Multiple Personalities

My daughter Annie, who just turned three, is hardly ever herself. Every day, indeed, sometimes every hour, she corrects me if I call her Annie or Anne or even Sweetie. "No, Mommy, I am is _______."

Sometimes she is "Sleeping Beauty," sometimes she is "Beauty and the Beast." Yesterday she threw me a curve when she came up to me and solemnly announced, "Mommy, I am is Father Gene." Father Gene is a holy priest who assists our pastor. He often says the 11:30 AM Mass we attend on Sundays, and he baptized our newest baby Peter a couple of weeks ago.

One day as I was changing her diaper, I asked Anne who she was today. I asked her if she was Sleeping Beauty or Princess Aurora, or a fairy, or Snow White. To each she said, "No." I finally asked her "Well, who are you?" My usually-feisty, "don't hug me too tightly I need to run around" little girl said "I your Baby. Just your Baby." I cried and held her as long as I could before she ran off to be Robin Hood.

Got Kids?

My oldest child just turned 7. No twins, although I do get asked that a lot! I rarely go out with all 6 of them alone, but when insanity strikes I have been known to enter Walmart or go to a park without another adult.

I try to have a Mother's Sabbath once a month (read the wonderful book A Mother's Rule of Life by Holly Pierlot). That means that I go out without children (except for whoever is nursing at the time), go to confession and/or see my spiritual director, do the grocery shopping for the week, go out to lunch, and then do whatever I need to do to "recharge" my batteries. My husband does not like to window shop, but I really do, so I walk around one or two of my favorite shops. I was given a bunch of gift cards for Christmas, and I haven't redeemed them all, so I sometimes buy something with one of them. When the weather is nice I might take a book of a spiritual nature to a park or other nice outdoor place where I can sit and read. Meanwhile, my husband keeps the kids at home.

When I do have to go out with all the children (usually WITH my husband), I have a secret weapon: Put on lipstick and smile. I recently got my hair cut and intend to keep it looking nice so as to be a better witness! If I look better, I feel better and I stand up straighter and somehow this gives me greater confidence. If anyone asks about our family size, I smile and say my kids are a blessing from God, and we would not have it any other way. Usually they don't say anything derogatory after that. Sometimes someone will say "I don't have the patience for so many kids" and I say, "Neither do I, but God is teaching me."

Holy Saturday Musings

What is Holy Saturday all about? What significance should it have in my life?

On the first Holy Saturday, the followers of Jesus were scared. They didn't understand what had happened the day before, nor did they know what would happen the day after. 2000 + years later, we know that Christ rose from the dead on the first Easter Sunday. We know that Lent is a time to examine our lives and try again to get back on the road to the Cross and beyond with Christ.

But what about Holy Saturday; this day between our Lord's Passion and His Resurrection?

I am a procrastinator. Perhaps Holy Saturday is a Grace day so I can catch up on all the things I should have done during Lent. Can I put all of Lent in one day? Maybe not, but Holy Saturday seems to be a "last chance" to get into the spirit of Christ's life, Passion & death before His glorious Resurection.

That reminds me of the parable of the vineyard workers. The owner of the vineyard goes out throughout the day to find workers. The workers who come late get the same reward for their work as the ones who have been working all day. Seems unfair to the early workers, but God's mercy extends to all of us, if we will just get to work at some point before the end. Holy Saturday may just be the last hour before sunset for some of us!

So what work does God have for me to do? Well, I find myself a wife and mother. My husband is a holy man who works hard to ensure that I can stay home with our 6 children. My children need their diapers to be changed, they need to be fed, clothed, taught their letters and their Faith. Our home needs straightening, and clothes and dishes need washing.

As I said, I am a procrastinator. It is almost 5 PM on Holy Saturday, and I have not yet helped the kids make the Easter gifts for their aunts and uncles which I said we'd make today. I haven't put a load of laundry in the washer. I haven't put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. I haven't said my daily prayers. Instead, I started this blog. I was putting off the work that God has laid out for me, but it has served as a reminder of what I need to be doing every day. Hopefully from now on I will blog AFTER I do my daily work! May God have mercy on me, a sinner.

Now, to work! I still have an hour before my husband gets home. I can at least put the clean laundry from last week away.