the quaint fudge shop, where I procured multiple bricks of fudge for the kids and I. And herein we encountered something distinctly foreign (but good) to our American sensibilities: the mechanism for paying by credit card outside of the U.S. I've never traveled anywhere internationally aside from Canada, but I believe this applies pretty much everywhere. :) We're very behind the times when it comes to protecting against credit card fraud, to be sure. So in Canada, when you pay by credit card, they bring over this handheld credit card device, even right to your table in restaurants (where you can put the calculated tip in and everything, very convenient). And if you have a card with a chip in it (and not all Americans do; Mike and I have brand new cards that have a chip as of only a few months ago) there is apparently a separate slot for you to put it in, rather than swiping it. I did not know this. ;-) So when I went to pay for the fudge, the nice fudge lady brought that machine out, and I tried to look like I knew what I was doing, because the machine was different from the mounted ones I'm used to in stores. I carefully swiped, then accidentally switched the language to French when prompted, because, you know, I'm CLUELESS. And so I was staring at it innocently, hoping for an instruction to pop up that I could discern and discreetly maneuver my way back to my native tongue, when the fudge lady looked down at what I was doing and raised a knowing eyebrow:
"Are you from the U.S.?"
I wonder what tipped her off? :0
"Yes." *sheepish*
"Your card has a chip, so you have to put it in here, with the chip facing up. But I don't think you all have PIN's yet in the same way that we do, so it won't ask you for that. Then you just follow the directions, and it will tell you when to remove the card."
Whew. After that I could pretend a lot easier than I was adept at using those machines, I just had one further accidental switch to French in the liquor store. ;-)
With our fudge secured, we enjoyed a lovely walk up and down the main street, and some quiet time before dinner:
I'm not usually so pushy, but I asked our waiter to take a photo of us. It was a special occasion. :)
OK, SO! Highly amusing anecdote surrounding dinner. Mike and I are all blissful, contentedly eating our meals and sipping cocktails, when I notice something. Back story: last year on our anniversary trip, we were sitting in this very same restaurant, and during the course of our dinner, we spotted our neighbors from a few doors down sitting at the bar. That didn't seem particularly odd, as Niagara-on-the-Lake is not a long drive from where we live, and January is Ice Wine Festival season there. A bit of a coincidence, certainly, but nothing crazy. A number of people drive in to attend ice wine events and tastings, which are very well regarded in the Niagara wine region. They were chatting with another couple, so we didn't interrupt them to go say hello. Plus, it's not like we really *know* them anyway. We always greet each other politely if we encounter each other out on Halloween or at the annual Block Party, but that's about the extent of it. So, flash forward again to this past Friday night. Now, bear in mind, while still January, we're at Niagara-on-the-Lake on a totally different weekend than we were last year, due to having to switch our trip for Mike's grandma's funeral. I'm lifting a wedge of cheddar cheese to my mouth and nearly drop it back onto my plate:
"HONEY."
Mike is taking a sip of his drink and lifts an eyebrow at me in acknowledgement.
"I think that's one of our neighbors at the bar, the wife."
Mike turns and quietly chokes on his Manhattan.
"Well, that's definitely the husband next to her, so it has to be them."
"It's a different weekend, so I didn't think...what are the chances?!"
Different weekend, but yet we're in the exact same spot as them at the exact same time on a now annual basis? That's really uncanny.
"Do you think they're here for the ice wine festival?"
"I don't know, but now I'm dying to find out. Do you think we should go say hello?"
"That seems awkward, since they're with friends. But if we wait to mention this coincidence until the next time we happen to bump into them back at home... that seems even *weirder,* don't you think?! We'll look like stalkers."
Can you imagine the potential future encounter?
"Oh hey, how are you? Nice day we're having, yes. Say, we had occasion to notice that you like to travel to Niagara-on-the-Lake every January, two years running, and dine at the Prince of Wales lounge. Are you ice wine fans?"
It's like a scene out of a Hitchcock film.
It was a quandary, to be sure. In the end, like the introverts that we truly are, we left without saying anything to them. And then the next time we run into them in our neighborhood we'll totally freak them out by mentioning all of this, just you wait. That'll definitely be a bloggable moment. :0
Back in our room, we settled into our bliss:
I LOVED our room. (aside from the loud trio of groomsmen attending a local wedding situated across the hall from us). It had two wing back chairs by the gas fireplace, in addition to lots of other cute and homey built-ins and furnishings. As I mentioned above, Mike and I are both introverts, and we were VERY content to have what I call Parallel Solitude: me in one chair crocheting, he reading in the other. No TV, no music, just silence and an occasional noise from the fire. It was comforting knowing the other person was there, and we'd exchange thoughts every now and then as we sipped our wine. But the quiet time was just...so wonderful. When you have small kids, you come to really appreciate quiet moments. And Mike and I, in particular, are people who love quiet. And to be alone. I treasure having a partner who knows and understands that. Don't get me wrong, we enjoy our together time as well. We certainly had lots of occasion for that on this trip. ;-) But we can both comfortably rest in our own thoughts and recharge without the other feeling left out or lonely. Bliss, I tell you, the best of both worlds:
We had just a fantastic time. Oh! And we went to the vigil Mass on Saturday night, absolutely divine. On Sunday morning before we left, we took another walk down by the lake and spotted some adorable water fowl:
Lots of Canada geese and Mallards, to be sure. But I also spotted what looked to be some sort of Tern, and Bufflehead. We enjoyed watching and listening to them for a spell.
To be honest, it was so idyllic I felt a bit melancholy coming back. It was a really wonderful weekend. And I'll get sappy for a moment. I've always loved and appreciated my husband. But this weekend made me reflect on that even further. We've been married for 11 years, together for 13 years counting dating and engagement. And after that time, I can honestly say that I am still VERY much in love with my husband. Very much. No marriage is perfect, nor any human person, and we're no exception to that. But 11 years ago, when I chose him, I chose well. I chose a sweet and loving partner who suits me well. Who makes me laugh every single day. Who I find irresistibly attractive. And I am very grateful to God for helping us to find each other.
How was your weekend, dear reader? Tomorrow is going to be a Catholic Book Club review day for Raising the Barre, looking forward to discussing it with you!
At any rate, I have LOTS to tell you all, but we'll get to all of that over the course of this week. Today I wanted to focus on my trip and some quick thoughts on wedding anniversaries. Got your beverage? I've just about sucked down my entire giant travel mug of coffee, but that's just the way things roll on the first day back to work after a long and glorious weekend.
Let's circle back to Friday. Mike and I dropped the kids with their grandparents and headed north to beautiful and quaint Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. We went last year as well, to commemorate our milestone 10th wedding anniversary. This year is not a milestone, but we figured "why not? life is short" and booked our reservations back in the fall.
In a fortuitous difference as compared to last year, the weather was beautifully seasonal and not Sear The Skin Off Your Face cold. I mean, as I described in last year's post, we're all about the winter weather, but the cold front that came through 12 months ago really knocked our socks off. The wind chill was dangerously frigid, and people were RUNNING from shop to shop to avoid having even the smallest bits of uncovered skin exposed to the elements. It was wild. This year we were like:
"Oh look, the lake! Let's go take a walk down by it."
Last year was:
"There's a lake here?!"
And when the lake in question is LAKE ONTARIO, one would think you would spot it pretty easily. But it was just all hazy with blowing and drifting snow last year, and you couldn't get *near* the water. This year, while cold and snowy, was very manageable and winter wonderland-like.
So we checked into the idyllic inn that we usually stay at, and headed to afternoon tea. If you've never been to Traditional Afternoon Tea at the historic Prince of Wales hotel, this is something you *must* check out should you ever be in the area. We settled into a cozy table and happily ordered our tea. It was sublime:
 |
| Adorable, right?? The tea was good too. ;-) |
"Are you from the U.S.?"
I wonder what tipped her off? :0
"Yes." *sheepish*
"Your card has a chip, so you have to put it in here, with the chip facing up. But I don't think you all have PIN's yet in the same way that we do, so it won't ask you for that. Then you just follow the directions, and it will tell you when to remove the card."
Whew. After that I could pretend a lot easier than I was adept at using those machines, I just had one further accidental switch to French in the liquor store. ;-)
With our fudge secured, we enjoyed a lovely walk up and down the main street, and some quiet time before dinner:
 |
| Dinner! |
OK, SO! Highly amusing anecdote surrounding dinner. Mike and I are all blissful, contentedly eating our meals and sipping cocktails, when I notice something. Back story: last year on our anniversary trip, we were sitting in this very same restaurant, and during the course of our dinner, we spotted our neighbors from a few doors down sitting at the bar. That didn't seem particularly odd, as Niagara-on-the-Lake is not a long drive from where we live, and January is Ice Wine Festival season there. A bit of a coincidence, certainly, but nothing crazy. A number of people drive in to attend ice wine events and tastings, which are very well regarded in the Niagara wine region. They were chatting with another couple, so we didn't interrupt them to go say hello. Plus, it's not like we really *know* them anyway. We always greet each other politely if we encounter each other out on Halloween or at the annual Block Party, but that's about the extent of it. So, flash forward again to this past Friday night. Now, bear in mind, while still January, we're at Niagara-on-the-Lake on a totally different weekend than we were last year, due to having to switch our trip for Mike's grandma's funeral. I'm lifting a wedge of cheddar cheese to my mouth and nearly drop it back onto my plate:
"HONEY."
