--1--
I've been trying to put my thoughts into words over the last
week and a half since the election. I
pound away at my keyboard and push "Delete" over and over. How do I express my profound disappointment
without sounding like a sore loser and a whiner? How do I say that four more years of Barack
Obama will turn our country on its head and it will be almost impossible to get
back what the Founding Fathers gave us without sounding like an alarmist? How do I lament the fact that so many people
seem more interested in getting handouts than taking risks without sounding
like a snob who doesn't care about people in need? And how do I (finally, after four years)
admit that Barack Hussein Obama is in fact anti-American, has no interest in our
national security, doesn't give a crap about you or me or anyone else except
himself and his own twisted agenda to make America weaker and poorer without
sounding like a loony conspiracy theorist?
I've heard many conservatives rant about how people who voted for Obama
are fools, crazy liberal extremists, Kool-Aid drinkers; some Catholic
bishops even went so far as to imply that because of Obama's pro-abortion record,
voting for him would constitute a mortal sin.
Well, I know plenty of people who support Obama, and they're not any of
these things (and I'm certainly not about to point any fingers and yell
"sinner" at anyone). They are
kind and generous people who, like you and me, want the best possible future
for their children and our country. We
just disagree (quite strongly, to be honest) about what that might look like
and who would better serve our nation.
There are certainly some raving lunatics and Kool-Aid drinkers on both
sides, and I'm convinced that the results of the election (assuming there was minimal
voter fraud and Obama won fair and square--although did you see this story fromPhiladelphia?) is a reflection of our culture's moving away from God and from
basic moral principles and our adoption of if-it-feels-good-do-it and
how-dare-you-judge-me attitudes. If I
say abortion is always wrong, I'm an extremist. If I don't want to pay for your birth
control, I don't care about women. If I say that
marriage is between one man and one woman, I'm a bigot. Am I racist if I criticize Obama? Most people I know wouldn't accuse me of
that, but remember when Jimmy Carter said that people who were against Obama just couldn't deal with having a black man in the White House?
We have a challenging four years ahead of us, but I am not going to sit
around and whine about it. I've made a
promise to myself to be more kind, more patient, and more generous. Every day I pray for four things: tirelessness, selflessness, wisdom, and
joy. (I don't pray for patience; that
always gets me into trouble. I figure
"wisdom" is much better, don't you think?) If we all had more of those things, how much more wonderful this world would be.
--2--
Do you know this is the Year of Faith? Truthfully I haven't really thought much
about it; other than to tell myself perhaps I should start reading the
Bible daily again and pray more regularly and consistently. I have done one thing, though: Flocknote has a very cool way you can
read the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
I have one sitting on my shelf that I've barely touched. Well, you can sign up to receive daily emails
with a little bit of the Catechism in each one, and if you keep up you'll read it all the way through in a year. I've already
fallen behind, but every few days I'll read several of them at once, so
hopefully it won't get too far ahead of me.
Interested? Go here.
--3--
Saturday I ran my first 5K.
I shouldn't say I ran it; I walked some and ran some. I originally signed up for it because Curly
and Moe are preparing to test for their black belts (hopefully in January) and
they need to do some "endurance events" between now and then. The 5K was a fundraiser for the Special Education
program at the Catholic high school up the road from us; and although our kids
don't attend, many of their friends do.
I figured this would be a great way for us to get out and get some
exercise, give a little something for a good cause, and help the boys earn
their black belts. I even downloaded a
totally boss app on my phone to help me get into a running routine, and for the
last few weeks I've been pretty faithfully doing my little running/walking
workout up and down the street. (AND, I
say the Rosary while I'm doing it.
That's the best part.) As it happened, Moe
came down with an upper respiratory infection this week, and although he's much
better we decided he should forego the race; and Curly, well, he just decided
he didn't want to do it. (He owes me $15.)
I thought seriously of skipping it altogether, but decided to go ahead and do
it. I was a little nervous not knowing what to expect, whether anyone I knew would be there, and hoping
I wouldn't be the only one who would mostly be walking. I did see a few people there I knew, and
there were many people who walked the whole three miles and had a great time
doing it. I finished in a little under
44 minutes, and I think this will be the first of many 5K races I'll
participate in. Next time I'm going to
drag my family with me, assuming no one is sick...
--4--
Joe got a new car last weekend. Want to know why? On Friday as he was turning left through an
intersection a woman driving a minivan sped around a curve, ran the red light,
and slammed into him. The whole
front of his car was smashed. I'm just
glad she didn't hit the driver's side door, and that no one was injured. Now he has a 2011 Hyundai, with automatic
transmission that he can take to work and Larry can learn to drive; he's
already talking about the two-seater sports car he'll someday get to drive on
the weekends.
--5--
And now for our family entertainment report: Moe made all-county chorus, and he got to
spend a day at one of the area high schools practicing for the concert that was
held in the evening. He stood in the
front row, and you can imagine how proud it made me seeing him standing up
there singing his heart out. Last weekend
(in the middle of all the excitement with the accident) Larry starred as the
prince in a musical production of Cinderella. My parents came and stayed with us for the
weekend, and Joe's mom and my brother and sister-in-law spent time with us and
came to the show as well. And this week,
Curly and Moe auditioned for the school production of Disney's The Little Mermaid. Curly will play Chef Pierre, and Moe snagged
the most coveted part--Sebastian the crab.
Needless to say we'll be hearing this a lot in our house these next few
months:
--6--
In the past we've traditionally traveled to my or Joe's
parents' house for Thanksgiving; this year I'm hosting for the first time. Yesterday I picked up my turkey at the
farmers' market (I'm told he--she?--lived a happy life on the farm until Friday
morning), and today's agenda (besides Mass, of course) will be to do finalize
my menu plan, make my shopping list, and do some of the cleaning around the
house that I didn't do yesterday. (BAD mom, BAD!) My dad sent me a recipe for gluten free
stuffing, and I expect I'll be browsing the Internet for some more of those;
and my mother-in-law has already given me lots of great advice about cooking the
turkey.
When I brought home the bird yesterday I found myself talking like the Swedish Chef. I may be doing that quite a bit this week.
--7--
Our prayers continue to be with the victims of Hurricane
Sandy. Seeing the devastation
and hearing the stories of communities coming together and helping each other
reminds me of how much I truly have to be thankful for.
I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, no matter who you
voted for (haha) !
For more Quick Takes, visit Jenn's Conversion Diary blog. Happy Sunday!
For more Quick Takes, visit Jenn's Conversion Diary blog. Happy Sunday!
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