Tuesday, December 27, 2005

Merry Christmas!

Okay, I'm having a little fun here as might be explained by this article (hat tip Danielle Bean). But it really is true that we ought to still be saying Merry Christmas for a few more days if not weeks. A lot of people don't realize that the 12 days of Christmas take you from Christmas to Epiphany (January 6) rather than from December 14 to December 25.

Anyway, I'm really appreciating this season of celebration this year since we've had that round of colds, etc. that seems to be going around (our poor two year old was miserable over Christmas weekend - we got him into the doctor yesterday morning and discovered that he has double ear infections and pneumonia). Instead of needing to cram all our happiness and celebrating into Christmas morning, we're taking things a little more slowly. (This is a good thing too, since I haven't made all the Christmas phone calls I'd like to!) We've always tried to aim in this direction, but it seems this year that it's finally clicking. And so, despite the fact that we had to split up for Christmas Mass (Munchie Man was too sick to go) and that the house is a mess because I was sick last week and that we're just getting by in some areas, it's really turning out to be a wonderful Christmas.

One advantage to being sick the week before Christmas was that my husband and oldest daughter had to help out with a lot of the wrapping and last minute prep. I just didn't have the energy. But it turned out to be a lot more fun than getting everything done perfectly by myself.

Also, this year we managed to keep Christmas morning presents a little more simple. Each person got four presents (which ranged from a much-desired T-shirt to a fun art set to a gently used Erector set - one daughter had her doll repaired - she left it in her stocking on St. Nicholas Day - and was overjoyed to be reunited with the beloved doll who was attired in a very pretty new dress).

Now the fun (and slightly unique part for us - inspired by one of my tutors at TAC) is that we'll put other wrapped things under the tree throughout the 12 days of Christmas. These are fun because they're unexpected and can be simple partly because there aren't huge expectations. John and I do some of our shopping for each other at after-Christmas sales and include these things in our fun. Some years (I definitely like to encourage this) the children have made gifts for each during the 12 days of Christmas to give to each other on Epiphany (we call it 3 Kings Day around here).

I do have to remember to continue to play Christmas music and read our favorite Christmas stories as well.

Friday, December 23, 2005

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Math with the Beans

This had me laughing so hard my side hurt.

We haven't even been trying to accomplish anything around here as most of us are sick. It was a significant accomplishment to get to the store for soup, juice and cold medicine.

I actually got the good news yesterday that I had a cracked rib. This was good news because it might have been a lung infection. Please say a prayer that I will be well enough to sing for the overflow Mass on Christmas Eve. The choir director doesn't have a substitute available and, as Karen E. so beautifully pointed out here, there will be people coming back to Mass for Christmas Eve that we hope might be encouraged to come back again before next Christmas.

Disagreement, Misunderstanding and Deception

Hmmm. Those are some words that can get people's blood boiling.

I've been thinking about these terms lately and how they affect our interactions with each other.

disagreement
misunderstanding
deception.

Disagreement is common and fairly on the surface. You know - red state vs. blue state - whatever. People have different philosophies, different principles, etc., although it is surprising how often people agree on the principles (and don't necessarily realize it) but disagree about methods and implementation.

I think misunderstandings are hugely underestimated. Emotions get in our way of listening carefully, we rush to judgment based on a few things we hear, people don't speak carefully, people don't read carefully and on and on and on. I've had the experience on a number of occasions of observing people working themselves into a frenzy over a perceived injustice, error or whatever that really didn't exist - or sometimes existed to a much smaller degree than was believed. Once an argument between two people was related to me by both people separately afterwards. What they related to me was identical word for word, except one - one said "don't" but the other one thought she said "do".

Anyway, it was partly Shakespeare's powerful Othello (the movie with Kenneth Branagh is excellent by the way, though rated R for good reason) that got me thinking of this communication thing. The idea that someone can be so thoroughly deceived by someone's evil plottings is frightening, but very real. How gullible are we? How many people in politics and the media would be willing to deliberately deceive us, or be used as a tool by those who would? Do we have our "skeptometers" (as my brother-in-law likes to say) in good working order? (Othello goes a lot deeper than this, of course. My sister recently blogged on this.)

But looking at it from a different angle, we can also see many ways in which we as humans unintentionally or carelessly deceive each other and thus contribute to the chaos. Rumors and urban legends are extremely common (especially on hot button issues like religion, politics and morality - but also on smaller levels within families, communities, workplaces). "Good" politicians tell white lies to get elected and there sometimes seems to be a tyranny of good intentions (this, as I understand it, comes up on all sides of the political spectrum) - people are judged or frowned on for shopping at the wrong store or not supporting the "acceptable" politician (or even daring to criticize the "good" politician for telling white lies).

These things are all symptomatic of a "disease" we all share - fallen nature. So how do we handle all this confusion? Here are a few ideas:

- Avoid and discourage gossip. Not only is it ugly, but it's so often inaccurate in essential ways.

- Learn what urban legends are and investigate things before passing them along to others. Make sure your facts are accurate when you (particularly in public) criticize politicians, organizations, businesses, etc. Don't just assume the person you got your info from did their homework.

- Teach your children to read and listen carefully. Not just simply suspiciously, but charitably - calmly trying to understand what someone is saying and thinking before either rushing to judgment or being drawn in by their arguments. It can be awfully helpful to think of this as two separate and distinct steps - 1. Understand what someone is saying. 2. Decide if you agree or not.