Mike is taking a sip of his drink and lifts an eyebrow at me in acknowledgement.
"I think that's one of our neighbors at the bar, the wife."
Mike turns and quietly chokes on his Manhattan.
"Well, that's definitely the husband next to her, so it has to be them."
"It's a different weekend, so I didn't think...what are the chances?!"
Different weekend, but yet we're in the exact same spot as them at the exact same time on a now annual basis? That's really uncanny.
"Do you think they're here for the ice wine festival?"
"I don't know, but now I'm dying to find out. Do you think we should go say hello?"
"That seems awkward, since they're with friends. But if we wait to mention this coincidence until the next time we happen to bump into them back at home... that seems even *weirder,* don't you think?! We'll look like stalkers."
Can you imagine the potential future encounter?
"Oh hey, how are you? Nice day we're having, yes. Say, we had occasion to notice that you like to travel to Niagara-on-the-Lake every January, two years running, and dine at the Prince of Wales lounge. Are you ice wine fans?"
It's like a scene out of a Hitchcock film.
It was a quandary, to be sure. In the end, like the introverts that we truly are, we left without saying anything to them. And then the next time we run into them in our neighborhood we'll totally freak them out by mentioning all of this, just you wait. That'll definitely be a bloggable moment. :0
Back in our room, we settled into our bliss:
 |
| See my crocheting resting on the arm of the chair by the fire? Complete heaven, right there. |
 |
| "I need a picture for my blog!" He's such a good sport, is it any wonder why I adore him so much? |
To be honest, it was so idyllic I felt a bit melancholy coming back. It was a really wonderful weekend. And I'll get sappy for a moment. I've always loved and appreciated my husband. But this weekend made me reflect on that even further. We've been married for 11 years, together for 13 years counting dating and engagement. And after that time, I can honestly say that I am still VERY much in love with my husband. Very much. No marriage is perfect, nor any human person, and we're no exception to that. But 11 years ago, when I chose him, I chose well. I chose a sweet and loving partner who suits me well. Who makes me laugh every single day. Who I find irresistibly attractive. And I am very grateful to God for helping us to find each other.
How was your weekend, dear reader? Tomorrow is going to be a Catholic Book Club review day for Raising the Barre, looking forward to discussing it with you!
Thursday, July 16, 2015
Tea Time with Tiffany Episode 8 - What role does faith play in your marriage?
Hi all! I hope that you're having a smashing week. Mine has been quite lovely, I think I'm still riding the high of the feast of St. Kateri. :) And now, it's time for another edition of:
Today I chose to talk about the topic suggested by Cindy a few months back, which is faith in marriage. There are so many possible variations here in terms of the role faith plays in the lives of each spouse within a marriage. And then of course, there is the question of the role that faith plays in the marriage itself. Regardless of your specific situation, I think that certain overarching spiritual considerations are at play for all of us. My story? View on. :)
This is a very personal topic, probably the most so of these video posts that I've done. And thus, before I recorded this, I prayed for the Holy Spirit's wisdom (since God knows, I don't always have any on my own!). And it is my hope that by sharing my story, it will be helpful to someone out there. I hope also that my brief discussion does justice to the beautiful, multi-dimensional sacrament of marriage, and to the man that I am privileged to share my life with, my absolutely adorable and sweet husband, Mike.
Items mentioned in this episode:
Today I chose to talk about the topic suggested by Cindy a few months back, which is faith in marriage. There are so many possible variations here in terms of the role faith plays in the lives of each spouse within a marriage. And then of course, there is the question of the role that faith plays in the marriage itself. Regardless of your specific situation, I think that certain overarching spiritual considerations are at play for all of us. My story? View on. :)
This is a very personal topic, probably the most so of these video posts that I've done. And thus, before I recorded this, I prayed for the Holy Spirit's wisdom (since God knows, I don't always have any on my own!). And it is my hope that by sharing my story, it will be helpful to someone out there. I hope also that my brief discussion does justice to the beautiful, multi-dimensional sacrament of marriage, and to the man that I am privileged to share my life with, my absolutely adorable and sweet husband, Mike.
Items mentioned in this episode:
- Prayer! So much prayer.
- Novenas and chaplets. You've come to the right girl for that one!
- Our Lady Undoer of Knots Novena
- 54 Day Rosary Novena
- St. Monica. I mention in the video that St. Monica prayed unceasingly for her son, Augustine, a story which we're all likely very familiar with. But I didn't realize that prior to this time in her life, St. Monica in fact prayed her husband into the faith, and is the patron of wives!
- Servant of God Elisabeth Leseur, and her book The Secret Diary of Elisabeth Leseur: The Woman Whose Goodness Changed Her Husband From Atheist to Priest
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Scenes from our perch in the igloo of America...
This morning, in the home of the Catholic Librarian...
"Honey, I'm so glad that you slept better last night."
You know, because he wasn't emptying bowls of water all night.
"Yeah, I did. I feel like a new person."
*beams*
"Did you come up with a plan for dinner?"
Oh. Right, I was supposed to do that.
"No, I forgot. But we have that chicken thawed in the refrigerator..."
Ugh. Please don't mention the word "thaw" to me right now, it's a sore subject. :0
"I know!" *feels proud of self* "We can make that smothered chicken recipe, the one in the skillet with cheese and bell peppers? Do we have any bell peppers from the garden in the freezer?"
"I think so."
"Grand! We'll just need a side dish."
"Maybe I can come up with something. Do you have any ideas?"
"Something ricey."
"Ricey?"
"You know, not just *rice*, but something in the ricey family. You know, with beans, or chiles, or something funner than just rice."
Funner. I make these things up as I go along.
"Ooooooo.K." *Mike makes amused eyebrow arch* "I'll have to see what's in the pantry, but I'll do my best. I have an exam to give today, so I'll be home early."
Which means he can start dinner. Win!
This is all assuming we can both make it up the Driveway of Death, but other than that, we're surviving quite nicely. ;-) The ceiling has stopped leaking, that would also be a WIN. The roofing company is coming today to remove ice from that part of the house. Although that costs money, I'm still seeing it as a win. We're in for warmer temperatures this weekend and next week (and by "warmer," I mean 40 degrees Fahrenheit, heat wave baby!) so we should see significant reduction in the snow pack and I think we're all seriously ready for that. Can I hear an Amen?
All this, AND I'm thinking of upgrading my Kindle, which I am utterly excited about. Do any of you have a newer 7th generation Kindle or Kindle Paperwhite? Let's discuss. :) I need something to brighten these winter days!
"Honey, I'm so glad that you slept better last night."
You know, because he wasn't emptying bowls of water all night.
"Yeah, I did. I feel like a new person."
*beams*
"Did you come up with a plan for dinner?"
Oh. Right, I was supposed to do that.
"No, I forgot. But we have that chicken thawed in the refrigerator..."
Ugh. Please don't mention the word "thaw" to me right now, it's a sore subject. :0
"I know!" *feels proud of self* "We can make that smothered chicken recipe, the one in the skillet with cheese and bell peppers? Do we have any bell peppers from the garden in the freezer?"
"I think so."
"Grand! We'll just need a side dish."
"Maybe I can come up with something. Do you have any ideas?"
"Something ricey."
"Ricey?"
"You know, not just *rice*, but something in the ricey family. You know, with beans, or chiles, or something funner than just rice."
Funner. I make these things up as I go along.
"Ooooooo.K." *Mike makes amused eyebrow arch* "I'll have to see what's in the pantry, but I'll do my best. I have an exam to give today, so I'll be home early."
Which means he can start dinner. Win!
This is all assuming we can both make it up the Driveway of Death, but other than that, we're surviving quite nicely. ;-) The ceiling has stopped leaking, that would also be a WIN. The roofing company is coming today to remove ice from that part of the house. Although that costs money, I'm still seeing it as a win. We're in for warmer temperatures this weekend and next week (and by "warmer," I mean 40 degrees Fahrenheit, heat wave baby!) so we should see significant reduction in the snow pack and I think we're all seriously ready for that. Can I hear an Amen?
All this, AND I'm thinking of upgrading my Kindle, which I am utterly excited about. Do any of you have a newer 7th generation Kindle or Kindle Paperwhite? Let's discuss. :) I need something to brighten these winter days!
Monday, January 12, 2015
A smashing anniversary getaway for the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord...
Happy Monday everyone! I am back and absolutely aglow from my anniversary weekend trip. I hope that you all had a beautiful feast of the Baptism of Our Lord, and last weekend in the Christmas season. We're now back on Ordinary Time until Ash Wednesday in mid-February, but no need to worry about that just yet. ;-)
So, my weekend! Mike and I traveled north to Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada, and I wanted to describe the highlights, since we had such a sublime time. I realize now that I should have taken more photos, I'm so bad about that. But I was busily enjoying the moments, so I guess I can't be too hard on myself for that. Let's begin at the beginning, and I usually tell you to get your tea for these long posts, which is extremely appropriate given how we started our weekend.
