Monday, July 12, 2010

When It Rains!

Yesterday we had warm, very warm weather.  Occasional bands of clouds skirted across the sky, but no rain on our little space here in London.  Today we are being soaked.  When summer rolls around, most of my usual routines gets skewed.  I still manage to pull the covers up, and smooth our parent bed back into place.  Clothes get sorted into hampers, and the dishwasher gets unloaded in the morning.

Now that we are a family with only 2 children at home, I feel a bit out of touch for those with many small tykes.  But, the basics still get done the same way.  I still pay attention to completing a job to the end.  This applies to getting laundry from the hamper to the washer, dryer, folded and put away.  Life if simply easier when I take the time to put the already read newspaper right into the recycle bin, or wherever it needs to go, even if it is destined for the compost pile or for mulching.

Our electric company now uses what they term "Smart Meters" and unfortunately it isn't compatible with the way I prefer to keep house.  I've discovered the delay wash cycle on the dishwasher, to begin after 10 pm.  I now do all laundry except dish cloths and towels on Saturday.  We try to stay cool enough at 79F on the thermostat (69F in the winter time).  Vacuuming, along with other cleaning chores that require electricity I push to the cheapest rates.  Here they don't kick in until after 10 pm, and end at 7 am during the week.  Since they are all weekend long, Saturday is now our big cleaning day.

In short, my little ways have altered, not only because of moves into various sized houses, in three different countries, a diminishing family size and varying weather, but also to save money on energy expenditures.  Tweaking has always been part of what Marion and I have proposed with our ideas, so if your routines begin to not feel so routine, and your house is beginning to not look as homey (do not think cluttered looks homey) as you'd like, tweak until you get back to where you want it to be.  I suggest doing it a little way at a time.

Have a joyful July!

Your Sister in the Trinity,
Yvonne

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Good Enough

Dear Sisters,

Happy Feast of the Assumption! (and Happy Birthday to one of our favorite priests, Fr. McC)

At the beginning of Lent our family attended a wonderful talk by Archbishop Prendergast of the Archdiocese of Ottawa. He recently instructed the parishes within his see to kneel during the Eucharistic Prayer. From our brief time here in southwestern Ontario we are seeing how difficult it is to find what I would term authentic Catholicism. Archbishop Sheridan is one of those bright lights.

One of the comments he relayed during his talk on faithfulness, referring to the tricks of the devil, cited C.S.Lewis' "Screwtape Letters." This was in reference to the sin of perfection. Odd, huh!

But this sin of perfection was summed up in the woman who could only tolerate her tea being made just "so." The temperature had to be perfect, tea leaves steeped the correct amount of time, tea cup made ready, etc.

The reason I'm recalling this is to remind myself, and perhaps you, that perfection is important, but only for the right reason. Spiritual. Perfection on the temporal plane, imho, is not what Jesus was asking us to strive for.

I do not have a problem with an athlete striving for his/her best. Nor a musician, or any other professional. Even moms while we assume our humble tasks in our homes. What I do have a problem with is when we place achieving perfection above those who have been given to us to nurture.

Most of our children are young adults now. With two still with us, and still in training, so to speak, I have learned and relearned how important it is that they learn the best way to do things, followed by remembering that perfection is not the goal.

There are times when good enough is the best we can achieve. If I choose to spend time trying to accomplish perfection, but neglect the really important living that is surrounding me, I am giving away time that is not mine to lose.

I hope this makes sense. Dusting is important, but getting every last little bit of dust removed isn't. Vacuuming is important, but moving all the furniture, all the time to get at every bit of debris isn't. Spring and fall cleaning make sense, when they need to be done, but expecting to keep our homes deeply cleaned all the time does not make sense, any more than it does to neglect to clean at all.

Find your balance, and know that this point of balance will shift as your family matures, moves on, moves back in, and lives! Insisting that it can only be done "your" way implies that "your" way is the only way. Teach, certainly, but remember that you aren't the ideal, only God is!

Your Sister in the Trinity,
Yvonne

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Has it really been that long?

Given the lack of attention I've given this blog, I hold little hope that anyone is even reading this. However, with a smidgen of hope, I'll go ahead and post some thoughts.

Since posting last May our family has been blessed with a daughter graduating from university, and then marrying. We purchased a home, and moved from a small rental into a nice, private home. This new year has another daughter engaged to be married next year, another one with only one remaining semester toward her degree, a son anxious to take his G-2 test for driving on March 12, and our youngest daughter learning her new ballet routine for the May recital.

My husband has been traveling quite a bit for work, and in fact, is away today. I've completed "Women of Grace" study last spring, helped plan a wedding with our oldest daughter, decided to permanently retire from any role with La Leche League, introduced and received permission from our Bishop to bring the ENDOW program to this diocese, joined with other Catholic homeschool mums here to form a new group for First Fridays, designed and helped to create a large quited banner for Advent (currently working on a Pentecost one), and have kept pushing the idea of finishing the "book" into the background. None of these were planned or even thought of when I looked out on the brink of 2009!

This next year promises much, including an obvious spring thaw that started right on time yesterday, March 1. While reading "The Yearling" we were treated to a bright red cardinal perched on the rain gutter, as if to remind us that the seasons continue on, without any of our help. I suspect 2010 will be at least as full of surprises with only a few planned.

So, what does this have to do with living "The Little Way"? Everything. Take each moment as it comes, plan what you can, but don't overlook the adventures as they unfold.

Take care, and enjoy your Lenten preparation for Easter.