- Listen carefully and be sure you understand something before you act on it. Among friends and family, asking things like "So are you saying..." can be awfully helpful sometimes. Giving the person time to explain what they are thinking before being shocked or offended can help too.

Here is a favorite quote from St. Ignatius Loyola on the occasion of the Council of Trent, which was called by the Church to respond to the Protestant Reformation...

Be slow, not prompt, to speak in the Council. Be charitable in your opinions and considerate of what others mean to say, even if they have not said it. Take pains to look at the spirit and intentions of the speakers, and in this way learn when to be silent and when to speak. Above all, you must speak in such a manner that you shall not stir dissension but always encourage peace.

(This is as quoted in the Vision book St. Ignatius and the Company of Jesus - there is a more complete reference here)

Friday, December 16, 2005

Thursday, December 15, 2005

Curt Jester is on a Roll

What else is new! I don't visit often enough, but I enjoyed his freshly-coined phrase - "the vanish Inquisition" and his latest product - "Dark Night Light of the Soul".

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Prayer Request

I'd like to ask again for prayers for my best friend from high school (read "homeschool") who I mentioned way back here. The doctors have dropped her original diagnosis of "Lou Gehrig's disease" to something less frightening and fatal, but she is suffering a great deal from testing, treaments, and (most recently) a broken leg. Raising small children can be challenging enough without debilitating illness and injury.

Muchas gracias!

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

St. Lucy's Day

Here are a link about St. Lucy's Day and a favorite family story...

http://www.inmamaskitchen.com/SEASONS/saintlucday.html

My daughter had often heard stories about St. Lucy's Day, particularly from the American Girl stories about Kirsten. We talked about making St. Lucy's Day buns for several years before we finally got things together one year when Ria was six or seven. She was very excited about the big day and spent lots of time making a beautiful paper wreath with paper candles. We picked up some saffron at the grocery store and worked busily in the kitchen the night of December 12th. Since I had been a little disorganized about the timing, I had to stay up late finishing the baking but assured her that I would wake her up just before dawn so that she could bring Daddy the buns and some hot apple cider before he got up for work. We even "cheated" on the hot apple cider by picking up some powdered apple cider mix that dissolved into hot water. I finally went sleepily to bed at about midnight having filled a platter with charming pretzel shaped sweet breads with a nice glossy finish. She must have been pretty anxious about catching Daddy while he was still in bed, for we were gently awakened at about three in the morning by a nightgown clad little girl in a paper crown eagerly offering Daddy a St. Lucy's Day bun (with no plate) and a half cup of very lukewarm apple cider.

Sunday, December 11, 2005

The Wonders of Paint Shop Pro

This is pretty neat. 15 or 20 minutes with Paint Shop Pro did amazing things to my grandparents' wedding photo - before and after...

Saturday, December 10, 2005

Humility and Advent

Here is a great article on the virtue of humility and its relation to the season of Advent - from friend and fellow-blogger (and fellow TACer) Megan.

Friday, December 09, 2005

We Saw Narnia!

And we LOVED it. Faithful, beautiful, and very moving (and I can't tell you how often movies DON'T move me). There are some scary images (mostly creatures faces) and some battle scenes, although these are MUCH more subtle than Lord of the Rings (especially since the White Witch fights by turning creatures/people into stone). I wouldn't hesitate to bring children ages ten and older. Younger than ten will be okay for many, but they should definitely know the story first and perhaps even be warned about the scary-looking creatures. Treat yourself and your family this weekend and help give Narnia a great opening weekend. :)

Judging by Family Size

cross-posted from Love2learn Blog

When we live in a culture that shuns large families, it can be all-too easy to jump to conclusions about those who don't have large families and assume they are using birth control or don't want more kids or whatever. Here's an excellent article (by a Catholic homeschool mom) reminding us of the bigger picture and the children we can't see:

"A Good Catholic Family" by Karen Edmisten

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

St. Nicholas Day

St. Nicholas is such a wonderful saint and it's fun to discover that "Santa Claus" is just "Saint Nicholas" in a different language.

When I got married I discovered St. Nicholas in a new way. We settled near my husband's family in the Milwaukee area (I'm from California), where it is customary for the general population to celebrate St. Nicholas day. People (generally) hang their stockings on Dec. 5 instead of Dec. 24 and children wake up on Dec. 6 to a mini Christmas. Stores on Dec. 5 are extra-extra busy and people are chatting about St. Nicholas day and stockings and creative ways of getting them filled with things besides candy (Christmas socks and mittens are big hits around here).

Our children place a Christmas wish list and a letter to Baby Jesus in their stockings on St. Nicholas Eve.

Anyway, it's really neat to share this Christian tradition with the general population. Does anyone know of other places that St. Nicholas Day is still celebrated (I assume that it is celebrated in the Netherlands)?

Monday, December 05, 2005

Weird World

Isn't it weird that...

if you tune in for the second half of CBS's very nice miniseries on Pope John Paul II on the wrong day, you might end up finding the Victoria Secret fashion show?

Target, which is being boycotted by some Christians for not using the word "Christmas" in their advertising, is selling Christmas cards with a picture of St. Peter's Basilica?

Helpful Holiday Hint

Remove Halloween pumpkins from porch before they freeze there.