*levitates*
I mean...Oh my. As soon as we checked in (at a quaint inn, our room had a fireplace!) we headed to the historic Prince of Wales hotel and their Drawing Room for afternoon tea. To say that it was magnificent doesn't even come CLOSE to describing it. Mike and I had the place to ourselves, and chose to sit in a cozy nook by the fire. Here's Mike, displaying our table. :)
We each selected a tea, and can I tell you, it's all downhill from here with regard to tea. :0 NOTHING can live up to the tea that we had there, and I would have bought a boatload to bring back if the prices hadn't made one gasp in discreet shock. DIVINE, that's the only way to describe it. We also were brought a tiered platter of tiny sandwiches, warm scones, cookies, macaroons, fruit, quiche, and other pastries, all served with clotted cream, butter and fresh raspberry jam. I mean...
I was so cozy, happy and absolutely contented, I was just beside myself. It was *magnificent*.
Mike: "You're really happy, aren't you?"
Me: "Are these fresh pink roses?! What? Oh my, yes!"
I was beaming the entire day. And our room at the inn was just adorable, I had that fireplace going day and night. And isn't it refreshing to know that even over the course of 10 years, some things never change?
Mike: "Are you warm enough yet, sweetie?" *beads of sweat appear on forehead*
Me: *bundled in fleece from head to toe* "Yes, FINALLY! But don't turn the fire off! I'll get cold again."
Women and the cold body temperature thing, I definitely have that, while Mike is the exact male opposite. :)
It wasn't all my own cold chemistry this weekend though. A cold front had moved in off of Lake Ontario, and hello! There is Niagara-on-the-Lake. We knew it would be cold, and I packed my new giant wool cowl, which I wore constantly:
And we're hearty Western New Yorkers, we're used to cold. Right?
Well. :) There is cold, and there is COLD. This was cold that we're not really used to. We'd get outside, bundled in our wool and fleece accessories, and have this conversation about a half dozen times over the course of the weekend:
"This isn't so bad! I mean, it's cold, but..."
*walk to intersection of street*
BAM!
Wind that felt like icy knives assaulted our faces.
"Oh. We'd better go back inside. Else, we may die."
It as *insane,* everyone was talking about it. I have rarely felt wind chill quite like that. People were *running* from store to store, because being outside, even all bundled up, was just unbearable. We did what we could to see a few sights, but we did stay inside a lot. :)
But our outings did include a vineyard (ice wine season, come to mama!) and a trip to the local fudge shop for the kids. We enjoyed some wonderful meals, including our Saturday night official anniversary dinner at a winery. AND, we went to the vigil Mass at the very cute local parish for the feast of the Baptism of the Lord:
Mike: "Is this Mass going to be any different because we're in Canada?"
Me: "Um, no. There may be a slightly different scripture translation used for the readings...oh HELLO cute Canadian missal!"
Upon entering our pew I espied the hymnal plus a missal that I'd never seen before. It was much smaller and squatter than the missalettes I'm used to at our parish. I liked the way it fit into my hands so easily. Sure enough, when I opened it, I noticed that the reading translations were slightly different than in my Magnificat, and the copyright page noted that this missal was "approved for use in Canada." It included a lovely monthly calendar of saint feast days celebrated in Canada, and each Sunday had a reflection written by a Canadian. I kind of loved it. :0 I immediately bonded with it and placed my prayer cards in it to use as bookmarks for the readings and our place in the Order of Mass. I wished that I could take it home with me. ;-)
And the Mass was lovely. I missed my own parish, but I could tell that this was a close community of members. Loved.
I was sad when Sunday morning rolled around and it was time for us to leave. The wind chill had finally normalized somewhat, so we walked to a breakfast spot, and then were able to take a walk closer to the water before packing up to head home. I miss our little winter oasis. :)
I am SO glad that we went on this trip, and we've vowed to go back to Niagara-on-the-Lake for a weekend, just the two of us, when we get to our 12 year anniversary. The freedom to just spend uninterrupted time together and spontaneously do what we pleased for two days, it was just wonderful.
We got back Sunday to a happy reunion with the kids, and all is well. How was your weekend, dear reader? Leave me a comment. :)
So, my weekend! Mike and I traveled north to Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada, and I wanted to describe the highlights, since we had such a sublime time. I realize now that I should have taken more photos, I'm so bad about that. But I was busily enjoying the moments, so I guess I can't be too hard on myself for that. Let's begin at the beginning, and I usually tell you to get your tea for these long posts, which is extremely appropriate given how we started our weekend.
I mean...Oh my. As soon as we checked in (at a quaint inn, our room had a fireplace!) we headed to the historic Prince of Wales hotel and their Drawing Room for afternoon tea. To say that it was magnificent doesn't even come CLOSE to describing it. Mike and I had the place to ourselves, and chose to sit in a cozy nook by the fire. Here's Mike, displaying our table. :)
We each selected a tea, and can I tell you, it's all downhill from here with regard to tea. :0 NOTHING can live up to the tea that we had there, and I would have bought a boatload to bring back if the prices hadn't made one gasp in discreet shock. DIVINE, that's the only way to describe it. We also were brought a tiered platter of tiny sandwiches, warm scones, cookies, macaroons, fruit, quiche, and other pastries, all served with clotted cream, butter and fresh raspberry jam. I mean...
I was so cozy, happy and absolutely contented, I was just beside myself. It was *magnificent*.
Mike: "You're really happy, aren't you?"
Me: "Are these fresh pink roses?! What? Oh my, yes!"
I was beaming the entire day. And our room at the inn was just adorable, I had that fireplace going day and night. And isn't it refreshing to know that even over the course of 10 years, some things never change?
Mike: "Are you warm enough yet, sweetie?" *beads of sweat appear on forehead*
Me: *bundled in fleece from head to toe* "Yes, FINALLY! But don't turn the fire off! I'll get cold again."
Women and the cold body temperature thing, I definitely have that, while Mike is the exact male opposite. :)
It wasn't all my own cold chemistry this weekend though. A cold front had moved in off of Lake Ontario, and hello! There is Niagara-on-the-Lake. We knew it would be cold, and I packed my new giant wool cowl, which I wore constantly:
And we're hearty Western New Yorkers, we're used to cold. Right?
Well. :) There is cold, and there is COLD. This was cold that we're not really used to. We'd get outside, bundled in our wool and fleece accessories, and have this conversation about a half dozen times over the course of the weekend:
"This isn't so bad! I mean, it's cold, but..."
*walk to intersection of street*
BAM!
Wind that felt like icy knives assaulted our faces.
"Oh. We'd better go back inside. Else, we may die."
It as *insane,* everyone was talking about it. I have rarely felt wind chill quite like that. People were *running* from store to store, because being outside, even all bundled up, was just unbearable. We did what we could to see a few sights, but we did stay inside a lot. :)
But our outings did include a vineyard (ice wine season, come to mama!) and a trip to the local fudge shop for the kids. We enjoyed some wonderful meals, including our Saturday night official anniversary dinner at a winery. AND, we went to the vigil Mass at the very cute local parish for the feast of the Baptism of the Lord:
Mike: "Is this Mass going to be any different because we're in Canada?"
Me: "Um, no. There may be a slightly different scripture translation used for the readings...oh HELLO cute Canadian missal!"
Upon entering our pew I espied the hymnal plus a missal that I'd never seen before. It was much smaller and squatter than the missalettes I'm used to at our parish. I liked the way it fit into my hands so easily. Sure enough, when I opened it, I noticed that the reading translations were slightly different than in my Magnificat, and the copyright page noted that this missal was "approved for use in Canada." It included a lovely monthly calendar of saint feast days celebrated in Canada, and each Sunday had a reflection written by a Canadian. I kind of loved it. :0 I immediately bonded with it and placed my prayer cards in it to use as bookmarks for the readings and our place in the Order of Mass. I wished that I could take it home with me. ;-)
And the Mass was lovely. I missed my own parish, but I could tell that this was a close community of members. Loved.
I was sad when Sunday morning rolled around and it was time for us to leave. The wind chill had finally normalized somewhat, so we walked to a breakfast spot, and then were able to take a walk closer to the water before packing up to head home. I miss our little winter oasis. :)
I am SO glad that we went on this trip, and we've vowed to go back to Niagara-on-the-Lake for a weekend, just the two of us, when we get to our 12 year anniversary. The freedom to just spend uninterrupted time together and spontaneously do what we pleased for two days, it was just wonderful.
We got back Sunday to a happy reunion with the kids, and all is well. How was your weekend, dear reader? Leave me a comment. :)
Thursday, January 8, 2015
10 years ago today...
