Welcome May

I just love the month of May and have for such a long time. May is First Communions, May Crowning's and Mother's Day. It's Mary's month filled with rosaries and devotions. It's the time of the year when cold, rainy days lead to the most brilliant, warm afternoons.

When I think back to my childhood I remember breezy afternoons, cobalt blue skies with cotton candy clouds, the smell of lilac trees blooming and of course all the fun end of the school year activities. After all the rain we've had here I am definitely up for warm days and lots of sunshine.

The baby of our family received his First Holy Communion this past weekend. I'm not sure if it was because he is the baby or my only son, but I was brought to tears many times. He has been so excited to receive Jesus that even our parish priests were happy he finally made his communion, now they don't have to look at his sad puppy dog eyes when the family all goes up to receive and they have to deny him.

On a sadder note, there seems to be so much devastation caused by weather lately that I think we should all take a little time out of our day to pray for those going through these trying times.
I know I personally view these events differently now that I myself have been through it, perhaps that is what God had in mind from the start.

Let the sun shine in

Well the sun is shinning and the birds are singing and my favorite weather man tells me it will be near 80 today. How much better this Monday is compared to last Monday. The hot water heater and the furnace were replaced on Friday, (yeahhhhh!!!!) and I only have three loads of laundry to do today to get caught up on the back log of dirty clothes. We were so excited for the hot water that we actually ordered pizza, something we only do a couple of times a year, and usually it's for someones birthday. Everyone is now back to work and school, so with the exception of the hammering from my neighbor behind me all is quiet. I think it will take awhile for this family to recover from this Nor'easter of 07. It just wasn't the loss of objects or lack of hot water, but the clean up time (which is not completely done yet) and the stress that filtered from one family member to another. It is the loss of one week of vacation time for Dad and the garbage his boss feed him about company loyalty. It's the already tight purse strings being cinched even tighter as the bills come in from the plumber and the oil company and the fear from us all that if it rains this week, will we flood again?

Flood

"Rain, rain on my face. It hasn't stopped raining for days. My world is a flood. Slowly I become one with the mud." (Jars of Clay, lyrics to their song Flood) This song just about sums up how I'm feeling after days of bailing water, discarding water logged cardboard boxes and their various contents, and praying earnestly that the plumber will tell me my hot water heater will be installed. It is truly amazing on how we become numb to the small things in our lives. Turning on the faucet and expecting hot water to flow has truly come as a shock to my children. They never realized what a hot water heater does, but I guarantee they will not forget after this ordeal. I've tried to make a lesson out of it, explaining that the pioneers lived like this and things like baths and washing clothes had to be thought out. The first night or two lugging every available pot with boiling water to the second floor to fill the bathtub seemed like an adventure. (note to self, next house have full bath on first floor) But now after days of this it is quickly becoming tiring. It really has hit us hard here, because we live in the high part of town, no streams, rivers, etc. and we have never had water in our basement prior to this. But when I start feeling sorry for my self I try to think of the all the people in neighboring towns who lost everything and had to be evacuated not knowing how or where to begin rebuilding. So when I'm tired of hauling water for the kids baths, or when I feel like I'm one with the mud, I'll offer it up to God for all those who lost everything, and then sing the chorus of "Flood". "Lift me up - when I'm falling, Lift me up - I'm weak and I'm dying, Lift me up - I need you to hold me, Lift me up - keep me from drowning again". DC