Daybook

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Outside my window... 

...warm temperatures. Yesterday peaked around 84 degrees, a record, I believe, for central Ohio. Considering it would not be unusual for it to snow yet at this date, 84 degrees is ridiculously hot. We had to turn the air on because the pollen count is too high. I woke up this morning with a sinus headache which tells me we have storms on the way. My head is generally more reliable than the weather man. ;-)

I am thinking...

...about my high school senior. We had a small blow-up last night right before bed and I'm still stewing. He has, for the most part, given up on school as graduation looms in the distance. All he can think of is girlfriend, girlfriend, girlfriend. When I woke him this morning I discovered he had slept all night with his light on, which means he was over-tired when he went to bed. I think we're going to be having a powwow tonight when his dad gets home.

I am thankful for...

...Monday morning quiet and a hot cup of coffee

...family dinner

...Jamie Oliver's wicked kebabs last night for dinner

...good priests (and another good homily)

...college close enough to home for family dinner

...rosaries to make to keep me very busy

From the lesson plans...

...I need to do lesson plans. The weekend was so busy I didn't even think about it. I'm sore at Noah right now (see a pattern here?) because I found out last week that he was being, shall I say, dishonest, about his math lessons. You might remember that last week I bragged that he was doing so well in math. One should really not brag on one's child lest one get burned -- he was peeking at the odd-numbered answers, and now we are reviewing because he was not as proficient as mother thought. Keeping it honest here (and giving you a heads up that the odd-numbered answers are in the back of the Saxon Algebra 1/2 book -- in case you didn't know).

Faith is chomping at the bit every day now that the weather is nice. She really is an outdoor girl and can hardly sit still for school work. We'll have to work hard to steer her toward the right profession in a few years.

From the kitchen...

...rye toast or waffles from the freezer for breakfast. Nachos and guacamole from a ripe avocado for lunch. Nigella's Chili con carne over baked potatoes for dinner.

I am wearing...

...khaki trousers and a blue and white knit top, haflinger clogs.

I am creating...

...another top-down cotton sweater -- this time a cardigan for Doug's niece. Lots of rosary orders in the queue. I have more orders now than I've ever had. I wish I could just sit and make rosaries. Unfortunately my family demands that I not.

I am reading...

...  To Kill a Mockingbird. I didn't read one page this weekend, and I'm not sure I'll have any reading time this week. Maybe if I get in bed a little bit earlier.

I am hoping...

...for a quiet day. I feel possibly a nap will be in my afternoon plans. Joshua and his girlfriend didn't get home from prom until 2 a.m. because they got lost on the other side of the city. I don't do well with less than 7 hours of sleep, so I dragged my butt behind me all day yesterday. Time for catch up.

I am hearing...

...the shower running. Doug will leave in a few minutes for his day. I can also hear that the ran just started beating at the back door. I do love a rainy day once in a while.

Around the house...

...just laundry and ironing. The house had a good cleaning on Saturday -- I just have to stay on top of the clutter, and the ironing. 'Tis the beginning of ironing season. Which reminds that I really need to finish the laundry series.

I am going...

...no where today. No. Where. Yeah.

One of my favorite things...

...rainy days. It matches my mood today, which is just fine with me.

I am praying for...

...my children and my husband

...my niece Rachel. She will have in-hospital radiation therapy first of May.

...Doug's Uncle Walt who will start chemo therapy for bladder cancer.

...my Godfather who is having heart trouble and was hospitalized while on vacation

...my priests

...several soldiers

...all of the babies whose mothers are contemplating abortion this week.

A few plans for the rest of the week...

...a root canal on Friday. And we're not going to talk about it.

Thought for the day...

from the Divine Intimacy:

The Passion of Jesus teaches us in a concrete way that in the Christian life we must be able to accept suffering for the love of God. This is a hard, repugnant lesson for our nature, which prefers pleasure and happiness; however, it comes from Jesus, the Teacher of truth and of life, the loving Teacher of our souls, who desires only our real good. If He commends suffering to us, it is because suffering contains a great treasure.

Suffering is the disagreeable feeling which we experience when something -- a situation, a circumstance -- does not correspond to our inclinations, our needs, or our hopes, which does not harmonize with them or gratify them, but on the contrary, contradicts and opposes them. Whereas all men are subject to this misery, the Christian alone possesses the secret of accepting it into his life without destroying the harmony or the happiness which he can enjoy attuning all kinds of suffering to his personal aspirations, which, for him, can never be limited to an ideal of earthly happiness. This harmony is possible, for that which appears to be opposition and disagreement from one point of view, often turns in to profit when seen in a different light. Thus, for example, physical suffering, cold, hunger, illness, while unpleasant to the body, can be very useful for the attainment of a moral or supernatural good, such as the acquisition of virtue, or progress in holiness. If, from a purely human viewpoint, some sufferings seem inopportune and useless, they are never so when regarded supernaturally. "To them that love God, all things work together unto good" (Rom 8,28). Even the greatest calamity, private or public, can become a precious and most effective means of elevating the soul. Every kind of suffering can then be made conformable to the highest ideals of the Christian: eternal salvation, sanctity, the glory of God, the good of souls. But this congruity is impossible without love; or rather, it will be possible only in proportion to our love, for it was by love alone that Jesus transformed the Cross, a terrible instrument of torture, into a most efficacious instrument for the glory of God and the salvation of mankind. It is the same for us: charity, the love of God and of souls, will enable us to accept any kind of suffering, harmonizing it with our loftiest aspirations. In this way, suffering finds a place, a very important place, in our life, without destroying our peace and serenity. On the contrary, our spirit is dilated under an increasingly generous inspiration, unto an ever greater love. As a result, we shall be happy, even while we are experiencing pain. Behold how Jesus has transformed suffering; behold the value conferred on it by His Passion.