This is what I was doing:
:0
On my way to my (very wintry) wedding! We were delayed a bit by fresh snowfall, but all was well. We arrived at the church right on time, but started 10 minutes late to accommodate guests who had to take it slower on the roads. And the church looked perfectly lovely, decorated to reflect that our anniversary always falls within the Christmas season, just prior to the feast of the Baptism of the Lord:
And here we are, following the conclusion of our nuptial Mass:
We look younger, lol! But we still look plenty young (she tells herself, with feeling... ;-)) And 10 years in, I can say that I have been, and am, very happily married. It isn't always easy living with another person and taking their needs into consideration ahead of your own. But it is very, very worth it. I can't imagine my life without Mike in it. I just remember being at the Basilica of St. Anne-de-Beaupre just prior to when Mike and I started dating, and praying for the right man to enter my life if it was God's will for me to marry. And there Mike appeared. :)
There have been times in our marriage where things were more challenging than others. But we always knew that things would get easier, and they did. And no matter what, we were always committed to each other and to the life we were building together for ourselves and our kids. My marriage is indeed a blessing.
So, for the big milestone, and for the first time since our honeymoon, we're going away by ourselves.
*beams*
We're not going far. We always talked about going back to San Francisco, which is where we honeymooned, but that just isn't feasible right now. So we're spending the weekend about an hour north of here in a cute lakeside area known for it's ice wine. Yes, we got married in the dead of winter in Western New York, yet we keep going northward, we're nuts that way. :) We have reservations at a cute inn, and plan to go to High Tea at a historic hotel there, and to some wineries. Saturday night we're going to the vigil Mass at the local parish (excited to check that out!) and then out for dinner, and almost assuredly, more wine. ;-)
So it'll be romantic and fun, and I'm very much looking forward to it. I won't be blogging tomorrow (someday, I will come back to you, my 7 Quick Takes Fridays...) but I will check in on Monday for sure. Until then dear readers! Happy feast of the Baptism of Our Lord! :)
:0
On my way to my (very wintry) wedding! We were delayed a bit by fresh snowfall, but all was well. We arrived at the church right on time, but started 10 minutes late to accommodate guests who had to take it slower on the roads. And the church looked perfectly lovely, decorated to reflect that our anniversary always falls within the Christmas season, just prior to the feast of the Baptism of the Lord:
And here we are, following the conclusion of our nuptial Mass:
We look younger, lol! But we still look plenty young (she tells herself, with feeling... ;-)) And 10 years in, I can say that I have been, and am, very happily married. It isn't always easy living with another person and taking their needs into consideration ahead of your own. But it is very, very worth it. I can't imagine my life without Mike in it. I just remember being at the Basilica of St. Anne-de-Beaupre just prior to when Mike and I started dating, and praying for the right man to enter my life if it was God's will for me to marry. And there Mike appeared. :)
There have been times in our marriage where things were more challenging than others. But we always knew that things would get easier, and they did. And no matter what, we were always committed to each other and to the life we were building together for ourselves and our kids. My marriage is indeed a blessing.
So, for the big milestone, and for the first time since our honeymoon, we're going away by ourselves.
*beams*
We're not going far. We always talked about going back to San Francisco, which is where we honeymooned, but that just isn't feasible right now. So we're spending the weekend about an hour north of here in a cute lakeside area known for it's ice wine. Yes, we got married in the dead of winter in Western New York, yet we keep going northward, we're nuts that way. :) We have reservations at a cute inn, and plan to go to High Tea at a historic hotel there, and to some wineries. Saturday night we're going to the vigil Mass at the local parish (excited to check that out!) and then out for dinner, and almost assuredly, more wine. ;-)
So it'll be romantic and fun, and I'm very much looking forward to it. I won't be blogging tomorrow (someday, I will come back to you, my 7 Quick Takes Fridays...) but I will check in on Monday for sure. Until then dear readers! Happy feast of the Baptism of Our Lord! :)
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Some pre-Valentine's Day musings on relationships...
Happy Thursday all! I heard a story on NPR's
"This American Life" podcast this week that got me to thinking. It's about relationships and marriage,
and since Valentine's Day is tomorrow, I thought "perfect timing!" I
do have conversations with myself about blog topics. It's just part of what
makes me special. ;-0
Anyway, the story in a nutshell was this: a guy (we'll call him Adam) and his girlfriend met back in college. They hit it off right away, started exclusively dating, and 13 years later were still together. Now 30 years old, they were an established couple amongst their group of friends and obviously very comfortable with each other. The problem? They had never talked about getting married. They just kept dating because both of them wanted to, and neither had felt particularly compelled to talk about marriage.
Anyway, the story in a nutshell was this: a guy (we'll call him Adam) and his girlfriend met back in college. They hit it off right away, started exclusively dating, and 13 years later were still together. Now 30 years old, they were an established couple amongst their group of friends and obviously very comfortable with each other. The problem? They had never talked about getting married. They just kept dating because both of them wanted to, and neither had felt particularly compelled to talk about marriage.
Adam finally broaches the topic, and is a bit surprised by his girlfriend's response. They had only ever (seriously) dated each other. She thought they should see other people before getting married. And let me be clear (without being vulgar): she specified that she felt they should be intimate with other people prior to marrying each other.
My mouth was hanging open a bit at this point, but I'll continue. :0 They agree that for 30 days, they will not speak, and that they are free to, you know, *see* as many people during that time as they like. Their one rule is that they will not enter into an actual relationship with anyone else. They embark. Adam regales us with some tales of his 30 days. At the end of the month, both Adam and Girlfriend agree that one month wasn't long enough. So they continue on in this fashion for a total of three months.
During this time, Adam finds that he is struggling a bit with his feelings. He found a few women that he became emotionally attached to, and had to abruptly stop seeing them lest he break his promise to his girlfriend. Towards the end of the three months, things are looking dire. He has fallen in love with another woman. His girlfriend? Reports no such phenomena. She said that she had no trouble keeping her feelings out of their experiment.
So, when the three months are over, Adam and his girlfriend get together to talk. The result is completely unsurprising, in my opinion. They decide to break up. They both enjoyed meeting other people and felt that the reason they felt compelled to conduct such an experiment showed that neither was completely happy in their relationship anymore. They went their separate ways.
We now cut to Adam talking to the host of the show, Ira Glass. Adam tells Ira that as a result of all of this, he thinks that when he does get married, he wants it to be for only seven years. At the end of seven years, they can choose to either break up or get remarried. But this way, things won't get stale and you won't take the other person for granted, at least in his estimation. Ira took issue with this a bit, and said that he felt one of the huge benefits to marriage is the security of knowing that you both vowed to stick with it for life, not just for a short duration. If something goes wrong in the short term, you don't have to fear the person leaving you for easier pastures just because you're nearing a seven year time stamp.
I thought about this story for a long time after listening to it. I'm sure you would be unsurprised to learn that I think the very premise of this couple's "experiment" was an absolutely terrible idea. Of *course* they were going to break up after that! The whole thing was a sabotage of their relationship.
I suppose the deeper issue is - what really *is* compatibility and happiness with your spouse within marriage? It's not any one thing, of course. We could add things onto the list of answers to this question all day. But to me, a real essential part of this equation is a decision. I made a decision to vow to be faithful to my husband and live out the rest of my life with him. Are there other men out there that I could have decided to marry instead? Well, sure. I'm not saying I in particular had all of these options :0 because I did not. What I mean is that anybody could look around and say "oh, I also find him attractive. He's (fill in the blank with shared interest or key part of your background) and also (ditto). Hum...
But we don't do that, or at least recognize that we shouldn't. One could always perceive the grass to be greener somewhere else. Marriages that are successful involve two people who are able to put those thoughts aside and direct their romantic energy onto their spouse. We choose a partner for a reason, many of them in fact, compelling ones. Over the course of ten, twenty, thirty plus years, people change. Our circumstances in life change. But our marriage vow does not. And in my opinion, if you keep your romantic focus on your spouse, despite those changes, you will remain happy in your relationship.You bring other people into the equation, and suddenly you are distracted. You damage your emotional bond with your spouse. The fibers of your relationship start to crumble.
Mike and I will celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary next January. There have been some tough times, but I have always been, and remain, happily married. And listening to this story made me appreciate my husband anew. We're both in this for the long haul. My husband may not be perfect, nor is he married to a perfect woman. But we are committed to each other. I know that he loves and cherishes me, not only because he tells me so, but because I know that he is committed to being there for me and our children. And that speaks volumes.
What do you all think? Did anyone else hear "This American Life" this week? Is it possible to be happy with just one person for the rest of your life? Thoughts in the comments, please! :)
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
An evening in the life of the Catholic Librarian...
Reading The Ear of the Heart (I'm now at the part where she moves through the novitiate and into temporary vows, so exciting!) and all of this monastic spirituality that I've been writing about has really gotten me all passionate about the religious life.
"Honey! I was just reading Hank his before bed saint stories, and we read about this saint that I've never heard of and whose name I cannot pronounce (St. Amalberga) and she was *married* and had children. After their children were grown, she and her husband mutually decided to enter the religious life, and so she became a nun and he became a monk. Isn't that great?!" *enthusiastic elbow nudge*
Let's just say Mike wasn't too supportive of this plan. :)
_________________________________________________
Heard from Anne while taking a bath last night:
"Anne drinking!"
"NO! No Sweetie, don't drink the bath water, yucky!"
*pause*
"Anne drinking!"
Later, she disappears into the kitchen...
"UH, OH, What happened?!"
