Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Lots to Celebrate -- School, Writing, Anniversary and Feast Days

I am glad to say goodbye to the worst summer (and spring) of my life. Oh, I don’t mean to be a curmudgeon when there have been so many wonderful gifts but it is so great not to be in constant pain. I don't mind being sick off and on but I am praying for a complete recovery.

And now the kids are in school – high school! It’s so nice not to have to drive anymore. They walk or ride their bicycles and are far more independent. I pretty much stay on the island unless I have to go to Sunday Mass but during the week I can go to the high school for daily Mass.
I am slowly diving into writing again. I have two new composition notebooks with kittens and puppies on the cover. I am writing madly in it. I have goals. Write the first draft of a new short nonfiction book. Revise my novel Damaged so that I can send it out again (Gasp! But I won’t think about it just yet otherwise I might get constipated). And make some magazine submissions so that I can have some good news trickling in for the remainder of the year. But the more I write, the more ideas are demanding my attention and I'm in danger of starting a whole slew of books and not finishing any of them. Still, it's wonderful when the words spill out.
We celebrated our 21st wedding anniversary! And it was perfect. We went for Mass and Adoration, just the two of us, the night before and then grabbed a bite to eat. The next day, on the Feast of St. Maximilian Kolbe, who I believe has been guiding me since my birth to Truth, I had a great pleasure of going to Mass and listening to the children’s choir. They were angelic. I especially enjoyed the Magnificat arranged for two voices and flute. I can't stop singing it :) Then Saturday, I went to sing for the Feast of Our Lady’s Assumption (Scott Hahn gives a wonderful personal reflection). My family had planned on going to a movie so I stayed after to gab with friends, not realizing that they’d wait for me. We took in a later show of Shaun the Sheep! I loved it. If you are a picture-book writer, this is a must-see. The characters are so wonderfully expressive.
I finally have the perfect solution for my Scapular Cross. I used to wear a regular brown scapular but ended up going through three of them -- the cat chewed one up when I took a shower. And the others just got too worn out. So I got this scapular cross, but the ball-chains I wore my cross and couple of other blessed medals looked so grungy. I was looking around in my jewelry box and the silver chains were too thin. Finally, I took out my mangalsutra -- every Indian woman gets one on her wedding day -- and Michael got this very traditional Maharashtrian one with the two little cups (vatis) for me on our trip to India a couple of years after we were married. I was used to wearing my mother's short gold chain and it looked goofy to have two chains, so I rarely wore my mangalsutra. But it is sturdy, so armed with a pair of pliers, I affixed my scapular cross and angelic warfare medal. I'm very pleased with the results! And not that I forget, but it's a physical reminder to be obedient to God and my husband. I know that last sentence can make women chafe, but really, my husband is the kind who is worthy of obedience. He is a man after God's own heart. 

Have I mentioned I love August? I do, I do, I do!

4 comments:

Mirka Breen said...

The worst summer of your life?... I'm so sorry. Here's to the best Fall.

Vijaya said...

Thank you Mirka. Things are looking up.

Anonymous said...

Wishing you a pain-free productive fall! Your cross looks beautiful on that golden chain.

Vijaya said...

Thank you Marcia.