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 21^st 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!