This is something you never want to hear via your toddler from the other room. Inevitably, it is a calamity of some sort that was created by aforementioned toddler. Like that time years ago when Hank dropped the raw egg mixture on the astro-turf like carpet that was in the kitchen when we first bought our house. All the scrubbing in the *world* wasn't going to get that out.
*shudder of revulsion*
Second runner up is the ever popular:
"There's some-fing WRONG!"
_________________________________________________
"Mommy, what's a 'virgin'?"
Ugh. this is what happens when you read saint stories.
"It means 'unmarried', Sweetheart."
"Oh. But what..."
"Ok, continuing on, she was a very pious girl..."
*saint story continues*
"Mommy, what does it mean to be beheaded?!"
Oh sigh.
"Honey! I was just reading Hank his before bed saint stories, and we read about this saint that I've never heard of and whose name I cannot pronounce (St. Amalberga) and she was *married* and had children. After their children were grown, she and her husband mutually decided to enter the religious life, and so she became a nun and he became a monk. Isn't that great?!" *enthusiastic elbow nudge*
Let's just say Mike wasn't too supportive of this plan. :)
_________________________________________________
Heard from Anne while taking a bath last night:
"Anne drinking!"
"NO! No Sweetie, don't drink the bath water, yucky!"
*pause*
"Anne drinking!"
Later, she disappears into the kitchen...
"UH, OH, What happened?!"
This is something you never want to hear via your toddler from the other room. Inevitably, it is a calamity of some sort that was created by aforementioned toddler. Like that time years ago when Hank dropped the raw egg mixture on the astro-turf like carpet that was in the kitchen when we first bought our house. All the scrubbing in the *world* wasn't going to get that out.
*shudder of revulsion*
Second runner up is the ever popular:
"There's some-fing WRONG!"
_________________________________________________
"Mommy, what's a 'virgin'?"
Ugh. this is what happens when you read saint stories.
"It means 'unmarried', Sweetheart."
"Oh. But what..."
"Ok, continuing on, she was a very pious girl..."
*saint story continues*
"Mommy, what does it mean to be beheaded?!"
Oh sigh.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Scenes from a Catholic marriage
Over the course of the past few days, I've been ruminating on my vocation as a wife and mother. Like fine wine, those relationships have only gotten better with time. :) The commitment and the love was always there, but as time wears on I'm realizing how much my bond with both my husband and kids has matured and deepened.
Mike and I married eight and a half years ago. Thinking back on our dating life, it's hard for me to imagine that we forged a relationship toward marriage when we only saw each other a few times per week. We did not live together prior to marriage, we just got to know each other as best we could via old fashioned dates (and without social media, can you imagine? :) Although I decidedly do not envy anybody who has to change their relationship status on Facebook. *shudder*).
And I will always remember how I felt on our wedding day. It was so, so special. *Everything* felt different from that point forward, not just the obvious physical relationship. It is my firm belief that it was the grace of the sacrament, which permeated our relationship and has strengthened it day by day.
Although I always loved Mike (obviously), I can say without reservation that I love him now *so much more* than when we married. And it's not like our relationship was junky when we were just engaged; it's the graces we received on our wedding day that has made it possible for our love to grow like this.
Our marriage, like everyone's, is not perfect. Far from it. But we both value it, cherish it, and work hard at it. It's a blessing, to be sure.
And who couldn't love a husband like this one? Scenes from the real world:
"Have you heard anything about the new Superman movie, Sweetie? Lots of people on Twitter are talking about it."
"You know the new Superman is Henry Cavil, your boyfriend from when we watched The Tudors."
"Who? Wait! OHHHHHHH....that friend of Henry's!"
"Yep."
"Oh. Well, maybe we should made an exception to our usual wait for the Redbox and see it in the theatre" *acts casual*
*Mike arches eyebrow*
_________________________________
"Ok, with our setup in the guest room for this hot spell (a long story, but due to a circuit breaker problem and us having power sucking window a/c units) I'll sleep on the side closest to the door since I need to get up in the night to use the bathroom."
"I don't know Honey, that'll put me on the left side and you know that that is THE WRONG SIDE for me, right?"
"Well, otherwise I'll wake you when I get up. Let's try this, I'm sure it'll be fine."
8 hours later...
"How did you sleep?"
*Tiffany switches the pillows*
*Mike sighs*
________________________________
"Honey, I'm SO EXCITED for the Catholic New Media Conference! There's a special votive Mass at the beginning, and on Sunday Shauna'h and I may go to Mass at the cathedral in Boston, and at the Tweetup I might get to meet Fr. Roderick and the people from Catholic Weekend, and..."
"I've never met anybody who can ferret out Catholic stuff more than you can. It's very cute."
A husband who uses the word "ferret"? *swoon*
The first thing that drew me to Mike nearly 11 years ago (besides how cute he is) was his ability to make me laugh. His easygoing personality and his infinite patience and support for my passion for my Catholic faith.
#feelsverylucky
Mike and I married eight and a half years ago. Thinking back on our dating life, it's hard for me to imagine that we forged a relationship toward marriage when we only saw each other a few times per week. We did not live together prior to marriage, we just got to know each other as best we could via old fashioned dates (and without social media, can you imagine? :) Although I decidedly do not envy anybody who has to change their relationship status on Facebook. *shudder*).
And I will always remember how I felt on our wedding day. It was so, so special. *Everything* felt different from that point forward, not just the obvious physical relationship. It is my firm belief that it was the grace of the sacrament, which permeated our relationship and has strengthened it day by day.
Although I always loved Mike (obviously), I can say without reservation that I love him now *so much more* than when we married. And it's not like our relationship was junky when we were just engaged; it's the graces we received on our wedding day that has made it possible for our love to grow like this.
Our marriage, like everyone's, is not perfect. Far from it. But we both value it, cherish it, and work hard at it. It's a blessing, to be sure.
And who couldn't love a husband like this one? Scenes from the real world:
"Have you heard anything about the new Superman movie, Sweetie? Lots of people on Twitter are talking about it."
"You know the new Superman is Henry Cavil, your boyfriend from when we watched The Tudors."
"Who? Wait! OHHHHHHH....that friend of Henry's!"
"Yep."
"Oh. Well, maybe we should made an exception to our usual wait for the Redbox and see it in the theatre" *acts casual*
*Mike arches eyebrow*
_________________________________
"Ok, with our setup in the guest room for this hot spell (a long story, but due to a circuit breaker problem and us having power sucking window a/c units) I'll sleep on the side closest to the door since I need to get up in the night to use the bathroom."
"I don't know Honey, that'll put me on the left side and you know that that is THE WRONG SIDE for me, right?"
"Well, otherwise I'll wake you when I get up. Let's try this, I'm sure it'll be fine."
8 hours later...
"How did you sleep?"
*Tiffany switches the pillows*
*Mike sighs*
________________________________
"Honey, I'm SO EXCITED for the Catholic New Media Conference! There's a special votive Mass at the beginning, and on Sunday Shauna'h and I may go to Mass at the cathedral in Boston, and at the Tweetup I might get to meet Fr. Roderick and the people from Catholic Weekend, and..."
"I've never met anybody who can ferret out Catholic stuff more than you can. It's very cute."
A husband who uses the word "ferret"? *swoon*
The first thing that drew me to Mike nearly 11 years ago (besides how cute he is) was his ability to make me laugh. His easygoing personality and his infinite patience and support for my passion for my Catholic faith.
#feelsverylucky
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
So...how is your Year of Faith going?
Before I get started, thank you to everybody that answered my call for company on Twitter. :) I see Cam over there now, as well as some others, and I'm really having a good time with this and hope that I continue to meet more people there. Please do reply to my Tweets over there or send me a message! I'd love to talk to you.
Ok, so my increased involvement at Twitter has had a very good spiritual side effect. During the day, I'm thinking more and more about Catholic things that I see on there. Prayers, events, news items. And a few people recently mentioned the Year of Faith. That, combined with the unfolding vocation story that I mentioned in the past week or so of the young woman I follow on Twitter (@ChanningDale) that is entering a Carmelite monastery in a month, has gotten my little mind whirling. (Definitely check out her podcast for as long as it's still available, she discusses her vocation story in depth on there. You can find it on iTunes as "This Catholic Life.")
How well am I doing living out my vocation? And what have I been doing to fully embrace this special Year of Faith? Those two questions have been on my mind this week.
Mike teases me that he's glad that I sacrificed being a nun so that he could marry me. :) But how well am I doing in my vocation as a wife and mother? It's always important to evaluate that and not take it for granted that marriage is in fact a vocation, not just a lifestyle choice. I felt called to marry Mike, and we both felt strongly that we were called to welcome children into our marriage. That part was very easy, really. It's the day-to-day stuff that I know that I struggle with, as I'm sure most people do. I'm very happily married and I love my children, but am I the best wife and mother that I could be every moment of every single day? The simple answer is no.
So here is where the Year of Faith ties back in. Do I take advantage of what the Church has to offer me to boost me spiritually in my vocation? In many ways yes, but of course I could always be reaching out more. I frequent the sacraments. I pray daily. But have I done anything special this year to maximize the Year of Faith that the Church has set up for us to benefit from?
