A letter to our Priest

(a letter to our pastor in preparation for our son's Confirmation in the fall)

Dear Father,

A little over fourteen years ago our son, Nicholas, was born. We loved him from the moment of his existence, and we set about to care for this precious gift from God.

We cuddled and loved him; we fed and rocked him; we helped him take his first steps.

But caring for our son’s physical needs was the easy part. What about his spiritual growth? How would we teach our son to believe in God? Pray with faith? Help a stranger? Have a generous heart? Be a good citizen? Stand up for what is right?

We felt more than a little overwhelmed because we realized we weren’t just raising a child . . . we were raising a soul.

Having our son baptized was the first step in fostering his spiritual growth. As his parents we made this decision for him, entrusting our son to God and to a faith family that would be an extension of our own.

Catholic school, First Holy Eucharist, Reconciliation, alter serving, volunteering . . . all these things helped him become the person he is today.

Now our son is about to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. He is becoming a young man and is starting to make his own decisions.

Through the years we have done our best to provide him with the spiritual tools needed to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, but with Confirmation, we must now step aside and let him be guided by the Holy Spirit. We will always be there for him, but the Holy Spirit will be his guide and his strength as he grows in faith and makes his way into the world as an adult.

He is ready.

Want to go to Italy?

Because I think everyone should have the chance to visit Italy at least once, today I am sharing with you the chance to do so with the Olive Garden win a trip to Italy contest. They have daily winners of a $25 gift certificate, and the grand prize is a eight day guided trip for two to Rome, Florence and Olive Garden's Culinary Institute of Tuscany. You can enter daily from now until April 12th.

I'm doing this out of the goodness of my heart because by sharing this with all of you . . . it limits my chances of winning.

AND, if you heard it here and you win . . . you have to take me with you.

Now go and enter. BUONA FORTUNA!

A PG-13 Conversation with Nonna

My mother came over last night to watch the little guy. Jonathan was with my husband at a golf match, and I had to take Nicholas to a meeting at school.

As I was getting ready, I overheard the following conversation between my 14 year old and my mother:

Nonna: So, where are you going?
Nicholas: We're going to Family Honor at the school.
Nonna: You're such a good student. What award are you going to get?
Nicholas: Uh, Nonna, I don't think you understand . . .

pause, pause, pause

Nicholas: You see, Family Honor is about sexuality.

Nonna was speechless . . . only because she was laughing so hard.

Then she started asking a million questions . . . and then my son was the one who was speechless.

There are just some things you don't talk to Nonna about.

Makes my Monday: Celebrating in (Italian) Style

Faith, family and friends . . . mixed with a little bocce, a little Italian music, and a whole lot of food . . . all these things make my Monday.

This past weekend we had my parents and three families over for a traditional celebration of the Feast Day of St. Joseph.

Ten adults and nine children gathered around the table and stood behind their chairs.

Then each of the nine children (oldest to youngest) read something about this feast day.

1. The Feast Day of St. Joseph is an important celebration in southern Italy. According to legend, a great drought in Sicily led to a wide-spread famine, and in desperation the people prayed to St. Joseph asking for rain.

2. In their prayers, they promised that if He would send them rain, they would prepare a large feast to honor him. The rain did come, and the people of Sicily named San Giuseppe their Patron Saint.

3. The fava bean was the crop which saved the population from starvation, and even today it is considered good luck. It is believed that the pantry that contains even a single fava bean will never be bare, and it is a reminder of God’s provisions through the intercession of St. Joseph.

4. Today, during this feast day celebration, it is traditional to invite family and friends to share a meal together. It is also a time to give to the poor.

5. Part of the celebration includes an altar to St. Joseph, typically constructed with three tiers representing the Trinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Notice that here, instead of three tiers, we have three tables.

6. The altar is decorated with candles, food, flowers, and bread.

7. Saint Joseph is considered the patron saint of fathers, carpenters, social justice, engineers, families, fathers, house hunters, and laborers.

8. His symbols are: carpenter’s tools such as saw, hammer, and nails; Bible, branch, sandals, and an old man holding the infant Jesus.

9. Now let's bow our heads for the blessing: Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts, which we are about to receive through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Pasta was the first course, which we sprinkled with a pinch of breadcrumbs to symbolize sawdust as a tribute to St. Joseph, the carpenter.

Then on to the second course . . .

The dinner is all about fellowship and sharing, so all the food is placed on the table and passed around. Bread is torn off in chunks from one of the many loaves scattered around the table.

Dessert was strawberries in lemon juice, biscotti, espresso, and birthday cake. The youngest of the nine children, we celebrated Timothy's 5th birthday . . . again.

Finally, everyone went away with a tiny gift bag containing a handful of fava beans and a prayer card to St. Joseph.

Now, go visit Cheryl for some more Makes My Monday fun.

Only Yesterday

Timothy:

Teemo-Supremo; Baby Bear; McGuffy; McGuffster; Tuffy . . .

he may be five today, but he's still my baby.

Rainy Days and Mondays . . .

MY HAIR + RAINY DAY =

Holding out for some Pi

Yesterday afternoon I received an email from a friend saying how much her daughter and her daughter's friend enjoyed my son's Pi songs in Math class.

My son? Sang Pi songs? I knew nothing, and you Moms out there know how you hate to find out something about your son/daughter from someone else.

So, I asked my son who said he made up two Pi songs which the teacher let him sing in front of the class. But when I asked him (nicely, mind you) to sing just one for me, he wouldn't.

Well.

Then I had an idea. In the words of Dr. Seuss and my friend, I had an awful idea. A terrible, awful, clever idea . . . one which I learned from my friend, who offered her daughter more time on facebook to get her to clean the kitchen.

I told him about my email . . . but until he sang me his Pi song I wasn't going to reveal which friend sent it, and whose daughter it was, and which two girls from his Math class were talking about him.

So there.

He sang me his Pi song. It was to the tune of "Eye of the Tiger", and it was really funny. What he lacks in size, he more than makes up for with spunk.