It's interesting, but as I look back on my year (the liturgical year, that is) I would say that my spiritual life has in fact been more vibrant. I've been putting more into it, and although I'm far from attaining the way of perfection :) I'm getting more out of it. And it definitely corresponds with when the Year of Faith began.
I had a particularly nice Advent this past year, and then shortly after Christmas I did the consecration to Jesus through Mary via the book 33 Days to Morning Glory. That Marian consecration, in hindsight, seems to me to have been a quiet leviathan in my spiritual life. At the time, no fireworks were shot out or anything, but when I look back I'm astounded by how much I've been ardently working on my spiritual life since then and trying harder to be more patient in my vocation as compared to before. I attribute this directly to the consecration.
I read the other day that we're approximately 6 months into the year of faith. So it seems an appropriate time to take stock. I feel very happy in my faith life right now, but I'm not getting a halo anytime soon, I'm still very much in need of grace. So, what else could I do to grow closer to God?
I need to keep up with daily Mass as often as I can. I haven't made it yet this week, so I'm going to prioritize that tomorrow (the feast of St. Anthony of Padua!). I'd also like to start slowly (sigh) reading through some Catholic classics since I haven't read most of them. I'm terrible about deep theological reading. I have read Introduction to the Devout Life (a very accessible read) and The Story of a Soul (also lovely). But I haven't read any other major work of a saint or Church Father. This Catholic librarian needs to get busy, clearly. There are *tons* of these available for next to nothing on Kindle. I'll update you on my progress.
I'll leave you with an amusing anecdote. Right around the time Mike and I got engaged, my good friend Rose and I (who was soon to be engaged but also had nun longings like I did) decided to go on a retreat to discern whether we were in fact following God's will for our lives. We found this remote retreat place for laypeople run by a group of monks a few hours drive away. You could rent a small cabin and there was a chapel on the grounds as well. It was in the woods, so lots of time for prayerful contemplation.
Now, we're city girls. Definitely not what you would call "rustic." We did know that there was no indoor plumbing, and that the heat source was a wood burning stove. We thought we were prepared.
We arrived, filled our jug with water and proceeded to our cabin. We managed fine during the day. I don't even remember what we ate, but we had come prepared. The no running water thing was a bit of a challenge, but we persevered. I held my breath a lot in the outhouse and felt very Pioneer Woman. We went to the chapel and prayed.
Then night fell. Not having grown up in the country, I wasn't really prepared for how DARK it gets at night. Everything was fine until one of us needed to use the facilities and went out back to the outhouse with a flashlight. Discovery of a spider as large as our hands now present in the outhouse was immediately reported to the other. A mutual decision was made that further use of the outhouse simply wasn't possible. Whereupon the heavy cover of darkness became, let's just say, quite indispensable.
Next came our preparations for bed. We loaded some wood into the stove thing, got it lit, and settled in for some spiritual reading. All was well. We drifted off to sleep.
I awoke with a start, noticing that I was quite warm. I'm not sure what had happened, but it had become so hot in our cabin that I had a hard time seeing Rose on the other side of the room since the air was so wavy. I immediately pop open the windows and checked the time. It seemed like we'd been sleeping for a long time.
We'd been sleeping for maybe 30 minutes.
I woke Rose so that we could be sure and not asphxiate to death. We got the stove situation righted and tried to go back to sleep. I tossed and turned a lot.
The next day, we got up for Mass and were faced with a crisis about the spider-infested outhouse. With the light of day, we obviously had no choice but to use it, and we felt that our time in purgatory should be reduced due to our heroism.
I look back on that time with much fondness. The friends that I made after I came back from law school have been so wonderful.
I can't go on a retreat right now, but perhaps I can create a "home retreat" with some solid spiritual reading. I will let you know how things go. :) But I'm thinking spiders won't be involved this time...
Ok, so my increased involvement at Twitter has had a very good spiritual side effect. During the day, I'm thinking more and more about Catholic things that I see on there. Prayers, events, news items. And a few people recently mentioned the Year of Faith. That, combined with the unfolding vocation story that I mentioned in the past week or so of the young woman I follow on Twitter (@ChanningDale) that is entering a Carmelite monastery in a month, has gotten my little mind whirling. (Definitely check out her podcast for as long as it's still available, she discusses her vocation story in depth on there. You can find it on iTunes as "This Catholic Life.")
How well am I doing living out my vocation? And what have I been doing to fully embrace this special Year of Faith? Those two questions have been on my mind this week.
Mike teases me that he's glad that I sacrificed being a nun so that he could marry me. :) But how well am I doing in my vocation as a wife and mother? It's always important to evaluate that and not take it for granted that marriage is in fact a vocation, not just a lifestyle choice. I felt called to marry Mike, and we both felt strongly that we were called to welcome children into our marriage. That part was very easy, really. It's the day-to-day stuff that I know that I struggle with, as I'm sure most people do. I'm very happily married and I love my children, but am I the best wife and mother that I could be every moment of every single day? The simple answer is no.
So here is where the Year of Faith ties back in. Do I take advantage of what the Church has to offer me to boost me spiritually in my vocation? In many ways yes, but of course I could always be reaching out more. I frequent the sacraments. I pray daily. But have I done anything special this year to maximize the Year of Faith that the Church has set up for us to benefit from?
It's interesting, but as I look back on my year (the liturgical year, that is) I would say that my spiritual life has in fact been more vibrant. I've been putting more into it, and although I'm far from attaining the way of perfection :) I'm getting more out of it. And it definitely corresponds with when the Year of Faith began.
I had a particularly nice Advent this past year, and then shortly after Christmas I did the consecration to Jesus through Mary via the book 33 Days to Morning Glory. That Marian consecration, in hindsight, seems to me to have been a quiet leviathan in my spiritual life. At the time, no fireworks were shot out or anything, but when I look back I'm astounded by how much I've been ardently working on my spiritual life since then and trying harder to be more patient in my vocation as compared to before. I attribute this directly to the consecration.
I read the other day that we're approximately 6 months into the year of faith. So it seems an appropriate time to take stock. I feel very happy in my faith life right now, but I'm not getting a halo anytime soon, I'm still very much in need of grace. So, what else could I do to grow closer to God?
I need to keep up with daily Mass as often as I can. I haven't made it yet this week, so I'm going to prioritize that tomorrow (the feast of St. Anthony of Padua!). I'd also like to start slowly (sigh) reading through some Catholic classics since I haven't read most of them. I'm terrible about deep theological reading. I have read Introduction to the Devout Life (a very accessible read) and The Story of a Soul (also lovely). But I haven't read any other major work of a saint or Church Father. This Catholic librarian needs to get busy, clearly. There are *tons* of these available for next to nothing on Kindle. I'll update you on my progress.
I'll leave you with an amusing anecdote. Right around the time Mike and I got engaged, my good friend Rose and I (who was soon to be engaged but also had nun longings like I did) decided to go on a retreat to discern whether we were in fact following God's will for our lives. We found this remote retreat place for laypeople run by a group of monks a few hours drive away. You could rent a small cabin and there was a chapel on the grounds as well. It was in the woods, so lots of time for prayerful contemplation.
Now, we're city girls. Definitely not what you would call "rustic." We did know that there was no indoor plumbing, and that the heat source was a wood burning stove. We thought we were prepared.
We arrived, filled our jug with water and proceeded to our cabin. We managed fine during the day. I don't even remember what we ate, but we had come prepared. The no running water thing was a bit of a challenge, but we persevered. I held my breath a lot in the outhouse and felt very Pioneer Woman. We went to the chapel and prayed.
Then night fell. Not having grown up in the country, I wasn't really prepared for how DARK it gets at night. Everything was fine until one of us needed to use the facilities and went out back to the outhouse with a flashlight. Discovery of a spider as large as our hands now present in the outhouse was immediately reported to the other. A mutual decision was made that further use of the outhouse simply wasn't possible. Whereupon the heavy cover of darkness became, let's just say, quite indispensable.
Next came our preparations for bed. We loaded some wood into the stove thing, got it lit, and settled in for some spiritual reading. All was well. We drifted off to sleep.
I awoke with a start, noticing that I was quite warm. I'm not sure what had happened, but it had become so hot in our cabin that I had a hard time seeing Rose on the other side of the room since the air was so wavy. I immediately pop open the windows and checked the time. It seemed like we'd been sleeping for a long time.
We'd been sleeping for maybe 30 minutes.
I woke Rose so that we could be sure and not asphxiate to death. We got the stove situation righted and tried to go back to sleep. I tossed and turned a lot.
The next day, we got up for Mass and were faced with a crisis about the spider-infested outhouse. With the light of day, we obviously had no choice but to use it, and we felt that our time in purgatory should be reduced due to our heroism.
I look back on that time with much fondness. The friends that I made after I came back from law school have been so wonderful.
I can't go on a retreat right now, but perhaps I can create a "home retreat" with some solid spiritual reading. I will let you know how things go. :) But I'm thinking spiders won't be involved this time...
Friday, July 20, 2012
This is my kind of weather, and ponderings on Church weddings...
Ah, the past few days have been overcast and breezy. I love this kind of weather. Clearly, I should be living in the Pacific Northwest.
There has also been some "rain activity" but I wouldn't actually classify it as "RAIN," unfortunately. I mean, little drops have come down, but they never pick up their pace nor last for longer than 10 minutes at a stretch, so total accumulation is something like .000567 %. This is not going to make the grass green again, people. Maybe if it kept doing this for 3 weeks straight, but I'm doubting that will be the case. At any rate, I'm grateful for the break in the heat and the hope of rain, so I'll take it.
On a totally unrelated note, I read an article last week about Katie Holmes coming back to her Catholic faith. Did anybody else see this? It was from a reliable source like Yahoo News *rolls eyes* so I take it with a grain of salt, but it piqued my interest because I had always wondered about this.
I knew that Katie Holmes had been raised Catholic, and that when she married Tom Cruise, they were married in a Scientology ceremony. These are the only two facts that I'm certain of, you see. Thus, everything else that I'm about to say is pure conjecture, but that's what blogs are for, no?
When they married, I remember thinking to myself, "her parents must be heartbroken that she's leaving her faith." I don't know the Holmeses, so I have no earthly idea how they felt about their daughter's marriage, but this is how *I* would have felt. I'm also presuming here that Katie did not pursue and receive a dispensation from canonical form, because if she had, then her marriage would have been valid in the Church. So, I'm making a lot of assumptions here, but bear with me.
My whole point is that the situation got me to thinking about our children retaining their faith as adults. I pray for this intention weekly at Mass, that my children always stay close to Jesus and His Church. Do I think that in order to do that, my children need to marry other Catholics? No, I don't think that, actually. Would it help if they did marry other Catholics? Yes. But is such a marriage *necessary* for them to remain Catholic or even grow deeper in their faith? No, I don't think that it is.
But presuming that Katie here didn't seek out her parish priest prior to her wedding to receive Catholic marriage preparation and a dispensation to marry outside of a Catholic ceremony, this is what I'm getting at. When a Catholic person does not seek out the Church for their marriage, and marries outside of Her authority, that makes me sad. Because that's often the impetus to them leaving their faith entirely. In that state, they cannot receive the sacraments, and without the sacraments, their faith will suffer. Plus, the fact that the person didn't care enough to go through the Church for the dispensation demonstrates (at least in my opinion) that they don't feel very attached to their faith to begin with. And as a parent, this would break my heart.
Many times, it seems to me that the people I see not pursuing a Church wedding lose interest in religious faith altogether. This would bother me the most. It would bother me considerably less if my child became a member of another church. And even that has degrees. I would rather they stayed Catholic, but if my child became a very devout Anglican or Methodist, I would be ok with that. (But I'll just admit that I'd always still pray they would return to their Catholic roots :)). I would struggle, however, if they became a member of a non-Christian faith, probably nearly as much as if they lost all faith in God entirely.
In the end, all we can do is pray. Once they become adults, it's their choice, and we have to hope that something we did as parents acts a springboard to them making their faith their own and growing in their relationship with God.
This is all a bit rambling, but back to Katie. According to Yahoo News, she is now a registered parishoner at a local Catholic Church. If true, I think this is good, and I'm sure her parents are thrilled. :)
So, our thought-provoking question for the weekend: what in your childhood (if anything) caused you to remain attracted to religious faith as an adult? Or alternatively, what in your childhood acted as a spark to reignite your religious faith after leaving it for a time?
There has also been some "rain activity" but I wouldn't actually classify it as "RAIN," unfortunately. I mean, little drops have come down, but they never pick up their pace nor last for longer than 10 minutes at a stretch, so total accumulation is something like .000567 %. This is not going to make the grass green again, people. Maybe if it kept doing this for 3 weeks straight, but I'm doubting that will be the case. At any rate, I'm grateful for the break in the heat and the hope of rain, so I'll take it.
On a totally unrelated note, I read an article last week about Katie Holmes coming back to her Catholic faith. Did anybody else see this? It was from a reliable source like Yahoo News *rolls eyes* so I take it with a grain of salt, but it piqued my interest because I had always wondered about this.
I knew that Katie Holmes had been raised Catholic, and that when she married Tom Cruise, they were married in a Scientology ceremony. These are the only two facts that I'm certain of, you see. Thus, everything else that I'm about to say is pure conjecture, but that's what blogs are for, no?
When they married, I remember thinking to myself, "her parents must be heartbroken that she's leaving her faith." I don't know the Holmeses, so I have no earthly idea how they felt about their daughter's marriage, but this is how *I* would have felt. I'm also presuming here that Katie did not pursue and receive a dispensation from canonical form, because if she had, then her marriage would have been valid in the Church. So, I'm making a lot of assumptions here, but bear with me.
My whole point is that the situation got me to thinking about our children retaining their faith as adults. I pray for this intention weekly at Mass, that my children always stay close to Jesus and His Church. Do I think that in order to do that, my children need to marry other Catholics? No, I don't think that, actually. Would it help if they did marry other Catholics? Yes. But is such a marriage *necessary* for them to remain Catholic or even grow deeper in their faith? No, I don't think that it is.
But presuming that Katie here didn't seek out her parish priest prior to her wedding to receive Catholic marriage preparation and a dispensation to marry outside of a Catholic ceremony, this is what I'm getting at. When a Catholic person does not seek out the Church for their marriage, and marries outside of Her authority, that makes me sad. Because that's often the impetus to them leaving their faith entirely. In that state, they cannot receive the sacraments, and without the sacraments, their faith will suffer. Plus, the fact that the person didn't care enough to go through the Church for the dispensation demonstrates (at least in my opinion) that they don't feel very attached to their faith to begin with. And as a parent, this would break my heart.
Many times, it seems to me that the people I see not pursuing a Church wedding lose interest in religious faith altogether. This would bother me the most. It would bother me considerably less if my child became a member of another church. And even that has degrees. I would rather they stayed Catholic, but if my child became a very devout Anglican or Methodist, I would be ok with that. (But I'll just admit that I'd always still pray they would return to their Catholic roots :)). I would struggle, however, if they became a member of a non-Christian faith, probably nearly as much as if they lost all faith in God entirely.
In the end, all we can do is pray. Once they become adults, it's their choice, and we have to hope that something we did as parents acts a springboard to them making their faith their own and growing in their relationship with God.
This is all a bit rambling, but back to Katie. According to Yahoo News, she is now a registered parishoner at a local Catholic Church. If true, I think this is good, and I'm sure her parents are thrilled. :)
So, our thought-provoking question for the weekend: what in your childhood (if anything) caused you to remain attracted to religious faith as an adult? Or alternatively, what in your childhood acted as a spark to reignite your religious faith after leaving it for a time?
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Just cute life stuff
"Honey, I really appreciate you and all that you do for me and the kids. I just wanted you to know that. I'm so glad that I don't have to share you."
"You've been watching Sister Wives again while I take Hank to soccer, haven't you?"
Well yes, I have. But that's not the point, now is it? :)
School is out for the summer, and happy, frolicking children abound in our home. Of the two children these days, Anne is actually the easier eater. She's suddenly decided that she no longer cares for pureed baby food, and just wants table food. This is great, I just wish it hadn't happened right after we stocked up on jarred baby food. But I digress. She eats cooked vegetables, cheese, crackers, fruit, all that good stuff. Henry, on the other hand, nearly passes out at the sight of a vegetable. Sigh. He does like fruit, but he ends up eating something different from what we eat far too often. He's 6. Should I be forcing the issue more now, or will he outgrow this?
Inquiring parental minds want to know.
Anne is just at a wonderful stage. She's into everything, but she's just a delight. Running around, giggling, being cute, it's just her full time job. Last summer, while I was on maternity leave, was just an idyllic time. Mike was home with me, and it was simply smashing. I will say though that I enjoy my children more when they're no longer newborns. :) I love them always, but the early baby days are tough on my psyche. With Anne being a toddler, things are so much fun.
Life is good.
"You've been watching Sister Wives again while I take Hank to soccer, haven't you?"
Well yes, I have. But that's not the point, now is it? :)
School is out for the summer, and happy, frolicking children abound in our home. Of the two children these days, Anne is actually the easier eater. She's suddenly decided that she no longer cares for pureed baby food, and just wants table food. This is great, I just wish it hadn't happened right after we stocked up on jarred baby food. But I digress. She eats cooked vegetables, cheese, crackers, fruit, all that good stuff. Henry, on the other hand, nearly passes out at the sight of a vegetable. Sigh. He does like fruit, but he ends up eating something different from what we eat far too often. He's 6. Should I be forcing the issue more now, or will he outgrow this?
Inquiring parental minds want to know.
Anne is just at a wonderful stage. She's into everything, but she's just a delight. Running around, giggling, being cute, it's just her full time job. Last summer, while I was on maternity leave, was just an idyllic time. Mike was home with me, and it was simply smashing. I will say though that I enjoy my children more when they're no longer newborns. :) I love them always, but the early baby days are tough on my psyche. With Anne being a toddler, things are so much fun.
Life is good.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Feeling grateful for my blessings, and it finally looks like a real Northeastern winter
We have had a *very* mild winter this year, and Mike and I were actually commiserating about how much we miss the snow! Well, God answered our prayer. :) Today we have a good old fashioned lake effect snow storm swirling about. I'm at work, but I'm dying to get home and be with Mike and my babies. I have dance on Friday nights, but I'm wondering if it will be canceled. If so, I'm looking forward to knitting and sipping a hot beverage later with Mike.
And all week, as I've been dealing with some little worries that have popped up, I've been thinking about how grateful I am for the wonderful blessings that I have in my life. I have such a beautiful family. To say that our adjustment to parenting baby #2 is going smoother than the first time around would be the understatement of the century. Of course, I felt honored to be Hank's mom all along. But this time, everything is just a joy, with both children. That adjustment to baby #1 was very, very tough for both Mike and I. Now, I keep dropping hints about Baby CL #3, and Mike keeps giving me panicked looks :) (because Anne is still quite little) but to even contemplate such a thing makes me so, so happy. I'm just so grateful for my family and for the future that we have together.
Speaking of good things, we're all loving Henry's Catholic school. I really feel like Mike's positive reaction to it is nothing but God's grace. Not that he was ever opposed to Catholic school, he was just indifferent to it since the public school costs nothing but our tax dollars. Now, we're paying both school tax AND Catholic school tuition, but we're both so thrilled with what we're seeing in Henry and our own interaction with the school.
I will say one thing that is very different that one has to get used to in Catholic schools: fundraising! Holy smokes. At all Catholic schools in this area, you have a fundraising obligation in addition to your tuition. If you don't meet the goal via specified fundraisers, you have to pay out the balance. In addition to that, the school is always offering things for sale to benefit its overall financial viability: Entertainment Books, Christmas wreaths, calendars, candy bars, the list goes on and on. I don't mind it, but it is certainly very different from my public school world.
I do like feeling like I'm contributing to the school's future. I think that in the past, people who belonged to a parish with a school felt much more "obliged" (if you will) to send their kids to the school for them to receive a Catholic education. Nowadays, that really isn't the case. Times are hard for everyone right now (especially in this area) and people are trying to save money. They may not feel like it's worth it to pay tuition when they could send their kids to the public school for nothing. Plus, there are just so many less regular Mass goers than ever before, so people don't feel connected to a parish in any way. Thus, I feel good that I'm supporting our local Catholic school.
That being said, anybody need any Easter chocolate? If so, send me a quick message. :)
And all week, as I've been dealing with some little worries that have popped up, I've been thinking about how grateful I am for the wonderful blessings that I have in my life. I have such a beautiful family. To say that our adjustment to parenting baby #2 is going smoother than the first time around would be the understatement of the century. Of course, I felt honored to be Hank's mom all along. But this time, everything is just a joy, with both children. That adjustment to baby #1 was very, very tough for both Mike and I. Now, I keep dropping hints about Baby CL #3, and Mike keeps giving me panicked looks :) (because Anne is still quite little) but to even contemplate such a thing makes me so, so happy. I'm just so grateful for my family and for the future that we have together.
Speaking of good things, we're all loving Henry's Catholic school. I really feel like Mike's positive reaction to it is nothing but God's grace. Not that he was ever opposed to Catholic school, he was just indifferent to it since the public school costs nothing but our tax dollars. Now, we're paying both school tax AND Catholic school tuition, but we're both so thrilled with what we're seeing in Henry and our own interaction with the school.
I will say one thing that is very different that one has to get used to in Catholic schools: fundraising! Holy smokes. At all Catholic schools in this area, you have a fundraising obligation in addition to your tuition. If you don't meet the goal via specified fundraisers, you have to pay out the balance. In addition to that, the school is always offering things for sale to benefit its overall financial viability: Entertainment Books, Christmas wreaths, calendars, candy bars, the list goes on and on. I don't mind it, but it is certainly very different from my public school world.
I do like feeling like I'm contributing to the school's future. I think that in the past, people who belonged to a parish with a school felt much more "obliged" (if you will) to send their kids to the school for them to receive a Catholic education. Nowadays, that really isn't the case. Times are hard for everyone right now (especially in this area) and people are trying to save money. They may not feel like it's worth it to pay tuition when they could send their kids to the public school for nothing. Plus, there are just so many less regular Mass goers than ever before, so people don't feel connected to a parish in any way. Thus, I feel good that I'm supporting our local Catholic school.
That being said, anybody need any Easter chocolate? If so, send me a quick message. :)
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
I have a really, *really* good husband
The other day, I was feeling flustered at home, trying to get a bunch of cleaning chores done while also managing child demands. I went upstairs for something, and suddenly I hear the vacuum cleaner running. It was Mike, vacuuming the entire downstairs. And I wondered to myself where Anne was, because last I saw her, she was plunked in the middle of the kitchen floor, itching to be on the move at any given second. So I hurry downstairs, to make sure she hadn't gotten into anything.
No Anne in the kitchen. I quickly check the adjacent dining room and living room. No Anne. Mike's current vacuuming is in the downstairs guest room/office, so I rush in there. And there he is, carefully moving the vacuum cleaner across the rug in there with one hand, Anne tucked onto his hip with the other, her cherubic-like cheeks on full chub mode, eyes wide as saucers.
It made me think of a commercial I saw once featuring a NASCAR driver, in which a woman falls asleep exhausted from her household responsibilities, and dreams about what she would do with her favorite driver. And what she dreams about is him cooking dinner, washing her car, and vacuuming the carpet with a melting down toddler stowed away under his arm. It always made me smile, as did the scene I walked in on in our guest room.
These are the things that make for a strong marriage. :)
No Anne in the kitchen. I quickly check the adjacent dining room and living room. No Anne. Mike's current vacuuming is in the downstairs guest room/office, so I rush in there. And there he is, carefully moving the vacuum cleaner across the rug in there with one hand, Anne tucked onto his hip with the other, her cherubic-like cheeks on full chub mode, eyes wide as saucers.
It made me think of a commercial I saw once featuring a NASCAR driver, in which a woman falls asleep exhausted from her household responsibilities, and dreams about what she would do with her favorite driver. And what she dreams about is him cooking dinner, washing her car, and vacuuming the carpet with a melting down toddler stowed away under his arm. It always made me smile, as did the scene I walked in on in our guest room.
These are the things that make for a strong marriage. :)
Monday, October 31, 2011
The perks of being married...
Obviously, there are many. But this is a big one, in my opinion.
Last night, Mike and I were innocently reading in bed, prior to falling asleep, halos firmly perched on heads. I'm currently reading the Hunger Games trilogy, and was very absorbed in book #2. Since it's a futuristic novel, I thought perhaps my eyes were deceiving at first, projecting a nightmarish, alien bug from the future onto our wall. But no. It actually *was* a flying insect the size of THE PALM OF MY HAND.
I freeze. I blink. I carefully close my book.
"Honey."
"Yes, I see it. I think it's a moth."
A moth? I'VE SEEN BIRDS THAT ARE SMALLER.
"I don't think that's a moth."
While I tell myself to breathe, Mike is getting out of bed and confidently strutting toward the winged offender in his boxer shorts. You can tell that he's very proud to be fulfilling one of the purposes of his vocation.
He climbs up onto my dresser right near my little porcelain statue of Mary, as I pray for him to be careful. I close my eyes for Murderous Attempt #1, which is a fail. The creature flutters over to the wall above my head.
Quickly, I leap out of bed, lest dead bug debris get into my hair and onto my book, which is borrowed from my friend Stacy. Mike makes the hop over to the bed while my breakable holy reminders breathe a sigh of relief. Murderous Attempt #2 is a success.
"I got him! I still think it's a moth." He checks inside the kleenex, yet another aspect of this extermination role of the husband that I just cannot understand.
"I think that was actually related to a dragonfly, which are ALTOGETHER too large."
*shudder*
Last night, Mike and I were innocently reading in bed, prior to falling asleep, halos firmly perched on heads. I'm currently reading the Hunger Games trilogy, and was very absorbed in book #2. Since it's a futuristic novel, I thought perhaps my eyes were deceiving at first, projecting a nightmarish, alien bug from the future onto our wall. But no. It actually *was* a flying insect the size of THE PALM OF MY HAND.
I freeze. I blink. I carefully close my book.
"Honey."
"Yes, I see it. I think it's a moth."
A moth? I'VE SEEN BIRDS THAT ARE SMALLER.
"I don't think that's a moth."
While I tell myself to breathe, Mike is getting out of bed and confidently strutting toward the winged offender in his boxer shorts. You can tell that he's very proud to be fulfilling one of the purposes of his vocation.
He climbs up onto my dresser right near my little porcelain statue of Mary, as I pray for him to be careful. I close my eyes for Murderous Attempt #1, which is a fail. The creature flutters over to the wall above my head.
Quickly, I leap out of bed, lest dead bug debris get into my hair and onto my book, which is borrowed from my friend Stacy. Mike makes the hop over to the bed while my breakable holy reminders breathe a sigh of relief. Murderous Attempt #2 is a success.
"I got him! I still think it's a moth." He checks inside the kleenex, yet another aspect of this extermination role of the husband that I just cannot understand.
"I think that was actually related to a dragonfly, which are ALTOGETHER too large."
*shudder*
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)